“Beautiful Feet and the Gospel Goal”
Romans 10:9-15
At one time or another, everyone has played the “word association game?” You know how it’s played: one person gives a word and then you spontaneously respond with another word. If we changed the game to “BIBLICAL Word Association”, your answers might be quite different: If I said “red”, your response would probably be “blood”, not blue. If I said “dark”…you might say “light”, if I said “black”, you might say “sin”. If I said the word “feet”, would you have any biblical word association? (The word “feet” is actually used 238 times in the Bible.) How about if I asked you to give adjectives to Biblically DESCRIBE "feet"?
The Apostle Paul certainly had a biblical word that he associated with “feet” in Romans 10:15: “Just as it is written (from Isaiah 52:7), "How BEAUTIFUL are THE FEET of those who bring GOOD NEWS of GOOD THINGS!" How did Paul arrive at the same Biblical conclusion as Isaiah did some 700 years earlier?
Salvation Essentials
In Isaiah, Israel had sold themselves to idols of the world and had become faithless and rebellious toward God. The nation, including its LEADERS, had lost the vision of God’s Kingdom of righteousness, love and peace and they were serving the gods of materialism, self- indulgence, hypocrisy, immorality. Isaiah comes onto the scene as a prophet sent by God, sort of a PRESS AGENT for God, linking God’s Word to God’s people, and foretells the coming of the Lord Jesus as THE LINK for salvation. Paul assumes the same role as an apostle, as a message of this Savior, only Isaiah points TO the SAVIOR’S Coming.
There are some salvation essentials for the “WHOEVERS” in knowing the Salvation of the Lord Jesus and having “Beautiful Feet” in the verses leading up to Romans 10:15, which we have looked at:
Beginning at Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, (NOT BY WORKS, BUT FAITH) and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER (He who) BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for "WHOEVER (He who) WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
1. Two things must happen to a person, a “whoever”, to be saved. A person has to BELIEVE in the LORD JESUS CHRIST (that Christ is Preeminent in all Things, including your life, He is the Perfect Savior for sin, God in the Flesh). BELIEVE means that you are convinced in your heart, and when you are, then CHRIST will be evidenced in your life. If you are a true believer, you have been connected to the Cornerstone, the Lord Jesus; He is the foundation of your life, the Rock of your Salvation so that everything you do PROCEEDS from Him. It’s impossible for Jesus not to be noticed by others in your life because you’re connected to Him.
2. The second thing was what? Whoever is saved has to CALL on and CONFESS the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. For those who DO NOT, Jesus becomes a trap or a stone of stumbling, but a person who DOES call upon the Lord Jesus by the initiation of God’s Holy Spirit, given at Pentecost, will be saved. The Greek word for “confess”, “homologeô”, means “with WORDS”, “with Logos.” It means that you TALK about the Word of Life, the Lord Jesus, with your mouth. (John 1:1:” In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God and the Logos was God.”)
Now, look at Verse 14: “How then will they (the whoever’s) call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they (the whoever’s) believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they PREACH unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How BEAUTIFUL are THE FEET of those who bring GOOD NEWS of GOOD THINGS!"
3. Now stay with me and FOLLOW the logic here: Only those who CALL ON the Lord Jesus, believe IN the Lord Jesus, and confess the LORD JESUS will be saved. Isn’t that correct? You Trust Jesus as Savior and serve Him as LORD. You receive God’s forgiveness on God’s terms, which is the gift and WORK of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and you are justified by faith in His Work. THIS ALSO MEANS that none can CALL and BELIEVE UINLESS they first HEAR the Gospel. No one can believe without HEARING the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. The Glory of Gospel is that it is a spiritual understanding and occurrence that comes to you by God’s Pentecost Spirit THROUGH the hearing of the Word concerning Jesus.
Romans 10:17 tells us: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
4. The fourth essential step for a “whoever” is that Someone must PREACH the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ in order for a person to hear, to believe, and confess, in order to be saved. Paul says that they cannot hear, believe and confess unless they are heard by a “preacher” (a kâ-rü'-sô). 2 Peter 2:5 describes Noah, not as a boat builder, but as “a preacher of righteousness”. A preacher is not only an ordained position, as most would like to think, but rather, a preacher is someone who openly proclaims something. In this case, A preacher is someone who “OPENLY PROCLAIMS something which Christ has done”. It’s similar to the word “CONFESS” - you use WORDS of FAITH to express your belief. We don’t all have the spiritual GIFT of “preaching” but we ALL ARE to “proclaim” what Christ has done for us.
5. SOMEONE must SEND the preacher with the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. Now if there are still over 2 billion people in the world and over 6,000 different people groups who have NOT HEARD the saving WORD of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, a Gospel of justification by FAITH, where is the breakdown in these five steps? It would have to be that there are not enough people who are being SENT to preach, so that the “whoever’s” can hear, ask, believe, confess, and be saved! Jesus will not return until the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached to every tongue, tribe and nation and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14, Mk 13:10)
The Function of Beautiful Feet
Let’s take a few minutes to look at verse 15; it’s such a tremendously crucial verse for the Church: “How BEAUTIFUL are THE FEET of those who bring GOOD NEWS of GOOD THINGS!”
What an absolutely incredible truth in these words, in which God tells us the Function of Beautiful Feet: God sends out His human pieces of pottery which He has formed, (VESSELS OF HONOR and MERCY which we looked at in Romans 9:23: “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.”) with the message of the GOOD NEWS in Christ Jesus the Lord to people who would otherwise be doomed to eternal judgment! He shared the riches of His Glory for us and to US so we would BRING the GOSPEL to others who have not heard this Gospel. Beautiful feet bring the message the Gospel (the good tidings) of forgiveness in Christ. The feet don’t do the talkin’, just the walkin’! Beautiful feet carry the mouth’s message of what has happened in the heart by the Word of Faith.
2 Corinthians 5: 17; “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature ; the old things passed away ; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,(we represent the Kingdom of OUR God to the kingdoms of this world) as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ( Here’s how!) 21 He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The word “Beautiful” in the Hebrew is to be “adorned, comely, lovely or fitting”. Psalm 93:5 says: “Your testimonies are fully confirmed; Holiness BEFITS (is beautiful or fitting for) Your house, O LORD, forevermore.” 2. Beautiful feet are holy feet. Holy feet are dedicated to walking in the way of the Lord Jesus and FOR the Lord Jesus to the Glory of God. 1 Samuel 2: 9 says that: "He (God) keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.” Why and How does God protect the feet of His Godly ones?
You remember: God furnishes us with all the pieces of protection that we need, and one of them we studied was in Ephesians 6:15: “and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.” Our feet are protected for the PURPOSE of GOING into the world with the GOSPEL. We as the local body, called the CHURCH, are supposed to be dedicated to God and to EACH OTHER, each one gifted with a spiritual gift, to be used in service to each other, and then GO OUT from here with the feet of the preparation of the Gospel. Each of us TOGETHER and INDIVIDUALLY. FOR THE GOSPEL’S SAKE. HOLY to each other and to God.
Romans 3:15 mentions the opposite of “beautiful feet”. Those have NOT been covered and equipped with the righteousness and forgiveness of Christ: "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, 17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN." 18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
The word “Feet” in Hebrew is from the verb meaning to walk along, to go by foot, or, LISTEN TO THIS: to “TEACH TO WALK.” At Jesus’ Ascension back into Heaven, which the Church marked on Ascension Day, Jesus called His followers together, and in preparing them for the outpouring of His Spirit on Pentecost, He said in Matthew 28:18-20: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (Baptism is far more than a water ceremony; Here is how “baptism” is characterized:) 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Paul is actually interjecting the great commission for the Church; it’s THE NUMBER ONE responsibility of being a FOLLOWER OF CHRIST: It is to TEACH OTHERS TO WALK ALONG WITH JESUS. 3. People with Holy, Beautiful Feet, teach others to walk with Jesus. It’s DISCIPLESHIP, and it’s the main function of followers of Christ and the LOCAL CHURCH body. The nature of discipleship is that disciples make OTHER disciples. In the 114 times in which the word “church” is used in the NT, at least 90 of them refer to believers gathering together for mission, encouragement, fellowship, and instruction.
The Local Church is the place where saints are equipped for this Ministry; it’s where your spiritual gifts for the welfare and growth of Christ’s Body are utilized. The local church body is where people carry each other’s burdens. The local church is where saints, for whom CHRIST DIED, worship their glorious God and Savior together. The Local Church is part of God’s redeemed people who live and serve in such a way that their lives and their communities are transformed by the love and power of God, which is displayed in Christ and demonstrated by believers…who ARE the Church. Be careful what you think about and say about the Church.
The Local Church, right here, is where we learn to teach others to walk with Christ by first of all loving and serving and supporting one another. Commitment to a local body of Believers in Christ is not optional: The Church IS God’s strategy for reaching a lost world and it absolutely needs the support of God’s people; that is why the Church plants churches!
Listen to Isaiah 52:7: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, (Zion means “parched places”; Here’s the declaration:) "Your God reigns!"
The MOST beautiful feet were those of the best preacher and evangelist ever: The Lord Jesus. His feet came from the glory of Heaven and walked the parched places of this earth, in order to bring the Living Water to hearts and lives. His feet were nailed to the Cross in order to bring God’s Peace and Salvation to us. He receives the honor that He deserves, when the Body of Christ and its individual members, bring that message to others, the Message that Jesus alone saves, the message that “OUR God REIGNS”.
Believers are NOT called to be passive witnesses: It has been said that “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men and Women Sit back and Do Nothing.” Disciples of Jesus, learn from Jesus. They Listen and Obey His Word: They multiply by making OTHER disciples. Followers of Jesus, recognize Him as Leader and Lord: They Deny themselves and Follow HIS Holy Calling to bring the Good News which announces the peace and joy of knowing Jesus, and that HE is Lord!
The Church’s effective call of the Gospel by the Will of God is witnessed when the Church proclaims the Glorified, Preeminent Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to all the Earth. Do you have a holy beauty which is going to last? Are you proclaiming the everlasting beauty of the person whose feet were nailed to the cross for you? May God help us together, as well as individually, to be empowered by His Holy Spirit and His Holy Word to be witnesses of the “Living Water”.
OUTLINE:
I. SALVATION ESSENTIALS for the “whoever”:
1. One Must BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(CONVINCED in your HEART, by FAITH)
2. One Must CONFESS the Lord Jesus Christ with your mouth.
(with WORDS)
3. One Must HEAR the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.
(with Head (ears) and Heart)
4. Someone must PREACH.
(Openly proclaim what Christ has done)
5. Someone must SEND the preacher.
II. The Function of “Beautiful feet”
1. Beautiful feet carry the mouth’s message of what has happened in the heart by the Word of Faith.
2. Beautiful feet are holy feet.
3. Beautiful feet teach others to walk with Jesus.
4. The MOST beautiful feet were those of Jesus
Romans 16: 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
