Represent Christ By Knowing

Represent Christ   •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:02:22
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Introduction: Imagine having an appointment to see your primary care physician. As you are sitting in the examination room, your doctor enters and hands you a prescription and says, “Follow these orders exactly.” Mind you that your doctor says this without examining you, giving you any test, or even asking what problems you are experiencing. So, you ask your doctor, “Why?” and he responds by saying, “I don’t know, just do what I’m asking.”
Quite frankly, it would be very difficult to trust that kind of doctor. Likewise, it is also hard to rely on a Christian, who tells people to live and do things a certain way without knowing why.
Brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, God does not want you to be ignorant about Him and what He has done, but the LORD wants you to represent Christ by knowing what is involved in the salvation process. In today’s message, I want to encourage every disciple-maker to know what is required of them, what the required response for salvation, and what is God’s part. Although this passage does not give an exhaustive list, it provides a foundation to build on from other Scripture texts. Saints must know what they believe and why.

Saints, Know the Process

Saints should not be ignorant concerning the process of giving one’s life to God. Paul brings out two essential responses that must happen. First, the sinner must confess that Jesus is Lord. Let us read verse 9.
Romans 10:9 NKJV
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
We, that are saints, should know that every individual must confess or sincerely declare with their mouth that Jesus is not just a friend or a helper, but He is the Lord and Master of their life. Don’t fool yourself. Confessing Christ should not be hidden. Remember the reaction of some of the rulers to the LORD. Look at John 12:42-43
John 12:42–43 NKJV
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33
Matthew 10:32–33 NKJV
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Did you hear it? Secret confessions is not enough.
There are NO ninja Christians
There are NO undercover Christians
There are NO secret agent Christians,
It is essential to confess Christ before men, women, boys, and girls that Christ is Lord of your life.
Remember the first thing, sinners must confess that Jesus is Lord. Now here is the second, let’s look at the verse 9 again.
Romans 10:9 NKJV
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
The unbeliever must believe. This believing means to have faith in God or to put one’s trust in the actions of God. What were the actions of God? God, the Father, raised Jesus Christ, His Son from the dead. The text says that this truth or this message must be in their heart.
Deuteronomy 6:6 NKJV
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
Deuteronomy 11:18 NKJV
“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Psalm 119:11 NKJV
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
Psalm 40:8 NKJV
I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
Now, look at verse 8 of our text.
Romans 10:8 NKJV
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
When a person puts his or her confidence in the work of God IN HIS OR HER HEART, something happens. Look at the end of verse 9.
Romans 10:9 NKJV
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
you will be save. Paul then explains what God does in this process.
Romans 10:10–13 NKJV
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
When someone believes and confesses God, as in Abraham's case, He accounts the unbeliever’s faith in the PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST as righteousness
Genesis 15:6 NKJV
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Believing and professing cannot be separated. These words speak of the inward and outward expression of one’s heart. Paul declares that calling, confessing, and believing produces salvation.

Saints, Know Your Part

Romans 10:14–15 NKJV
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Paul gives a series of rhetorical questions to emphasize the connection between the disciple-maker, the Word of God, and a sinner coming to faith in Christ.
Look at the first question
Romans 10:14 NKJV
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
Did you hear it? Sinners cannot call on the name of the Lord for salvation without first putting his or her trust in Him.
Next, Paul exposes the fact that belief is not possible without the sinner hearing the gospel.
Since the gospel needs to be heard, someone needs to proclaim it with the intent of people responding.
In this text, the Apostle speaks of a preacher as someone called or sent to proclaim the message. Specifically, he refers to a pastor, bishop, elder, but generally, to every believer because we all have been charged to be His witnesses, and witnesses tell the good news.
You may be asking, “How do I know?” Listen to the words of the Ethiopian eunuch.
Acts 8:31 NKJV
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
We must see that God has given His people a part to play in the salvation of sinners. Paul told the Corinthian congregation.
1 Corinthians 3:5–8 NKJV
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Disciples labor by proclaiming the message, by sharing the gospel, by teaching the mystery of Christ as he sends us.

Know the Problem and the Privilege

Romans 10:15–17 NKJV
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We should not be amazed but should be aware of the problem. As Paul reveals, not everybody that hears will obey the gospel. Even in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53:1 NKJV
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Yes, it is tough to see people reject the greatest gift that has ever been offered. Yes, it is difficult to witness men, women, boys, and girls discard the life-changing message of Christ.
Yet, we look beyond and see Paul’s reminder.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
He says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” What does this mean? It says that faith or trust is produced by hearing God’s Word. Therefore, we have the responsibility and the privilege to just keep on sharing the message.
Conclusion: We expect doctors to know how to practice medicine. The same is true for lawyers. We want them to understand the law. As disciple-makers we must know the part we play, God’s part, and what the sinner needs to do. Knowing this will help us to represent Christ well.
What part are you playing in ?
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