Adrian Rogers - The Missionary Challenge
God’s Word is a wonderful book also, and would you open it to Romans chapter 1, and in a moment, I begin reading in verse 14. The title of the message this morning is a simple one, the message is an important one. The title: The Missionary Challenge, The Missionary Challenge. I want you to begin reading with me in Romans 1 verse 14, and here you’re going to find the heartbeat of the Apostle Paul. Beyond the shadow of any doubt or peradventure, the greatest missionary who ever lived was Paul. And in this Scripture that I’m about to read, you’re going to find a cameo, a glimpse into the very heart of the Apostle Paul. You’re going to find out what molded him, what made him, what motivated him, what empowered him, what enriched him, what drove him, what made him the mighty, mighty missionary that he was.
I want you to listen to these, this Scripture, the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 1 verses 14 through 16, «For I am debtor, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also, for I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek». Now, there’s no one here today who names the name of Christ who’s not involved in what I’m about to say. Every one of us is to be a part of the missionary enterprise or we’re guilty of high treason against Heaven’s King.
Hudson Taylor said, «The great commission is not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed». If you’re not a part of the Great Commission army, you have a clenched fist in the face of your commander in chief. You are a rebel against Heaven. Remember again what Hudson Taylor said about the great commission. «Not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed». Now, look at the Scripture that I read to you, and you’re going to find three things here where the Apostle Paul prefaces them with this statement, «I am». Notice in verse 14, «I am debtor». Notice in verse 15, «I am ready». Notice in verse 16, «I am not ashamed». And those three phrases deal with three great parts of the missionary enterprise. One deals with the missionary obligation, the other deals with the missionary opportunity, and the last deals with missionary opposition. And I want you to see this. First of all, Paul was such a great missionary because he was faithful to the missionary obligation.
Look, if you will, in Romans 1 verse 14, «I am debtor,» that is, I am obligated, «both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise». What did Paul mean when he said he was a debtor? He’s not talking here about financial debt, but I believe he had first in his heart, his debt to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He had been purchased by the blood of Jesus. And here in Romans 1 verse 1, he calls himself, «A bond slave of Jesus Christ». Look how it begins, «Paul, a servant of, of Jesus Christ». But literally, the word servant is a weak translation of the word that means a bond slave. Paul said in First Corinthians 6 verses 19 and 20, «I am not my own. I am bought with a price». We sing it. «Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all».
Now, I want to ask you a question. Have you given to Jesus Christ your soul? Have you given to Jesus Christ your life? Have you given to Jesus Christ your all? Not only did Paul think of himself as a debtor to Christ, but he thought of himself, I’m certain, as a debtor to those who gave the Gospel to him. Those heroes of the past, those conquerors of the past. I’m a debtor to the Apostle Paul, and so are you. I’m a debtor to Simon Peter who loved the Lord Jesus Christ so much that according to tradition, when they came to martyr Simon Peter, they said, «Let’s crucify him. He talks about the cross so much». He said, «Well, if you do crucify me, crucify me upside down. I’m not worthy to be crucified right side up like the Lord Jesus was».
You study the history of those who handed this Gospel down to us. We sit here in this beautiful, airconditioned, upholstered building. I want you to think of the heroes of the past. Some of them were covered with oil and burned like torches to light Nero’s garden. Some of them were stripped naked and put on the streets to be ridiculed and to be gored by wild bulls. Some were tied to the shore at low tide, so when the tide would come up, they would slowly drown. Others were put in sacks, sewed into sacks with poisonous serpents, because they would not recant because they would not turn their back on the Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody told you about the Lord Jesus Christ. How did you get saved? Somebody brought the Gospel to you. Is that not true? Did not somebody bring the Gospel to you? Then are you not obligated? Do you not have a debt to take the Gospel to somebody else?
I heard of a little boy who said to his mother, «Mother, you remember that beautiful vase, that heirloom that’s been in our family from generation to generation»? She said, «Yes». And he said, «This generation just dropped it». Well, folks, this generation dare not drop this Gospel. I mean, we are debtors, and we are debtors to those who have never heard these lost Hell-bound souls. Your neighbor without the Lord Jesus Christ, you owe the Gospel to your neighbor. Now, thank God for the many in this world who know Jesus Christ, but there are 1.2 billion who don’t even have the foggiest notion of the Gospel. They don’t even know who Jesus Christ is, and Paul said in Romans 1:14, «I am debtor».
Look at it. «I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians». That means every racial ethnic group, the up-and-out, the down-and-out. When he said the Greeks, he was talking about sophistication. When he was talking about the barbarians, he was talking about the lower class of people. He said, «It makes no difference. I am a debtor». So the very first thing I want to say to you today, whomever you may be, is that you need to be faithful to the missionary obligation. Now, would you do something? Don’t just listen to this message, but would you say in your heart, «By God’s grace, I will be faithful to the missionary obligation»? No matter how that faithfulness is played out, not every one of us will be a missionary overseas, but will you say right now, before I go another step, «By God’s grace, I accept the fact that I’m a debtor. I’m in debt to Jesus. I’m not my own, I’m bought with a price. I’m a debtor to those who brought the Gospel to me and I am in debt to those who have not yet heard. I will be faithful to the missionary obligation»?
Now, either you’re going to say yes or no to that proposition I’ve just put to you. Check up! Have you said yes? Have you said, «By God’s grace, I will be faithful to the missionary obligation»? Then you’re ready to go on to the next step. Look at the next thing that the Apostle Paul said. He says here in Romans 1 verse 15, «So as much as in me is,» not part of me, but, «as much as in me is,» that is all of me, «I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also». Not only do you need to be faithful to the missionary obligation, but you need to be flexible to the missionary opportunity. Paul said, «I’m ready. Here I am. I am available».
Do you know the two abilities that God looks for, for a missionary, whether it is a missionary in this city to your next-door neighbor or whether it is a missionary across the sea, the two abilities are not primarily linguistic abilities or intellectual abilities or financial abilities or physical abilities. You want me to tell you what they are? Dependability and availability. Dependability and availability. A person who can say, «I am flexible». That is, «Here I am, Lord. You can step in, You can interrupt my plans whenever You want and however You want; I am ready». The Apostle Paul said, «Here I am, Lord. I am ready. Do with me as You will. I am ready to live. I am ready to pray. I am ready to give. I am ready to go. I am ready to die if necessary». Are you? Are you ready to live for Christ, ready to pray for souls, ready to give to missions, ready to go should God call you, and ready to die for the Gospel of Jesus Christ if necessary? Are you? Hey, I said, are you?
If God today were to say to you, «You’re a banker, you’re a doctor, you’re a lawyer, you’re a school teacher, you’re a businessman,» if God were to say to you, «I want you to leave it all and go to the mission field,» and you knew it was God, would you do it? Would you do it? I mean, are you truly ready? Or you say, «Well, now, Lord, I can’t go because of the ta-da-da-da-da-da». Well, God knows whether you can go or not. I’m just simply saying, if God calls you, then certainly if God calls you, then you can go, can’t you? I mean, would God ask you to do something you can’t do? Of course not. Now, it might be that you’re going to have to make some radical changes, but if God were to say to you, «Get out of your comfort zone, get out of that place where you are, I want you,» would you say, «Well, I can’t go. Lord, I’ve got ta-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dada-da-da»?
Then you’re not ready. You’re not ready. I was in Washington, and George Bush was the President of the United States, and I was with some other people there talking to him about some concerns that evangelical Christians had. I happened to be the last one in the Oval Office. We were having a chat. He said, «I’m going to fly to Memphis tomorrow on Air Force One. Would you come and fly with me»? You know what I said? I said, «You know, I was supposed to go back today. I didn’t come prepared to spend the night». But you know what I did? I bought a toothbrush. You know why? Because I wanted to fly on Air Force One. I really did. I just bought a toothbrush, and I went and I got a hotel room, and I went out and bought a razor, and I bought a little can of shaving cream and all of that, because I wanted to do it.
You know what? If somebody else had asked me to do something I didn’t want to do, I would’ve said, «I can’t do it. I’m not prepared. I didn’t come prepared,» and I could have found an easy excuse. You can find an excuse not to do anything you don’t want to do. Isn’t that true? But if you want to do something badly enough, you can make arrangements to do it. Paul said, «I’m ready. I am flexible. Are you flexible? Are you flexible for the Gospel of Jesus Christ»? Friend, do you know what David Livingston said, the great missionary? He said, «Lord, send me where You will, but go with me». He said, «Lay any burden on my heart, but sustain me». He said, «Sever any tie but the one that binds my heart to You». «Send me where You will, but go with me. Lay any burden on my heart, but sustain me. Sever any tie but the one that binds my heart to You».
Paul said, «I am ready for the opportunity. I’m flexible». Folks, did you know that there has never been a greater age to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ than now? Do you think that the doors of missionary opportunity are closing? We are living in the greatest time of missionary expansion and soul winning that the world has ever known, and don’t you forget it. Oh, I know there’re closed doors. I know there’re places where it is extremely difficult to share Jesus Christ, but I am saying, folks, that there has never been a greater day of missionary opportunity than today, and our Lord is reaping a harvest before He brings down the curtain. Now, the question comes: are you flexible for the missionary opportunity? Are you faithful to the missionary obligation? Are you flexible for the missionary opportunity? And last of all, are you fearless for the missionary opposition?
The devil doesn’t roll over and play dead. But listen to what the Apostle Paul says now in Romans 1 verse 16, «For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ». Oh, what a bold statement. «I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek». This is why he was such a great missionary. «I am not ashamed». Can you say that? Are you ashamed of Jesus Christ? Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb, or shall I fear? Don His cause or blush to speak His name? I want to remind you this, that it was far different in Paul’s day than it is in ours. In Paul’s day, the Gospel had an entirely different standing than it does in our day. Jesus Christ had recently been crucified. The cross was a mark of shame. People didn’t make a little gold cross and wear it around their neck. It would be like wearing an electric chair around your neck.
To most people in Paul’s day, Jesus was a madman at the best and a criminal at the worst, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was identified with a poor Jewish carpenter who was crucified. And the Romans to whom Paul is writing looked upon crucifixion as the lowest form of execution. And here’s the Apostle Paul saying, «I am going to go to Rome and I’m going to tell them to put their faith in a Jew who was crucified. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ». Rome had known its philosophers. Rome had its military might, and now Paul is going to Rome to tell them the story.
Now, why should they pay any attention to what in their mind was a fable about a Jew who rose from the dead? I want to remind you this: that Paul said, «I’m not ashamed of the Gospel». I may be speaking today to a college professor. I may be speaking today to some high-up, high-and-mighty businessman. And I want to say to you, sir, don’t get the idea that education and scholarship has to be ashamed of Jesus. Don’t get that idea. The Apostle Paul was a mighty intellect. He had the equivalency of a triple PhD. He was conversant in many languages. He had a pedigree. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Jew. He was a born leader. And it was this man, this prodigious intellect, that wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the book of Romans, said, «I’m not ashamed of Jesus Christ».
God forbid that in this day and this age, then while the world is burning down around us, that we should be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Dr. Lee, former pastor of this church, told about a pastor in Troy, New York, a Dr. Baldwin, said what he said about the Gospel. He was a dear man of God, loved God. Mr. Baldwin, Brother Baldwin, said at 30, «After examining the philosophies and religions of the world, I said that, 'Nothing is better than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.'» Then he said, «When I got to be 40, when burdens pressed heavily and the years seemed to hasten, I said, 'Nothing is as good as the Gospel of Jesus Christ.'» Then he said, at 50, «When there were empty chairs in the home and the grave diggers had done their service, I said, 'There’s nothing to be compared with the Gospel.'» Then he said, at 60, «When my second sight saw through the illusions and vanities of earthly things, I said, 'There is nothing but the Gospel.'» Thank God for that.
Friend, Paul gives us four reasons why he’s not ashamed of the Gospel. Now, I want you to look at them. First of all, he’s not ashamed of the person of the Gospel; it is the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ, the Son of God, who is Jesus. He is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. Of all of the people who’ve ever lived on the face of the Earth, there have been over 100 billion people who’ve lived totally, and there’s not a one who can compare with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God the Son. I heard of a young preacher who had lived a life of sin, a life of debauchery before God saved him, and God lifted him up out of the miry clay and put his feet upon a rock and put a new song in his heart and mouth, and put his lips, bursting of flame with Jesus Christ, and he was preaching.
Somebody knew him and knew his former life, listed all of the things that he had done, wrote them, put them in a note, and passed it up to him, and at the bottom said, «Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself to be standing up there doing what you’re doing after you’ve already done what you’ve done»? That young preacher took that note and read it to the whole congregation, did not leave out one single accusation that was made against him, read the whole thing, and then with tears streaming down his cheeks said, «Yes! Yes! Yes, I’m ashamed of what I’ve done, but I’m not ashamed of Jesus. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the only one who can undo what I have done». Are you ashamed of Jesus? Friend, I don’t want to be ashamed of Jesus. I would to God, I could stand on the tallest building of this world with a megaphone and tell the world that I love Jesus.
Jesus Christ Himself said in Mark Chapter 8 verse 38, «Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of the Father with the holy angels». I’m not ashamed of the person of the Gospel. I’m not ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel. Look at what he says here in Romans 1:16, «It is the power of God unto salvation». There’s no greater business in the world than getting people saved. What do you do? You’re a lawyer? You’re a doctor? You’re a financier? You’re an actor? You’re a politician? Everything, everything takes second place to the most important thing, which is getting out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s the reason I’m glad God called me to preach. You let Wall Street handle the finance. You let the Hollywood actors have their games and their fame.
Let the politicians do their thing. You let me be a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and above all, be a soul winner. I’m not against these other things, and if God called you there and God put you there, He only put you there to help you to be a missionary where you are. William Carey, somebody asked him, «What do you do»? He said, «I’m a preacher of the Gospel». «No, no, no,» he said, «What’s your occupation»? He said, «I’m a soul winner». «No, no, no, no. What do you do»? He said, «I’m a missionary». «No, no,» he said, «How do you get your salary»? «Oh,» he said, «Well, I’m in shoes to get my income, but I am a missionary. I am a soul winner. I am a man of God».
And if you are a banker, you still ought to be a missionary, and if you’re a doctor, you ought to be a missionary, and if you’re a lawyer, you ought to be a missionary, if you’re a businessman, you ought to be a missionary. The purpose of the Gospel is salvation, and let me say this while I’m in the neighborhood. I want to say this to all of the social engineers who are mistakingly trying to save society: you’re not going to save society, and if you’re trying to save society, you’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Now, listen to me carefully. Christianity was not given and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not intended to save civilization from wreckage, but to save men from the wreckage of civilization. It is salvation. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, «The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost».
Jesus came to save the lost. We need to get back to that. Men are lost, dropping into Hell without Christ. We need not to be ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel. It’s salvation. That’s a good old-fashioned word: getting people saved. Getting people saved. When you understand that people are lost, you lose your intimidation about witnessing to them. We have a little boy in Heaven. Our little boy, Philip, was one of those sudden infant death things. He died on a Mother’s Day in his crib. I picked up his little body out of the crib. I didn’t know what to do. I thought maybe his life could be saved. I was a young man. I put that little baby in my coat, I opened my coat and put him in my coat, and drove through scalding tears to the emergency room to see if somebody there. I thought I could get him there quicker than help could come to our house.
And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I got somebody to come and take that little boy out of my hands, and they went behind those big, swinging doors, and I was out there in that hallway by myself. Do you know what I did? I dropped on my knees and prayed, and people were coming and going, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care. «What’s he doing down on his knees? A religious fanatic. Watch»! I didn’t care. My friend, I won’t tell you my little Philip is in Heaven, but there’re other people, your loved ones, who’re going to die and go to Hell, and they may be perfectly healthy right now, but I wonder, do you care about them? We let our pride keep us from witnessing. We are wondering what people would say.
The Apostle Paul said, «I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ». I’m not ashamed of the person of the Gospel. It’s Jesus. I’m not ashamed of the purpose of the Gospel. It is salvation. I’m not ashamed of the power of the Gospel. He says in Romans 1:16, «For it is the power of God unto salvation». Nothing like the Gospel. Oh, the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I’ve been preaching long enough to know the incredible power. This word power is the word, as you well know, if you’ve heard preachers very much on this text, it’s the word we get our word dynamite from. It’s the dunamis of the Gospel. What an incredible power. Friend, if you were to take a hydrogen bomb and put it in the lapel of my coat and explode that bomb, I would be vaporized. But were I not saved, that bomb could never blow sin out of my heart and out of my life.
There’s no power on Earth that can make a harlot pure, make a crooked man straight, make a drunkard sober like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You see, there’s another word we get from the word dunamis. Not only is it dynamite, but it is dynamo. And you see, when our Lord saves us, not only does He radically and dramatically change us, but there is a power that comes into us. That power is alive and operating in me and in you, and others need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s the power that John Newton, that we’ve been talking about for the last six weeks, who wrote Amazing Grace, experienced when God took a wicked, profligate, slave trader and saved him, and he wrote, «Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me».
I want to say also that I’m not ashamed of the plan of the Gospel. You think about it. All that Paul put in this verse is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it’s the Gospel of salvation, it is the power of God unto salvation, and then look at it, «To everyone that believes». That’s the plan of the Gospel; «To everyone that believes». That’s incredible. You see, this is what makes it so universally wonderful. You see, the only requirement for salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. What if God said, «Everybody who wants to be saved, run around the block»? Some little crippled children can’t run. What if God said, «Everybody who wants to be saved, read a chapter in the Bible»?
Some people can’t read. What if God said, «Everybody who wants to be saved, give $10»? Some don’t have $10. And friend, there’s one thing that everybody can do, and that’s trust Jesus. Don’t put any other requirement on it. Don’t say baptism is necessary to salvation. If you say that, you eliminate people in airplanes, people in deserts, people in submarines, people in automobiles. You see, anytime you put any other requirement there, you take the whosever out. Let me give you a great verse, Romans 4 verse 16, fast-forward to it and look at it. Romans 4 verse 16, «Therefore it is of faith, that it might be of grace». Whoo! Excuse me. «Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed». Whoo!
See, I mean, if it’s by anything else, then grace is not grace, and it’s not sure to everybody, but what a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Gospel we have. «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved». Acts 16:31. That’s the plan of the Gospel. It’s gloriously simple. It’s simply glorious. Believe and be saved. Isaiah 45 verse 22, «Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the Earth». «Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me». There used to be an old evangelist named Christmas Evans. He said, «I can take a man, tie him hand and foot, nail him in a barrel, and then shout through the bunghole what he must do to be saved, and he can do it inside that barrel». «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved». And this is the missionary challenge. Every person you see has either received the Gospel of Jesus Christ or needs it. He’s either received it or he needs it.
See, this is the missionary challenge. This is what made Paul the great, great man that he was. Oh, he said, listen, listen to Romans 1 verses 14 through 16 again, «I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise». I am faithful to the missionary obligation. Then he says, «So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also». I am flexible for the missionary opportunity. I am ready. And then he says, «For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. I am fearless of the missionary opposition». He said, «Rome also. Rome also».
Do you know what he meant by Rome also? He’d already seen it work. He’d already seen it work. It’s like David, when David came up against Goliath, David said to Goliath, «Look, I have slain a lion, I have slain a bear, and I’m going to get you too». You’re going to be like one of them. «I’ve already slain a lion, I’ve already slain a bear, and I’m going to get you». Paul said, «Yeah. I’ve already had some missionary successes, and I’m going to Rome also». Rome was a Goliath. I mean, that was the belly of the beast, but the Apostle Paul said, «I’m taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ there». I know the power of this mighty Gospel.
Bow your heads in prayer. Every head bowed, every eye closed. It’s checkup time. I want to ask you this question: do you accept your debt? Don’t move. Just pray. Can you say, «I will be faithful to the missionary obligation»? Say it, say it, «Oh my God, I will be faithful». Will you say, «I will be flexible for the missionary opportunity whatever God wants me to do»? Obviously, God’s not calling all of us to leave our homes and go overseas. I’m convinced that God has most of you here just exactly where He wants you today, but He just wants you to be a missionary where you are. But should God say, «No, I’ve got another plan». Are you flexible? Are you flexible for the opportunities? Are you ready to live, ready to pray, ready to give, ready to go, ready to die? And then are you fearless for the missionary opposition? Are you, can you say with the Apostle Paul, «Jesus, I am not ashamed of You»? Tell Him that you will not be ashamed of Him. Tell Him right now. Tell Him. Say:
Lord Jesus, I’ll not be ashamed of You. Help me, Lord Jesus, never to be. Father, thank You for Your word today. Seal it to our hearts. In Jesus' wonderful name, Amen.