proclaiming the gospel to believers and non-believers

For the past few weeks Shane and I have been blogging about the five p’s of Bend City Church.  Today, as I am sitting in our Romanian apartment, I am posting my blog about “proclaiming the gospel to believers and non-believers”.

Some of you might read that and think a couple of different things.  First you might be wondering what I am doing in Romania.  I’ll save that for another time.  Second you might be wondering why I am talking about proclaiming the gospel to believers.  After all, you might be thinking, believers don’t need the gospel preached to them – they are already saved.

If believers want to live a life of faith then they need to be reminded of the gospel often.  So, I’ll expound on proclaiming the gospel to believers and I trust that it will be self-evident why we think it is important to tell unbelievers about the gospel.

Romans 1:5 NIV - Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

Paul had a mission.  That mission was to call people to obedience.  But it wasn’t just obedience.  Obedience by itself can be very dangerous. Obedience can be legalistic and self-righteous.  A person can obey in such that they are trying to earn God’s approval (legalistic).  Worse still, people can obey just for the bragging rights associated with doing something right (self-righteousness).  These examples lead to two different things.  Either a person feels like they will never measure up and gets disheartened or they feel like they do measure up and feel better than everyone else.

Paul’s mission was not just to call people to obedience.  Read the verse again.  It says that he was calling people to the obedience that comes from faith.  God is calling all people to a different type of obedience.  One that responds to all that God is for us in Christ.  Our obedience is a response to God’s acceptance of us through the cross of Christ not a means of trying to earn God’s acceptance.  This type of obedience leads people to humility because a person understands that they could never do enough to earn God’s acceptance.  Our acceptance is earned only through Jesus paying the price.  We believe and therefore we obey.

It is the gospel that reminds people that we need a savior and it is the gospel that reminds us that Christ is that Savior.  The gospel stirs up faith within believers.

Romans 1:16-17 ESV - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel - a righteousness that comes from faith.  I love the way that the ESV translation renders it.  It says that it is revealed from faith and for faith so that we can live by faith.  The gospel is revealed for faith.  If we desire to call people to an obedience that comes from faith then we desperately need to remind them of all that Christ has accomplished for us.  We need to remind them of the gospel.