“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “LORD, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” – Romans 10:9-17
From where do they get this sense of purpose?
Jesus taught that the most important truth includes our directive to love God with the best of our energy.
“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39
From this personal relationship of wholehearted devotion to God, we receive the direction of Jesus to show selfless, faithful, patient, kind love for our neighbors. That is the foundation for the next step in the path Jesus sends us on.
“Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20
Disciple – cause people to become followers (learner who seeks to become like the one they are following), convince them, urge them
Nations – ethnos, people of all varieties
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
What should we do?
1. List people who are not yet followers of Jesus.
2. Pray, asking God for their salvation, for your next steps, and for boldness.
3. Prepare to share the Good News of Jesus, in two minutes.
4. Prepare to share your story, in two minutes. “Before Jesus I was…with Jesus I am…”
5. Share your story and the Good News of Jesus with someone this week.
6. Use the Purple Book.
7. Share the journey with your church family and pray about it.
These early followers of Jesus obeyed His teaching. They were active. That is how they saw these results. – Acts 2:42-47