Naaman: A Sick Man With A Spiritual Need

Naaman:

A Sick Man With A Spiritual Need

Text: 2 Kings 5:1, 14

Intro: Over the next decade, 2010-2020, the Southern Baptist Convention will conduct a nation-wide evangelistic initiative called, “GPS—God’s Plan for Sharing.” Its rallying cry is rather simple—“Every Believer Sharing, Every Person Hearing by 2020.”1

This initiative will involve a four-pronged approach to evangelism: "Praying-Every church praying for lost people; Engaging-Every believer sharing as a trained witness; Sowing-Every lost person receiving a witness; and Harvesting-Every church harvesting and celebrating every salvation response."2

Regardless of what you might think about this new initiative, it is most certainly the duty, and divine privilege of the Church to give witness and testimony of the saving power of Christ, through the sinner’s faith and trust in our Lord’s shed blood on Calvary, as the complete payment for their sins. The question today is not whether we should witness to the lost, but whether we are being a witness. The Church, which is comprised of every born again child of God in this age of grace, has been given this clear command from Christ, Himself. It’s often referred to as, “The Great Commission.” Here it is:

Matt. 28:19 “Go ye therefore (“as you go”—ISV), and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

With these thoughts in mind, I want to speak to you today about a man named Naaman. There isn’t a lot written in our Bible about this man, but what we do find there tells us much about the type of man he was.

Apparently, Naaman was a likeable individual who was well respected by his superiors and inferiors alike. Even his name means, “pleasantness.”3 But Naaman was also an able military leader who was credited with many victories over the enemies of Syria, his native land. This would seem to imply that he was a man of above average intelligence, as well as physical prowess. Without a doubt, he was envied by many of his peers.

However, for all his prestige, position, and power, there was one thing that diminished it all—leprosy. For all his greatness, Naaman was a leper. By the standards of his day, this great warrior would have lived an ideal life, had it not been for this putrid, disfiguring disease.

As depicted in Second Kings, chapter five, Naaman is a picture of the unregenerate sinner. He typifies for us, a man who, though possessed of many good qualities on the outside, is ultimately corrupt on the inside. He pictures one who needed not merely a cleansing of the flesh, but also a cleansing of the soul and spirit. In short, Naaman illustrates for us a man in need of salvation.

The physical miracle experienced by Naaman, can be experienced spiritually, by every lost sinner who will place their faith and trust in Christ, the One whose “…blood can make the vilest sinner clean,”4 as the old hymn says. This account tells us that, like Naaman, the lost must “wash, and be clean” (2 Kings 5:13b).

Theme: The sinner’s need for salvation is illustrated by…

I. NAAMAN THE MAN

A. Naaman’s Position.

2 Kings 5:1a “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria…”

NOTE: One’s position in life sometimes warrants privileges and respect among their peers. Naaman enjoyed all of that, as the captain of the king of Syria’s armies. He was a man of authority and power. But though this man was a man of position, he warranted no special favor or acceptance from God, for He is “no respecter of persons,” according to Acts 10:34. The sinner can gain acceptance with God on one basis, and one basis only: repentance of their sins, and faith in the work of Christ on Calvary.

B. Naaman’s Popularity.

2 Kings 5:1b “…was a great man with his master, and honorable (“very rich”5)…”

NOTE: [1] You know folks; one of the sad things of our day is some of the people our children and teens admire. Just because someone is considered to be popular doesn’t make them worthy of admiration. Notice the following facts:

Pop Culture

Have you thought lately about who teenagers admire? World Almanac and Book of Facts surveyed eight graders a few years ago and discovered that the top thirty names were movie stars and athletes. Not one admired adult was a religious leader, statesman, author, painter, doctor, astronaut or educator. It tells you something about our times!6

[2] Money might make one popular and sought after in the world, but it won’t keep a person from facing eternity without Christ.

After buying a $50,000 insurance policy before a plane trip, the traveler stepped on a nearby scale. Out came one of those fortune-telling cards. The message read, “A recent investment may pay big dividends.”7