Main Idea: The single obligation for First Baptist Church is to effectively share the transforming message of God’s Good News.

While reading recently I came across a quote in a book that so arrested me that I virtually sat up in bed. The quote is from author George McCleod and the words are these: "I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church…I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves. On a town garbage heap. At a crossroad so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. At the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. That’s where churchmen ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about."

Those words resonated with me in a deep way that virtually compelled this message for today. They as well provided once again a return to the true vision, purpose and mission for the church of Jesus Christ, particularly First Baptist Church. That quote defined for me a longing I have in my soul. That longing is to have the confidence that our church places the cross of Jesus Christ at the center of the crossroads of people’s lives in our community. I have an ever-recurring sense of responsibility to know that when my days are finished here that I can look into the face of Jesus Christ and say as Jesus said to his Father, "I have finished the work you gave me to do. I present to you First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, Arkansas that has faithfully and effectively shared the transforming message of God’s Good News." In order for that to happen we must be radically devoted to fulfilling our single obligation as a church and as believers.

What is our single obligation? There are many things that we as a church find as our obligations. We have a spiritual obligation to develop believers into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We have a social obligation to humanly seek for justice for the lives of unborn children, racial inequalities, challenges of poverty, hunger and education. We have an obligation to serve those with physical, mental and emotional needs. All of those are worthy matters with which the church is charged to care and be devoted.

However, is there one single obligation that when Christ returns we will have reason to be either affirmed or ashamed? I believer there is and it is this: Our single obligation is to effectively share the transforming message of God’s Good News. Paul said, "For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others." (2 Cor. 5:10-11) You might say to me that that is a very negative motivation to share God’s Good News and I would agree. Yet, simply because it is negative doesn’t mean that there cannot be positive results. The same man who wrote those words also wrote the ones we examine today. So whether positive or negative motivation, Paul believed he had an obligation to share God’s Good News with people of all kinds. That is why he could say in our text today when it comes to sharing God’s Good News: I have an obligation! I am ready! I am not ashamed! I know the power! If we are to effectively share God’s Good News, then we will say the same!

Our single obligation is to share God’s Good News with all kinds of people. (Rom. 1:14) Paul is writing the letter to the Romans from the city of Corinth in Greece. He is doing so to define some very critical theological issues regarding our salvation but he is, as well, writing to prepare the Roman Christians for his coming. Paul believed that he would go to Rome, which was the center of the known world at the time and from there travel on to Spain. Rome was his destination and his destiny but in his mind it was not the end of the mission of his life. What drove Paul to have such a vision for his life? He tells us in Romans 1:14, "I have a great sense of obligation to people…to preach God’s Good News."

The word that Paul uses for obligation is also the word for debt or to be in debt. In essence, Paul is saying that he believes that at his core being he is indebted to people, he owes a debt to people to share God’s Good News with them. His obligation is something he is, therefore, bound to do. It is as if God had presented Paul with the vision of all that had been done for him at the cross of Jesus Christ, put it all down on paper, placed it in front of him and said, "Here is your debt. Sign on the bottom line. The pay out will be settled in eternity. Until then you diminish the debt as you tell others about what Jesus has done for you." That is why Paul said, "I have a great sense of obligation to people…to preach God’s Good News."

Our obligation to share God’s Good News is no less binding or inescapable. You see God personally in his word describes for us all that Christ did for us at the cross. The Bible says, " You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross." (Col. 2:13-14) Therefore, out of that debt being paid for us we are equally obligated to share the Good News with others that they can have their debt removed as well. You and I stand indebted, obligated, to people of all kinds to tell them, share with them the transforming message of God’s Good News.

Jesus personally told us to do it when he said, "Go and make disciples of all nations…" (Matt. 28:19-20). He has told us what to say. (Luke 24:46-48) He has, as well, given us the power to do it (Acts 1:8) He has even told us where to go: "all nations." Paul says "people in our culture and people in other cultures."

Do we believe that we are obligated to share God’s Good News with all kinds of people? Do you believe that personally? Do we see that as our single obligation as a church? Do we believe that we have a debt to be repaid to God by sharing His Good News that is more real than any loan we might get at a bank? Our single obligation as a church and as a believer is to share God’s Good News with all kinds of people.

Our Single obligation is to effectively share God’s Good News with all kinds of people. Doing that will require us to be consistently prepared. (Rom. 1:15). Paul says that because of this obligation he was ready, eager and prepared to go to Rome and preach God’s Good News. The way that Paul phrases this is interesting because what he says is, "As far as my part or my responsibility is concerned, I am ready and willing. The rest is up to God." Paul knew deeply the obligation he had to share God’s Good News. He was at the same time prepared to tell that Good News. What he couldn’t guarantee was the response of those to whom he told the story. That was God’s job not his. He could only control his obligation and his preparation but the salvation of people was God’s work.

If we as a church and as followers of Christ are to fulfill our obligation to share God’s Good News effectively then we need to be consistently prepared. Since I have been your pastor we have used numerous times the Becoming a Contagious Christian material to prepare you effectively share God’s Good News. We have taught "One Verse Evangelism." In our Sunday School books we have a simple plan of what the Good News is every single quarter. We spent a year focusing on evangelism in what we called "Lighting the Journey Together." We are not a people who are unprepared to share the Good News; yet we never seem to reach our optimal potential in doing this. We have seen great response in our children, in the Hispanic Ministry and the Huntington Ministry but when it comes to peer adult conversions, we are greatly deficient.

Does that mean we quit? No, it means that we keep leading our church to be consistently prepared. We never know when someone is going to be in a place where the information and the preparation all come together, resulting in the salvation of one person. That’s why I’m asking Jeff and Christy Brawner to come back this spring and lead our church in the Pioneer Evangelism Training they use in Brazil. It has never been tried in the United States but we are going to try it. The more methods we use the more assurance we have that someone will respond.

Every morning at 7:45 a.m. the firemen at the Wood Street Fire Station near our house make sure they are prepared for whatever emergency the day will bring. At 7:45 they open the doors of the station, drive the engines out and test the sirens and horn. They check hoses, generators and other pieces of equipment every single morning. They do it because if one piece of equipment fails, someone’s life and property could be lost. Someone’s life is on the line and they must be consistently prepared. Every morning when you leave your house, apartment or room someone’s life is on the line. You never know when God will want to use you for just that moment to share God’s Good News with someone you know. For that reason, that people’s eternal destinies are on the line, we must be consistently prepared. Don’t say, "Oh, I’m sure someone else will tell them." We don’t know, we really don’t know if we or they will have another chance. We must be consistently prepared.

What is holding us back? It is not a lack of understanding of the obligation we have and it’s not a lack of information or preparation. I believe what strangles us is shame or embarrassment we have about God’s Good News. If we are to share God’s Good News effectively we must refuse to be ashamed of the message. (Rom 1:16a) We may not want to admit it but because of the very nature of God’s Good News, Christians will constantly be tempted to be silent due to our shame or embarrassment about the message. Paul admitted that it was an option for him by declaring boldly, "For I am not ashamed…" meaning he could be ashamed. Jesus warned his followers about the possibility when he said that someone who is ashamed of him will find equal shame when he returns. Paul would advise Timothy to not be ashamed to testify about Jesus or of Paul himself (II Tim. 1:7-8). So it is possible for us to fail to effectively share God’s Good News because we are ashamed of the message.

Why are we ashamed? Sometimes when we see the things that Christians do and say in the name of Jesus or Christianity should cause us to be ashamed. Sometimes the things Christians do not do or say in the name of Jesus or Christianity should cause us to be ashamed. I think, though, that one reason for our shame about the message of God’s Good News is the world’s hostility to Christ and to Christians. There is an ever-present current in our culture that the message of God’s Good News and Christianity is itself an evil that must be silenced and eliminated. One shocking example is a bumper sticker that is popular in Oregon that says, "So many Christians, too few lions." Can you imagine the lawsuits and public outcry that would come, justifiably, if you inserted the name of any other religious group or ethnic group? The revulsion you feel at even thinking about those statements would show us how placid the world is about its hostility to our faith to mock a method of execution for those who claimed Christ as Savior. That current creates shame in us and freezes us in fear.

Another reason for our shame is that when you compare the message of God’s Good News with the message of the world it seems unimpressive, weak, foolish and irrelevant. It is insane to the world to believe that one man nailed to a stick of wood, who bled to death outside the city walls of Jerusalem, can assure you of eternal life. Now I will agree that some of that is our own fault. We present in our churches and in our lives the message in such a way that it is unimpressive, weak, foolish and irrelevant. Yet, on the other hand, the message of God’s Good News is something that the world thinks is ridiculous. Mel Gibson’s "Passion of the Christ" is one example of that conflict.

The result is that we as Christians and the church become personally, socially, vocationally and intellectually ashamed of the message of God’s Good News. Therefore, because of our shame and embarrassment over the message of God’s Good News, we are reluctant and restricted to effectively share that Good News.

How do we overcome our shame regarding sharing the message of God’s Good News? By understanding the transforming power of the message. (Rom. 1:16b-17) These verses are the heart of the rest of the book of Romans but they are as well the heart of the message of God’s Good News. Paul says in verse 17 that "this Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight." The message of the Good News is that in and through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross God declares people to be in a right relationship with him when they accept and believe that by faith alone. Another name for it is being "justified by faith." The message of God’s Good News is that regardless of your sins or mine God declares that Jesus’ death on the cross was adequate for the payment of our sins and that we now are in a right relationship with Him by faith.

Paul says that this message, just this message, is "the power of God at work" (v. 16). He uses the word that we use for dynamite but Paul didn’t know anything about dynamite so he isn’t referring to explosive power. He is instead referring to God’s transforming power. It is like the power of God at work in a mother’s womb whenever life is created, not with an explosion but with the quiet transforming power that occurs over nine months of growth. Paul is saying that in the message of God’s Good News itself is the inherent, transforming power of God to change the direction of a person’s eternity and to reclaim all of their life for himself. He claims that all of this transforming power is "accomplished from start to finish by faith." By our simple belief and acceptance of this message a human life experiences radical transformation! It is by our mere telling of this story that God’s transforming power is released! Once we understand the transforming power of the message we overcome our shame ib telling the message!

Recently Kathy and I went to see Disney’s "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which, as you know, is about the book by the same title by C. S. Lewis. It is Book One of a series of seven books called The Chronicles of Narnia. I reread The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe before Christmas and was a little reluctant to see the movie. Some books translate well to the screen and others do not. Let me say that it was beautifully and accurately done.

When we sat down I noticed that on the row next to us were some small children, one of whom was a little girl with a ponytail, sitting her mother’s lap. I naturally thought, "Here I am at a great movie and there are a bunch of squirming kids" Then it hit me: Children’s book, children’s movie, Disney – Duh! For Kathy and me the movie experience was made even more thrilling because we watched it in the company of a precious little girl who was amazed that animals talked, giggled and laughed at the right parts, sat open-mouthed at the battles, all the while asking her Mom whispered questions.

At one point in the movie, Aslan the Lion, who is the Christ figure in the movie is slain by the witch on the stone table. I was choking back tears for I knew the symbolism of the horrible deed. Two little girls, Lucy and Susan, had accompanied Aslan in secret and had grieved over Aslan’s lifeless body until dawn. As they turned to leave they heard an enormous, thunderous crack and, turning around, saw Aslan’s body gone and the stone table broken in two. Then in a moment there stood Aslan—alive!

Again, I was tearful because I knew the meaning of the symbol of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet our little five-year-old friend knew none of that and when she saw Aslan alive she turned to her Mom with a look of surprise and clapped her little hands in delight. She saw the transforming power of life over death and there was only joy! She knew nothing of the symbol; all she knew was the story and it was fantastic to her. My friends, we know the story of Jesus Christ’s triumph over sin, death and hell. That story alone has the power to break every chain that can confine a person’s life. Once we see the power of the story we know there is nothing for which our shame should restrict us. It is that power that will transform the lives of people and it is that message that needs to be told with childlike wonder and delight!

Our single obligation is to share God’s Good News with all kinds of people. Doing that requires consistent preparation. Sharing God’s Good News effectively will mean refusing to be ashamed of the message. Overcoming our shame will rely on our understanding of the transforming power of the message. All of that is true-- every word of it; but it all comes down to our accepting the responsibility to tell someone else.

On January 2 an explosion in the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, took the lives of twelve coalminers. Coalmining is a dangerous occupation and those who mine and the mining companies seek to make every preparation to prevent the disaster that occurred at the Sago Mine. The Sago Mine itself had multiple improvements in 2005 to ensure the safety of the mine and the miners. Still, twelve miners perished and the reality is they could have been saved if they would have had one small piece of equipment.

When the mine collapsed the miners did what they were trained to do and went to "the face" or the place where they were digging. What they did not know was that less than 1500 yards from where they were was a way out that was not filled with the gas that took their lives. The problem was that they couldn’t get the message. The reason they couldn’t get the message was because all the phone lines to the mine were cut when the mine collapsed and neither the miners nor the mine were equipped with wireless communication. For lack of something as simple as this cell phone, twelve miners went out in eternity. Life was near but they couldn’t get the message.

We are the only tools God has to tell others that life is near. Who is going to go out into eternity simply because we won’t get them the message! Getting them the message is our single obligation!

"I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church…I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves. On a town garbage heap. At a crossroad so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. At the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. That’s where churchmen ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about." May it be so for us!

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org