The apostle Paul gave a short command that came to mind as I listened to Jonathan as he preached from Romans 10:14-21.  The exhortation is found in II Tim. 4:5.  “Do the work of an evangelist.”  Wrestling with theological issues such as foreknowledge, election and human responsibility could leave us neglecting this simple command.  Reading Romans 10 we should be reminded that God communicates the gospel through his people – us.  So we need to be active in taking opportunities to spread the good news.  The tragedy in Romans 10 is that so many of the Jews rejected the message.  I think the same is true in North America today.  Like the Jews in the Roman Empire, the message has gone out.  And the message has been explained.  Yet the vast majority of people are disobedient and obstinate to the gracious invitations of the Lord.  If we focus on the response to our efforts at communicating the gospel we may become discouraged.  But I am regularly reminded that our task is to simply spread the seed (See Mark 4:26-29).  I suspect that my life is reviewed in heaven; I will be surprised at which seeds sprouted.  One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned from gardening these past years is simply this:  Only those seeds that are sown have the potential of sprouting.  It seems so obvious.  Every year the germination rate for the seeds I plant is much less than 100%.  But if the seeds remain in the packet, I guarantee they will never grow.  So as we consider delving into the rich truths found in Romans 9-11, keep this simple command before you, “Do the work of an evangelist.”

Pastor Mark




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