02/19/F – Bringing Good News

NT: “How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:14-17‬ ‭CSB)

Previously in this chapter, Paul declared that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Paul continued that line of thought with a series of rhetorical questions. A person has to believe on the Lord before they will call on Him. There is no way for a person to believe on the Lord if they don’t know anything about Him. For them to know about the Lord, someone has to tell them… and that someone has to be sent with the good news of Who the Lord is and what He has done. Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” And Nahum 1:15 says, “Look to the mountains — the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked one will never again march through you; he will be entirely wiped out.” In Biblical times, a king would go off to war to fight against the enemies of his kingdom. If the king was victorious in battle, he would send a herald back to the cities of his kingdom to announce the good news… that the king was victorious… that the enemy had been defeated and the people could live in peace. Jesus Christ went to war for our souls and He won a decisive victory over sin, death and the devil. We who have heard the good news, believed it and found salvation in Christ are now sent by our King to herald that good news to those who have not heard. Imagine how terrible it would be for someone who has been freed from slavery to continue living as a slave because no one cared to tell them the good news of their freedom. Well… millions of people – people across the street and around the world continue living as slaves to sin because they haven’t heard the good news. Saving faith comes by hearing the good news of salvation. Will everyone believe the message we share? No they won’t – but that shouldn’t prevent us from bringing the good news to a lost world for the sake of those who will hear it and believe it.

Proverbs: “The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭10:5‬ ‭CSB)

Harvest time is a critical time in the life of a farmer. Each year a farmer is given a small window of opportunity to bring in the harvest. If he waits too long and misses that window of opportunity, the harvest will be ruined and the farmer will have lost an entire year of work and wages. Imagine that farmer having two sons. One son recognizes the season and diligently works to bring in the harvest. The other son sleeps in and contributes nothing to the harvest. The first son, because he recognized his role in the family business and brought in the harvest when it was ready, is proven to be prudent: showing discipline and good judgement. The other son, because of his laziness and self-centeredness should be ashamed. Jesus spoke of the lost souls in the world as being a white harvest… that is a harvest that is in danger of being completely lost. For the harvest to be brought in before it is too late, the Lord of the harvest needs faithful workers. Heralding the good news of Christ and discipling those who believe is the family business of those who are in Christ. If we choose to ignore the harvest because we would rather “sleep in,” then we should be ashamed. Which son am I? That is the question to ask.