Gospel Prism

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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? [1] 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.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.”

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

“I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Romans 10:13-21

Introduction

When I say the word “evangelism,” what thoughts come to mind? Perhaps you have in mind the guy on the street corner with a megaphone blasting away that everyone is going to hell while people are standing around jeering. Perhaps you’re thinking of the tract you found in your work bathroom that a co-worker left behind for people to pick up. Perhaps you’re thinking of a lifestyle of evangelism where people try to live like a Christian so somehow non-Christians will come to see such radiant behavior that suddenly they too will decide to be a Christian. There are many perceptions we have about the word “evangelism,” but one thing seems to be missing about all of these images. Evangelism comes from the Greek word euangellion which means ‘good news.’ In other words, evangelism is not a method, or tract, or program, or something ‘bold’ Christians do, or something you need to get psyched up for, but rather evangelism is a grabbing hold of the Gospel message itself. Evangelism is not a decision, but faith in a God who saves through the work of His Son. But even more, evangelism is understanding just how real this joy of knowing this salvation is, that like the Samaritan woman who runs back to her village to everyone that she found the Messiah in John 4, evangelism is an outflow of the joy of a person who truly understands the treasure of the Gospel and therefore longs for others to experience that same joy.

John Piper gives this metaphor to describe such a person:

If you are stumbling around in a dark cave with a group of people and suddenly you see a crack of light and you follow it and it leads you out into the sunshine, you feel a great joy and exhilaration. Now you have two choices. You can go on your way rejoicing in the sunshine. But if you do, you know that before long your conscience will slay you and the sunshine will turn grey and you will not have fullness of joy. The other choice you have is to tie a string around a tree and take the other end of it back into the cave in search of the other people lost in the dark. You know what you’d feel like. You might be scratching your hands and bumping your head, but O, you’d feel good! There is something really fulfilling about carrying the string of good news back into the cave. And when you walk out of the cave with somebody, the sunshine is doubly bright and the air doubly sweet. And even if you can’t find them, or if you find them and for some crazy reason they won’t come out, your walking in the light may be somewhat somber, but you will know the joy of a clean conscience.

Evangelism is understanding the wondrous joy of the Gospel and because such joy is so remarkable, it leads one to share this good news with others and there is joy upon joy in doing so. I am afraid that too many of us have been fixated so much on methodology when it comes to evangelism, that we have forgotten that our greatest impetus to evangelize is simply the full appreciation of the glory of the Gospel. And this is why our sixth value is a natural outflow of the Gospel which reads:

We value EVANGELISM to the LOST both here and abroad because of our joy in the Gospel which stirs a love for the lost and their hopelessness apart from the Gospel.

To understand evangelism then in light of the Gospel, I’d like to answer two questions from Romans 10:13-21: 1) What keeps the Gospel from the Lost, and 2) What brings the Gospel to the Lost?

What Keeps The Gospel From The Lost?

So what keeps the Gospel from the lost? The first answer according to Romans 10:13-17 is a lack of a Gospel witness. To put it another way, the lack of a Gospel witness flows from the disobedience and/or disinterest and/or distance to the Gospel by Christians. Paul writes:

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 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.

Verse 13 begins with a presupposition, people need salvation. And salvation only makes sense if there is something to be saved from that gives us a great urgency to share this message. And this is the message of Romans, in particular Romans 1-3. Paul writes in Romans 2:5: “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” Evangelism is only evangelistic if it has good news to present and this good news is founded on salvation. God will judge sinners one day and hold them accountable “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25)

But when Christians lose sight of how they themselves were once in this same position, the urgency for salvation dissipates. We quickly become so busy ‘just getting by’ as a Christian, that the joy of the Gospel, good news that we are saved not because of righteous things we have done but simply because of God’s great mercy in sending His Son to bear the wrath we deserved, does not resonate with our souls. We become disinterested in the Good News, not just for others but for ourselves as well. This disinterest in the Gospel then leads to a distance from the Gospel. We no longer live in light of what God has done for us through His Son, we simply live in light of what we can do for ourselves. And then this leads to an outright disobedience to the Lord’s commands. We do not make disciples of all nations. Thus, the greatest hindrance to sharing this euangellion is not fear, or Satan, or reputation, it is instead a lack of a deep, personal understanding and joy in the Gospel itself. If you are not regularly and genuinely acknowledging your sinful depravity before God and yet also regularly and genuinely receiving God’s grace through His Son’s work, then evangelism simply will not happen. And if it does, it will either be because it is your duty as a Christian, or it is the program of the church, or it is because guilt drives you.

So if we as Christians do not fully realize what we have been saved from (hell) and what we are saved to (a life of unending joy in Christ), then we won’t follow the rest of verses 13-17. Paul’s logic is quite clear, without a proclaimer of the Gospel (which is you and me), people will not hear. And if people do not hear the Gospel proclaimed, they simply will not believe in it. And without believing the Gospel, they will not call on a Savior. And the condition upon which people are saved is by calling on Christ. And who is this Christ? Read Romans 1-9 and you will see who Jesus is and what He has done for the world.

Our greatest tool then for evangelism is the Gospel life. The more you and your family are deeply drinking from the well of God’s grace, a grace that paid the eternally lofty price of His precious Son’s blood, the more you will be humbled, and merciful, and forgiving, and loving, and doctrinally sound, and seeking purity in relationships, and living with integrity at work. And this should make sense to you. What keeps the world from praising God? When Christians are no different at all than non-Christians, when they refuse to forgive others, when they are suing each other in the world’s courts, when they steal from work, when they are gossipers at the water coolers, when they are involved in extra-marital affairs, when they are avid gamblers AND they are quick to criticize the world and its sins, why then should anyone turn to Christ? Only a lifestyle of genuine repentance and a clinging to the cross will show the world that we truly are His disciples.

Another reason why people are kept from the Gospel is that people are offended by the Gospel. The reality is that it is not merely Christians who are disobedient, but non-Christians as well. Paul writes in Romans 10:18-20: “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

In verse 18, Paul first quotes Psalm 19 which is a Psalm that explains the character and nature of God revealed throughout the earth, just as Paul contends in Romans 1:20 when he said: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” This is not to say that the Gospel is part of what God has revealed generally, but just as nature is worldwide, so too the Gospel today has gone out throughout all the world without distinction. So there are Jews and Gentiles, male and female, young and old, urban and rural who have had opportunities to hear the Gospel. But despite the breadth of the Gospel, people still refuse to believe it. Paul writes in 2Cor 4:4 why this happens: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

People are by nature blinded and closed to the Gospel. If there was a group of people who should be most open to the Gospel, it should have been the Israelites. Paul writes in Romans 9:4-5: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever.” And yet, in verse 19, Paul states that Israel turned away from the Gospel, because of unbelief and not because of a lack of understanding. He quotes Moses and Isaiah in verses 19-20 almost to show that the Law and the Prophets speak one thing, that the not-a-nation (not a special nation), foolish-nation (do not understand God at all), not seeking God people, the Gentiles, would make Israel jealous by believing the Gospel. The fact that Gentiles would actually come to accept God’s grace and receive the promise that was given to Israel would lead to Jewish anger against Gentiles. The Gospel itself would offend the Jews by its very nature of grace apart from the law. And the fact that the Gospel was not something alien to Judaism but actually a fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets was even more detestable to the Jews of Jesus’ and Paul’s day.

But again, this is the reason why evangelism, the Gospel spoken, lived, proclaimed, discussed, usually produces such vitriol. Grace by nature is underserved, unmerited favor. To listen to someone say that you even need a favor to begin with is hard to swallow. To listen to someone say that you can do nothing at all to help yourself be good enough simply is too far. And then to add that a loving and gracious God bearing our sins through His cross-bearing perfect Son is beyond comprehension.

So we must never underestimate the power of the offense of the Gospel to blind minds. When Jesus was preaching about His oncoming death, as He spoke metaphorically about His blood split so that those who believe might receive eternal life in John 6:60-66, John comments: “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” And after Jesus said these words: “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father,” John records, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” If Jesus’ own words lead people to turn away because of the offense of the Gospel, can we expect any better? The reality is that no matter how nicely, how kindly, how graciously you live out and share the Gospel to family and friends and co-workers and neighbors, people will ultimately take offense because the very essence of the Gospel, the words of grace, is offensive to the human soul which is inherently works-based and proud.

The final reason why people are kept from the Gospel is hard-heartedness. Paul writes in Romans 10:21: “But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” This image is one of the most endearing pictures of our heavenly Father. It is reminiscent of the father in Jesus’ prodigal son story who is waiting for his son to return. And for those of you who have been punished in your lifetime by having to lift your arms wide, you know how difficult it is to do that for a mere 5 minutes. If God sees a day as a thousand years as a day and a day as a thousand years, we can essentially take Paul to mean that God is waiting for sinners to believe in the Gospel for a very long time. And this view of God is not at all in contrast with His sovereignty. For those of us who believe in the assuredness of His sovereignty, we should be ever more pleading and inviting to sinners because God never rests in saving people for Himself. Nothing stops His desire, will, and sovereign grace to save. And so His arms are continually open wide.

But His arms are open wide to a disobedient and contrary people. Paul describes such people this way in Ephesians 4:18-19: “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Such people want to do everything they can to turn away from God. They care nothing for His Word, His mercy, and His Son. And so people will not turn to Him.

What Brings The Gospel To The Lost?

So what brings the Gospel to the Lost? If a lack of Gospel Witness turns people away from the Gospel than a faithfulness to the Gospel by Christians will lead people to the Gospel. Coming off the description of grandeur of the work of Christ as Savior in Philippians 2:5-11, Paul writes in verse 15, “…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” How can we be children of God without blemish? By having the same attitude as that of Christ, according to verse 5 through the work of His finished work on the cross. By living in light of this glorious Gospel, we will shine in this world of darkness. Or as Jesus put it in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” This is Jesus’ promise.

So the Christian who authentically is living out the Gospel and believes in the Gospel, has a freedom that shines like a lighthouse to a densely, foggy world. Jerry Bridges describes this freedom this way:

The gospel, applied to our hearts every day, frees us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don’t have to play defensive games anymore. We don’t have to rationalize and excuse our sins. . . . We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross. With the assurance of total forgiveness through Christ, we have no reason to hide from our sins anymore. (Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace (Colorado Springs, Co: NavPress, 1994), 22-23)

And you will find that when you not only understand this, but when you live this lifestyle, you will be even more winsome, more gracious, more loving to both Christian and non-Christian. Will Metzger, in his book Tell the Truth notes that grace-centered, Gospel-centered evangelists have these qualities because of their big view of God’s role in salvation. They:

- Pray for God’s will to be done, since his purposes are best
- Are bold and less fearful of others
- Are quietly confident, for God has promised to use them
- Are humble, for they know God is taking the lead
- Are filled with love, for it is God’s love that motivates them
- Speak to the conscience, knowing it is our point of contact
- Are expectant, for God’s purposes will come to pass
- Are patient, trusting in God’s timing to bring new life
- Are persistent, realizing conversion is a process
- Are honest, not hiding any of the hard parts of the Gospel
- Emphasize truth, not just subjective experiences
- Lift up Jesus, knowing He will draw people to Himself
- Use the law of God to expose people’s inability to save themselves
- Wait for the Holy Spirit to give assurance of salvation (Will Metzger, Tell the Truth, 200-201)

Let me add to Will Metzger’s list, three more qualities of a Gospel-centered evangelist. This person is encouraged. In other words, he or she is not discouraged by people’s rejection. Gospel-centered evangelists believe that God calls people to Himself. Some will come to Him, but often times few do come because the road to life is so narrow. John Gerstner tells the story: “A woman said to the preacher after listening to a sermon on this subject, “You make me feel so big,” holding her thumb and index finger about a half inch apart. The minister replied, “Lady, that is too big.” John Bunyan wrote in his autobiography that he found this road so narrow that there was room only for body and soul; not for body and soul and sin.” And we see this is true even for a great evangelist like the apostle Paul. Acts 17:32-34 writes: “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” Some do come, but often times few. And as Paul writes in 2 Cor 4:16: “We do not lose heart.”

The Gospel-centered evangelist also mourns. We need to mourn and pray for those who refuse to come as Jeremiah did: “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride.” (Jeremiah 13:17) Puritan pastor Thomas Boston wrote: “And thou, O my soul, mayest make this thy exercise, if thou hadst a heart that could mourn either for thyself or others.” (Thomas Boston, The Art of Manfishing, 19) Because we who are being saved know that there are those who are perishing, we weep and mourn over souls. This is not a game to us and lost souls are not mere inconveniences. Woe to us Christians who are unwilling to pray, or grieve, or aid, or answer questions, or care about lost souls. We do not mourn because we do not understand grace enough and we do not truly grab hold of what we have been saved from. When we see the Lord face to face, we will finally understand just how terrible and horrible hell is and when we see that, we will realize just how little we treasured the Gospel for ourselves, and how lightly we looked upon hell for others.

Finally, the Gospel-centered evangelist is holistic. Because we do not view evangelism as a program or a decision or an altar call, we see the necessity to preach the Gospel to save people all the time. That is, we never assume that mere church-going saves anyone. Attending Homegroups, serving on the worship team, being on the LT, even being a pastor of a church, does not save anyone. Paul writes in 1 Cor 9:27: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Paul wouldn’t have made this statement unless he really thought disqualification, that is no salvation, was actually a possibility. This wasn’t to say that Paul could lose his salvation, but rather that his salvation was never true to begin with. It was possible that even Paul could have been the person that Jesus was referring to when He said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23) It was possible if Paul’s heart was not genuinely pursuing God, repentant of sin, and grabbing hold of the Gospel. And so my friends, every Sunday that I preach, I do not assume you are saved. In this way, I do the work of evangelism each Sunday and in one sense the work of evangelism goes on throughout the church, and not merely out there. This doesn’t mean we should avoid going out there to share the Gospel with the lost. But what good is it if you’re in here, you listen to sermons, and yet you are not struck by the Gospel. You will be just as unevangelized (without the Gospel) as anyone in the street.

I pray you are saved. I believe some of you are saved. But should you tomorrow turn away from Him, I would assume that you were never saved in the first place. And so, we are holistic in our evangelism in that we are not looking for decisions in a moment influenced by emotionalism. Instead, as Gospel-centered evangelists, we call people to commitments, but we entrust those commitments to the Lord and continue to preach each Sunday so we might save some.

Conclusion

Let me close with this. James Boice tells this story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was a Great Lakes freighter nearly a thousand feet long. She was making her way across Lake Superior when a terrible storm moved in from Canada. This storm was particularly bad with waves reaching 25 to 35 feet in height. The captain of the freighter that was following the Edmund Fitzgerald was worried.

Along the way, the Edmund Fitzgerald began to take on water and began to tip towards one end. She began to sink low in the water. The captain of the other ship continued to keep in radar and radio contact, but the Edmund Fitzgerald’s captain continued to say everything was alright. The last communication from the doomed freighter was this tragic message: “We are holding our own.”

Minutes later the ship headed into a wave that washed over her decks and she went down, never to rise again. 27 people died and the captain of the ship that followed the Edmund Fitzgerald said she simply disappeared from the radar screen. (James Boice, Romans Volume 3, 1235-1236)

How many of you in this room are like the Edmund Fitzgerald. Everything seems okay and you continue to say, “I am holding my own.” If you have not called on the name of the Lord, and you have not continued to believe in His Gospel, then you are sinking quickly and the consequences are eternal. Please turn to Him today and declare that you want to live your life for Him. Talk to our LT, the HG Leads and let them know you are tired of holding your own and thus, you want to call on the name of the Lord.

For those of you who have called on the name of the Lord, are you living in light of the Gospel, so that others might see that light? Are you mourning over lost souls here and abroad? If not, I urge you to consider whether you truly grasp the powerful salvation that you received and the terrible place the lost are heading towards. Begin with your own heart. We plan on later offering a means that will help the church prepare to proclaim the Gospel to the lost.