When I listen to the radio in my car, I often skip past music that I don’t like.

Some of it I simply don’t understand.

Some of it – based upon my age and upbringing, I would never call it “music.”

It spends far too much time glorifying a lifestyle which is fosters violence and counter cultural behaviors such as street gangs and illicit use of illegal drugs.

Yet even at my age, trying to understand the background of rap music or the anger of a Metallica song can give me helpful clues into the culture around me.

Paul learned how to take the cultural events and ideas of his day and connect them with the message of Jesus so that people of other faiths could understand.

If you have been a Christian for a long time and you are worshiping with others today, you can expect that the message you hear will be one you understand.

But is it a message that will also relate to guests who come for the first time?

In our churches are we speaking the language of the communities around us?

Many churches have become skilled at speaking the language of their culture.

They know that each Wednesday night or Sunday morning some people might show up who won’t understand all of their words, rituals, and ways of worship.

These churches try very hard to reach out, to be welcoming and also inclusive.

If you remember your first experience at being a first-time guest in a church or your own church, or you are a longtime believer, or whether you are a cradle to the grave member, remember that we do not need to understand everything.

We do not really need to know everything there is to know about everyone who is inside. We do not really need to know the denomination on the church sign.

We do not need to “google” the area churches for their consumer ratings.

We need to know if our experience in that Church will reveal God in Christ Jesus.

To know if our experience in that church only reveals the Gospel of our Culture.

There is no mystery in knowing and experiencing what influence culture has had on our church, on the message of Christ which “tickles our funny bones.”

There is always mystery in knowing what God has done, is doing, in the life of His church on a street corner, which is about tickling funny bones everywhere.

What we do understand, is the message of the Gospel of God truth though, is the language of welcome, acceptance, love, and grace but also of repentance.

We are covenanted by God with a holy and sacred obligation to preach the Gospel of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, a sacred duty to share our faith, influence the culture around us, not the other way.

It opens us up to the message from the Word that God wants us to hear today.

Romans 15:17-22Amplified Bible

¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have found [legitimate] reason for boasting in things related [to my service] to God. ¹⁸ For I will not [even] presume to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me [as an instrument in His hands], resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles [to the gospel], by word and deed, ¹⁹ with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as ^[a]Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached]. ²⁰ Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹ but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture],

“They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.”

²² This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The problem with many worldly Christians, and perhaps some of you in this blog room, is that to you, your Christianity, your “Christiana-lity” is just such an incredibly intimate and personal thing; you do not ever desire to share it.

You have your ticket to heaven, you have your eternal fire insurance, and frankly, you don’t really care whether anybody else goes to heaven or not.

Sometimes Christians remind me of the lady who was taking a CPR and first aid course with me and several other healthcare professionals several years ago.

In the process of the class, the students were asked to give examples of how they had already been able to use their CPR or first aid training.

One day this young lady said, “I got to use my first aid training the other day. I heard a terrible crash in front of my house. A car had run into my yard, hit a tree, and the car doors had flown open, and there were some injured people on my front lawn. Because I had taken this first aid class, I immediately knew what to do. I sat down and took breaths, put my head between my knees, so I wouldn’t pass out.”

That’s the problem.

With our Christianity, we are like a bunch of people using first aid on ourselves.

When there are hurting people all around us, we are seen or acting like we need to take several deep breaths, then finding any quiet, non-descript place to be alone, tucking our heads between our knees to keep ourselves from fainting.

If your intent is not to faint in public at the slightest possibility of sharing the Gospel, if you’re content to hang on to the gospel and not share it with anybody else, you probably don’t share the zealous missionary heart of the Apostle Paul.

¹⁹ with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as ^[a]Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached]. ²⁰ Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ’s name was already known, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹ but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture],

“They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand.” (Isaiah 52:15)

²² This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

Did you notice the three locations there?

Jerusalem was the beginning point of the Christian church.

Then he said, “I preached the gospel all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum.”

Now we would call that modern day Yugoslavia, all the way over to that part of Eastern Europe.

Then Paul says, “I’m probably going to come see you guys in Rome, but it’s only on my way to Spain.”

Had you looked at a map of the civilized world when Paul, in Corinth, wrote these words in about 56 or 57 A.D., you wouldn’t have found Spain on the map, because it was such an utter end-of-the-earth at that time.

In those days, they thought the earth was flat.

If you sailed much past Spain, you were going to drop off the end of the earth.

Paul says, “My heart’s desire is to go where Christ has never been preached, even if I have to go to the very ends of the earth.”

Fully Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ—Romans 15:17-19

“Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done- by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So, from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.”

What a marvelous thing to be able to exclaim that everywhere you went you fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ without even one ounce of reservation.

What a great feeling to know that your life was given for the good news of Jesus, which has the power to save (Romans 1:16).

This was the theme and mission of Paul’s life.

He boldly taught Christ, faced all opposition to the message and ran the race set before him unto a glorious finish.

What is most amazing about this declaration is that Paul would not boast in anything except what the Lord Jesus accomplished through him.

His mission was to “go to the furthest reaches” to lead the Gentiles to Christ, he was the apostle set apart from his birth for this specific purpose (Romans 1:1).

Nowadays, that might be to go into an inner-city church for the first time to see and experience for yourself whether our prejudices and biases are reality based.

Everywhere, every culture where Paul went people came to the Lord because of the Living Word he taught, the demonstration of power that accompanied him.

The Holy Spirit verified by signs and wonders that he spoke on behalf of God.

Paul was the willing participant and the instrument God used to herald His amazing news to the world.

This is a critically important truth to understand; God confirms his Word by demonstration of power through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus established this truth throughout the gospels. When people cornered him asking if he was the Messiah,

he would answer them like this, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me” (John 10:25).

He never answered them by his own testimony, because the works he did, did all of the testifying to exactly who he was (see John 5:36; John 10:38; Matthew 11:4; John 2:23; Matthew 13:17).

To answer them plainly would not have satisfied Jesus, because the works that Jesus did were the evidence and necessary credentials that he was indeed the Messiah promised and sent by God.

Every miracle, sign and wonder that Jesus preformed was a fulfillment of what the prophets had foretold about the promised Messiah.

They testify that he came on behalf of God.

Even in the Old Testament, the prophet of God demonstrated that he was God’s spokesperson by performing miracles. 

Consider Moses as an example; he told Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go and demonstrated his command with the plagues because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart.

When Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go,

Moses parted the Red Sea,

he produced water from a rock, and

he led the Israelites through the desert following the pillar of fire and stood by while God fed them quail and manna for those many years.

This was the proof that Moses spoke on behalf of God alone, because the Lord alone verified His word by these signs and wonders.

Elijah the Prophet had similar experiences.

To prove that He was the prophet of the One and only true God, he challenged the prophets of Baal to a battle.

He drenched the alter in water and asked God to send fire down from heaven to consume the offering.

Immediately fire came down and burned up everything.

He also prayed that it would not rain, and it didn’t for over 3 years.

Then when he prayed again, the heavens opened up and poured down rain upon the earth.

This is the proof of the prophet, the words spoken were confirmed by miracles.

There are countless others who experienced the same verification; Joshua, Abraham, Elisha, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, just to name a few.

This is a great reminder for today.

Paul experienced many people coming to the Lord by the gospel he preached and the work of the Holy Spirit present to confirm that the Word was true.

We too are ministers of the good news of Christ Jesus.

We should also expect confirmation by the Holy Spirit of the words we speak in preaching the good news of Christ. 

It is my hope at the end I will proudly boast of what has been accomplished by Jesus ALONE living through me.

I will always be ready to share the gospel with anyone who has an ear to hear, and I know that Holy Spirit will confirm the word spoken, because the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

Apostle Paul’s Ambition to Preach the Gospel Where Christ Was Not Known.

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you” (Romans 15:20-22)

Paul’s desire to share the gospel with people who previously had no knowledge of it, fueled three missionary journeys across the known world at that time.

Everywhere Paul, companions went they faced fiery, fierce, violent persecution because of the good news message of Christ as well as overwhelming response to it.

Paul acted upon the principal of what was written in Isaiah, 

“For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand” (Isaiah 52:15).

His desire was to share Christ where this message was previously unknown so this foundation would not be built upon anything thing else but grace.

Paul’s revelation of grace was unmatched by anyone.

He received it by direct revelation from Jesus (Galatians 1:11-12).

He understood the finer points of the Law because of his background as a Pharisee and Jesus showed him how each one was fulfilled and accomplished by His life, death and resurrection on the cross.

Paul understood the complete gospel and the grace of God toward mankind in the person of Jesus Christ, so naturally his desire was to reveal this knowledge to the rest of the world.

It is interesting to think how Paul alone was the apostle to the Gentile nation.

The Jews had the twelve’s apostles specifically set apart to share the good news of Christ with them and show them how he was their promised Messiah.

But Paul was the only one sent for the Gentiles.

He not only wrote most of the New Testament, but the details and accounts of his life and missionary journeys where incredible.

This is because Paul was able to share the good news of Christ Jesus to those who had no preconceived notions about who the Messiah would be.

Most of the time, they didn’t even recognize that one had been promised, let alone identify their need for a Savior.

When he shared the gospel in these areas, Paul didn’t have to combat doctrines or fight against the teachings and traditions of men.

He didn’t have to overcome inflexible ideology and tear down philosophy in order to build on a new foundation of Christ.

What is awesome is that he went to areas that had never heard of Jesus and was able to share the good news on his revelation of grace.

In this sense, the good news was too good to pass up and multitudes believed in Jesus and learned about this amazing grace under the apostle to the Gentiles.

This is an amazing truth, when we open our hearts to the Living Word of God without bringing in traditions, doctrines and preconceived ideas of what it means to follow Christ then we will also get such an indescribably powerful revelation of grace by the Holy Spirit, that our entire lives will be affected.

Not only ours, but those around us will be impacted as well.

So many times, in too many ways, our ‘religion’ gets in the way of relationship.

Search the Gospels, Jesus never spoke well of religion.

He told the disciples: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). 

He was speaking against the established system that was corrupt and enslaving the people by rules, regulations and traditions that were meaningless.

These teachings kept them from God and finding true reconciliation with him by faith.

This is why, like Paul, our faith should be built on a revelation of grace through Christ Jesus.

Grace is what combats our meaningless traditions so that our lives stem out of relationship with Christ instead of “our connectional obligation” to religion.

The grace and mercy of Jesus is the cornerstone that holds it all together.

It is a firm foundation that cannot be shaken or removed by persecution or opposition to this message.

I am so thankful for Paul’s revelation of grace and his desire to share this great news to everyone who had an ear to hear it.

I am so thankful he wrote this amazing book of Romans inspired by the Holy Spirit so that we can understand the grace that we were called into through Christ Jesus. And to share our faith and live this grace all the days of our lives.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Mighty God, your Word is living and active. Help me to listen carefully to your voice as you give me wisdom and guide me through life. Your word is a lamp for my feet. When I don’t know where I am going, help me to look to you for understanding and follow the path that you show me. You are a light shining in the darkness. When I don’t know which way to turn, shine the light of your love into every corner of my life. Bring clarity to my thoughts. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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Romans 1:13-15Amplified Bible

¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, ^[a]brothers and sisters, that many times I have planned to come to you, (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit [of my labors] among you, even as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I have a duty to perform and a debt to pay both to Greeks and to barbarians [the cultured and the uncultured], both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So, for my part, I am ready and eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

If you were to ask or have someone, ask, “For whom is God’s Word written?” someone will usually reply, “For quite literally everyone who has a birthday.”

But when you enter into those moments of “insufficiency,” ask a few more poignant questions and specifically dig deeper into the deeper issues which make you who you are, you probably begin to see an answer is not so simple.

Is the Bible written for people who say, act: “I could or could not care less?”

Is it written for people who cannot read Hebrew or Greek or Latin or English?

Is it written for the aware and the unaware, the agnostics or the atheists?

In this techno driven age, is it written just for people with or without a Wi-Fi, an internet connection, an IP address, social media, an email, a ‘smartphone’?

Is it written for those individuals who cannot unglue themselves from their smart phone screens or hopelessly, zealously lost in “intense” video games?

For example,

if I took all the letters I wrote to my wife while we were dating, and made them into a book, and then asked for whom it was written, what would the answer be?

Paul’s letter is for Greeks and non-Greeks, wise and foolish. rich and poor, the healthy and the unhealthy, the educated and the uneducated, believer or non.

But somewhere in that mix I too am included. God’s “letter” is for me too—not based on my gender, skin color, ethnicity, nationality or amount of wisdom.

It is for me, and you because God loves us and calls us to belong to him in Jesus.

Here’s what this means:

If I lean toward the foolish end,

God’s Word is for me.

If I am already wise and seasoned,

God’s Word is for me.

Why? Because God is not interested in simply teaching me theology.

God wants me to know him and hear him and love him.

That’s the whole point of the Gospel.

And that is why God’s letter through Paul to the Romans is for you.

God’s desire, as with any letter, is that you open it and read it

—and to do so more than just once or twice or a few times in your life.

Obligated to Proclaim

Romans 1:14-17New American Standard Bible

¹⁴ I am ^[a]under obligation both to Greeks and to the ^[b]uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed ^[c]from faith to faith; as it is written: “^[d]But the righteous one will live by faith.”

These verses in Romans are a powerful introduction to this Book.

As Paul says, I am in absolute love the Gospel of my Savior.

As Paul says, I am in absolute love with my Savior Jesus Christ!

I’m not the least bit ashamed of it, this the “absolute greatest possible” good news Jesus Christ came for me, has died on the cross and risen from the grave.

I absolutely positively, love the Gospel.

I absolutely, positively, want to proclaim it boldly in the world around me.

But then he says right before that, “Not only do I want to; I have a duty to God! I’m under covenant obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both the wise and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the unhealthy, to preach this gospel. That’s why I’m eager to preach to those of you who are in Rome.”

As a Pharisee, I’m sure Paul felt obligated to give instructions on how to live.

In fact, the Pharisees of his day were well known and thoroughly despised for preaching, teaching, heaping, a lot of extra obligations onto the Jewish Law.

So much so, the people were being “spiritually immobilized,” at a prolonged “spiritual standstill” and stood virtually little, no chance, of keeping the Law.

Even Rabbi Jesus commented on their behavior by saying, “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down” (Mark 7:13a).

This is why I find it so amazing that after only one encounter with Jesus, Paul exclaims, “I am obligated—to people—to everyone—to preach Jesus!

What a complete turnaround! Instead of insisting on rules and making the people miserable, Paul wanted everyone to know the person of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus changed Saul from a zealous persecutor of the followers into Apostle Paul, from someone who had every reason to be confident in his righteous actions to someone who discounted it all for the sake of Christ.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote,

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).

This is the power the gospel has in our lives.

It changes us from trying and coming up short to surrendering and gaining all.

On that Damascus Road, Jesus acted, changed Saul and renamed him Paul.

Understanding the gospel also transformed his passionate nature into a force in the early Church.

In the very same way, he zealously felt obligated to uphold the law, he was then obligated to preach about Christ to everyone, especially to those at the margins.

The beautiful thing is that we, too, can zealously let the gospel change us.

No matter where we start, the gospel has the power to transform us into new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). The rest of this letter is about this wonderful discovery.

These Verses from Romans Emphasizes our Need to Share the Gospel with all.

Zealously and Without Exception or Purpose of Evasion ……

Ownership of the Gospel creates a covenant obligation with the Gospel.

Acts 8:25-35New American Standard Bible

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go ^[a]south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (^[b]This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got ready and went; and ^[c]there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of ^[d]Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his ^[e]chariot and was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this ^[f]chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter;
And like a lamb that is silent before its shearer,
So He does not open His mouth.
³³ In humiliation His justice was taken away;
Who will ^[g]describe His ^[h]generation?
For His life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

We cannot pretend we do not have the Gospel.

We cannot pretend we have not heard it for ourselves.

We are under a duty and covenant obligation to preach and teach the Gospel to all the nations – Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8

And then Paul gets later in the book. He says, “I’m eager to get this gospel to Spain,” but he says these words, “I am under obligation.” (Romans 15:22-25)

Apparently in Paul’s mind, ownership of the gospel creates an obligation with the gospel because he knows the gospel; because he knows the good news of God’s grace in Christ, he owes it to God to make it known to all other people.

And so, I do pray! I want to encourage each of us to ponder and meditate about making the “genuine” effort to faithfully fulfill this sacred duty and obligation in each of our lives, for the souls of the uncountable billions who haven’t heard.

Romans 10:14-15New American Standard Bible

¹⁴ How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who ^[a]bring good news of good things!”

Now, we have the Gospel.

We have the good news of God’s grace in Christ.

We possess the Gospel.

It creates in us a duty, a holy and a sacred obligation unto God, with the Gospel, because we have knowledge of Christ, we owe knowledge about Christ to others.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

King of Kings, Lord of Lords, thank you that you are great and abundant in power, your understanding is beyond measure. In your wisdom, you have created the church, described as Christ’s body. May we work together as members of one body, using the gifts and abilities you have given us to faithfully love and serve one another. Would we find our strength from Jesus, the head of the body. May the Lord make us increase and abound in love for each other. May you establish our hearts as blameless in holiness before you. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.

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