How Beautiful are the Feet! – Part I

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!” (Romans 10:14-15)

Those who carry the Gospel have beautiful feet. I was thinking about this and wouldn’t call feet a beautiful part of the body. The hair or the face of a person is typically what defines that they are beautiful. However, when it comes to the responsibility of carrying the Gospel, the Bible declares that those who do this have beautiful feet. The feet of missionaries and evangelists may be calloused from the many hours of standing and walking. Nevertheless, the Bible calls these feet beautiful.

Barnabas had beautiful feet!

Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. (Acts 11:22-24)

The Bible specifically mentions the impact that Barnabas made in the early Church. His life was rich in character and fruitful in service. Through his passion and efforts, many people were saved and added to the Church. He devoted his life to proclaiming the Gospel.

How would you like the journals of eternity to take note of your life and ministry?

We are not saved by what we do, but rather we are saved by what Jesus has done for us. Jesus alone died for our sins and paid the debt in full settling the debt that we could not pay. We are not saved by our works but by God’s grace and our faith. In fact, our best works are as soiled rags and are insufficient to gain us access before the Throne of God. Only the Blood of Jesus grants us uninterrupted access to God and makes us righteous. His Blood shouts louder than our guilt and shame and declares our righteousness.  As Christians, we are not judged for our sins, but we will be judged and rewarded for our work. It is strange that many Christians give no heed to the fact that we will one day give an account for our lives before the Throne of God. Eternity keeps an account of all that we accomplish as God’s representatives on earth.

I am quite confident that you, like Barnabas, would like the journals of heaven to record your life as rich in character and fruitful in service. I am also quite confident that you would love to be known in heaven by the many souls that are saved and added to the Church through your efforts.

Barnabas was a soul-winner

I am sure that you know this, but allow me to remind you, the “Supreme Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20), was initially given to the Apostles, but there is no doubt that this was also given to every subsequent Christian.

• Every follower of Jesus is called to be a witness and to share the Gospel with those outside the Kingdom.
• The Apostle Paul taught that everyone who is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) is entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18). In other words, everyone who is born again is called to share the Gospel with the specific goal of reaching the lost, and to disciple the found.

Barnabas was an inspiring leader who was noted for a significant number of new believers who were added to the Church through his ministry. Wouldn’t it be glorious if everyone who was saved shared the Gospel and as a result, a great many were added to the Church?  Through our combined efforts, every local church would be filled with new converts. It would be like the Book of Acts, where the Lord added daily to the Church. (Acts 2:47; Acts 16:5)

If the modern-day churches are not growing daily, it’s not God to blame; we, as believers need to assume the full responsibility. We need to create an environment that is conducive to church-growth through mobilized evangelists and passionate soul-winners. The result of our joint efforts we would see packed churches with standing room only.

The enemy of the Church would love to mute the sound of the Gospel. The devil’s goal is to prevent our lives from being contagious with the Gospel of Light.  If the enemy of our soul can keep us silent, he remains in control of the lives of the lost. (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:19) No wonder the Bible is adamant that those in darkness will remain unreached when we as Christians are silenced. (Romans 10:14-15)

In the Book of Acts, there were many zealous Christians who were busy and engaged in the work of the harvest. Jesus had instructed the disciples right from the beginning that He was going to make His disciples ‘fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19) and His closing commission was to reach the lost. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20) This is important to note! The beginning and the end of the ministry of Jesus had the goal to reach the lost. Jesus came to die for our sins, but He also came to empower His disciples to be fishers of men. (Acts 1:8)

Barnabas was mentioned in the Scriptures because his life was yielded to the Lord and many were saved through his message. He was powerfully used by God to reach the lost, and he made sure that they were added to the Church. He was not merely trying to grow the church numerically but realized that each one who received the Lord was to grow spiritually and become strong in the ministry of the Gospel. The goal is not just to increase in numbers but rather to strengthen the existing members who will carry the Gospel and be about the business of eternity.

It is my desire that this Blog will inspire you to be bold in the Gospel, that through your efforts many souls will be saved and become a part of a vibrant, life-giving Church. It is my prayer that eternity will recognize your ministry and that it may be said of you, “A great many people were added to the Lord.”

May you have beautiful feet!

Dr. Leon van Rooyen