Please take a copy of God's word and turn to me to Romans chapter 10.
Our text today is verses 6-21 and I'll be putting an emphasis on verses 14-17.
So let's read Romans 10 starting in verse 6 together.
But the righteousness based on faith says,
Do not say in your heart,
Who will ascend into heaven?
That is to bring Christ down.
Or who will descend into the abyss?
That is to bring Christ up from the dead.
But what does it say?
The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart.
That is the word of faith that we proclaim.
Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the scriptures say,
Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
For the same Lord is Lord of all,
bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
How then will they call on him 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?
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!
But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Isaiah says,
Lord, who has believed that he has heard from us?
So faith comes from hearing,
and hearing through the word of Christ.
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 end of the world.
But I ask,
Did Israel not understand?
Then,
First Moses says,
I'll make you jealous of those who are not a nation.
With a foolish nation,
I will make you angry.
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.
But of Israel,
he says,
All the day long,
I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.
This is the word of the Lord.
Amen.
Let us pray together.
Father,
Your word is powerful,
and it is sharper than a two-edged sword,
and it's living and active,
working in our hearts.
We ask,
As the word goes forth this morning,
You will humble us,
that we will hear from the living God in His word,
and experience His goodness.
And Lord,
we ask that my words would help make this word clear and understandable.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
The name of today's sermon
is the Paradigm for Gospel Missions.
A paradigm is a model to be followed.
My aim,
by the end of this exposition,
is to provide all of you
with God's authoritative model
for doing biblical missions.
Before we get there,
though,
I'd like to show you the major contours and structures
of Romans chapter 10,
as the main focus of missions is verses 14 through 17.
So my intention is to walk you through the major thoughts in chapter 10,
explain the teaching,
and then we'll hone the rest of our time in on verses 14 through 17.
So in Romans 10,
there is four major thoughts that are being developed.
The major thoughts are verses 1 through 5,
verses 6 through 13,
verses 14 through 17,
in verses 18 through 21.
So in verses 1 through 5,
Paul's desire is to see the Jews to be saved.
But the Jews have not placed their faith in Christ.
They've placed it in their own works.
And they're not seeing that all the law
in the Old Testament institution points to Jesus.
So then,
in verses 6 through 13,
Paul explains that saving faith
comes through Christ,
not our works.
In verses 14 through 17,
Paul teaches the only way for someone to believe in Christ
is through the preaching of the gospel.
And in verses 18 through 21,
Paul explains how the gospel has been proclaimed
throughout all of Asia Minor,
saving many Gentiles,
but the Jews still have heard and rejected Christ.
Last Sunday,
Nathan clearly laid out the gospel for us.
And he reminded us that we are saved by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone,
not of any of our works.
Our hope is in Christ alone,
as the song we just sung reminds us so well.
So now,
let's look at the three last sections.
We're going to look at verses 6 through 13,
14 through 17,
and 18 through 21 together.
So in verses 6 through 13,
Paul explains that saving faith
only comes through Christ,
not our works.
Saving faith begins in our heart,
and it comes out in evidence itself
in outward action.
And it's here that he declares
that this outward action
is a confession of Jesus Christ as Lord.
His main assertion is in verse 9,
because if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord,
and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
In these verses,
we see that God rejects,
in these verses,
God rejects that man could do anything
to earn or acquire salvation
apart from saving faith.
There is no tower
that we can build to grasp God,
and there is no sacrament
we can perform
to earn our salvation.
It is by believing in our heart
that Jesus rose from the dead.
Salvation is by grace alone
through faith alone.
But we see here
that faith is never alone.
This faith is a living faith,
and it produces good works,
or evidence is good fruit.
And here,
the evidence of faith
is a confession
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Living faith,
saving faith,
submits to the Lordship of Christ.
This is a submission
that his will and purposes,
not our own,
are better.
It is to understand
that his way is better
and not our own.
It is to say,
as John the Baptist says,
he must increase,
and I,
I must decrease.
So then,
Paul goes on
in the next four assertions.
He uses the word four
to explain his argument
that in verse four,
saving faith provides justification,
or, sorry,
verse ten,
saving faith provides justification,
confession,
evidence,
salvation.
We see in verse eleven,
saving faith gives assurance.
Verse twelve,
we see that saving faith
is without distinction.
And in verse thirteen,
saving faith submits
to the Lordship of Christ.
So as he's worked out
this point,
he wants to hit home
that we are saved
by faith alone.
That's what he's hitting
in verses six through thirteen.
And then he hits home
that that saving faith
always produces fruit.
So in verses fourteen through seventeen,
Paul teaches that the only way
for someone to believe in Christ
is through the preaching
of the gospel.
And in this,
we see that God uses means
to bring salvation
to his people.
Paul,
building on his argument
in six through thirteen,
contends that
one cannot have saving faith
unless they hear the gospel.
And he summarizes this
in verse seventeen.
So faith comes from hearing
and hearing through the word
of Christ.
In verses fourteen through fifteen,
Paul lays out God's
ordained means for missions.
We could call this
the church planting strategy,
if you will.
And here is what I have called
the paradigm for gospel missions
or God's ordained model
for missions.
This text here serves
as a commentary
for the Great Commission
in Matthew twenty eight,
sixteen through twenty.
And for the church's
sending authority
in Acts thirteen,
one through three.
And if you are,
if you remember
in Matthew twenty eight
that Jesus Christ
has all authority
and then he commissions
his disciples
who then plant churches
and these churches
then spread the gospel
further.
Well here in our text
in Romans,
we have Christ
who has all authority.
He's Lord over all.
But no one will know Christ
unless someone goes.
So we have a,
almost a reassertion
of the Great Commission here
with the emphasis on
someone has to be sent,
which reminds us
of Acts thirteen.
So read verses fourteen
through fifteen with me.
How then will they call
on him in whom
they have not believed?
How are they to believe
in him whom
they've never heard?
How are they to hear
without someone preaching?
And how are they
to preach
unless they are sent?
As it is written,
how beautiful
are the feet
of those
who preach good news.
There's a very simple
logical argument here.
Paul argues
for someone to believe,
they must hear the gospel.
For someone to hear
the gospel,
they must be sent.
And for someone,
or they must be sent
and they must share it.
And for someone to share,
they must be sent.
Therefore,
Paul's contending
that the work
is spread in the gospel
through the ends
of the earth
is the church
sending missionaries
to preach the gospel.
By the preaching
of the gospel,
people come to faith
and churches are formed.
And Paul supports this
with quoting two
Old Testament passages
in our text.
He quotes Isaiah 52,
7 and Isaiah 53,
1.
I'm going to read
Isaiah 52,
7,
or 52,
7 through 10.
And I want you to listen
and hear the emphasis
of the gospel.
I want you to hear
the mission drive
of the text.
Isaiah 52,
7 through 10.
How beautiful,
how beautiful
upon the mountains
are the feet
of him who brings
good news,
who publishes peace,
who brings good news
of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says,
who says to Zion,
your God reigns.
The voice of your watchmen,
they lift up their voice.
Together they sing for joy.
For eye to eye,
they see the return
of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together
in singing,
you waste places
of Jerusalem.
For the Lord
has comforted his people.
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared
his holy arm
before the eyes
of all the nations.
And all the ends
of the earth
shall see the salvation
of God.
How beautiful
are the feet
of those who preach
the good news.
Feet are not something
we think of as being beautiful.
My wife would agree
with that statement.
She does not like feet.
But in Romans 10,
they're pointed out
because they're useful.
It takes someone's feet
to bring a message
to someone.
It was the idea
of someone being sent
from somewhere
to go somewhere else
and bring a message.
The feet was the means
to bring that message.
So the point Paul's making
is that the feet here
were how the messenger
would travel
to publish peace,
to publish salvation,
and to bring good news
of happiness.
They were the means
of how the gospel
was heard.
He uses the proclamation
of his people
who are broken,
who are saved
by our Redeemer,
to then bring it
to broken people
who need to be saved
by our Redeemer.
The means by which
the gospel is heard
is through those being sent,
is through missionaries.
The task of preaching
the gospel
is not merely local,
but to the ends
of the earth.
Isaiah 52, 10 declares,
all the earth,
all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation
of our God.
Jesus is Lord of all,
and he is spreading
his kingdom
through the gospel
to the ends
of the earth.
It makes me think
of Matthew 16, 18
when it says,
I will build my church
and the gates of hell
shall not prevail
against it.
Do you notice
that language?
Jesus will build
his church.
The gates of hell
will not prevail
against it.
Jesus is on the offensive.
It's militant language.
He's building,
he's working,
and the defensive
is the gates of hell.
Our king is Jesus,
and he is Lord over all,
and he will defeat
every power of hell
that is against him
in building his church.
Nothing,
no power,
institution,
king,
or governor,
or government
can thwart
the almighty power
of King Jesus
in expanding his kingdom
through the gospel.
Eventually,
in one day that we long for,
all the kings of the earth
will bow their knee
and confess Jesus Christ
as Lord.
He is ruler
of the kings of the earth,
Revelation 1, 5,
and he is
the king of kings,
Revelation 17, 14.
The church would do well
to see the importance
of this work
and the importance
in all the earth.
The quotation
from Isaiah 53, 1
harkens back
to Romans 9
that we just spent
a lot of time in
and reasserts
God's sovereign work
in calling sinners
to himself.
The gospel
is offered to all,
but all do not come.
Only those
whom Isaiah 53, 1
says,
the arm of Yahweh
has been revealed.
God will call
his sheep to himself
and be the shepherd
of all people.
He will lead his people
to green pastures
and cool waters
all of their life
and one day
he'll welcome
all of his people
into the paradise
of heaven.
Therefore,
that is verses
14 through 17.
Now in verses
18 through 21,
Paul explains
how the gospel
has been proclaimed
through all Asia Minor,
saving many Gentiles,
but the Jews
have still rejected Christ.
Paul's point
in verses 18 through 21
is summarized
in verse 21.
He says,
but of Israel,
he says,
all the day long
I have held out
my hands
to a disobedient
and contrary people.
While the gospel
has gone to the Jews
and Gentiles
without distinction,
the Jews
have continued
in their rejection
of Christ.
Paul emphasizes
this point
through quoting
Old Testament scripture
and you can see there
there's three or four
that are quoted in a row.
In verse 18,
he quotes Psalm 19, 4,
to compare the spread
of the gospel
to God's general revelation.
As God's majesty
has been universally revealed
in all creation,
as the sun rises
to its set,
the gospel has been out
to all of Asia Minor.
It's been universally
proclaimed there.
Thus far,
the gospel has been
universally reached
in that area.
And the point
he's making there
is that the Jews
have heard.
In verse 19,
he quotes Deuteronomy
32, 21.
Paul quotes Deuteronomy
to demonstrate
that because of Israel's
rejection of the gospel,
God is making the people
jealous with the conversion
of the Gentiles.
In verse 20,
Paul quotes Isaiah 65, 1.
Because of Israel's wickedness,
God has made the Gentiles
his people.
In God's work of saving
a bribe from all peoples,
he has used this
as a judgment on Israel
for their stubborn
and disobedient heart.
In Romans 11,
we will explain more
of this relationship
of Israel and the church,
of God's working
amidst his people.
And in this time,
what will come clear
is God's purpose
of election,
making his name known
through Jesus Christ.
So,
stay tuned
for that exposition.
Now that we understand
the general contours
of Romans chapter 10,
we're going to spend
the rest of our time
thinking about this paradigm
for gospel missions.
And we find that
in verses 14 through 17.
We will see this model
looking at three areas
of the text.
We're going to look
at the church,
the missionary,
and the message.
We are going to look
at the church,
the missionary,
and the message.
To introduce
this consideration,
though,
let us think about
the concept of authority.
Authority is the power
to influence
or command thought,
opinion,
or behavior.
This power
ultimately resides
in a person
and can be granted
to others.
The root of authority
is that which
authors life.
Authority is that
which authors life.
God Almighty
has all authority.
It ultimately rests
in him.
He is the author
of life.
He authored life
and creation
of all things,
and he's authoring life
now through his
providential power
and works.
God created man
in his image,
and man's design
was to praise God.
God gave him
authority to legislate
his just and loving commands
and to make his glory known.
He was to take dominion,
being fruitful
and multiplying,
and to spread
the glory of God
to the ends of the earth.
The whole earth
was to be filled
with the glory of God
as the waters
covers the sea.
Habakkuk 2.14
But,
instead of authoring life
and carrying forth
God's glory
to the ends of the earth,
Adam failed
in protecting the garden.
Adam rejected
God's authority
and his actions
authored death.
Romans 5.12
Instead of God's glory
covering the earth,
sin has marred the earth.
Sin has affected
every dimension
of our life,
and at the core
of Adam and his sin,
they asserted
personal autonomy
over God's authority.
Instead of following
God's commands,
they followed
Satan's deception.
They believed
falling their way
was the best way.
This is the same for us.
We often trust
in our own thoughts
and ways above God's.
We have been raised
in a culture
that is consumed
with self
and has made self
the greatest end
by which we live
and work.
The problem is,
when we begin
rejecting God's word
as authoritative
and his ways
as good,
we begin to reject
authority
for special preference,
for individual passions,
and personal sophistication.
With the rejection
of God's authority,
one begins to reject
his authoritative
institutions also.
Eventually,
autonomy,
novelty,
and pragmatism
are more relevant
than God's authoritative
word and institution.
So eventually,
autonomy,
novelty,
and pragmatism
are more relevant
than God's authoritative
institutions.
This is a sad reality
we live in today
where we see churches
without the gospel,
governments
without godly legislation,
and families
without family worship.
With significance
towards individualism
and pragmatism
in our modern culture,
the church,
then,
as God's authority
to spread the gospel,
has employed
individually focused
and pragmatically
motivated practices
to minister
locally and missionally.
The concern
with these employments
that we employ
individual motivated
and pragmatic
methods
is that
they are not
the way in which
God has ordained
gospel ministry.
And often,
they go against
gospel ministry
to emphasize
personal aspiration
and results
in the mission field.
Therefore,
my hope
in the next three points,
the next three areas
of focus,
is to show you
that the paradigm
for gospel missions
revealed in Romans 10,
14 through 17,
give us clear direction
on the authority
and means of missions.
The authority
to send missionaries
is the church.
The means
is the missionary.
The message
is the gospel.
To divert
from church authority,
missionary focus,
and gospel-centric
missions
is to divert
from God's
prescribed model
for missions
in his word.
Therefore,
let's look at these areas.
Number one,
the church.
In Matthew 28,
16,
Jesus has been given
all authority
on heaven and earth
from God the Father.
He has been coronated
and he's about
to take his throne
and his heavenly abode.
Before his enthronement,
he looks at his disciples
and he gives them
a charge,
a commission.
He says,
go therefore
and make disciples
of all the nations,
baptize them
in the name of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Teach them all
that I command you.
His commission
with all authority
on heaven and earth
to his disciples
was to make disciples.
And the work
of disciple-making
demands one,
go,
baptize,
and teach.
When we get to Acts,
we see a similar address,
a different perspective,
if you will,
and he commands
his apostles
to be witnesses
in Jerusalem,
Judea,
Samaria,
and to the ends
of the earth.
As the apostles preached,
churches were formed.
These churches then
sent missionaries
to preach Christ
where he has not
been made known.
And if you read
the book of Philippians,
you see Epaphras
who was someone
who came to faith
and went to another area
and preached Christ
and a church was gathered.
And now he's writing
to this church
that was gathered
because of someone else
going from a church.
So we see this
all throughout
the book of Acts.
We see this in the letters.
Missionary thinking
bleeds all throughout
the pages of the New Testament.
As you read the New Testament,
you see the thrust
of missionary movement
until one day
all people are before God
from every tribe,
tongue,
and nation.
In Acts 13,
one through three,
the church at Antioch
commissions Paul and Barnabas
to begin the task
of going to the ends
of the earth.
As Christ is building
his church,
he has legislated authority
to an institution.
That is the church.
The church is the means
and end of gospel missions.
As the father has sent the son,
the son sends his church now.
What I'm about to say
is very important to hear
in our age of individualism
and pragmatism.
The sending authority
in missionaries
is not individual desires
or aspirations
or a sending agency.
There is no such thing
as lone wolf missionaries.
Parachurch organizations
do not have authority
to commission missionaries.
According to the authoritative
word of God,
the sending authority
for missionaries
is the church.
God has instilled authority
to the church
to equip
to model missions
is not operating
according to the paradigm
for gospel missions
found in God's word.
And we see this
in Romans 10, 15.
How are they to preach
unless they are sent?
As is written,
how beautiful are those
who preach good news.
So let me highlight two ways.
I could do many more,
but I'd like to highlight
two ways in which
the church does this work
of sending.
The church trains missionaries.
The work of missions
is a command of our Lord.
The church is responsible
for discerning one's call,
evaluating their character,
and providing them education,
theological education,
and know God's word well.
In one's calling,
God works in the desires
of individuals
to move them
to gospel ministry.
It begins in the individual
saying,
I feel this deep desire
that people who don't know Christ
to know them.
And working in ourselves
to conform to how Christ
works in us.
It begins individually,
but individual desire
is not authoritative
without corporate affirmation.
One's desire for missions
does not qualify one
to do missions.
The authority has been given
to the church
to evaluate
and send missionaries,
to discern their call
and their giftings,
and say,
I believe, brother or sister,
you are called for this work.
The church is the bodyguard
of biblical missions
and ultimately responsible
for the work being done
by the missionaries
they send.
Paul describes requirements
for missionaries
in 1 Timothy 3.
A missionary needs to be
theologically robust,
able to teach,
and possess mature,
godly character.
Theology and piety
are the undergirding
of healthy mission work.
To lack theology
will lead to unhealthy churches
at best
and will lead to
unbiblical churches
at worst.
To lack piety
will lead to destroying
the work one does.
If someone goes
without godly character,
the work they're going
to do will eventually
blow up
because eventually
their teaching
will follow
what they live.
Listen to 1 Timothy 4.16.
Keep a close watch
on yourself
and on the teaching.
Persist in this
for by doing so
you'll save both
yourself and your hearers.
Keep a close watch
on yourself
and your teaching.
Theology and piety
is in that text.
Number two,
the church
sends missionaries.
So the church
trains missionaries,
the church sends missionaries.
If there are men
who are theologically robust,
able to teach,
and has mature
godly character,
the man is qualified
biblically.
If there is no matters
of prudence
hindering the
possible missions,
the church should labor
to work to send them.
If they're not qualified
and the church thinks
that they'll be
a great missionary,
the church should labor
to work to get them
where they can send them.
The work of sending
missionaries
is a really hard task though.
When churches
send missionaries
that are qualified,
they are often
losing those
who they love.
Men and women
who desire missions
usually are doing
the work of missions
in their community.
They're usually going
and preaching the gospel.
They're sacrificing
their lives
to take care of kids
or to go out
at really bad hours
of the night
to share the gospel
or to counsel
a brother or sister.
Usually the people
that go to the mission field
are the people
who you don't want to lose.
They're the people
that it hurts the most.
But there is a greater unity
that we have in Christ
and a greater participation
we have in gospel work.
The sacrifice,
both financially
and relationally,
is worth it
to be faithful
to our King Jesus
and to see his name known
and to see the lost
come to Christ.
So, number one,
the church.
Number two,
the missionary.
Verses 14 through 15 say,
How then will they call
in him
whom they have not believed?
How are they to believe
in him
whom they've never heard?
How are they to hear
without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach
unless they are sent?
As is written,
How beautiful are the feet
of those who preach good news.
The missionary is sent
under authority
to a particular area
to then preach the gospel
so that the nations
would come to Christ.
The end goal
of a missionary being sent
is that churches
would be formed
that worship Christ
accurately,
that they have proper teaching
and that would develop
maturely,
have mature character
and that's why it says
their faith comes from hearing
and hearing through
the word of Christ.
Since the missionary
is sent under the authority
of the church
and their ploy,
whatever means,
work for them.
The missionary methods
are governed by the scriptures
and they represent
the church
by which sends them.
If we as Christ family church
send a brother or sister
to the mission field,
we are authorizing them
to do missions.
We're in our authority
given by God
sending them per se
and then we participate
in that work.
So if we are participating
in a mission work
that is producing
unbiblical means
or unhealthy means,
we're also responsible
for that work
because we are
the sending agency.
We are the ones
who have the authority
as a church
of Jesus Christ.
Problem is,
in modern times,
pastors and missionaries
have been influenced
by individualism
and pragmatism
in ministry.
Instead of gathering
as a church
being devoted
to God's holiness,
that we come
and worship Him,
we hear His word
proclaimed,
instead of gathering
in the church
for God's holiness,
church has become
a vanity fair
for all the seekers.
Instead of missionaries
working hard
to learn languages,
to raise up elders,
and to do the long-term work
of healthy church building,
church planning
has become
a fast food style
method of church building
where they spend
a few weeks
or months in an area
that's a church
and they move on.
And we've seen
in these practices
the damage it's caused
that pragmatism
doesn't produce
healthy churches
or healthy results.
It might give a number
but it doesn't give
what we're called to do.
Healthy,
mature churches
that will last long-term
to proclaim Christ's name
and to the uttermost
regions of the earth.
Our theology
always influences
the methods we employ.
So when missionaries
or pastors
employ pragmatic methods,
it reveals
what they believe.
So if we're in a church
that caters
to pragmatic methods,
we believe something
about missions
that governs
how we do church.
So as the church
and labors of the gospel,
we are bound
to the paradigm
for gospel missions.
God's word
authoritates,
authorizes
our methods
and sustains
our ministry.
J.H. Bawink,
he is the nephew
of Herman Bawink,
he was a professor
of missions
and he was a missionary
to Indonesia,
teaches that
when someone
has a question
concerning missions,
you should respond
in this manner.
Answers can be given
solely on the basis
of scripture.
For the work of missions
is the work of God.
It is not lawful
for us to improvise.
At each step,
we must ask,
what does God demand here?
Although it is not always
easy to find
the right course,
our search must lead us
to what God has said
in his word.
Our convictions
and methods,
our strength
and work
come from God's
authoritative
and imperishable word.
This is our church
planning methodology,
is the word of God.
The work of the messenger
is a precious work though.
We see that here
in Romans 10.
How beautiful
are the feet
of those who preach
the good news.
The task
is ultimately motivated
by Jesus Christ
and the aim
is seeing all people
praise God.
The believer's
deepest motive
is that Christ
would be glorified.
The missionaries
is a herald
of the most glorious person,
the greatest victory
and the best news.
The work that the missionary
does is an honorable calling
and we should seek
to love and support
our missionaries well
as they make
all these different sacrifices
to see Christ known
to the uttermost regions
of the earth.
To give a good example,
currently right now,
we have brothers and sisters
that we dearly love
in various parts of the world
who are seeking
to learn languages
so that once they learn
a language,
they can then
go to a different region,
a more remote region
where there isn't a church
and learn another language
and then after learning
that language,
then they start translating
the Bible
and they start teaching
in that language.
It's a long-term,
heavy-demanding exercise.
While we get to be here,
we enjoy our family,
we enjoy the benefits
of our society,
we can get anything
we want at a moment's notice,
whether it's DoorDash
or whether it's going
to the supermarket.
We have so many benefits
here in the U.S.
Our missionaries
are sacrificing
all those benefits,
a lot of those relational
things they dearly love
so that Christ would be known.
Important work
because we want to see
their task come to fruition.
We don't want to see
the task become harder
because they don't have
the support per se.
But this is what we see
as Paul's motive
here in Romans.
Romans 15, 20-21 says,
Paul's aim
and what he was zealous for
is see that those
who don't have a chance here,
those who have never heard,
to know.
And that's why
when he went to all
Asia Minor,
he didn't stay in Asia Minor,
he then went to Jerusalem
so that he could go to Spain.
His aim was to get to Spain
where the gospel's not gone
so that everyone would know,
so that this idea
of universal
revelation of the gospel
in Asia Minor
would appear
to the ends of the earth.
But obviously,
we see God's sovereignty
in him not completing
that work.
So we need to be those
who support missions
zealously
because of the command
of our Lord,
or who would be willing
to offer ourselves
as a priestly service
as a minister
or a missionary.
There's one or the other.
We can either serve
in a more active role
or we can do our best
to support
the activity of the church.
And I don't know
if there is a middle ground there
as I've wrestled
with this sermon
and thinking through it
is to be faithful
to God's missionary command,
we should either support
or go,
what it seems like.
Matthew 9, 37-38 says,
There he said
to his disciples,
The harvest is plentiful,
but the labors are few.
Therefore,
pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers
into his harvest.
So let us as a church
pray for laborers
because the need
for missions is so great.
Without hearing
the gospel of Jesus Christ,
how will one believe?
This is Paul's argument.
There are millions of people
who have never heard
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This means that
there are millions of souls
that are living
enslaved to sin
that are worshiping idols
that are working
for their salvation
that are living
for themselves
who will spend
eternity in hell.
The reality of
eternal suffering
is the fate of those
who don't hear
and believe in the gospel.
They'll spend all eternity
where the unquenchable fire
will not end
and the gnashing of teeth
will continue
and they currently
have never heard
the good news
to save them.
Do you believe?
There should be
a weight here
that burns in our souls
to see the nations
know Christ.
So for some statistics,
there are 3,000 language groups
that currently have
no church in their language
and most of them
do not have the scriptures.
Chances are
there is not a single believer
in this language group
and chances are
they'll never hear the gospel
before they die
unless someone goes
to that language group.
Some national statistics.
Morocco has 38 million people.
0.1% of the people
are Christians.
Iraq has 43 million people.
1% are Christians.
Iran has 88 million people.
0.02% are Christians.
And India has
1,428,000,000 people
and 2.3% are Christians.
Do those numbers?
Do you feel the weight
of those numbers?
Brothers and sisters,
the harvest is plentiful,
the laborers are few,
and the task is needed.
So I pray that this text,
Romans 10,
and the eternal reality
will stir us all individually
and corporately
for gospel missions.
If you look at the back
of your bulletin,
Spurgeon has a wonderful quote
regarding missions.
It says,
If sinners be damned,
at least let them leap
to hell over our dead bodies.
And if they perish,
let them perish
with their arms
wrapped around their knees,
imploring them to stay.
If hell must be filled,
let it be filled
in the teeth
of our exertions
and let no one go
unwarned
and unprayed for.
Briefly,
we're going to talk
about the message.
I think Nathan did a great job
explaining this last week,
so I'm not going to belabor
the point.
Romans 10, 15, and 17.
How are they to preach
unless they are sent?
As is written,
how beautiful are the feet
of those who preach good news.
So faith comes from hearing
and hearing through
the word of Christ.
The prescribed message
for missionaries
is the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
The gospel,
as Romans 1 tells us,
is the power of God
for salvation.
In it,
we hold up
our crucified
and resurrected Lord
so all may see.
And we say,
Behold him
who died
and who lived
for thee.
It is by Christ's
active and passive
obedience
that we stand
before God.
And without his act
and passive obedience,
we can't stand
before God.
In this wonderful message,
we declare
that Christ perfectly
obeyed God's law
and sacrificially
died for sin.
By repentance
and faith,
this salvation
is applied to us.
We are clothed
in Christ's righteousness
and sin is no more.
We stand justified
and redeemed
by the blood of Christ.
There is great
and unmeasurable hope
in the gospel.
Unbeknownst to me,
I didn't know
we were singing
His Robes for Mine,
but my next line
is a quote
from that song.
So listen to this quote
as we sang earlier.
His robes for mine,
oh wonderful exchanged.
Clothed in my sin,
Christ suffered
neath God's rage.
Draped in his righteousness,
I'm justified.
In Christ I live,
for in my place,
he died.
Missionaries do not
have success
in fast and innovative methods.
Their task is unashamedly
to preach the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Their success
is in the Lord
of the harvest
calling sinners to himself.
Romans 9
is the theological undergirding
for evangelism and missions.
We sow and plant,
we plea,
we beg,
we labor,
but God causes the growth.
Jesus Christ
is the one
building his church
and his spirit
is the one
who opens the eyes
to the blind,
to seeing the king
for all of his beauty.
The gospel is offered
freely to all
and the Lord
works freely to save.
The missionary task
is an empowered task.
The messenger
is the herald.
God is the one
who works.
Praise God
that evangelism
and missions
does not depend
on our own efforts
and our own words,
but on him.
In conclusion,
the church missionary task
is great,
but we aren't
individual in it.
We join with all
the other churches
that are healthy,
that know the gospel
of Jesus Christ
and labor
that Christ
might be known
to the other
most ends of the earth.
There are organizations
that train missionaries
to go to the
unreached areas now.
We are in a task
with a collection,
with numerous churches
to see this mission,
this task happen.
So we labor
that the 3,000 language groups
would have the gospel
proclaimed in their language,
that the scriptures
would be translated
in their language,
and that churches
would be planted.
In this work,
God gave us
a prescribed model
in his word.
This is the paradigm
for gospel missions.
In closing,
let me read Isaiah 6,
8 to you.
And I heard the voice
of the Lord saying,
Whom shall I send
and who will go for us?
And then I said,
Here I am.
Send me.
Let's pray together.