Invitation to Salvation—Romans 1:13-17
“Even if it meant dying, Paul just HAD to share Jesus with everyone with whom he came in contact.”
Because of his great love for Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul wanted everyone to know his Savior. When Saul of Tarsus first met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, his first question to the Savior was ” Who art Thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). Once he knew that the Lord he saw was Jesus, his next question was “What wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Paul took Jesus not only as Savior but as Sovereign. Paul gave Jesus every fiber of his being, every moment from that time forward. Do you long to do that? Have you committed your future, your talents, your energies to Christ? Would you like to serve Christ in a dynamic way? First learn to love Him more and everything else will flow from that. Make Christ both your Savior AND your Sovereign.
Paul felt under obligation to share the Gospel: ” I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise ” (Rom 1:14). Why? Because he had been forgiven of his sins. Christ loved Saul of Tarsus when he wasn’t worth loving. Then Jesus made Saul into a new creation – he became Paul the preacher. Because Paul experienced the forgiveness of Christ, he wanted others to do the same. Because he had met Jesus in a miraculous way, he wanted others to know His Savior. Because he so fervently loved the Master, he desired that others do so also.
How’s your love for Jesus? It ought to so fill your heart as to compel you to share Him with others with an enthusiasm to which the world is not accustomed. How great was Paul’s enthusiasm? It overrode all his other concerns. A prophet had told Paul that he would die after a lengthy imprisonment if he went to Rome (Acts 21:10-13). But Paul’s attitude remained the same: ” So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also ” (Rom 1:15). ” But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God ” (Acts 20:24). Even if it meant dying, Paul just HAD to share Jesus with everyone with whom he came in contact.
Sometimes we excuse ourselves from witnessing to others about Jesus Christ because we believe that we just don’t have the ability to lead someone to a decision. We don’t have the ability to bring about the change in someone. Guess what? You don’t have to have the ability. You need only bathe the effort in prayer and then share with someone else the “gospel”—the Good News—of what Jesus has done for you and can do for them. The Gospel has a power all by itself. Paul recognized this: ” For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek ” (Rom 1:16). This power to transform lives cannot be limited by geographical, social, cultural, economic, or racial divisions. It belongs ” to the Jew first and also to the Greek .” In other words, it is for everyone.
Have you ever known someone who tried to “turn over a new leaf?” Or have you tried to do that yourself? That never seems to work without some Divine aid. And while you may succeed at sticking to a new diet or changing your schedule on your own, no one can ever produce enough of a change in themselves to merit heaven. No one can ever be called “righteous” or “just” because of actions they have taken on their own. Today, do not harden your heart against the Lord. Now—as in Paul’s day—the just shall live by faith. God receives glory when by faith we accept Jesus as both Savior and Sovereign. Today, if you’ve maybe believed about Christ but you’ve never RECEIVED Him as your Savior (John 1:12), will you do so right now? If you have Christ in your heart already, will you ask God to know Him more intimately and to give you the enthusiasm and joy to share Him with others? Invite Christ to change your life today! And invite Him in prayer to change your church today, too!
This first appeared October 25, 1998 in the Advancer , a Sunday school teacher’s guide published by the Baptist Publishing House . It is gratefully reproduced here with permission from the publisher.