What is your role in the church today?
Romans 10:14-17 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 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!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
As I considered many different passages for the second blog, I was led to what Paul had to say in his letter to the Christians in Rome. It begins with the question, how can one know the one true God and call upon him if they had never heard of him? This brings up a very important point! How do we let others know about the Triune God; Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit? We know in the first commandment that there is only one God, and this one God is of one substance but three persons. Sounds confusing right? It is not confusing for those who believe and know the one true God, but for those who don’t know him this doesn’t make sense.
How many out there are great preachers that sit in the pews? I would wager most of us think this is the job of the person who stands in the pulpit. But is that really true? How can the everyday Christian lead those who are not Christian to know nothing about the one true God, come to faith? The third question that Paul is asked in Romans 10:14 is simply addressing all Christians’ job. How do you feel about that? Do you feel equipped to go and preach to those people who don’t know about Jesus and his work on the cross that saved us from our sin?
So how are we equipped to tell others about the one true God? We hear Paul’s words from Ephesians 4 beginning at verse 11: 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We are equipped as we hear the word of God and read the word of God in church or over the Internet or participate in Bible study which can occur in many different ways. This is why we have personal or family devotions that we may hear the word of God and be equipped.
Then we have a quote from Isaiah which is a warning for those who hear the word of God and turn away. We all know Jesus’ parable about sowing the seed. As we speak or show our faith in our actions and deeds, we communicate to those who have not heard God’s word. In the parable some of God’s word falls on good ground while in other cases God’s word falls on ground that does not nourish the seed of faith. Don’t get discouraged for God’s word goes out and it will accomplish his purpose.
In our final verse for this week, we look to faith. Faith comes from hearing the word of God as it nourishes us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit as he works through the word to bring faith in the hearts of those who do not believe. This is the faith that you communicate to those who have not heard. The Holy Spirit does the rest. We know that those who hear the word may reject it, but you are still doing what God has called you to do. We are all messengers of God’s word to those who have not heard is word! God uses you as his messenger in this time of Covid 19.
You might suggest to those who haven’t heard the word of God to tune in to your church service on Sunday on the Internet. If you have church, you may ask them to join you. Don’t worry about your words for God will give you what you need to say in all situations.
The peace of God be with each and every one of you as you continue to grow in God’s word as the Holy Spirit continues to strengthen your faith. Amen.