Beautiful Feet

Read Romans 10:9-15

9   If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 

***INTRODUCTION***

One of the strongest parts of our body is our feet. Our feet is a complex structure with 52 bones, 66 joints, 214 ligaments, 38 muscles, and tendons that hold the structure together and allow it to move in a variety of ways.  The bones in our feet make up about 1/4 of all the bones in our body.     We use our feet in a lot of ways.  We run using our feet. We walk using our feet (unless somebody here uses something else for walking).  We stomp our feet when we’re not happy.  We jump for joy when we are glad.  We take a step of faith. We kick somebody with our feet to retaliate.  We dance with our feet    Even for boxers, footwork is important.  We use our feet to seek and lookout for someone.  

I went to Mexico City last week and one thing I noticed in my hotel, there was a disposable shoe polisher.  And when I went out on the street, almost in every intersection, I notice somebody shining shoes.  Then I look at my colleagues there, true enough, their shoes were all shiny. According to them, it’s part of their culture – to have beautiful feet, shiny shoes.   The Bible uses the term “beautiful feet” but it is actually a figure of speech, more of a metaphor to describe something wonderful.  So  what makes our feet beautiful in the sight of God?

  

****UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT***

• The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome sometime in A.D. 56. 
• The most evident theme in this epistle is the subject of the gospel.
• God’s righteousness is revealed in this Gospel and this righteousness can be accessed  through faith alone (Sola Fide).
• “The righteous by faith shall live (Romans 1:17)  These passages in Romans give rise to some of the pioneers of the reformation like Martin Luther and John Calvin. 
• Chapter 10 tells us how important that this same Gospel must be shared with others. 

But Paul admonishes us to share the Gospel.  The Gospel simply means “good news.”  What is this “good news?”  Well, it’s about Jesus Christ – His birth, His ministry, His death on the cross and His resurrection and the promise of eternal life for those who will believe Him.  What is good about somebody getting crucified 2,000 years ago?  Well, His pain is our gain.  His death gives us the hope for eternal life.  That is the Gospel.     Paul said “I am writing this letter for Gospel’s sake.”  Paul was an evangelist of Christ’s Gospel.   We learned last time about the Empty Tomb and the fact that this Gospel that we preach today is both biblically and historically accurate.  There were hundreds of witnesses to the risen Christ but most importantly, millions of changed lives because of this Gospel. 

 ***WHAT CAN WE LEARN?***

Having  beautiful feet has nothing to do with having a nice pedicure or how nice our toe nails are or how clean and shiny our shoes are.   Paul listed the steps as far as preaching the Gospel is concerned.  He uses a   literary technique here by listing these steps in reverse order, using questions or interrogative forms.  

First, he started with a general statement:

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”^[b]

Then he listed several steps in reverse order in verses 14-15.

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

Then he made another general statement in:

As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”^[c]

 Verse 13 and 15b are actually quotations from the Old Testament:  Joel 2:32 and Isaiah 52:7, respectively.  If we re-arrange these steps, it will look like this:

Based on this order, we first read the general statement: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!”

-  but first, a preacher must be sent;

-  sent preacher must preach the good news;

-  the preached good news must be heard;

-  the heard good news must be believed;

-  the belief must be the kind that calls on God for salvation.

Sending, preaching, hearing, believing, calling on God yields salvation.

Then we read the 2^nd general statement:  “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

If you look at this chart, Sending, Preaching and making sure that the message is Heard are the responsibilities of the Church (if we are talking of the bigger missional or evangelistic initiatives).  In the  same manner, these are likewise personal responsibilities of each believer.  These are active verbs and not passive.  We are not to wait.  We should actively send, actively preach and actively make sure that the message is heard.   

Lesson No. 1:  Preachers of Gospel are precious and beautiful in the sight of the Lord (v15)

This is the reason why becoming a preacher is an important calling.  This is the reason why the Bible says in 1^st Timothy 5:17:  The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching 

God values those who share the Gospel.  He knows that it won’t be easy.  From a missionary to a pastor to a Bible Study leader, a lot of persecutions are encountered by a preacher of the Gospel every step of the way, lots of challenges.  Of course, preaching the Gospel is not limited to the pastors.  People got saved in your home group meetings.  People got saved in your school or office.  People got saved in fitness gyms or in grocery stores.  All that is needed is somebody who is willing to share the Good News.

Preachers of the gospel or bringers of God’s good news are so precious that we see even their soiled and bloody and dirty feet as beautiful.  Beautiful feet are not those soft, pedicured, painted, well-tanned feet. Beautiful feet are like the dirty, worn, wrinkled, smelly, scarred feet from many miles of walking into remote places sharing the Gospel that could not be heard any other way.  Beautiful feet are those feet who walk  in service for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Beautiful feet are those who never get tired of inviting people to the church.

 

If you share the good news with somebody, you have beautiful feet.

Lesson No. 2 -  God still actively sends people to share the Gospel (v14-15)

In general, people cannot say “oh we haven’t heard so how can we believe?”  Missionaries have been sent to the most remote parts of the planet.  God uses the church, first and foremost, to share the Good News.  Jesus said in the Great Commission:  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Jesus did not just command us to share the Gospel, He empowers each one of us and assures us that He will be with us when we obey and fulfil these daunting tasks.

 The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise…but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. “  (2nd Peter 3:9 ESV)

People perish because of their own choice, it’s not God’s choice.  It is not God’s will for people to go to hell.  It’s clear in the Bible that He does not wish that any should perish.  He already took the initiative through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He already empowered the church, through the Holy Spirit, to share this Gospel to the lost.  But one thing He will not do is to force anybody to love Him because forced love is not love at all. Love for God must be freely desired and freely given.

Lesson No. 3 -  The Gospel is available for anyone who is willing to listen and believe (v.12)

In verse 12, Paul said that: For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him (Romans 10:12)

While we know that God has a special purpose for the Jews but when it comes to salvation, we’re all the same, we get the same opportunity.  When it comes to salvation, God is no respecter of races.  

The Good News is available for anyone who is willing to listen and believe.

It is very important to note that:  there is indeed a Gospel – a Good News verified by history and most importantly attested to by witnesses who had given up their lives in order for this Gospel to be shared with other people.  

The good thing is God has commissioned a special group of people called the CHURCH to share this Gospel not just to people they like but to anyone.  These people are called preachers or evangelists or missionaries or Bible Study teachers or ordinary Christians whose passion is just simply to obey the Lord Jesus Christ and to share His good news to others.  These are the people whose feet are beautiful.

***WHAT NOW?***

  In conclusion,  let us again look at verses 9, 10 and 13:

⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 

¹³Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  In verse 13, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9,10 &13)

Why does Paul mention calling on the Lord as something that needs to happen after believing on the Lord? I thought we are saved or justified  "by faith alone"… sola fide.  Isn`t “calling the Lord“ a kind of “work?“  If you look at these verses, there seems to be two things that need to happen:  believing and calling in order to be saved.  We should analyse this very carefully as this is a doctrinal matter. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. “  This is our doctrine.  Salvation is a gift from God because of His grace.  It`s not because of any action or activity in our part.  We are saved by faith in Jesus alone. 
 But then, James 2:17 says “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. “  So which is which? Faith? Action? Or both?

Faith and Action is similar to Believing and Calling.  Faith refers to believing.  Action refers to Calling. 

In verse 9, Paul said “if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord“ – that`s Calling and Action. He said “if you believe the Gospel in your heart, i.e. Christ resurrected, you will be saved“  -- that’s Faith … believing in your heart.

In verse 10, Paul said “it is with your heart that you believe and are justified“ that`s faith obviously… and he said further “and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved“ that`s action.   

When we believe in the Gospel, we are saved… we are justified.  God knows that because He can see our heart.  FAITH is justification before God.   That`s all we need to do because God sees even those things hidden.  But what is the evidence that we are saved?  Our actions!  Our actions justify us before men. How can we share the Gospel effectively if we are not walking the talk or if we are not practicing what we preach?

  Faith  is justification before God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 Action is “justification” before men (James 2:17)

I think the reason Paul mentions "calling on the Lord" in addition to "believing on the Lord" because he looks at salvation in a larger context.  It`s the whole experience of deliverance not only from the guilt of sin, but from its power and from many temptations and many trials.  God has justified us by faith but we express that faith over and over throughout life, by calling on the Lord for deliverance and help in a thousand ways.

Calling upon the Lord is a clear indication that we truly believed

Calling upon the Lord denotes an action that we are indeed saved.

You can read this several times in the book of Psalms:

Psalm 18:3, “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

 Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”  Psalm 91:15, “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” 

Psalm 145:18, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Blind Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." Then Jesus said, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  Jesus saw Bartimaeus’ calling as an evidence of his faith.

We should call upon the Lord continually.  We call upon the Lord by praying.  We call upon the Name of Lord when we praise Him.  We call upon the name of Jesus in times of trouble.  We call upon the Lord whenever we share His Good News to others. Those people with beautiful feet call upon the Lord.  We call upon the Lord through our actions and through our reactions. Calling upon the Lord is a clear indication that we truly believed.  When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he writes, "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That’s what a Christian is: "those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Do you call on him? Do you call upon Him regularly?

Paul defines a Christian as a person who continually calls upon to Jesus.  He is a person who calls upon to Jesus primarily through prayer.  "Lord Jesus, I am tired and heavily laden, please help me." "Lord Jesus, I am weak, strengthen me." "Lord Jesus, I am lost and confused, guide me." "Lord Jesus, I am caught in a bondage of temptation and sin, deliver me." "Lord Jesus,  I am sick, please heal me. 

We have learned that the church or every Christian is responsible for sending, preaching and making sure that the Gospel is heard.  I think we have accomplished that purpose today. We have shared Jesus.  But the next step is up to you. You have heard about Christ today. What are you going to do?     

Believing and Calling upon the Lord is something that you must do for yourself.  Accepting Jesus on your behalf is something I cannot do for you.  It's personal.  It is something you have to do by yourself.

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCF Richmond on  Sunday, April 19, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.

I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

 www.wordchristianfellowship.com