Why Should I Listen?
NL Year 1 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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How many of you have ever been to an event where there is a speaker? Usually at those events there is either a bio of the person printed on a program or something and/or there is a representative who is hosting the event who stands up and gives a lengthy introduction about who the person is, what they have done or written, and possibly all the awards or noteworthy accolades they have achieved in their field. The whole intention behind that is to give the audience an idea of what this person has done and accomplished so that when they get up to speak the people listening have an understanding that this person knows what they are talking about and that you should probably listen to what they have to say.
This is exactly what Paul is doing to the churches in Rome with this letter. Oftentimes I think we tend to assume that when Paul is writing to a community in his letters that he has been there, they know him, and that there is a good chance that he even founded that community. The only one of those three things that is somewhat true is the second one…they know him. There were a few people spread out among all the churches in Rome that actually knew Paul. Others may have heard of him, but in essence this is Paul’s very first introduction to the different faith communities in Rome. What Paul is doing here is he is both sharing with them who he is as well as what he believes is his core belief in his faith in Jesus Christ.
Why this core faith is so important, is that if we look at other letters by Paul, we will see the struggles that Paul goes through to help these communities understand that God has chosen both Jews and Gentiles to be in the scope of God’s love. There was a lot of confusion about what it meant to include Gentiles in God’s scope of love and salvation especially around what they did and didn’t have to do. Paul shares both here in Romans and the other letters that he was specifically called to do that work, to share the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Paul wants the people of Rome, both the Jews and Greeks to know that he understands that this is new territory and that he is here to help them navigate these new waters. We see Paul specifically include the Gentiles in both verse 6 and in verse 16. He wants to make sure that they know that he is there for them and will do whatever he can to make sure they are fully included in this kingdom work.
To be completely honest, I didn’t think about Paul’s introduction in this way before, but this is exactly what I have been talking about with this year’s theme. This year we are challenging ourselves to grow outward into the community. And here is Paul showing us the perfect way for us to do that. First, Paul introduces himself and what he is all about. Then, second, he goes on to share who is included in this incredible gift of faith, love, and salvation, both the Jew and the Gentile. Or in more modern terms, everyone. To include Gentile meant to include anyone who wasn’t Jewish…aka the whole world. Paul is very blatantly stating for his readers that he understands his call from Christ Jesus himself to share the good news with the Gentile world. If that’s the case then the good news is for the whole world.
Another key aspect of Paul’s identity as a slave of Jesus Christ is his willingness to preach the gospel and more importantly that he is not ashamed of it. What Paul means by that, is that he has full confidence in what he believes so he has no issues sharing his faith with others. The reason Paul is so bold to say such a thing is that he knows that it is God’s power, it is God’s salvation, and it is God’s faith that brings us to righteousness and faith. God’s salvation is realized in part in the here and now, not just the idea that salvation is what comes at the end of life. It is God’s love that gives us faith and it is God’s righteousness that makes us righteous. In other words we are made God’s because of what God has done for us, all of us. That is what Paul wants the Romans to know he believes and that he believes that is for everyone and he’s ready to share it wit them when he comes to visit.
That’s a whole lot of words to say that we have been given this gift of life, love, salvation, and faith and we are called to share it with others. We don’t have to be as bold or as outgoing as Paul. Not all of us are called to be as outgoing as he was. But we do all have gifts that we have been given to help one another out, which we see Paul is eager to see and share with the Romans. He wants to encourage them and be encouraged by them so that their faithfulness may grow. So Paul is not only looking outward but also for ways to strengthen and thrive those who are already a part of the community. So as they go out and meet more people in Rome and share the good news with them, they also encourage one another in their work and assist one another in their work. Encouragement comes in both successes and failures. But our faithfulness to God and to each other will help us in that work.
So as we look to Paul and his letter to the Romans, we discover ways to engage our own community. We see the importance of introducing ourselves and sharing why it is that we’re here and what our message is for them. Now this might not happen as quickly as Paul does it in his letter, but it does show us the importance of letting our neighbors and our community know that we are here and that we are here for them. That we, like Paul, are ready to serve them, to walk alongside them and to encourage them. And that ultimately we want them to know that God loves them. That God includes all people in God’s scope of salvation and that salvation includes the here and now and living into God’s kingdom here on earth.
And perhaps just as Paul shared that message with the believers in Rome we need to hear those words ourselves. We need to hear that we are loved. We need to hear that God saved us through Jesus Christ and that God chose us to be a part of the righteous people who live by faith. So as we go out from this place and share this good news with our neighbors, our community and the world, never forget that the same words that you speak to others is always and forever spoken to you and made complete for you by our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.