Those Who Need & Those Who Know Jesus

My Bible reading program had me in Romans 1 on Wednesday and the words of verses 11-15 kept rumbling through my head. Verse 15 maybe was the key nugget. It reads: So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Typically, I think most of the time, we might think of the Gospel being preached as something that needs to happen because of unbelievers. And I do believe that is true. We do need to preach and share the good news of Jesus with people who do not know Jesus. I believe verses like 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 make it profoundly clear. But in writing the letter we call Romans, Paul was writing to people whom he referred to as saints in Romans 1:7. Paul was not writing to lost people. He was writing to followers of Jesus. So why does he want to preach the Gospel to people who are already followers of Jesus? They have already heard the message of the Gospel made possible by the Gospel event of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And they have responded to that message by repenting of their sins and trusting the Lord Jesus alone as their Savior. The Gospel has changed their lives. Why do they need to have the Gospel preached to them again?

 

Maybe you have heard the suggestion, “preach the Gospel to yourself every day.” The sentiment of that suggestion explains, I think, why Paul wanted to preach the Gospel to the church at Rome. The Gospel is critical to us going from being dead in our sins to being alive to God in Christ. But it is also critical to us following Jesus. Jesus’ death and resurrection reorient all of history. That reorientation includes our lives. We need to hear, consider, ponder, receive, and respond to the impact of the Gospel so that we experience the transforming work of God in our lives. Paul’s desire to preach the Gospel was so the followers of Christ in Rome would know more fully how much God is for them and how God will work in their lives. I believe I need the Gospel today for that very reason. I pray that throughout our ministry at Central, we are bringing the Gospel repeatedly. Becoming a disciple starts with responding to the Gospel and continues because our lives are transformed through the Gospel. Let’s preach the Gospel today to those who need Jesus and those who know Jesus.