Preaching and being heard.

Preaching and being heard. Romans 10:1-14.

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:1-4 (NKJV)

Do you carry zeal in your life to share Christ? Many who attend church and hear the great commission to go unto the entire world and preach the gospel become flustered over the response they receive when sharing their faith. An unfavorable response can cause a person to stop sharing and that is not what Christ asked requested of His church.

A poor response can stem from the way a person shares with another. One of the largest mistakes a person can make in sharing faith is when they try to preach like an evangelist to those they live and work around. This abrupt change in the relationship may seem normal to the one preaching, but often scary to the one listening.

Others become mimics, quoting scriptures to explain the light they have found; yet it can be confusing to the un-churched when they are not sure if you know what you are talking about. To them scripture is filled with words they never heard and concepts that are hard to understand.

Often the "good intentioned" person will mention a controversial subject which brings up questions and can throw the person sharing into a defensive posture. If a person is not ready to defend the faith, they can quickly be written off as a separatist from society or unknowledgeable.

Many times a person who shares their faith presents themselves with eagerness and it is easy to see that they want to be heard. This approach can also turn off the person listening. When this happens many times the person listening will change the direction of their relationship with you and build distance until you change back to your old self. So as you can see, the problem is often not what you are saying; it is often how you are saying.

When speaking to others about Christ, talk is just that, talk. With words you can be sincere and insincere. Even your closest friends will listen to you and wonder if you heard insincere words from somewhere else and have invited unnecessary attention to a subject not that threatening.

What you must remember is that there are many false religions and many dynamic speakers that sell the Bible like a product. Your listener knows so little about the Bible and religion that they cannot distinguish the difference between good and bad religion and what they do know is by watching others and television; therefore, they pass your invitation by.

Jesus told His disciples, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

Often overlooked, many put their talk before their love; however, if you love people first, then your zeal for God will be seen, and interpreted as good intentioned. If you love instead of talk, others will want to know more because they see the difference Christ makes. Without you even knowing, they will be comparing their life to yours and if yours is a God surrendered life, they will know that they need to surrender to God.

To reach people, our reality must be immersed in the facts that Jesus is "our" righteousness and able to save us from "our" sin. When a person lives in this truth, their submission to God brings them closer to the heart of God and God is love. They will love God, themselves, and others.

Too many people try to establish their own righteousness and their religion becomes things they do, and things they cannot do. Some have gone to the extent of disallowing themselves to go to movies, watch television, and associate with those who are not Christians.

When speaking to others they vocally take pride in none participation and expect that upon sharing their abstinence, or things they allow, that others will see their faith and want to have faith too. Yet they drive a division between themselves and those looking on. In this there is no love, no service, and only a care for self preservation; basically, it is selfish.

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:5-10 (NKJV)

A faith rooted in abstinence is much like the way the Jew follows the law. Yet we know that if you offend in one point of the law, you have broken the whole thing. In a faith of abstinence there is a problem with absolutes. One says in their heart, "If I do this, then I am safe; I will go to heaven." In doing this a person ignores the sacrifice of Christ. Christ died to save from sins, not so that you might save yourself.

If a person carries the logic of salvation through what a person does or does not do, then they view others the same and will continually judge the positions of the hearts of others. Many who judge others, distance themselves from people who they deem unworthy. It is much like the stanch, law abiding, Jew who looks down on Gentiles.

For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 9:11-13 (NKJV)

We do not preach a religion of works; we preach a relationship with Christ. In this relationship He saves us from our sin and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness and with a proper understanding of this, we must view everybody else as being worthy, for Christ died for them too.

Like Christ loved us first and came to serve, we too must put our actions of love before our words. When we do, people will understand the difference God makes in our life and then want to hear us.