Expend God’s Grace by Proclaiming the Gospel

Paul tells the Romans that they are full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and able to admonish one another. Paul nevertheless writes boldly because grace gave him a particular calling as a minister of Christ to the Gentiles. Grace did not mean that Paul had something special in himself. Grace meant that God showed favor by empowering Paul to do the work God called him to do.

Paul’s whole life showed that Christ wrought the work through him. Christ did not need Paul’s education, his intellect, or his natural ability. Christ chose mercy for a God-hating rebel on the Damascus road, just as God gave Noah grace, showed him what was coming, taught him to build, and shut the ark’s door. God’s grace is never in vain, because God supplies what He commands.

The call to proclaim the gospel belongs to every Christian, though not every Christian fulfills that calling in the same way. The church is a body, and every part has a role in the work. The Great Commission commands disciples to make disciples. The Spirit fell upon the gathered believers at Pentecost so that the gospel could be proclaimed. The Thessalonians sounded out the word of the Lord far beyond their own city.

The contrast between the gospel and social change matters. God cares for the oppressed, the hungry, the fatherless, and the widow. Social good can be an effect of the gospel, but it cannot become the point of the gospel. The gospel is not mainly about fixing relationships between people. The gospel is the good news of what God has done concerning sinful mankind through His Son.

Christ and Him crucified remained Paul’s message from Jerusalem to Illyricum. Paul did not preach against Rome, dress up Christianity for Athens, or make sin feel comfortable. Paul proclaimed that sinners cannot save themselves, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, and that God commands all men everywhere to repent. The gospel is simple, but it is not simplistic. Christ crucified contains the depths of the incarnation, sin, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation, resurrection, and new life.

Paul’s method was also governed by Scripture. Paul went where Christ had not been named because Isaiah had said that those who had not heard would understand. Scripture does not require every Christian to go overseas, but Scripture does require every Christian to be faithful where God has placed him. Gifts, workplaces, neighborhoods, campuses, families, and even burdens for distant peoples are graces to be expended for Christ’s gospel. Christ calls His people to put their hands to the plow without looking back, because whatever competes with full surrender becomes an idol.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Grace equips the work God assigns. Grace is not merely God being nice to undeserving people. Grace is God giving favor that enables His people to carry out His calling. Paul labored abundantly, yet he refused to treat that labor as proof of his own greatness. Christ receives the glory because Christ is the One at work through weak and imperfect instruments. [18:28]
• 2. Every Christian must sound forth Christ. The Great Commission does not leave gospel witness to apostles, missionaries, or unusually outgoing Christians. The body has many members, and each member serves differently, but each member belongs to the same living body. God places believers among neighbors, coworkers, children, classmates, and family members for a reason. Words and deeds must both make Christ known. [10:22]
• 3. Christ crucified remains the central message. The gospel cannot be reduced to social improvement, cultural influence, or winning arguments. Christ came into the world to save sinners who stand under God’s righteous wrath. His perfect life, sacrificial death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and coming judgment give the gospel its substance. Repentance and faith are not optional additions to that good news but the response God commands. [36:35]
• 4. Scripture governs gospel methods and priorities. Paul did not make ministry decisions by convenience, bureaucracy, popularity, or human ingenuity. Scripture shaped where he went, what he said, and why he labored. Churches should care for real needs without allowing mercy ministries to replace the proclamation of Christ. God alone gives the increase, but God has not left His people without direction for faithful labor. [45:19]
• 5. Surrender exposes the idols held back. The plowman who keeps looking back cannot keep a straight line. Comfort, prestige, security, and personal plans become idols when they claim the devotion that belongs to Christ. God will accomplish every purpose He has ordained, yet Christ still calls His disciples to follow without reserve. True joy is not found in protecting the things that compete with Him.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:59] - What Evangelism Means
• [06:53] - Every Christian Is Called to Witness
• [10:22] - The Church as One Body
• [12:05] - Paul’s Grace Given Calling
• [13:49] - Paul’s Means, Message, and Method
• [16:57] - Grace That Enables God’s Work
• [20:35] - Relying on God Rather Than Man
• [29:26] - Christ and Him Crucified
• [35:30] - The Good News of Salvation
• [39:13] - Repent and Believe the Gospel
• [41:32] - Paul’s Scripture-Governed Mission
• [45:40] - Biblical Mission Work and Mercy
• [50:18] - God’s Calling and Earnest Desire
• [52:20] - Surrender and the Danger of Idols
• [55:01] - Living Under God’s Authority
• [55:53] - Do You Truly Believe the Gospel?

Bible Reading

Romans 15:14–21
“I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’” [00:21]

1 Corinthians 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” [18:28]

1 Thessalonians 1:8
“For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.” [09:20]

Isaiah 52:15
“So shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.” [42:48]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 15:14–15, what good qualities does Paul recognize in the Roman believers, and why does he still write boldly to remind them? [12:08]
2. According to Romans 15:17–19, whose work does Paul emphasize when he describes the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum?
3. What two ways does Romans 15:18 say Christ used Paul to bring Gentiles to obedience?
4. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, how does Paul hold together hard labor and dependence on God’s grace? [18:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says that grace was given to him for his calling as a minister to the Gentiles. How does this show that grace is more than forgiveness and includes God’s enabling help for the work He assigns? [16:44]
2. Paul refuses to speak of anything except what Christ accomplished through him. How does that protect a Christian from taking personal credit for ministry, ability, or spiritual fruit? [19:23]
3. Romans 15:20–21 shows that Paul’s desire to reach places where Christ had not been named was shaped by Isaiah 52:15. How should Scripture shape a Christian’s choices about where and how to serve, even when that calling is local rather than overseas? [45:19]
4. The Thessalonians “sounded forth” the word of the Lord, while believers have different roles within one body. What might faithful gospel witness look like for Christians with different gifts, personalities, and places in life? [10:22]

Application questions

1. Where has God already placed you among people who need to hear of Christ—at home, among relatives, at work, in a neighborhood, at school, or elsewhere? What is one natural opportunity to speak clearly about Christ this week? [51:25]
2. Is there a gift, skill, burden, relationship, or daily responsibility that you tend to view as mainly your own? How could you begin to see it as grace given by God to be used for the gospel? [27:28]
3. Does your life give people enough evidence to know that you belong to Christ, and do your words make the gospel clear as well? Where might you need growth in either your conduct or your willingness to speak? [28:19]
4. When you think about sharing the gospel, do you depend more on finding perfect words and having every answer than on the grace and power of God? What fear or pressure could you bring honestly to the Lord? [28:51]
5. Christ crucified must remain central. When speaking with an unbelieving friend, how could you move beyond general religious talk and lovingly explain sin, Christ’s saving work, repentance, and faith? [30:20]
6. Caring for hurting people is good and necessary, but mercy must not replace the gospel. Is there a practical need in your community or relationships that you can help meet while also pointing people to Christ? [48:42]
7. What comfort, plan, reputation, security, or habit most tempts you to “look back” instead of following Christ fully? How might that thing become an idol, and what would surrender to Christ look like in one concrete step? [52:47]