Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Romans

Romans 15:14-16

Intro: Sharon Fleming, sent this into the Christian Reader:  'When I was a teenager, our family took cross-country car trips each summer. To keep the peace, we each took a turn choosing a cassette to play in the car tape deck. No one was allowed to complain or comment about another's choice. My mother liked to listen to hymns. I chose contemporary Christian music. My younger brother preferred rock. And Dad? He always thought the best thing was a 90-minute tape that was still blank!'

 While in some cases 'silence IS golden' it is not when it comes to sharing our faith in Jesus Christ.

EXP: Our text for the next two weeks is perhaps the most descriptive of all passages in the Bible dealing with the proclamation of the Gospel of God. It reveals what made Paul such a great minister of the Gospel. And I believe it goes even further to challenge us to have the same heart Paul had for the Gospel and the same desire, driving passion to proclaim it to those around us.

Ill: George Whitefield, the Spirit filled evangelist who helped spark the great awakening in the US and England said this ' God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of Christ to them.'

 I don't know about you but that humbles me. It is my prayer that God's Word in Romans 15:14-21 will fuel the fire of passion for the ministry of proclamation  here at CBC. That you and I together will hunger for boldness from God to be effective ministers of God's grace. That we would unashamedly share with the lost and dying world around us the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 God's church is a ministering church and it must be active in the ministry of proclamation. For when we together proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we bring glory to God, by taking our eyes off ourselves and looking instead at the lost around us.

Trans: Open your Bibles to Romans 15:14 where we will find that in the ministry of proclamation...

1. Paul was gracious in dealing w/ others.
Read: Rom. 15:14

  Paul did not have a low opinion of the Roman Believers, did he? He said they were full of goodness and knowledge and were able to admonish one another.  What did Paul mean by that?

 A. Full of Goodness.
      Means God was filling them with kindness thru the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  They had an enlarged heart for the things of God, for the people of God, and the spiritually lost around them. It meant they were practicing this kindness by doing good things to and for one another.

 B. Full of Knowledge
     Means that God was filling them with spiritual truth thru the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They had knowledge of how to live together as the people of God, even in the midst of their differences.  It meant they had spiritual insight and understanding God's Word. It meant they knew the Gospel of God.

 C. Able to admonish one another
      Means to plant spiritual truth into the hearts and minds of another. To guide, correct, or instruct all in spiritual matters. These were statements Paul made about the quality of the spiritual life of the Roman Believers. Criteria we can use to evaluate our own spiritual life.

I. Believers are to be gracious in dealing with others.
 A. Full of Goodness
 We need to ask ourselves,
      'Am I full of  God's goodness?'
      'Would anyone describe me in that way?'
      'Do I look at others and believe good of them?'
      'Do I give others the benefit of the doubt that their actions and intentions are meant for good?'
      'Do I commend others for their good works?'

 B. Full of Knowledge
 Let's evaluate...
      'Do I have a sound, practical understanding of the Christian faith that is demonstrated by the way I live?'
      'Do I understand the freedom I have in Christ and how that freedom may be understood differently by someone else?'
      Am I better able to understand the truth of God's Word this year than I did last year.

 C. Able to admonish one another
 Still want to evaluate?
      'Do I love the Lord enough to be talking about Him naturally and often?'
      'Do I love others enough to bring spiritual truths into my conversations with them?'
      'Do I love others enough to point them in a Biblical direction when I see that they are deviating from God's Word?'
      'Do I love others enough to talk about difficult things with them...in a kind and loving way?'

App: Let me tell you first that it is impossible for us to do any of these things; to develop goodness, knowledge or an ability to admonish one another, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We must be indwelled, filled and led by God's Holy Spirit.  Second, let me say that I believe the Holy Spirit is moving and working in our midst. I can see goodness, knowledge and an ability to admonish one another in love in this fellowship.  And third, the questions I said we should be asking ourselves, I see many of  you doing.  As your pastor, I commend you and I stand confident that you are gracious in your dealings with one another. I am encouraged by your growth. And I thank the Holy Spirit for His work in our midst.

Trans: Dealing graciously with one another is important to the ministry of proclamation because proclaiming the Gospel of God is spiritual warfare and we need the loving support of God's righteous army. The next step in the ministry of proclamation is that...
II. Paul was bold in reminding others.
Read: Rom. 15:15

  Remind others of what? What they already knew.  In Paul's humility, he believed that he wasn't telling them anything in his letter that they didn't already know.

   He gave them the benefit of the doubt that they had already been instructed in these spiritual truths. He was just kindly..yet boldly at times, reminding them.

  Paul's boldness was meant, I believe, to stir them up to practice what they already knew. And because of his humility and his gentle spirit, they listened.

II. Believers are to be bold in reminding others.
Ready for a bit more self-evaluation?

      'Do I take it for granted that others may know at least as much as I know about the Christian faith?'
      'When I see someone who perhaps needs to be stimulated to good works, do I approach them in humility as a brother or sister or in pride as a superior?'  Remember, Paul calls them brothers, here, not little children or sons and daughters

App: The Holy Spirit is moving in this area as well. I see people opening God's Word and explaining it to others. I see questions being asked and answered about spiritual truths. I see teaching being done to encourage and build up and not to show off what the teacher knows.  And I believe we are getting better at hearing reminders from others as well.

Trans: Reminding others to practice what they already know  is important to the ministry of proclamation. Believers need to be living their faith, w/o compromise, before an unbelieving and skeptical world.  The next step in the ministry of proclamation is that...

III. Paul was called to proclaim the Gospel of God.
Read: Rom. 15:16
  Minister...There are other words Paul could have used to describe his ministry.

1. Dulos: is the most common word and means servant or slave.
2. Diakonos: means servant, we get our word Deacon from it.

    But Paul chose 'lietourgon' which means to minister in a priestly way.  I believe he chose this word because he saw his ministry of proclamation to be like that of a priest offering sacred worship to God.

Follow along.

  Paul saw himself as a minister, a priest with a holy calling.
  The proclamation of the Gospel is his priestly duty or service.
  The Gentile converts are the offering, as priest, he presents to God.
  These offerings are those who come as living  sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God...Rom. 12:1

  Think about this...Paul's life involved traveling the ancient world, mostly on foot. He suffered from exposure to the elements. He dealt with threats against his life. He endured physical beatings, stonings and constant rejection.

  YET, in his heart of hearts, he saw himself traveling the highway of God in priestly clothing, stopping to lift the souls of some to the altar of God thru the Gospel of Christ. And that these new believers, sanctified by the Holy Spirit would ascended to God as a sweet smelling savor.

  Isn't that great? Paul's perception of himself as a priest made his ministry of proclamation intensely sacred. The most mundane daily happenings were holy. No matter how badly he was treated, he saw himself clothed in humility as a servant of God.  Everything he did was to please God was an act of worship. What a picture!  Is that the picture of your Christian life? You see...

III. Believers are called to proclaim the Gospel of God.
  It is common knowledge today that how we perceive ourselves greatly determines how we will live our lives. Psychologists are writing book after book about the importance of self-image.
  If only we could see our lives as Christians as Paul saw his. Our lives would be transformed.

  A pie baked for an unsaved neighbor becomes an offering to God.
  Giving a ride to a co-worker becomes an opportunity to serve in the Temple of God.
  A SS class taught well is a sweet savor to God.
  The Gospel shared with a friend is a song in heaven's court.

Read: 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9

  The fact is, we are truly priests for God.

Read: 2 Timothy 4:1-2,

  The fact is, we are truly called to the ministry of proclamation.

Conclusion:
 To be a Christian is to be a priest for God with the sacred duty to offer spiritual sacrifices to God...living and holy sacrifices.
First, our own lives, solely consecrated to God and then the lives of others who come to God by faith in the Gospel we preach.
Let me challenge you to begin to see yourselves, all of your life as a priest, separated unto God for His holy work. It will transform your life...I promise!