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Jan 22, 2025 06:00am

State Your Business

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“State your business.”

An older, scraggly voice with an accent emerges from a little doorman. He peers through the flap on the large, wooden door. The light from his lantern shines through the hole, illuminating the traveler’s face on the other side.

The traveler has only a moment to share who he is, why he’s there, and what news he has to bring. He must get straight to the point if he expects any of the people on the other side of that wall to listen to him.

His news is of great importance. His message must be delivered. Their lives depend on it.

Romans 1:1-7

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.”

Paul is writing to the believers in Rome. However, this letter was written before Paul or any of the disciples traveled to Rome. He wrote this letter most likely at the end of his third missionary journey before returning to Jerusalem. The gospel had already spread to Rome because of new believers who had been present at the Day of Pentecost. When they returned home, they took the gospel with them, and churches began.

The purpose of this letter was Paul’s way of introducing himself and to lay out the basic foundation of the Christian faith: what to believe and how to behave.

But before they would listen or read any further, Paul knew he had to be clear about who he was and his intentions.

And so, the letter’s opening paragraph was straight to the point and provided an open door for him to share more.

Is our message just as clear? Are we focused on Christ in sharing the gospel, or do we somehow shift the focus away from Him to something less important or meaningless?

As we continue in the book of Romans, we will see the gospel displayed and preached clearly.

God is holy. Man is sinful. The once-perfect relationship between God and man was broken because of man’s choice to sin. Because of it and because of how holy God is, our sins earned us death and eternity in Hell. But God provided a sacrifice that could redeem mankind. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. He took our sins and shame on Himself and gave His life so that we could have the opportunity to be saved. If we humbly bow before God, put our faith and trust in Jesus, and accept the sacrifice He made for us, we will be saved. And our lives will be a living testament to those we encounter. We will join Christ on His mission to seek and save the lost and make disciples of all nations.

This message was clear from Paul and still rings true today – the gospel is for ANYONE, for Jews and Gentiles. ALL people have the opportunity to accept Christ’s offer of salvation.

Do you know Him? Do you have a relationship with Him? Let me show you how. Go to follow.lifeword.org.

And if you are a believer in Christ, it’s our privilege to share this message with others. If you’re looking for a clear way to present the gospel and make disciples, I encourage you to check out FOLLOW. Share it, walk through it on your own, and then walk through it with someone. You won’t regret it.