Romans:17-21

These are some strong words from Paul. Notice that he doesn't rely on his own words, but rather on God's words spoken through Moses and Isaiah—words the Jewish people would have been familiar with, yet words that many chose to ignore.

How sad that God laments:

“All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.” (Romans 10:21 NLT)

Faith comes by hearing the Good News about Christ. Yet even apart from personal testimony, Scripture tells us that the heavens themselves declare the glory of God. How do we think we got here anyway? If there is creation, there is a Creator! Creation itself testifies to His existence. As Paul explained earlier in Romans, God's eternal power and divine nature are evident through what He has made. Therefore, we are without excuse for failing to acknowledge Him.

And who are we to dismiss the message of Christ simply because we don't like the lips through which it is spoken?

We tend to judge the message by the trustworthiness of the messenger, yet God has used imperfect people throughout Scripture to reveal His plan of salvation. God can use anyone—or anything—to get His message across. Consider how He even used a donkey to warn Balaam!

The Jewish people had been, for the most part, devoted to their religious traditions, ceremonies, and observance of the Law. Yet many rejected the very One to whom the Law and the prophets pointed—Jesus Christ.

The Lord then warns that He will use the Gentiles to arouse Israel's jealousy. How remarkable that those who were not even seeking Him would find the very One whom so many of His own people had rejected!

Both Jews and Christians acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yet we differ profoundly on the identity of the Messiah. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan revealed throughout the Scriptures.

How difficult this must have been for Paul. His heart ached for his people, longing for them to recognize and receive their Messiah. Yet God had given Paul a unique understanding of His plan of salvation—a plan that included the Gentiles.

Imagine the irony! God would use those whom many Jews considered outsiders to His covenant promises to proclaim the very message that so many within Israel refused to accept. That must have been a bitter pill to swallow!

Yet isn't that just like God? He often works in ways that challenge our expectations, confront our pride, and remind us that His ways are higher than ours.

We are never meant to keep to ourselves what God intends for all to hear. The powers of this world may seek to keep people in darkness, but the Light—Jesus Christ—has already come, and the darkness cannot extinguish Him or silence His message.

Consider God's recorded words through Isaiah:

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.”
(Isaiah 50:10–11 NLT)

How interesting that Isaiah refers not only to the Lord but also to His Servant—the very One whom Christians recognize as the promised Messiah, the One Moses foretold would come.

There is a profound warning in these verses. We can either trust in the Light God provides or attempt to illuminate our own path. We can humbly receive His revelation or insist on finding our own way. But the light of our own making will never accomplish what only God's Light can do.

And that brings us back to Paul's message.

Some people simply do not want to believe, no matter how clearly the truth is presented. Yet their unwillingness to receive the message does not diminish its truth, nor does it relieve us of our responsibility to share it.

As we discussed yesterday, our personal testimony is a powerful witness to God's faithfulness. We may not have all the answers, and we certainly aren't perfect messengers, but we can faithfully tell others what the Lord has done in our lives.

After all, God never asked us to make people believe. He called us to be His witnesses.

We are responsible for faithfully sharing the Good News. What others choose to do with that message is between them and God.

And who knows? The very testimony someone dismisses today may be the seed God uses to bring them to faith tomorrow.

So keep sharing, keep praying, and never underestimate what God can accomplish through a willing messenger.