Romans 10:15: Being Sent
Introduction:
The Son did not send Himself into this world to be our Saviour, He was sent by the Father. The Spirit did not send Himself at Pentecost, but was sent by the Father and the Son. The apostles did not send themselves on the Great Commission but were sent by the head of the church, Jesus Christ. Paul did not send himself but was called by Christ on the Damascus road and this call was confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders in the church at Antioch, Acts 13:1-3. The preaching of the gospel is not an independent and individual action it is an authorised and collaborative effort. We live in an age where the individual has been idolised and personal will has become the arbiter in all tasks. We live in the age of self-appointed prophets and apostles, of self-appointed ministries and para-church organisations. We live in an age where every man with a bible can start his own church. This individualistic influence upon evangelism has been detrimental and so we are grateful for Paul’s words in Romans 10:15 which remind us that we are servants not masters, that we are sent and not self-appointed. Romans 10:15, ‘And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”’
Paul is speaking about the unbelief of the Jews and how they have had every opportunity to believe yet have chosen to trust in their own righteousness. We have slowed down in these verses as they have outlined the process by which a person is saved and are deliberately extracting the information relevant for a biblical view of the mission of the Church. Today we want to investigate what it means that we have been sent. We will be looking at this issue from two perspectives. Firstly, we want to look at the fact that God is author of the Great Commission and look at how His sending us shapes how we go. Secondly, we also want to look at the part the church plays in sending.
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