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Amen, I have a brief word of exhortation I think that will keep it brief. A couple things I want you to keep in your mind right now. One is remember that we are having a Christmas service on December 25th.
That's a Wednesday and we'll have that at 11 a .m. and so as you're writing your letter that depending on who you're writing that to if it's someone in the area that might be something that that you would like to mention you don't have to mention that but that might be something of course that is not the gospel we're going to get into that in just a minute.
As I prepared for tonight really really I just prepared by trying to think through some things that I wanted to say. The first is I wanted to remind us so I'm going to wind up here in just a minute in Romans 10 but I wanted to remind us from the end of Nahum chapter 1.
We were there not long ago. Nahum chapter 1 verse 15 says, behold upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. The thing about that story and I think about the reality of the fall or the promise at least of the fall of Nineveh and then of course God was faithful to that promise and I think about how it must have been such a comfort.
It must have been such a beautiful reality to receive such good news that God has won and so here we are at Christmas time. I mean it's December 1st but here we are thinking about the reality of Christmas and what we're doing this is something this is our third year I believe doing this.
What we're trying to do tonight is we're trying to be the feet of those who bring good news. I don't think that writing an evangelistic letter is the be-all end-all of evangelism. You guys know we're going to get to the text like I said Romans 10.
You guys know that I think the focal point of evangelism is preaching the gospel, heralding the gospel, preaching Christ but you understand boys and girls and men and women this is something that all of us can do and it's something that all of us should do.
Now in Romans chapter 10 I'm going to break down this exhortation in just two points. The first is what is a Christian and then the second is what do we need to include in this evangelistic letter. So in Romans chapter 10 I'm going to start in verse eight.
But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is the word of faith that we proclaim because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved for the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord is Lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
So here's the first thing I want to talk about that is what is a Christian and then the second thing about how we get the gospel to love. The problem is I was having a conversation with someone the other day and I said to them I don't think that so-and-so is a believer I don't think that so-and-so is a Christian this was a person obviously not in our church someone you know of our community I don't think that this person's a Christian and the person I was talking to was shocked like oh what you know because we have this idea we have this idea that in Perry County Arkansas in Central Arkansas here in the Bible Belt that everybody who just tips their hat to Jesus everybody who seems to be conservative everybody around us basically they dabble in church every now and then and we just believe that everyone around us is a Christian.
Some of you may have come here tonight and you may have thought you know what it'd be really hard for me I don't really know any non-Christians but I think that if we understood the biblical definition of a Christian then we would understand tonight that there are a lot of lost people in our community.
Even more than that there are a lot of people in our community who think that they are a Christian and they're actually not according to the scriptures. Now the scripture says this in verse 13 everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Do you believe that? You should say amen right do you believe that amen yes I believe that I believe that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved but what does that mean? Okay this idea of Romans 10 9 and 10 if you back up a few verses we've taken that to mean in our society today we've taken that to mean you believe in your heart confess it with your mouth.
I've actually been in services and seen youth pastors and children's leaders and even many years ago I was guilty of this tactic but use this to to lead someone in a prayer or just say hey look you want to be a Christian you just say this prayer right you're in a revival service you come down at the end you say this prayer and you wave the magic wand of course there's no wands and because we don't believe in witchcraft right but you wave the magic wand and you're like ah you're a Christian now and many people walk around Perryville Arkansas and Central Arkansas today and they believe they're a Christian because at some point in their life a preacher or a youth pastor or a children's leader or a parent led them through a prayer and said say this after me dear Jesus dear Jesus.
I know I'm a sinner I'm not a sinner etc etc you know what I'm talking about. And then they've quoted Romans 10 9 10 now if you believed in your heart and you confess with your mouth then you are now saved.
The problem with that that problem with that methodology listen to me the problem with that methodology is it's not biblical. It is not in the scriptures. Yes those who believe in their heart are justified.
Yes those who confess with their mouth are making public confession. Yes amen. That's exactly what the text says. But you can't run to that and say everyone who everyone who says the sinner's prayer is now a Christian.
No friend. Those who are Christians are those who call upon the name of the Lord. Now what does that mean. Right. We should think about that. If he's praying a prayer is not equal. I automatically became a Christian.
Well then we should consider what does it mean. What does it mean to become. What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord. We talked about it some this morning. But to call upon the name of the Lord means I'm surrendering myself to Christ.
I'm understanding that there's nothing good in me. I'm understanding now this might not be articulated perfectly in every respect. But I'm understanding that in and of myself there is no salvation. My only hope is the Lord.
When I call upon the name of the Lord I'm committing my life to follow him. I'm committing my life to line up with what he teaches in his word. I'm committing to own him as my king as my lord as my savior as my friend.
It means if I call upon the name of the Lord it means now because of the grace of God that has been wrought in my heart through the through the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. It means now I desire Christ.
And because I love Christ because I call upon the name of the Lord I desire I love the things that Jesus loves. He talked to people all the time. Are you a Christian. Yes. You read your Bible. No. Do you go to church.
No. You ever tell anybody about Jesus. No. Well like in what biblical definition are you a Christian. Well when I was 14 I was out of revival service and I walked down the aisle and I said a prayer and I became a Christian.
Therefore I'm a Christian. But we have no understanding no biblical definition of what a Christian is. And I'm telling you tonight biblically a Christian is someone who calls upon the name of the Lord not just a one-time thing.
Yes salvation conversion is one time. But it's a continual pattern of life whereby we continually rest in the grace of God in Christ. We continue continually seek to follow what God has given us in his word.
We love God's people. We love the church. We know that we've passed from death to life because we love the brothers. That's 1st John 3 14. In other words nobody nobody in the New Testament would have said to you.
You want to know if you're a Christian open up the front of your Bible and see if you wrote a date when you got saved. No one would say that in the New Testament. That's not how they that's not how they understood it.
And if they didn't understand it that way then we shouldn't understand it that way. So we've got to understand that those who come to Christ their life is going to be changed. Not perfect but changed.
They're going to. They're going to do what God has called them to do in the scriptures to call upon the name of the Lord. I believe it. Everyone who calls verse 13 who calls on the name of the Lord absolutely will be saved.
But calling on the name of the Lord is not just mouthing a prayer. It's not just giving lip service to God. It's not checking him off a box. It's not raising your head hand. It's committing your life to Christ.
It's saying I give all that I am. I give all that I hope to be. I give all of my past all of my present all of my future. I give all of my sins. I give all of my shame. I give all of my hopes and all of my dreams.
I give it all to Christ. And I trust his forgiveness. I trust his saving power. I want to be part of his kingdom. I want to be part of his mission. I want to do what he says for me to do. I want to live the way that he calls me to live.
I'm all in Christ is king. This is what it means to be see. And you hold them up. They're the mirror right James 1. And you hold them up. You will see that many people who profess to know Christ they don't know Christ.
Now we're not to walk around and bludgeon people over the head you know. But we are. We are to take the scripture seriously. So part of what we want to do in this evangelistic letter writing is to think through.
You may have a friend. You have may have a mom or a dad. You may have a family member. You may have may have a neighbor. You may have a friend you grew up with high school they they dabble in Christianity.
They may even go to church on and off. But but there's not in their life that there's not real love for Christ like we talked about this morning. There's no allegiance to Christ the way that they speak and the things that they do.
And Christ is not the center and the portion and the prize of their life. Now some of you tonight need to write something to that person. Now the next thing is oh yeah we got to. We're keeping this brief.
The next thing is I just want to comment on is our responsibility to get to the gospel. So here's the deal. If what I said is true and I believe it is who's going to tell people about it. If what I said like is this something that you think should just be secret knowledge.
Oh over there at Providence Baptist Church they got the secret they really know what a Christian is. And we just keep it to ourselves. Is that what we should do. No we need to tell and I'm just going to warn you that for some of you even this evening maybe God's putting a burden on your heart.
It might be hard. The person you tell it might cause at least temporarily or maybe for a long term. It might cause a little bit of conflict. If you're saying hey I just want to make sure that you actually understand what a Christian is.
It may cause conflict. But I'm telling you if you don't tell them who is going to tell them. Who are you waiting on to tell them. Who are you waiting on to take up the Bible and say this is what a Christian is.
I'm not sure that you are one. Will you look to Christ and be saved if you don't tell them that who you waiting on to tell them. So I continue on in the text verse 14 how then will they call on him and whom they have not believed.
And how are they to believe in him of whom they've never heard. And how are they to hear without someone preaching. And how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
So I'm telling you tonight this is our commission now I understand in the context that Paul's talking about people who've never heard of Christ. That's a little bit different context that we're in. I get that.
But some of you as you write tonight you need to write to those who may be deceived now. You can also write to someone who doesn't know the gospel at all. But let me be clear let me be clear in verse 15 how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
We are not writing tonight to tell someone just merry Christmas or happy holidays. Or or simply to invite them to our church service on Christmas Day. We're writing to tell them the good news of the gospel.
So the gospel is we have to begin with. Well we can begin with good news bad news. Good news. All right. Good news. There is a God in heaven. There is a God in heaven who created this earth in six days.
I'm not saying you have to include all this. I'm just giving you my spiel. There's a God in heaven who created this earth in six days and everything he made was very good. Good news bad news. We've offended this God.
We're fallen in Adam. We are disobedient. We have broken the ten commandments. We have broken the law of God. We have done what God says not to do. God says don't commit adultery. And we've committed adultery.
Or we've looked at things we shouldn't have looked. Or we've lusted in our hearts. God said thou shall not commit murder. We've been angry with our brothers or we've been angry with people in our life.
We've been angry with God said honor your parents. We've dishonored. God said do these things. We haven't done them. God says don't do these things. Don't steal. Don't lie. We cheat our employer. We lie to make ourselves look better.
We put a false view of our home on social media. We've done all these things. We've done what God says not to do. And we've not done what God says. We've obliterated the law of God. We've broken it. The Bible says that sin and that the wages of sin is death.
And so we deserve the judgment of God. We deserve the wrath of God. All right. That's the bad news. Now here comes the gospel. Christmas is about what God came to us. Why. Why did. Why was Jesus born in the way of men except being born of the virgin.
Why did he take on human flesh a nature the scripture says like ours. Why did he do. Why didn't he just come down at the age of 33 and just die for us. There's a reason he was born of the virgin Mary born under the law like we are.
Because we needed someone to keep the law. Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness all the ways that we've broken the law. Jesus kept the law and he procured for his people. He won for his people a perfect obedience to the law of God.
You need that if you hope to get to heaven and then that body willingly went to the cross. On the cross there's brutal uh Roman punishment for sure. But this is the real crux if you will the cross and that is that as the nails were driven to his hands and to his feet and the crown of thorns upon his head all that fell into comparison with him bearing the wrath of God for us.
Jesus endured the wrath of God that is due for what we have done against God. We've broken his law. And Jesus has fulfilled the punishment due. Not only has he been righteous and kept the righteousness of the law but breaking the law deserves death.
And Jesus tasted that death for us and bore the wrath of God. Do us against our sin. And then don't leave this out in your presentation he didn't stay dead on the third day in accordance with the scriptures he rose again from the dead in order to show forth the fullness and reality and completion of this plan.
He has victory over death over hell and over the grave. And what you need to communicate in your letter is that in order to respond to this message of course the grace of God is needed. And the only response that is allowed to this message the only proper response that is allowed to this message.
There's lots of responses. People whatever people don't believe it people reject it. But the only right response to this message is to repent of your sins and to trust Christ by faith. That doesn't mean go out and clean yourself up and make yourself better.
And then come to Jesus. It means come to Jesus now in faith. And as you're coming to him as Jesus is changing you and forgiving you you're relieving sin. You're turning from sin. That's why the only proper response is to repent and believe the gospel.
All these things need to be community communicated tonight. What we're doing tonight is we're trying or we're attempting we're working. Our goal is to share the gospel in these letters. If you need help with that feel free feel free to ask me.
Ask pastor Jacob we're willing to help with that. But I want you to think right now and I'm going to pray. I'm going to pray and we're going to eat. And we're going to do this together. But I want you to ask the Lord to bring someone to your mind to think help.
You think of someone in your life. Maybe that's a family member. Maybe that's a child. Maybe that's a parent. Maybe that's maybe that's someone you went to high school with. Maybe it's a neighbor. Maybe it's someone who you always see at the grocery store.
Maybe someone who always delivers package. Maybe it's your dentist. Maybe it's your barber. Maybe it's just uh uh who knows. I mean I'm running out of examples here but it literally could be anyone that needs to hear the gospel.
And will we be faithful to share the gospel this Christmas. And this is one. There's several things we're doing in December. But this is one little bitty tangible way to get the gospel out during this month.
Let me pray. And we're going to eat.