What About Those Who Never Heard Series

1. It’s so good for us to cultivate a heart for the lost! (See Mark)

NOTE: The heart of Jesus becomes our heart, our passion, our desire to see those around us come to know Jesus personally!

• We realize don’t we, that God sent someone into our lives!

• How thankful we are!

• Remember one of the first instructions Jesus gives his disciples is found in Matthew 28:19-20

APP: Christianity is a MISSIONARY faith.

• We have a message and that message is to be shared!

• It’s been said that a church, a believer that does not EVANGELIZE will soon FOSSILIZE!

• It’s not just a calling or command, it’s who we are!

• That’s how you heard, received, believed. (Win-Disciple-Send)

#1 - GO THEREFORE.

• Therefore is an interesting word tying this Great Commission to the appearance of Jesus Christ after His resurrection.

• Because I’m alive. Because I’m who I said I was. Because I’ve conquered death. Because I’m alive forever more!… GO

NOTE: The word “GO” is actually not the command in this passage.

• In the GK it is “GOING”. The command is “MAKE DISCIPLES”.

• So, “WHILE YOU ARE GOING, make disciples.”

• While you’re out there. While your shining your light, flavoring your area… make disciples. Share, pray, help, love.

NOW: A disciple is a ‘learner’. More than just a believer, a disciple is one who is disciplined in the faith.

• A disciple was deeply connected to his teacher. He learned from him and even sometimes lived & worked alongside of him.

#3 - THEN BAPTIZE those disciples.

• Water baptism is such a powerful statement.

• Water baptism is a powerful event in the believer’s life.

• First it’s an outward sign to those watching of the work of God’s Spirit in their life.

• Also it’s an inward sign of obedience as a disciple commits their life publicly to the One that saved them!

#4 - TEACHING THEM

• Every believer is a teacher. Each one of you has been empowered and equipped to teach.

• Isn’t that great? You have something to share, to impart!

• TEACH THEM TO OBSERVE… teach them to obey.

So we open the Letter addressed to the Roman Christians and right away Paul begins to preach the gospel!

• He lays out carefully for us that we are all guilty.

• He begins with the unbeliever, then the moral person, then the religious person, and ends in 3:23…

NOW there is a lot of resistance to the gospel, for sure.

• I know you’ve come up against some of it…

• I don’t believe in the Bible! (I don’t need God.)

• No such thing as God. (I believe everyone goes to heaven)

• You don’t believe in Noah do you? Adam & Eve?

• Well we’ve learned that the answer to those questions goes back to Jesus Christ. He believed and taught us so…

V20-21 here answer a question that is very common…

• What about those who have never heard? OR

• What about the pygmies in the deep dark jungle? (vv16-21)

I. (1:20) WITHOUT EXCUSE

1. The Revelation of God.

a. We’re so thankful God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

1 John 1:5 (NKJV) 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

• God reveals Himself to EVERY SINGLE human being.

The first light is mentioned here the LIGHT OF CREATION.

• His invisible attributes are CLEARLY SEEN, being understood by the things that are made…

NOTE: Paul is not saying that the Gentiles know God as their Creator, but rather everyone knows there is a Superior Being because God has clearly shown them through Creation!

• Let’s flip over to Psalm 19:1ff

Cisero lived around 106-143 BC, wrote: “When we lift our eyes to the heavens, what can be more manifest and more obvious then there must be a SUPREME INTELLIGENCE by whom we are governed.”

• Even pagan philosophers, and there are many more, know that Creation points us to a Creator!

So what does Satan do? Introduce a NEW THEORY on the CLEARLY SEEN attributes of God… he named it EVOLUTION!

• The basic assumption of evolution is that there IS NO GOD!

• Everything you see can easily be explained with time… over time after a BIG BANG came these changes, and well here we are!

• It’s not being taught as a theory, but as TRUTH.

BUT THE TRUTH is that ‘in the beginning’ God created…

• He’s a loving Creator very much involved in His creation

• He jumps into creation & becomes a part of it in person of Jesus

The Bible says we are created by God!