Romans 1:14 ARE WE OBLIGATED TO THE GOSPEL?

I am bashful. I am an inrovert. I do not like to talk. Are we excused from sharing the gospel? How obligated are we to sharing the gospel?

Scripture:

Romans 1:14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Lesson:

Paul saying that we as recipients of the gospel are obligated to share the message of Christ.  When we receive the gospel we actually incur a debt. We are not ours anymore…we become Christ. He initially paid our debt. If someone pays our debt do we just say thank you and then act as thou we have no relationship to that person? No, generally we work on paying back what we owe. While we cannot die for our own sins, we are indebted to Christ who paid for our sins.

It is not a matter of have to but we should want to give back to the one who paid the highest price for our atonement. Since Christ died for our sins, we are obligated to Christ. He explicitly tell us what he want us to do. Paul say, what do you want me to do? When we ask the question, he tell us what to do. Matthew 28 sums up what God wants us to do. We are to share Jesus with all we come in contact with as we go our way through the world.

When we receive the gospel it imposes upon us a debt. We repay our debt by passing the gospel to someone else.

Application:

1.   How obligated do you feel toward sharing the gospel?

2.   Do we all have to share the gospel the same way? How is your unique way of sharing the gospel?

3.   Are there boundaries (social, racial, cultural, economical, educational, political) that you must break so that you can reach the lost?

4.   Do we have the love we need to call all brothers in Christ?

5.   How do we generally define our church families?

6.   How are we inclusive or exclusive when we come to culture, race, social, or economic differences?

7.   What problems does the church face today as the church tries to live out the truth of this text?

Prayer:

Dear Father, create in me a desire to reach the lost. Help me to see the unique way that you have planned for me in witnessing for you and in sharing my testimony. The boundaries that are within me that prevent me from speaking boldly for you that others may come to know you. Help me to lead my church to accepting and loving all that come to know you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.