I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 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, in the gospel, for in it, the righteousness of God is revealed for faith. It is written, the righteous shall live by faith. Let's go to God in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessing of having your Holy Inspired Word before us. But we do acknowledge that we need you. We need your grace. You need your Holy Spirit enlightening our minds to understand and our hearts to obey. So please help us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. The Roman scholar state man, and also a military commander, also called Pliny the Elder, who lived during the same time, during the same time period Jesus was living. In one of his writings, he tells us a story about the setting of an obelisk, which, when erect, you'd stay 99 feet tall. It's a huge monument. And 20,000 workers were choosing to pull on the ropes and activate the hoisting apparatus. It was a huge mission. And as you can imagine, there was a great responsibility and risk in this operation, because just one error could cause the obelisk to fall and ruining years of works. So the king demanded one act to ensure the complete commitment and the best direction of the engineer. So the king commanded that the engineer's own son should be strapped to the apex of the obelisk so that his heart and his mind used to be complete and fully committed to the mission. So it was a huge, a huge mission for this engineer because his son was being put to the risk. In the same way, Paul is calling believers here in Rome to a huge, a serious commitment that would involve both heart and mind as well. And right here, Paul is really sharing his own experience, the way he thinks about the commitment every believer, every Christian should have about sharing the good news of Christ. And we just want to walk here through three things that Paul set up here for the Romans, these Gentile Christians. And as you can see in the end, Paul is going to share with us the foundation for those believers to feel committed in heart and mind, it is Christ. It is the righteousness of God revealed in Christ, the only way for anyone to attain salvation. In the first level of commitment that Paul shared with us here, as he says here, and I'm just copying here the most commentators, the Christian three aims, I am's. The first one Paul says here is that I am obligated I am obligated. It's the level of obligation. And here is something that we Christians, we don't think of ourselves at all being obligated to share the gospel. Not in the way that Paul is sharing here. Most of us may feel obligated. Yeah, but not in the way that I want to explain here. The text is going to explain to us how Paul used this word here, obligation. We might feel ourselves obligated to come to church. We might feel ourselves obligated to baptize our kids, to attend the Lord's Supper. And we do so because we do believe that there is a moral implication in doing so. you might feel obligated to attend the morning and the evening service. But most of us, we do not see ourselves obligated to share the gospel, do we? And why? Why we don't? And I'm not talking about programs. I'm talking about in our own lives, in our work, in our schools, wherever we go, when we are shopping. And we see a need to share the gospel. We feel our hearts burning. It's time to share the gospel. We don't see ourselves obligated at all, at least most of us. And why? Of course, there are many answers to this question. Why Christians do not see themselves obligated to share the gospel with the lost people? But we can guess. We can take some options here. Perhaps because we do not understand the seriousness of this call. Perhaps we do not understand the covenant context of this call. So what does it mean for Paul and for Christians to be obligated to share the gospel? So we had to go in the way that Paul uses the Greek word here, ophelites. That's the Greek word. The Greek word here is ophalitis. Describe a sense of a person who is under a moral obligation to do something, whether financially or religiously. It's not just a mere obligation. It's a moral obligation to do something. This word here is often translated as debt. The King James Version says, I am debtor both to Greek and to barbarians. Well, we know what is a debt. A debt is not an option, is it? It's not an option at all. If you have a loan on a house, on a car, the bank does not send a monthly letter to you saying, Dear customer, the bank is wondering if you are willing and feeling well today to send some money for us to pay your loan. Could you consider that it is time to pay your loan? Of course, the bank does not do that. Otherwise, who would pay? So, the bank does not do that. And we know this. We have a contract with the bank, and it's a serious contract. It's a firm contract that cannot be forgiven. We had to pay, and we take very serious. And elsewhere, Paul used the same Greek word, ophalitis, to describe the moral obligation believers have regarding their sanctification. The same word, the sanctification before God, since they had been united with Christ. Now they had to sanctify themselves. Romans 8, verse 12. So then, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. And then he goes on to explain, we are debtors to the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit. And here is the inconsistence of an immature faith, because no one you deny that sanctification is a serious thing before God. It's a moral implication. But when it comes to our command to share the gospel, I'm wondering, if we do take in the same way, in the serious way, our call to share the gospel as we take to sanctify ourselves. When a man fell in pornography, we discipline him or her But when a man is not willing to preach the Gospels, not willing to share the Gospels, he doesn't want to share the Gospels at all. He doesn't see this command as part of his Christian life at all. Isn't that serious as well? Of course it is. And again, in Romans 15, it's pretty interesting. Verse 25 and 27, Paul was explaining that he was about to go to Jerusalem to take an offering and collection for the Gentile Christians to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem because they were in great need. So here they have the offering from the Gentiles. And in verse 25, Paul used the same Greek word. of felatus with the same immoral obligation in his mind. And he says, they were pleased to do it, the Gentiles. They were pleased to give this offering. And indeed, they own it to them, to the Jewish Christians. They are debtors to them. It's interesting. And they say, why? And Paul answers the question, why? Paul was seeing the Christians believers as debtors to the Jewish Christians. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. So instead of just emphasizing the act of offering just as a generous act, Paul here goes beyond saying it's an obligation to do that. It's a moral obligation to help your brothers and sisters in Jerusalem because Christ's blessings has been bestowed upon you Gentiles. That's a moral implication for that. Now brothers and sisters, how much more when it comes about sharing the gospel that saved us? How much more are we owing to Christ to share this message? How much more? Perhaps we should go back to verse 1 to understand why Paul is seeing himself in a moral obligation. Verse 1 Paul says, I am a servant of Christ. In other words, I am a bound slave of Christ. So here is the way for us to understand this moral obligation. Once you have been saved, of course, you are God's child from now on. But you are a bound slave as well. And perhaps that's the way that can most help us to understand. That's not an option. You just have to obey as a slave of Christ. And here Paul sees himself as a debtor to share the saving message of the gospel to all who are spiritually dead, personifying here to the Greeks and the barbarians. Now let me ask you, do you see yourself in debt to all the lost people in this city? Do you see yourself in debt to your neighborhood? to your fellow work, to your friends? That's the way Paul sees himself here. If you don't, let me ask another question. Where in the Bible do you find that you have been released from such moral obligation to share the gospel? Where is that? Christ has released us from sin, death. but not from this great commission, not at all. But perhaps you were thinking that you can fulfill this obligation by outsourcing this task. Or perhaps you were thinking that you can replace this command by paying for someone to do the job in Africa, in China, And that's the feeling that sometimes I have in my mind of myself. God, am I exchanging things here? Instead of taking my responsibility to share the Gospel with my fellow work and my friends, is it better to pay for someone out there to do for me what I'm supposed to do here? Perhaps that's the case. Or perhaps you would think that the doctrine of elections release you for such a responsibility. And that was a struggle when I became a Reformed guy. I want to get away from Pentecostalism, because I knew it's a bad theology. But I was struggling so much to see the Reformed church in Brazil. absolving themselves, excusing themselves for this tax, taking this bill to the election. The election will pay for it. But then, when I started to study and understanding how election works when it comes to evangelism, I understood that God is not only worthy for the elect that are here today. He's also worthy for the elect that's outside. And that makes me so excited to preach the gospel, because there is an assurance that people will, there outside, respond to the message. So Paul saw himself obligated to a point to say, O to me, if I do not preach this gospel, O to me. It's a moral obligation. And of course, there must be more than a mental understanding of our obligation to share the gospel. There must be the heart as well. That's why our second point here is this strong feeling, verse 15, so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Or as the NIV says, I am so eager. I love that. I love that. The Greek word Paul used here first describes this strong feeling. which represents an affection, a passion, a willingness, eagerness to preach the gospel. He cannot contain himself. I can't. That's what Paul is saying here. So here, I would like for us to consider that the Great Commission is also a joyful commission. There is no reason why for us to be burned out It's a joyful commission. It's also excitement. Commitment can also means excitement. If not in the beginning, for sure at the ends. I remember when I was in South Africa studying and work as a missionary. And one guy came to me and said, why you keep getting inside the train here in Musenberg and going down in Cape Town preaching with this broken English? People won't listen to you. Every station, people come and go. And it's just, why you keep doing this? I said, well, because there is a command. And then he was opening up his heart to me and he said, you know Eric, sometimes I go, I start to walk in the streets, I see people begging for food, I see people in need for the gospel, but I don't feel nothing. And I said to him, welcome to my team. Sometimes I don't feel either. But it's not about feeling, first of all. And I like the order Paul puts here. And I said to him, you know, every time that I get inside the train, suddenly, I should be in my home with my family. Ten o'clock, wow, I should be going out to do something. So I'm tired, you know, but when I came home, when I come home, it is just amazing. As yesterday night, it's been three hours, the guy broke in. A former Christian that now hates Christianity, hates church. Three hours conversation. In the middle of the conversation was to myself, I need to go home, this guy doesn't want nothing. And the grace of God telling me, you didn't want either, remember? You don't deserve more than him. And at the end, three hours, he was more calm and considered to come back to church. And I'm not telling this because there is something in me. No, because as Paul says here, that's the power of the gospel. That's the power of the gospel. So if you won't be excited in the beginning, you will at the end, when you see a non-believer come in tears because of the gospel, because of the gospel. But the Greek word here also describes a sense of readiness to do something. As Paul says here, I am ready to go. Let's do it. have to understand our moral obligation and this passion being infused to us. The same grace which saves us also empowers us with everything that we need to go out. So now the Greek word here is saying to us, stop talking. Start doing. Start doing. It's time to do. We went out for a mission trip with the Youth Harvest in Pittsburgh. And it was a pretty different context, black Muslim community. And the youth was, of course, freaking out. And the plan was to stay here, block party, painting faces. And I said, no, no, no, no. We're going to knock people's house. We haven't done this before, Mr. Cooper. Please, let's not do this. Why not? Because it's very intimidating. Why? Because they are black? Because they know your background? The Gospel does not ask permission for us to share the Gospel. The Gospels command us to preach the Gospel. Now, I'm going to do it and then you're going to see how I do it. And let's see how things go. On the third day, we were in fourth youth And I was going five by five. And I said, man, we cannot do this. We're not going to finish the work. But then some youth step up and said, hey, Mr. Cui, I'm ready. Just give me some of the fresh guys here. I'm ready. And it was a beautiful picture to see these youth invading, praying for people, and coming back and saying, Mr. Cui, you don't know what's happened. I said, what? I saw a black man, a huge guy, crying. And I prayed for him. That's it. That's it. You might go out feeling, you know, burned or intimidated, but we're going to come home very excited at the end. So that's what Paul is saying here. We should be willing, passionate, eager, for preaching the gospel. For preaching the gospel. It's a joyful commitment. And as you can see here, it's a joyful commitment that flows out of our own experience with God's salvation. In other words, the only way for you to get excited about this message, and to get excited about getting this message out, would be for you to increase your knowledge of what Christ has done for you. of what Christ has done for me. That's the only way. You behold the saving grace. And I see so many threats here for our children. Being raised in a Christian family, we take for granted these messages in so many ways. We don't know what it's like to be raised without the Gospel. Hopeless and helpless when it comes to salvation. We don't know. Of course, we do struggle when we sin, trying to understand God's forgiveness. But being raised and only have opportunity to hear the gospel when you are 20 years old, it's a lot of years of crying and understanding. And our mission trip as well, it was amazing to see those kids. We went to a Muslim house. And this mom had two boys. And we sit together to share about the gospel and engaging in such a nice conversation. And their boys were so passionate for Allah, so eager to preach about Islam. They didn't even want to listen to us. And we kept speaking, and we kept sharing. And when we left their house, one of the youth said to me, Mr. Kaur, it's just amazing to see how they believe and what they believe. And then I said to them, you see, kids, some time you take for granted being raised in a Christian family. Can you think what could happen if you had born in Afghanistan or in a Muslim family? Of course, the power of the gospel can do everything. But what? So what? What should we do now? We should be more eager to preach the gospel because we know the richness of the saving message of Jesus Christ. So there has to be the moral, the head commitment, but also the heart. And then the third thing that Paul says here Moving to our final point here, it's about not being ashamed. Not being ashamed. What would happen if we had a biblical understanding of a moral obligation to share the gospel? If we were really mature in our Christian faith, and as a result, we are passionate to share the gospel, So what would happen if we have all those things here, but at the end, we are ashamed? We know our moral obligation, and we have the right affection to do so, but we are ashamed. So if the moral obligation involves here an issue of mind, and if the level of affection here involves an issue of heart, To be an ashamed here involve both hearts and minds. When Jesus was speaking to his disciples, he said, for whoever is ashamed of me, in my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation of him, will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels. So there has to be a fully commitment when it comes to our task, mission, to share the gospel. And all believers struggle with that. All of us. Some of us is struggling because we haven't done before. We just took harvest to Lamar Park. We did a picnic, an evangelist picnic last Saturday. And one of the men came to me before we started. And the idea was not just to stay there sharing food. The idea was, I told him, we're going to go out in the park. We're going to address people. We're not going to leave those people before praying. Please don't leave anyone in the park before praying for them. So one man came to me and said, I haven't done this before, sorry. I just haven't. But I could see a desire in his heart. So there are some people that haven't done before. They don't know what to do. There are some people that don't want to do. There are some people that don't know what to do. But there are some people that are ashamed of sharing the gospel. So where's the source? What is the foundation for us to have both a heart and a mind commitment here? As we can see, Paul's understanding here, Paul's unashamed view of the gospel was rooted primarily in his knowledge of the gospel, as I said. That's the way. That's the ordinary way. There is no plan B. It is in the gospel that God has revealed His righteousness in Christ. There is no other way. Why should we be ashamed? Writing to Timothy, a young pastor, perhaps he was afraid. Paul says, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. not of me, his prisoner, but shared in his suffering for the gospel by the power of the gospel." It is such an amazing message because God not just ordained what he wants for us, but also he ordained the means. He shared with us the means for us to do so. The same power who saves sinners It is the same power we encourage Christians to save other sinners. So I hope, brothers and sisters, we can take it very serious, just as we take sanctification, just as we take justification, election, all those beautiful doctrines of our Reformed faith, we can take the Grace Commission very serious too. And I hope and keep praying for the Church of Christ to provide opportunities, because that's what we need, opportunity for members to engage. And last Saturday, again, I was just sharing, and I was asking Pastor Dale, should I share what we did, and yeah, of course, it's just amazing what we did and how God is using these things to create this culture in our hearts. And I was so willing to go to this park, and I was so willing to take my kids and all the families, I encourage Harvard's family to take their kids too, because it is time for our kids to face the world as it is, hostile to the gospel. But I said to the church, the world is more ready to speak than we are. more ready to listen than we are to speak. And after coming back, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, my daughter, 12 years old, was the first time, her first time, sharing the gospel. Maybe she didn't want to go with me. No, I want to go with Mr. Pasma, daddy. I said, okay. When she came back, running, She said to me, Daddy, you won't believe it. I said, what? I just shared a little bit about the gospel. I said, what? It's amazing. But no, no, no, Daddy. It's not only that. I prayed for some persons in the park. It's just amazing. I want to come again. I hope that my daughter and our kids and we as Christ's people understand that the Great Commission is also the Joyful Commission. And I pray the Holy Spirit may give us the seriousness that we need, and the passion and affection that we need. And we may never be ashamed of this saving gospel. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for such an amazing, powerful gospel we have in Christ. We thank you for your mercy in reaching us with this saving gospel, and now empowering us to go out to reach others. Because you are worthy, worthy of our worship. Not just worthy of our worship here, but worthy of the worship of the elects that are outside. May your Holy Spirit apply those truths of the gospel in our hearts. May our hearts be willing, with our minds, to share the good news for your glory, for your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.