"I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Romans 1:13-15
It's amazing what you can find when you take a slow and purposeful approach to a passage of Scripture. When you really get down to it... each verse has so much to say!
Today we're going to be looking at a passage that I've had trouble obeying, in the past, and even still now...
"I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."
Paul nullifies any discrimination of who his audience is intended to be. He says, "I'm under obligation to everyone, for the sake of the Gospel." He doesn't make a judgement call on a person's background or ethnicity, but rather on the fact that they have a soul! When you see a person and you have the understanding of, "that person has an eternal soul, just like I do," it should cause you to have compassion for that person. And not only compassion, but we are called to take ACTION!
And that's where I have the trouble... I too often make excuses as to why NOT to talk to someone about Christ. Isn't that crazy??? Their eternal soul is on the line and I'm thinking, "I don't want them to think I'm weird..." Weird? You know what's weird? That a wretched being such as me could be saved by a God who already knows my faults, and yet He saves me anyways! That's something worth sharing no matter how "weird" you might look to people. Because if you don't share the good news of Christ with that person, today... who's to say that you'll ever have another chance? James says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4:13-14)
If we are a vapor... then there is no time to waste when it comes to the souls of our coworkers and friends. But we cannot stop there... we need to have the love of Christ so embedded in us that we say, as Paul did, "to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." We should not make distinctions between one soul and another, when it comes to the salvation of that person. Just because someone is dirty on the outside and has foul language, doesn't mean that their soul is worth any less than of the businessman , who wears a tie and watches his words closely. They are both headed for eternal damnation if they do not know Christ as their Savior!
For some reason... this is a struggle for us, as human beings, to grasp. That one soul cannot have more importance, in the eyes of God, than another. Let me try to unpack this idea for us, really quickly... God does not see as we see, and thankfully so! For we look at the outward appearance, but God sees directly to the heart of a person. (1 Samuel 16:7) Our thoughts are finite and futile, but the thoughts of God transcend space and time! (Isaiah 55:8-11) He is the Creator of each and every soul, and is unwilling that a single one should perish (John 3:16-17). He gave the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that we might spend eternity, in heaven, with Him! (John 14:6)
Does this sound like something that we should be keeping to ourselves? As Paul would say, "By no means!" which is his way of saying, "That's the exact opposite of what we should be doing!" There is no greater calling on a Christian's life than to be an example of Christ and to preach Him, always, to everyone we meet. There shouldn't be any discrimination, any inconvenient time... think about it...
So, talking with someone about Christ might make you late to dinner, is your stomach going to go to hell if it doesn't get some food right away? Is the temperament of your meeting worth more than the eternal soul of another person? Is your reputation as a punctual person worth more to you than the fact that the downcast soul, standing in the same elevator as you, is in need of a Savior???
Far be it from me to throw the first stone of judgment here, but I think we all know the answer to each of these questions... NO! There is no greater importance or agenda that we could possibly have than warning people of the impending wrath and judgment upon their sin and the way out that has been provided, through Christ.
I know I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again... I'm not telling you this because I have it all figured out already! This is something that God has convicted me of, personally, and I am being made aware of the problem of passiveness that has infiltrated the church today! We have become pacifists! We don't want to disturb the peace... There is no peace without Christ! Can you "hear" what I'm shouting??? We don't have another, more pressing, issue at hand than that of the very souls that God has purposefully placed around us. The ones that He designed, from the beginning of time, to fall under our areas of influence! Don't overlook the "least of these"... because that's the one that Christ loves... He or she is the one whom Christ would have ministered to... He came for the sick, the oppressed...
Well... that's enough of a rant for today, I think. I leave you with these thoughts. And my prayer is that you would consider the importance of every soul that passes you by, today and every day, for the rest of your life.
Grace and Peace!
Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .
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