Romans Chapter 10:12-14

Now if you're reading the verse and it ends with how shall they hear without a preacher and maybe you're going oh there's my out because I'm not a preacher. I hate to ruin it for you.

No actually I love to ruin it for you. When it says preacher it's just simply talking about somebody who tells. Who in here is supposed to tell other people about Jesus? Every one of us. Jesus in Matthew 28 gave the great commission.

He didn't say hey some of you should go in town. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David Magee. An important part of walking with Christ is sharing that love for Christ with others. Why should we witness? Find out more today as David Magee continues in Romans chapter 10. With his teaching we can be forgiven.

Here's David Magee. So we're in Romans chapter 10. Let's look at verse 12. It says for there's no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. Now understand it it's saying there's no distinction in the sense of how we come to the Lord. The New Living Translation this verse says Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all who ask for him. Galatians 3 28 says there's neither Jew nor Greek there's neither slave nor free there's neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now obviously there are differences physical or whatever between a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person there's obvious differences between a male and a female right but how we come to the Lord is the same. Look at verse 13 says for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Man believing and calling on his name.

It's really not complicated is it? This isn't just the good news this is the great news. This isn't you know oh well if you come to church enough and you do this and you give enough you read enough you do this. Believe and confess. Too often we paint Christianity well you know you got to try harder try oh you got to hold your mouth right and you got you know you come on hip hip hooray come on jump a little higher run a little faster that's Christianity. No that's not Christianity. Christianity is you're playing on the wrong stinking team you need to quit playing for that team and join the other side pretty much as Christianity.

And believe and confess. Whoever whoever you understand everybody in here can be a whoever. Everybody you will see today can be a whoever. That's why it bothers me when people go well Christianity is such an exclusive religion. Exclusive religion? Whoever are you in the King James whosoever?

How's that exclusive? Anybody that wants to come to Jesus anybody that wants to ask him to forgive them of their sins. It's not an American religion. We don't hold a monopoly on Christianity. It's not a white person's religion. It's not a black person's religion. It's not a just a middle eastern religion. It's it's for everybody who will come to him.

Anybody who will come to him. So how can people say well it's exclusive? In one way perhaps. We'll talk about that in a second but look at this in in the I love the way the English version which some of the English version I'm not real solid. Anyway the in the English version says as the scripture says everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved. And the amplified version says for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord invoking him as Lord will be saved. So anybody everybody whoever calls the name of Lord believes and trusts in him can be forgiven. So how is it the world has this opinion or view of Christianity that it's kind of like a club that if you're good enough you get in.

I don't know who gave them that opinion. Maybe we did somewhere along the way. But it's not true. First John says this if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar.

Him capital H God a liar and his word is not in us. The only thing that keeps you back from this if you sit there and go I don't need it. I'm okay. I haven't really sinned. I'm being pretty good right now and yeah hopefully if you're sitting in here in your right mind or you're listening to television internet radio whatever and you're sitting there you're not sitting there going no I'm okay I haven't messed up. I've not sinned.

You've not sinned. Ask your mama. See what your mama says. If you can't ask your mama ask your spouse honey have I ever sinned? When she quits laughing and tells you yes then take understand. So what is an unwillingness to submit your tongue and your heart to Jesus Christ which makes no sense at all because friend you know what everybody will have to submit that tongue and bend their knee to him ultimately.

So it's either now or it's later. Talk about it being an exclusive religion. Now understand and then let me say this I when I talk to somebody that does not believe the Bible does not consider themselves a Christian and they say to me I think there's many ways to get into heaven.

I can understand that. They're confused. Maybe they're not sure what the Bible says. Maybe even maybe even in a in a trying to be nice or good to people they they want to try to rewrite the rules or the what the Bible says. You know I can understand somebody like that saying that.

Here's what I cannot understand. It's somebody that says they're a Christian that says they believe in this book and they say there's many ways to get into heaven. You know what that's not an option. If you believe this book if you believe in Jesus and you're following Jesus that removes the option that there's many ways to heaven and and and the Bible tells us this in Acts 4 12 it says nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. No other name.

No other name. Jesus in John 14 6 he says Jesus said to him I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me. He didn't say I am a way. He said I am the way. I've used this before but if you went to a doctor and the doctor said well got bad news for you you're sick and you're gonna die soon.

You would be hanging on his next words wouldn't you? And then he says but I've got a cure. Take the cure you'll instantly be cured. Are you gonna look at him go well doc is there only one? It's kind of narrow-minded isn't it? Shouldn't there be many cures?

No you're not gonna do that. You're gonna say you're just gonna I am so thankful there's a cure. I don't care if there's one or fifteen I'm just glad there's a cure. Well in this case everybody in this world is dying of a disease called sin.

It's killed more people than cancer and heart disease and all the other things and friend there is a cure but there's only one cure and his name is Jesus. This is what the Bible says. Because think of this with me. Jesus when he was headed for the cross went into the garden of Gethsemane and he prayed because he knew what was about to happen. He was about to drink what's referred to really in scripture as the cup of judgment. The cup of judgment.

Let me explain a little bit what that cup looked like. Imagine if every sin you had ever committed was placed in a cup. Now imagine the sins of everybody in this room.

Past, present, future. Now imagine the sins of everybody who has ever lived on the face of this planet. That's the cup Jesus drank from.

The sins of the world. And when he was in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed and he said father if there's any other way let this cup pass from me. Well we know what happened. Jesus died. He was crucified.

Why? There was no other way. And it's really inhumane to think that God would allow his son to be tortured and killed to provide just another way to heaven.

The father was listening that night as he always listened to his son Jesus. There was no other way. And so for people who say they believe the Bible believe in the Jesus to say well there's other ways to heaven. I'm sorry. You're either believing and following Jesus and understand there's only one way or you're not following him and you're saying there's many ways. But you can't have it both ways gang. That's not an option.

Whoever calls. Man when you think about it it's just amazing. We used to you know still do some but you know go to these theme parks but it used to be you know they have these little hike things. You know they have these little hike things. And I felt so bad as the kids were young because you know they would go up to the height thing and hope to get on the ride and the person go no no you know you're you're you don't measure up you know. Now it's kind of reversed. We find the rides they measure up and I'm going I'm not riding that thing. That thing goes upside down and twirls in six places. I just sit here with my nausea bag but that that's not the gospel.

Now to some people they think it is the gospel. Well who measures up gets to go on the ride. You didn't see the greeters out there doing that did y'all come over here I gotta see if you measure up before you go.

Oh nope can't go in there. You don't measure up you're not you don't look the part you don't act the part. That doesn't happen. Nobody spiritually sees if you measure up. This doesn't say if you spiritually measure up then you can call on the name of the Lord.

That's not what it says. It says whoever whoever you're this close you're right here. The only thing between you and receiving this is a heart that believes in a mouth that speaks the words. Let's look let's compare law righteousness with faith righteousness. Law righteousness was basically only for the Jew that you they were trying to be made righteous by the law and they were going to have the messiah fulfill the law.

They they kind of missed it but you know we miss it all too often. Faith righteousness is for whosoever. Whoever. Law righteousness based on works. Faith righteousness comes by faith alone. Law righteousness is self-righteousness and there's really no such thing.

We talked about that last week. You can't be self-righteous. You can't make yourself righteous in your own good works. God's righteousness he closes us in his righteousness.

The righteousness of Christ. Law righteousness cannot save. Nobody will ever be saved by works.

Not one person ever. But faith righteousness brings salvation. Law righteousness tries to obey the Lord. Faith righteousness calls on the Lord. Law righteousness leads to pride. Faith righteousness glorifies God. There's a big difference between being made righteous by the law and being made righteous by faith. And just so we understand. This isn't just a problem from that day.

This is still a problem. People think they can earn their righteousness. That they can earn their salvation. I worked with Greg Laurie and the Harvest Crusades and had the joy one night of seeing an elder come forward and get saved. They're sitting there going well wait a minute wait a minute how could you be an elder in a church and not get and not be saved?

Oh let me let me help you out a little bit. John Wesley was a pastor and a missionary who was not saved and ended up coming to the Lord and it radically changed his life. His brother came to the Lord and he kept he was like what's wrong with my brother?

He was going through the motions and he believed but he hadn't confessed he hadn't made it personal. You see there's a danger almost in knowing all about Jesus but not knowing him personally. And a lot of times people I was raised in a church I'm good I'm fine.

Now if you were raised in a church and you've ever looked in this book you know you're not good and you know you're not fine. You need help and I do too. The awesome thing is help is provided through Jesus.

Thank you for joining us for Cross the Bridge. We'll continue with our study in Romans in just a moment. Do you know how Satan can get a grip on you?

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The whole book for the whole world. Now let's return to David McGee's verse by verse teaching in the book of Romans. Let's look at verse 14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they've not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

Now let's understand something. Verse 14 clarifies a little bit of verse 13. 13 says whoever calls on the name of the Lord. 14 points out in his first statement how then shall they call on Him whom they've not believed?

In other words you can't just go through the motions mouthwise. You have to believe. How can you call on somebody you don't believe? If you believe in Jesus you'll call out to Him. If you don't believe in Him you're not going to call out to Him. People get tripped up on well you got to be sorry but you got to be sorry enough and it's got to be the right kind of sorrow. Well you know what if you're willing to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins you're obviously sorry for Him and we can play this game of if you measure up all day long.

The fact is none of us are ever going to measure up. But notice this how can they hear? How can they believe? Need a witness. We're to be witnesses.

We're not supposed to be the judge and the jury. We're supposed to be witnesses. Talking about the goodness of God and the love of God. We see in the Bible in the book of Acts we see we see three thousand people got saved because 120 people witnessed to him. We see the unit got saved because Philip ministered to him. We see Paul got saved because Stephen and Ananias witnessed to him. We don't see in the Bible that Stephen and Ananias ever met each other. But Stephen witnessed to Paul lost his life Ananias came behind him later and and shared with Paul what the deal was. We see Cornelius getting saved because Peter witnessed.

We see the Philippian jailer because Paul and Silas witnessed to him. See this is the way it works. We we find out we know we go tell others. And this is what's supposed to be happening.

And this is this is what happens here. We we we do a lot of things the radio the internet and all this stuff and and we just we we had somebody in Europe a public school teacher was trying to explain to the kids about baptism because everybody over there only understands infant baptism and she was explaining believers baptism after you come to a saving knowledge in Jesus is when you should be baptized and they just weren't getting it. So she went online and she was searching so she found our baptism testimonies that we put online.

She gathered 200 kids in a public school setting and showed them a baptism video from this church. See we need to understand that what we do here notice we what we do here it really is important what you do here is important because we want to be doing this. You know what if we're not doing this if we're not telling our friends and our family and we're not supporting missionary work around around the world let's just shut and lock the doors because we've become yet another social club. I don't want to do that. I want to be reaching.

I want to be reaching. I want to be a part of this verse 14 going ah we need to to tell them and we need to be sharing and and this is us that's not just me. Now if you're reading the verse and it ends with how shall they hear without a preacher and maybe you're going oh there's my out because I'm not a preacher. I hate to ruin it for you.

No actually I love to ruin it for you. The the when it says preacher it's just simply talking about somebody who tells. Who in here is supposed to tell other people about Jesus. Every one of us. If you're following Jesus you're supposed to be telling people. Jesus in Matthew 28 gave the great commission.

He didn't say hey some of you should go in town. Go into all the world. Every one of us. The beauty about the way the internet works and the radio works and stuff we can go all over the world from here and people are taking missionary trips and all these awesome things all clued back to what that whoever calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved. Life lesson here is we must tell and we must send others to tell. We must tell and we must send others to tell. To tell what?

To tell them how they need to straighten up and fly right. Is that what those verses said? No it's not what it said. It says whoever believes.

Whoever calls. So how dare we go up to somebody and go well you know let's let's see if you measure up. If you measure up you can pray this prayer with me.

I'm so grateful that on the day that I was trying to decide whether I was going to ask Jesus to be my savior. Nobody said let's see if you measure up. Because I knew I didn't.

There's no doubt in my mind. Some of you sitting here today going well I don't measure up. Neither do I. But God in His grace and His mercy gives us the simplest sweetest plan and the best news I've ever heard in my life. He says whoever believes whoever calls and maybe you're sitting there and you're listening and you do believe but you've never made it personal. You've never spoken it out loud.

You've never spoken it out loud. Friend you need to do that today. Maybe you're sitting there and you go well I thought that you were supposed to you know do the best you could and hopefully your good outweighs your bad. Friend that's not in the Bible. The Bible basically says your bad is forever tipped the scales against you.

And it doesn't matter if you do good for the rest of your life the scales are tipped. But Jesus comes in on those scales and sits His hand down on them and forever tips the scales in the way of mercy. And you can have mercy and you can have grace and you can have forgiveness.

Not next week not next I'm talking about right now. Have you ever done anything that you need forgiveness for? I think most of us were honest to say yeah. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins? Then won't you come to Him? You may be in here and maybe you've never asked Jesus personally to forgive you of your sins. The Holy Spirit is drawing people right now and there's the moment. Are you a whoever? Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt friend that you're going to heaven and simply not because of a belief but because you believe and have confessed and you can point to the day that it happened.

If you're not absolutely sure don't don't don't leave here till you are. I'm not talking about some long religious ceremony. I'm talking about a short simple prayer telling God that yeah I believe you died for me and I believe you're resurrected and I've done wrong please forgive me. And He promises to do it and friend I've seen it week after week happen here. It's glorious it's beautiful and of all the people that come forward to ask Him to forgive them none of them deserve it. I don't deserve it but when I come whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Man this isn't just good news this is great news. Let's pray. Lord thank you. Thank you for your grace and your mercy Lord that we can be forgiven. Lord and we don't have to go do acts of charity or do this or do that to come to you. Lord we just come to you and believe that you died for us asking you to forgive us.

Calling on your name and you do it. Lord there were a thousand steps between you and I and you took 999 of them and you asked for these two things believe and confess. Thank you for making us so straightforward so simple and Lord help anyone who's not sure to think long in the heart before they say no to your incredible offer to not reject you anymore. Lord may today they run to you instead of running from you. May they run to the mercy of the cross instead of into the pain of the world.

Lord thank you. May your Holy Spirit come right now and convince us of our need for you. In Jesus name. If you're here today and you know there's things you've done that you need forgiveness for maybe you've never asked Him to forgive you.

Maybe you've wandered off. I encourage you. I encourage you to ask Him to forgive you afresh. To come to Him. Understand when you choose not to accept Jesus you are making a choice. You don't have the safety of sitting here going well I'm just not deciding today. No if you're saying you're not making a choice you are deciding. You're rejecting Jesus Christ. You're rejecting His love and His mercy and His forgiveness. But if you accept Him now He will accept you. Friend do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short simple prayer simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Now God wants you to pray this prayer so much that He died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask Him to forgive you.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven and I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life and I've done wrong things. I have sinned and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days in Jesus name. Amen. Friend if you prayed that prayer according to the Bible you've been forgiven you've been born again.

So congratulations friend you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If this was your first time praying that prayer with Pastor David we would love to hear from you. You can call toll free at 877-458-5508 to receive our first steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Jesus. Also if you've been blessed by the ministry of Cross the Bridge and David McGee would you consider supporting us with a financial gift? With your donation this month we'll send you battle strategies as our way of saying thank you. This powerful teaching will equip you for the spiritual battles we face every day. To give to Cross the Bridge and receive your copy of Battle Strategies simply call 877-458-5508 that's 877-458-5508 or go online to crossthebridge.com. While there take a moment to sign up for David's free email devotional or browse our large library of teachings. Again our website is crossthebridge.com. Thank you for listening and we hope you'll join us again next time as we continue to Cross the Bridge.