Romans Series 2
3 - Good News For All
Come with me again to chapter 10 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. From the viewpoint of heaven there is nothing on the earth more lovely than the bearing of the name of Jesus Christ into the needy world. The heathen may be unconscious of sin, of guilt, of holiness and of God. They may suspect or deride the preacher’s motives; the missionary may long to let his tired and heavy feet rest forever, but to the Lord “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” The church, which holds the sacred light, must send messengers out into the darkness.
There follow four searching questions, challenging in the extreme. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (verses 14 - 15)
I think of a young missionary in the Philippines. The church ordained him and sent him a small stipend. He used it to rent a plot of land where he grew watermelons. He sold his produce and purchased some ducks. When he sold them he had raised enough money to build a small church.
Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, used to say, “If you want a comfortable life, don’t join our mission. It’s no use singing ‘Waft, waft ye winds, the story’. The winds never waft the story. But they may waft us.”
Someone has said there are four reasons why the church must send out missionaries. One is the command from above – (Mark 16:15) Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation.”
The second reason is the cry from beneath – (Luke chapter 16 verse 27) The rich man in hell cries out, “I beg you ... send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”
The third reason is the call from without – (Acts chapter 16 verse 9). Paul’s vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
And the fourth reason is the constraint from within – (2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 14) Paul writes, ‘Christ’s love compels us.’
Now not all the Israelites accepted the good news, despite plenty of opportunities to listen and respond. The bottom line is this in verse 17: “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Romans chapter 10 verses 19 and 20 in “The Message Bible” read: “Moses had it right when he predicted, ‘When you see God reach out to those you consider your inferiors – outsiders! – you’ll become insanely jealous. When you see God reach out to people you think are religiously stupid, you’ll throw temper tantrums.’
Israel dared to speak out these words of God: ‘People found and welcomed Me who never so much as looked for Me. And I found and welcomed people who had never ever asked about Me.’”
God’s verdict on His ancient people Israel is that they are disobeying and contradicting as He keeps on reaching out His hands to them The tragedy is that Israel heard, but she did not heed.
Chapter 11 of Romans begins with the question, “Did God reject His people?” Is Israel’s day over? Paul responds with an emphatic, “By no means!” He says, in effect, “Look at me. I am proof positive that God has not cast away the Jews.”
He appeals to scripture by citing the prophet Elijah who thought he was the sole survivor after God’s prophets had been murdered and his altars trashed. I love the reply God gives in “The Living Bible “incidentally, there are over 7,000 men in Israel who have never bowed to Baal nor kissed him! (1 Kings chapter 19 verse 18).
Paul asserts, “God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew.” Here’s a mystery. The foreknowledge of God’s eternal choice and purpose. Not simply knowing what they would do, but rather knowing what He would do for them. Prophet after prophet came to see there would be a faithful remnant. Amos, Joel, Micah, Zephaniah and Jeremiah, all announced this truth (Amos 9:8- 10: Joel 2: 32: Micah 2:12; Zephaniah chapter 3 verses 12 and 13 and Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 3) In fact the thought of Isaiah was so dominated by ‘the remnant’ that he called his son Shear-Jashub which means ‘the salvation of the remnant.’
Verses 5 and 6 read, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
This doctrine of election is a profound mystery, never to be treated as if we knew all about it. It is not meant to discourage the unbeliever or to give the idea that the covenant of grace is very narrow and exclusive, eliminating the majority of the human race.
Rather it is to encourage the believer by showing him the strength of his salvation, the absolute assurance and guarantee of it. Our eternal welfare is guaranteed by two irrevocable things, God’s promise and His oath, although the one true God who can not lie, hardly needs to swear an oath that He will not break His promise!
O His saving grace! Why did I, the self-hardened rebel, come to the Shepherd who sought me, and surrender my sword to the King? It was the gift of God, His choice, grace upon grace.
As John Piper writes, “God has pleasure in election. The Destiny of God’s people, rooted in election, is unshakeably sure.”