A State of Emergency - June 2

Read Romans 10:14-15

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? 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!”

Reflect

Why should believers have a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing the Gospel?

The Gotquestions.org podcast (episode 203) once welcomed evangelist Ray Comfort as a guest. In this episode, Ray explained what he thinks is missing from modern evangelism and that is a sense of urgency.

Ray said, “...when there’s an ambulance or any emergency vehicle comes along the street, all the cars by law have to pull over to let them pass. Why? Because someone’s life could be at stake. Well, evangelism is an emergency vehicle and everything within the church should pull over to let it through, to let it have its way because people’s lives are at stake.”

We often forget that, don’t we? We tend to act like we have all the time in the world to eventually get around to sharing our faith with someone we know is lost without the Lord. But James 4:14 serves as a wake-up call, reminding us that “...you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

The harsh reality is that everyone is going to die and no one knows exactly when their time will come. If they die without trusting in the Lord for their salvation, they will spend eternity in hell, separated from Him.

But we know the solution to the problem of hell—Jesus Christ! And yet, so often, we fail to share this Good News that has the power to grant everlasting life with Him!

In Romans 9 and 10, the apostle Paul was explaining that Israel, God’s chosen people, had rejected the Messiah that had been promised to them. In Romans 10:1, Paul expressed his heartfelt desire that they may be saved. A few verses later, we come across today’s passage, Romans 10:14-15 in which Paul asked some pretty important rhetorical questions. He wanted Israel to be saved but how could they be saved unless someone presented the Gospel to them?

Now, in context, Paul was speaking specifically about Israel and wanting Jews to be saved. But his rhetorical questions can apply universally. How will anyone put their faith in Christ unless the Gospel is clearly communicated to them?

Dr. Warren Wiersbe explained: “We must never minimize the missionary outreach of the church. While this passage relates primarily to Israel, it applies to all lost souls around the world. They cannot be saved unless they call on the Lord Jesus Christ. But they cannot call unless they believe. Faith comes by hearing, so they must hear the message. How will they hear? A messenger must go to them with the message. But this means that God must call the messenger and the messenger must be sent. What a privilege it is to be one of His messengers and have beautiful feet!” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, New Testament).

Here in the US we think of emergency workers as heroes, and rightly so! There are few things more inspirational than witnessing a precious life being snatched from a fire, pulled from the wreckage, or resuscitated. And yet, all of these people, though saved once, will surely die one day. Who can save them from that?

Only Jesus can! And we have the immense honor of being able to carry that beautiful message to them. But, we can’t forget that we are in a state of spiritual emergency. People’s eternal lives are at stake! How will they be saved unless we proclaim the Gospel?

Respond

Lord, I confess that sometimes I fail to remember the urgency of the Gospel message. Help me to remember that people’s eternal souls are at stake. Nudge me and urge me with Your Holy Spirit to be quick to share the Good News. May I have beautiful feet, Lord. Amen.

Reveal

Most of us have someone we think about when we read “...my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Today, don’t only pray for them. Share the Gospel with them!