“Go and make disciples of all the nations” were some of the last words of Jesus to His disciples before He left Earth and returned to heaven (Matthew 28:19). In His last moments with His disciples, He wanted to call His followers to continue His mission and make Him known to the rest of the world in desperate need of His hope. This is still our mission today. There is still a lost and hurting world that needs the hope of Christ, and it is our privilege to carry on His message and make Him known. When we make Him known, we worship Him.
The apostle Paul took Jesus’ call to make Him known seriously. After having an encounter with Christ and following Him, Paul immediately began spreading His message. He endured hardship and persecution, all for the sake of spreading the name of Christ. Nothing kept Him from making Christ known. In Romans 1, he wrote about his eagerness to spread the good news of Christ to everyone. He wrote, “For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike” (verse 14). He had a great desire to make Christ known to everyone around him. He continued writing in Romans 1, “For I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile” (verse 16). Paul was not ashamed to spread the name of Jesus, even when he was persecuted for his faith. He obeyed God’s call to spread the name of Jesus throughout the world, and as a result, he worshiped Jesus through his actions.
God used Paul and his obedience to change the world forever. He spread the name of Jesus until he died. Today, we are the ones who get to make Christ known. Will you choose to worship Him by spreading the name of Jesus to everyone around you?
Invite a friend to join you at one of our worship services this weekend. This will be an opportunity for that person to hear the good news of what Christ has done for them and be reminded of God's love. Remember to pray for that person. Pray that God would work and move in their lives and that they would come to have a relationship with Him.
This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.
6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. 9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.
10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
