Start Here: Evangelism and Gospel Conversations 🌍🗣️

Romans 10:9–17

Think about how many conversations you’ve had this week.

At work, at home, online, in passing. ☕️📱👷‍♂️🏠

Now here’s the real question:

In how many of those conversations did the gospel actually surface? 🤔

If you’re anything like me, you believe the gospel saves, but you still struggle sometimes to speak it. That struggle is real. And honestly, it’s common. 😅

The good news is this: Romans 10 doesn’t scold us for being hesitant.

Instead, it shows us why speaking matters more than we realize, and it gives us confidence about what God is doing when we do speak. 🙌

Here’s the central truth of this passage:

God saves sinners through faith in Christ, and faith comes only when the gospel is spoken and heard. ✝️👂

So if you’ve ever felt guilty for not sharing the gospel, or fearful you’ll say the wrong thing, this passage is for you. It replaces pressure with confidence, and fear with clarity. 💪📖

How We Got Here in Romans 10 🧭

When Paul wrote Romans, he was carrying a heavy burden. Many of his own people, Israel, had rejected the gospel 😔, while Gentiles were coming to faith.

In Romans 9–11, Paul explains that this isn’t a failure of God’s promises. It’s the result of people trying to find righteousness by works instead of by faith. ⚖️

Romans 10 makes it clear:

✅ God’s saving message hasn’t changed.

✅ Salvation still comes through faith in Jesus.

Which leads to the question Paul answers:

How does God bring sinners to saving faith in Christ? 🧐

Paul lays out four essential truths.

1) Saving Faith Believes in the Risen Christ and Confesses Him as Lord ✝️🔥

(Romans 10:9–10)

Saving faith is not vague. It’s not “I believe in God” spirituality. It’s faith in the risen Jesus, the One who died and rose again. 🙌

Paul says salvation comes when a person:

• believes in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead ❤️
• and confesses with the mouth that Jesus is Lord 🗣️

“Believe” means more than agreeing with facts. It means trusting and relying on Christ. And the “heart” is the inner person, the center of who you are.

And then there’s confession. Paul isn’t talking about a casual statement here. Confessing “Jesus is Lord” means allegiance. It means submission. It means turning from self-rule and sin. 🔁

Saving faith is inwardly real, and outwardly visible.

Illustration 🎖️:

A soldier may admire the military, but enlistment requires submission to authority and command. In the same way, confessing Jesus as Lord means yielding to His rule.

A question to consider 🤔:

Have you personally trusted the risen Jesus as Lord, or are you relying on familiarity, morality, or silence?

2) Saving Faith Is Universally Available to All Who Call on the Lord 🌎🙌

(Romans 10:11–13)

Paul quotes Scripture:

“Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” ✅

That means faith in Christ won’t end in final rejection. God will not turn away the person who comes to Him through Jesus. 🙏

Then Paul says:

“There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.”

No one is closer to salvation because of their background. No one is too far because of their past. Salvation isn’t inherited. It’s believed. 👥

And then he gives us this beautiful line:

“The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” 💰✨

God isn’t stingy with mercy. His grace is abundant.

And finally:

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 🙌

Illustration 🚨:

When a tornado siren sounds, it’s meant for everyone within earshot. Not a select few. The warning goes out because the danger is real.

The gospel invitation is like that: open, urgent, and for anyone who will call.

A question to consider 🤔:

Is there anyone you’ve quietly assumed is unlikely to be saved or uninterested in the gospel?

Action step ✅:

Pray by name for one person you’ve written off each day this week. Ask God to open a door for gospel conversation.

3) Saving Faith Requires Hearing the Gospel Proclaimed 👂🗣️

(Romans 10:14–15)

This is the hinge point of the whole passage. Paul walks backward through the chain:

• They can’t call unless they believe
• They can’t believe unless they hear
• They can’t hear without a preacher
• And they can’t preach unless they are sent

In other words:

Faith requires content, and content must be spoken. 📣

A person doesn’t learn breaking news by intuition. It must be reported. The gospel must be announced too.

And Paul says God considers those who bring it beautiful:

“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace…” 🦶✨

It’s not about the messenger being impressive. It’s about the message being life-giving. 🕊️

A question to consider 🤔:

Who in your life cannot believe because they have never clearly heard the gospel from you?

Action step ✅:

Have one intentional gospel conversation this week. Clearly explain who Jesus is, what He has done, and how a person must respond, without deflecting or softening it.

4) Saving Faith Is Produced by the Word of God 📖🌱

(Romans 10:16–17)

Here’s a real fear:

“What if I share and they reject it?” 😬

Paul answers that:

“They have not all obeyed the gospel.”

Some will reject. Even when it’s clear. That doesn’t mean the gospel failed. It means unbelief resisted.

Paul quotes Isaiah:

“Lord, who hath believed our report?” 😔

Rejection shouldn’t surprise us. But then Paul gives the anchor truth:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 🙌

Faith is produced by God’s Word, not by your personality, your perfect wording, or your ability to convince someone.

Illustration 🌾:

A farmer can’t force growth. He plants the seed and trusts the process. Our role is the seed. God gives the increase.

A question to consider 🤔:

Are you avoiding gospel conversations because you fear rejection or feel unqualified?

Action step ✅:

Share at least one Scripture verse when you talk about faith this week, not just your opinion or story, trusting God to use His Word.

A True Story That Shows What Could Be 👞📦

In the mid-1800s, a Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball felt burdened about a teenage boy in his class.

That teen worked in a Boston shoe store and didn’t seem very interested. Kimball wrestled with fear. He didn’t want it to be awkward. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. 😅

But he went.

He found the young man in the stockroom and shared the gospel plainly.

That teenager’s name was Dwight L. Moody.

Moody later said he didn’t remember the sermon that day, but he never forgot the moment someone cared enough to speak. Moody trusted Christ, and God used him to preach to millions. 🌍🔥

It didn’t start with a pulpit.

It started with one believer who refused to stay silent. 🙏🗣️

What This Means for Us ✅

Romans 10 makes the chain unmistakable:

✅ The gospel must be spoken

✅ The Word must be heard

✅ Faith is born

✅ Sinners are saved

So here’s the action we’re called to:

Since faith comes by hearing, let us refuse silence and faithfully speak the gospel wherever God has placed us. 🗣️📖

A Gospel Invitation ✝️❤️

If you realize today that you have never truly believed in the risen Lord Jesus or called on Him for salvation, this passage tells you what to do.

God does not ask you to clean yourself up first or earn His favor. He calls you to believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again, to turn from self-rule, and to call on Him as Lord.

His promise is clear:

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 🙌

You can call on Him right now.

And for those who already know Christ, this passage leaves us with a sober question:

Who is still waiting to hear because you’ve stayed silent? 🤐

Ask God for one opportunity this week, and when He opens the door, speak. 🙏➡️🗣️

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