Title: Evangelism with Fellowship as the Center
Evangelism that becomes the heart of content / Romans 15:20-33
1. Points to be aware of when preaching the Gospel (verses 20-21)
(1) Do not build on someone else's foundation (verse 20)
The Apostle Paul had the idea that he was “a debtor of the gospel to both Jews and Greeks” (Romans 1:14-16). So, after setting the ultimate goal of going to Rome and preaching the gospel, he traveled around the Mediterranean coast as if he was sweeping the Mediterranean coast to preach the gospel and build a church. Among them, they tried to spread the gospel to Ilurigon, the northern province of Macedonia, and to the western extreme, Savannah. However, be careful not to deprive others of the work of the Gospel. We should be proud of the expansion of the kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 10:15).
(2) The strategy of witnessing the gospel (refer to verse 21, Romans 10:13-17)
God wants even one more soul to believe in Jesus as Savior and be saved. How is the way of salvation accomplished? It bears the fruit of salvation when those who have not heard the gospel hear it. Faith comes from hearing. The principle of evangelism was mentioned in Romans 10 (Romans 10:13-
17). But read verse 21 carefully. “As it is written, “Those who have not received the message of the Lord will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” It is not that they did not believe because they did not hear it. Therefore, strictly speaking, in evangelism, the way of salvation is opened only when those who preach the gospel and those who accept it meet. However, the problem is that if those who preach the gospel are lazy or those who should receive the gospel do not open their hearts and keep closing their hearts, the way of salvation will be closed. It should be a priority to have fellowship with unbelievers so that they can accept the Gospel. It means that we can accept the gospel only when we have a relationship in which we can trust those who preach the gospel and believe the words of those who preach the gospel.
2. Evangelism with the thickness of the saints (verses 22-24)
(1) You cannot evangelize where you are not welcome (verse 22).
(2) Evangelism as the fruit of the fellowship of the saints (verses 23-24. 28)
Verses 23-24 and 28 are interconnected. The Apostle Paul's ultimate mission field was Savannah. It was in order for the Roman church to send the Apostle Paul to Savannah after Paul got some satisfaction from fellowship with the Roman church members on the way to Savannah. The real reason he wrote to the church in Rome was to socialize and get support from the people in Rome before going to Savannah. Savannah is now Spain. In verse 28, the gospel does not want to settle for vested interests. We do not eat fruit in return for our hard work. Going back to the beginning and starting over is the pioneering spirit of the gospel. If there is one soul, one nation, and one nation, we must risk death to go there and preach the gospel.
3. Passion for serving the saints (verses 25-29)
(1) Serving the poor (verses 25-27)
As Paul preached the gospel, he must have witnessed the gospel being preached to the poor and the sick many times. Jesus also said that the gospel is preached to the poor in Luke 4:18. Therefore, the Apostle Paul must have wanted to serve the poor while preaching the gospel. Where the gospel is preached, there are neighbors who need love. No, what such a neighbor needs is bread along with the gospel. God created our lives to find joy in giving rather than receiving (Acts 20:35).
(2) Serving in the Spirit (verse 27)
The Apostle Paul wanted not only to give physical help to the Gentiles, but ultimately to share spiritual things. Whenever I witnessed the gospel, I wanted to convey the fact that there is a spiritual world (Romans 1:11).
⑶ Serving with the full blessings of Christ (verse 29)
The Apostle Paul expected God to give these spiritual blessings and earthly blessings whenever he preached the gospel. We are believers in Jesus Christ, the source of blessing. Therefore, we Christians are also instruments of blessing. In particular, when we want to bear the fruit of evangelism, we absolutely need the prayers of blessing from the believers (John 20:19-23). Please apply the principle of blessing well (3 John 2).
4. Asking prayers with love (verses 30-33)
The Apostle Paul asks for three prayers after verse 30. But Paul is not just asking for human nature. With the love of the Holy Spirit, please. It was what the Lord of love was compelling in the Holy Spirit.
(1) To join forces in evangelism (verse 30)
Verse 30 says, “Let us work together.” It means "wrestle together". Where the saints have one heart, signs and wonders take place. In the early church, when the saints prayed with all their heart, didn't the Holy Spirit come upon them powerfully? We hope that the members of our church will unite in prayer for evangelism. If we pray with all our hearts, we believe that the amazing work of the Holy Spirit will happen just like the early church.
(2) So that there is no misunderstanding in the church serving the saints (verse 31)
When making a yearbook, several attitudes of faith are clearly needed (2 Corinthians 9:5-11).
First, a chronology is like a chronology when it is prepared (2 Corinthians 9:5).
Second, in order to abound in good works, we can make a tribute only if grace abounds (2 Corinthians 9:8).
Third, it is the light purple of faith that God remembers as the fruit of righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:9).
Fourth, we can do it by faith only when we make a yearly report with the attitude of sowing the seed of blessing (2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 10).
Fifth, my genealogy makes others thank God (2 Corinthians 9:11).
⑶ For fellowship with the saints (verses 32-33)
He asked me to guide him on his journey to Rome and to help him get to Savannah in the future. The church determines how the fellowship of the saints takes place. The fellowship of the saints determines the quality of the church. In verse 30, the Apostle Paul says, “I asked you to pray with the love of the Holy Spirit.” Indeed, the work of the Holy Spirit improves the quality of life of our members. Giving life improves the quality of life. Therefore, we should have fellowship with the heart of serving the soul. The work of evangelizing one soul is accomplished through the beautiful fellowship of the saints. Where the door of the heart is closed, no matter how good the gospel is, where it is not accepted, God cannot save even a single soul. Our Lord treats us personally. Because God is personal.
Ministry: For the fruit of evangelism, let's have personal fellowship with people we need to look after.