Beautiful Feet: Bringing Light To Darkness
Romans 10
www.crbible.com/sermons
Introduction:
1. How many of you in this building have beautiful feet today? Please don’t take your shoes off and show us! I do not mean this literally, in the sense of your physical feet.
• Sometimes we speak figuratively, and it’s obvious (“Let’s give him a hand,” or “I really put my foot in my mouth.”).
2. What do I mean by beautiful feet? Look at verse 15. Our feet are what carry us places. God says you have beautiful feet if you are carrying the good news of peace to other people that need it. What is the gospel of peace? Romans 5:1
3. The gospel of peace is the good news that sinners can be brought into a position of peace with a holy and righteous God. How? Through simple faith in Jesus Christ.
• All of us are spiritually dead because of sin. Romans 5:12
• The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
• We can be saved from the wrath of God because Christ paid our sin debt for us. Romans 5:8-10
• Salvation from the penalty of our sin comes instantly, the moment we trust Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Romans 4:5, 22-24
4. Would you agree with me, that is good news? But that message of good news does absolutely no good if people do not hear it. Romans 10:14-15
5. This is why, when God sees a person actively trying to take that good news to people, God says, “You have beautiful feet.”
6. When you think of the “preacher” in verse 14, what goes through your mind? Do you think of your pastors at church? Do you think of these missionaries we have here this month? Did you know a preacher is simply “one who proclaims?”
7. How many Christians should be proclaiming the message of Christ to others? How many Christians should be preachers (proclaimers) of Christ? Every believer should strive to have beautiful feet! Why is this so important?
First, because it should be a natural desire – vs. 1
1. Paul was consumed with seeing others saved (vs. 1). When you have experienced something wonderful, it is only natural to want to tell others.
2. Paul was ready to preach the gospel and was not ashamed of it. 1:15-16
• Illustration: When I got saved, I immediately wanted to tell my parents and my friends. It is a natural reaction.
• Illustration: The woman at the well. John 4:28-30, 39
3. Every believer should strive to have beautiful feet. Why? Because if you are saved, there should be a natural desire to use your feet to take the good news of Christ to others who have never heard it.
Second, because many have no knowledge of God – vs. 2-8
1. What a description of the nations in vs. 2-3. This aptly describes the lost condition of most of the world. People know there is a God, but religion has a million different ways for you to try to appease God and become acceptable to Him.
2. There are even many who know of Jesus Christ, but they have not submitted to Him as the only way to obtain righteousness before God (vs. 4). God’s call is to simply believe on His Son.
3. Religion says, “Do!” Religion keeps you on the treadmill of performance, never knowing for sure if you have done enough.
4. Many people have a religious zeal and they are sincere, but their efforts are based upon ignorance, not knowledge (vs. 3). They are running, but never going through the door.
• Illustration: Running around the building trying to get in, but never simply entering through the door.
5. Many are trying so hard to find God’s acceptance and establish their own righteousness, but they have missed the door, Jesus Christ. vs. 4; cf. John 10:9
6. Those of us who know Christ and the peace He can give have a message to share with this world! Let’s have beautiful feet and get it out!
Third, because of the simplicity of the gospel – vs. 9-13
1. Let’s read verses 9-13. I would venture to say that we all understood from that text how to be saved.
2. If it took a Ph.D. to share the good news of Jesus Christ (or a high school diploma, or college degree, etc.), many of us would have an excuse to not share it. But it doesn’t!
• Nor does it take volumes of books to contain it (hold up some tracts).
3. The good news of Christ is so simple that virtually anybody can understand it, and understand it quickly.
• Illustration: Philippian jailor in Acts 16:30-31 (His entire house got saved.)
• The gospel is so simple that a doctor can understand it, but so can a child.
4. We need to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ because of its simple, direct message. You can share it with the people you know that do not know Christ. You are the best hope they have of finding Christ.
Fourth, because this time of grace could end soon – vs. 14-21
1. Israel was God’s chosen people. Christ came to call them to repentance and presented Himself as their Messiah – the promised King who would bring them their kingdom.
2. They rejected Christ, so God raised up the apostle Paul and revealed to Him all the incredible truths of the cross of Christ. He made known to Paul the gospel of Christ that we proclaim today.
3. God also revealed to Paul that we are living in a grace period that was unprophesied. This grace period could end at any moment. After Christ returns in the heavens for believers, this time of grace will give way to a time of God’s wrath on this earth.
4. We need to be actively engaged in using whatever means we can to proclaim the gospel of Christ because we do not know how much longer this dispensation of grace will last.
5. Now is the time to witness to your friends and loved ones. Now is the time to give to missions and to pray for missionaries. Now is the time to have beautiful feet!
6. Take a gospel tract and put it in the shoe you will wear tomorrow morning. It will remind you to have beautiful feet.
