How Beautiful Are the Feet? – Part II
In this Blog, I will share the first of these three I am’s listed in this passage of Scripture:
- I am a debtor
- I am ready to preach the Gospel
- I am not ashamed of the Gospel
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:14-17 (NKJV)
I am a debtor
We know that our salvation is a gift from God and that there is nothing that we can do to earn our place in sonship.
- Our works cannot save us from our sins
- Preaching the Gospel 365 days a year cannot give us an approach to God in righteousness
- Our giving cannot buy us a spot in heaven
- Going to church and even partaking in Communion cannot save us
Though all these things that we do are good and right and yet they are not enough to save us. We do these things because we are saved. It is through the grace of God that we are saved, and we receive this new life by faith. Our salvation is the gift of God. (It may be free, but it is certainly not cheap; it cost Jesus everything) There is such high value placed on every human that God redeemed us by sending Jesus to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He alone took our sins and shed His blood that we may have unlimited access without guilt, shame, fear, or nakedness before the Holiness of God.
Why does the Apostle Paul state that he is a debtor?
If salvation is a gift, why does Paul feel indebted? I will try and explain, the “indebtedness” that Paul describes in this verse, can be better understood as an obligation. The cry of his heart to proclaim the Gospel was not to gain salvation, but because he had already received this gift, Paul now desired that all men hear the Good News that they too could receive salvation. As the product of the grace of God, Paul was obligated to take this good news everywhere, and to all men. Paul was passionately carrying the Gospel flame because he knew the all-satisfying taste of the goodness of the Lord. Nothing and no one else could even come close to this new life that Paul had discovered in Jesus Christ.
I have a question for you…
• Do you feel this Holy sense of urgency to share the Gospel that Paul possessed?
• Do you have the same profound sense of obligation?
If you have received eternal life that is found only in Jesus alone, and you have become a new creation, then there must be a desire that has been awakened in you to tell others about the Lord. If there is no sense of divine obligation in your heart, this will indicate a serious malfunction. Houston, we have a problem! You have forgotten the joy of your salvation. You are in need of deep heart surgery. You don’t just need a stint; you probably need a new heart.
The Supreme Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) had become Paul’s orders to take the Gospel to all nations. Every Christian is under the same obligation to passionately share the Gospel to all nations, and all cultures.
Where and When?
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
The best place to start is right where you live.
Though we share the responsibility with all believers to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we should start somewhere. I think that your Jerusalem is where you live. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have
helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (NKJV)
The best time to start is right now
The problem with most people is that we do believe that we have a responsibility to share the Gospel, but our lives have become so cluttered and busy that we neglect to be intentional in sharing our faith. Every second is “pregnant with eternity,” and therefore it is wise to say that we shouldn’t procrastinate our Holy call to be His witnesses. Every second that we breathe, someone is perishing. We need the urgency of this reality to be awakened in our hearts. This obligation or the sense of indebtedness that Paul declares in Romans 1:14, “I am a debtor”
must become our passion as well.