Just a few weeks ago there was a terrible explosion
in the downtown east side of st. Paul There apparently
was a work crew from the local gas company that
was doing some work outside the building and
As they were performing their work the early
conclusions seemed to be that a gas line was
somehow damaged And the gas began to pour into
one of the buildings and accumulate in the basement.
Outside that store was a man standing who saw
all of this happen. He saw the gas going into
the building. He was aware that the building
was in terrible danger. He looked up and saw
that the apartments above were occupied. This
was no deserted building. There was a store on
the main floor. People lived up above it. Amazingly,
this man, instead of running into the building
to warn people, decided to go to the other side
of the street and he just sat down. He wanted
to watch and to see what would happen when this
building went up in a terrible explosion of flames.
You say, what kind of a man was that? What kind
of a man would be willing to sit down on the
street while a building was in terrible danger
and people's lives were at stake? Well, let me
say to you it was a non -existent man. I've added
a little bit to the story. There was no man who
did that. But I wanted to talk about what happened
and the terrible tragedy it was to illustrate
to you this morning that we who are the children
of God can sometimes act just like that man that
I told you about. because we know exactly what
this world is coming to. We know the end of the
life of sinners and yet so often we are content
to sit in our churches and to worship and to
feel good and let the world go to hell. If I
were to list this morning the sins which the
church needs to repent of, it would probably
be long. There would be sins of commission, sins
of omission. There would be big sins and little
sins, public sins and private sins, but few sins
on the list would be less common than the sin
of silence. And that's the sin I want us to think
about this morning in this message of S .O .S.
It is an urgent message, if not for our sake,
for the world's sake, that we talk about the
sin of silence. God is not a God who is speechless.
He has spoken. He has spoken in creation as the
verse on our worship folder this morning reminds
us. for since the creation of the world, God's
invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine
nature have been clearly seen being understood
from what He has made so that men are without
excuse. God speaks to the world in creation.
God speaks to the world in the Bible. The Bible
is a unique book in all of the world as you know.
And in the Bible, God speaks to mankind. Ultimately
and finally, fully, God has spoken in His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And what He has said can
result in the salvation of sinners deserving
His condemnation. When one has the information
that is needed to rescue others from their peril
and does nothing with it. That silence is sin.
I don't know any other way to describe it, but
sin. For the Church of Jesus Christ to be mute
when the world is burning is sin. It is a sin
against God and it is a sin against humanity.
All of us this morning, including myself, need
to repent of this sin and seek to proclaim the
message which alone saves people from everlasting
ruin and from the fires of hell. Why is it a
sin to be silent? I'd like you to open your Bible
with me to Romans chapter 10 as we read our text
beginning in verse 11. Romans chapter 10 verse
11. For the scripture says, whoever believes
in him will not be disappointed. For there is
no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the
same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches
for all who call upon him. For whoever will call
upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How
then shall they call upon him in whom they have
not believed? And how shall they believe in him
whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach
unless they are sent? Just as it is written,
how beautiful are the feet of those who bring
glad tidings of good things. In the text that
we've just read, I want us to notice three reasons
why it is a sin for the Church of Jesus Christ
to be silent when the world is burning and on
its way to eternal destruction. Reason number
one is because we have been sent to the world.
We have been sent to the world. You'll notice
in verse 15, he says, how shall they preach,
how shall they proclaim unless they are sent?
And then it speaks of beautiful feet. That is,
feet are welcome, they are pleasant when they
bring good news. Who are the ones called they
in verse 15? How shall they preach? Well, there
are some who say that's referring to the apostles.
And in the most narrow, specific sense, that
is certainly true. It is talking about the apostles
of whom Paul was one. If we broaden that out
a bit to a typical application today, we would
say it's missionaries. This is one of the great
missionary texts in all of the New Testament,
as you know. How shall they proclaim Christ unless
they are sent? And so we send missionaries. But
the thing that we have been trying to underwrite
in our hearts for the last couple of years is
the fact that all of us are missionaries. All
of us are included in the they here. We are the
they that has been sent by God to the world.
In John chapter 17, the Lord Jesus was praying
to the Father, and he said, Father, as thou didst
send me into the world, so I have sent them.
Now once again, he's talking most specifically
about that group of disciples who were with him,
but he was also talking about all of us. who
would then become followers of His through their
word. Father, as you have sent Me, so I have
sent them. A few days later, Jesus said to His
disciples, as the Father has sent Me, so send
I you. The word send or sent in those verses
is the same one that Paul uses in Romans chapter
10. It is a Greek verb, and I'm going to give
it to you because you need to hear it. It's the
verb apostelo. Apostelo. And if you listen carefully
there, you can hear that word apostle in there.
There is a very real sense that although we are
not apostles in the sense of that office in the
New Testament, we have been apostles By Jesus
Christ we have been sent by Jesus Christ to the
world. For us then to be silent when we have
been sent is sinful. For the reason that we have
been sent is that we might proclaim And then
when we proclaim, others can hear. When they
hear, they can believe. And when they believe,
they can call upon the name of the Lord and be
saved. It begins with our being sent. And we
have been sent. Jesus said, as the Father has
sent me, He did not shirk His duty. The Father
sent Him to do what we could never do. He gave
His life as a ransom for our sin, suffered and
died on the cross of Calvary, rose again from
the dead on behalf of the sins of the world.
He says, as the Father has sent Me, I send you.
Jesus did not shirk His responsibility. We must
not dodge our duty either. Our duty is to go
to the world and to proclaim. He said, as you
have sent Me into the world, I have sent them
into the world. He didn't just send us into the
church, into the walls of a building where we
could feel good together and worship Him together
and enjoy one another. He says, I have sent them
like you sent Me, Father, into the world. The
world is out there. It doesn't mean we don't
have ministry within the walls. We do. We have
things we need to accomplish here. But God has
sent us out there into the world. It is a sin,
therefore, for us to be silent. We have been
sent to proclaim. Just as God is not speechless,
neither is His people to be speechless. Rather,
we are called to be a people of witness, a remnant
with a message of heavenly origin. We must repent
of the sin of silence because in the first place
we have been sent by God to be witnesses. This
week we have that opportunity. I hope you have
been busy. praying and inviting others to come
these days. That they might be under the sound
of the gospel in a very relevant manner. There
are very few people that are not fascinated by
science, demonstrations of science. What a marvelous
opportunity for us to use this means to bring
people under the sound of the gospel. We have
been sent folks to the world for us to be silent.
is sin. There's a second reason why it is a sin
to be silent. It is because they need to hear.
How can they call and believe unless they hear?
They, the they now is those still in the world.
They need to hear. They need to hear. Why? Because
they're lost. Because they're dead in trespasses
and sins. Because they're under the condemnation
of God. They need to hear. They need to be saved.
That word is used, isn't it? Whoever will call
will be saved, the implication being that those
who do not call are still in danger. The word
saved means to rescue from danger. The world
around us is lost. It is under threat. It is
in jeopardy of eternal fires. It is lost and
therefore they need to hear. They need to hear.
You say, well, they can turn on the radio and
hear. But not many of them do. We can't use that
as an excuse for getting off our own responsibility.
You say, well, they can pick up a paper, they
can receive a tract. And yes, God uses all of
those means, but God wants us personally to be
involved in witnessing to our realm of influence.
Work, neighborhood, family, etc. They need to
hear your friends your neighbors. They need to
hear if they're going to be saved They cannot
call upon Christ unless they hear they need to
hear they are lost They're dying Most of us have
been saved as children Or we have been saved
so long that we've forgotten what it's like to
be lost. That's why it's so refreshing to talk
to someone newly saved because they remember.
A few weeks ago I was sat in a church in Denver
and the pastor got up to preach and began weeping.
Just before he got up to preach, a lady sang
Steve Green's song, People Need the Lord. Most
of us sat there and nodded our heads and said,
yes, amen, isn't that true? The pastor got up
and started weeping at his pulpit. I thought,
what's going on? Is there something going on
in this church I don't know about? What's he
so... broken up about. As he began then to gain
control and to speak, he was weeping because
of the message of that song. And he went on to
say, you know folks, most of you have been saved
long enough that you don't remember what it's
like to be lost and to have need. He said, I
remember. He's been a believer now for a number
of years. He's even been a missionary for some
of that time. But he said, I remember what it's
like to be lost. I was an adult when I got saved.
And I know what it means to be lost, to have
no hope. It was a strong message to all of us
there. When was the last time I wept, you wept?
Because people need to hear, because they're
lost. Most of us would sign any doctrinal statement
that said we believe in hell because the Bible
teaches it. But do we really believe it? If we
really believed it, would it not cause us to
speak more than we do? Could we remain silent
if we truly believed our neighbors and our family
We're on their way to a place of eternal fire.
Silence is sinful because they need to hear.
If they don't hear, they're never going to believe
and be saved. They're lost and on their way to
hell. The wonderful news is that if they believe,
they will be saved. They can call upon the name
of the Lord. You and I have the glorious honor
of being able to share with people how they can
be saved. How they can come out of that death
that they're in. How they can experience hope
when they have no hope for the future. How they
can know release from guilt. that eats away at
them inside. Whoever believes in Christ will
not be disappointed. Whoever will call upon the
name of the Lord will be saved. It's interesting
that these broad statements, whosoever believes,
whosoever will call, are found in the midst of
three chapters that talk about the sovereignty
of God. In Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11, the
sovereignty of God is exalted. His choice, His
election is declared. But the fact is that God
saves none of the elect unless they believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. unless they call upon
the name of the Lord. He saves none of them.
Now, the assurance is that they will. Our responsibility
and privilege is that we get to tell them. Paul
was so downcast in the city of Corinth, he was
ready to give up. And the Lord appeared to him
in a vision and said, Be encouraged I have many
people in this city now they hadn't been saved
yet Yet the Lord says I have many people in this
city Paul knew that his responsibility then was
to proclaim Christ and God would bring to himself
those that he had chosen Whosoever will call
will be saved anyone who calls, who believes
will be saved, will not be disappointed. What
a wonderful message we can declare. What does
it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Do
you remember back in the book of Acts when Paul
was on trial? He felt himself in danger. He was
in a difficult position and he said, I appeal
to Caesar. Remember that? And it got him out
of that court and guaranteed that he as a Roman
citizen would one day have the opportunity to
stand before Caesar in Rome and there to defend
himself before the sovereign. That word appeal
is the same word as call here. Paul writes to
the Romans and he says, whoever will appeal to
the Lord will be saved. That's what it means.
When one becomes aware of his sinfulness, of
his predicament, of his condemnation before God,
and he appeals to Christ, he'll not be disappointed.
He'll be saved and rescued from the judgment,
though he deserves it. Somebody says, what if
they don't listen? My family members, my friends.
Our calling is simply to proclaim to them the
truth. And to do that in a loving way, a sensitive,
tactful way, not being crude or rude, but just
telling them the truth. And as we do that, we
leave the results to God. We simply seek in the
power of the Holy Spirit to tell them the Gospel,
to proclaim Christ to them. And as we do, we
say, I leave the results in your hands. Silence
is sinful because we have been sent, because
they need to hear, and finally because the Lord
is ready to save. We have here a universal offer.
It's whoever will believe, whether it's Jew or
Gentile, it makes no difference. Whether it's
yellow or black or red or white, it makes no
difference. Whether they speak English or some
foreign tongue, it makes no difference. Whoever
will appeal to the Lord will be saved. There
is no distinction with God. He is called here
the Lord of all. And it says that as the Lord
of all, He is abounding in riches. for all who
call upon Him. Not only is this a universal offer,
it's an abundant offer, abounding in riches.
There is no limit to His ability to save, His
willingness to forgive. Just as that song said
earlier, the love of God, it fills the oceans
of the world and then there's more left over.
There is no limit to God's love. to God's grace.
And whoever will call will be saved. Such a lavish
and generous proposition is this. Such a Lord,
abundant with riches of grace and forgiveness,
deserves to be proclaimed. To fail to do it is
sinful. The Lord is ready to save. He is not
willing that any should perish, are we? He is
willing that all should come to repentance. Do
we care? Our job is proclaim this Lord who is
abundant in His grace, in His riches of mercy
and forgiveness. He is ready to save, and for
us to be silent is sin. The story is told of
a terrible storm that struck on Lake Erie in
the last century. There was outside of Cleveland
a lighthouse that had been erected to guide those
steamers safely into port. In addition to the
lighthouse, there were also other lights that
had been established on a lower level. The lighthouse
could direct the ships toward the harbor, but
they needed to have other lights lit to direct
them through the channel safely into the harbor.
So you have this huge lighthouse, and then you
have these smaller lights, all of which needed
to be lit. In the ferocious storm that arose
that night on Lake Erie, there were ships trying
to make harbor. And the lighthouse indeed was
lit. But those who were to light those other
lower lights, either were unable to get to them
or failed to do so out of fear because of the
storm. And as a result of that ships were able
to see the harbor and trying to make the harbor
in several cases went on the rocks and many many
lives were lost in that terrible storm. The news
of that becoming well known Philip Bliss saw
the obvious spiritual application. Philip Bliss
wrote hundreds of hymns, gospel songs. He is
the one who did the music for... What's the word
I'm trying to think of? Very well known. What
is it? It is Well With My Soul. He did the music
for that. not the words. But this particular
hymn, He did both the words and the music. It's
not in our hymnal any longer, but some of you
will recognize it. Brightly beams our Father's
mercy from His lighthouse evermore. But to us,
He gives the keeping of the lights along the
shore. Dark the night of sin has settled, loud
the angry billows roar, eager eyes are watching,
longing for the lights along the shore. Trim
your feeble lamp, my brother. Some poor sailor,
tempest -tossed, trying now to make the harbor
in the darkness, may be lost. Let the lower lights
be burning. Send a gleam across the wave, some
poor fainting, struggling seaman. You may rescue.
You may save. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
is the lighthouse. You and I are the ones responsible
for the lower lights and for us not to have those
lights burning brightly so that those still lost
in the stormy night of sin can make the harbor.
is sinful. Silence is sinful. God help us to
open our hearts and to open our mouths to share
Jesus. It's urgent. It's urgent. Let's pray.
Father, may we repent. May we simply not listen
and go our way, but may we first repent of the
sin of silence. For too often have we allowed
ourselves to pass opportunities, to ignore them,
and to permit our friends, our family, our co
-workers to go on in their lostness when we have
the answer. May that repentance work a deep change
within our lives so that we will not be the silent
one any longer. In Jesus' name, amen. If I'm
saddened today But a friend of mine left me forever
I'd not be so sad If she'd known what I had But
I never thought twice To tell her Who would have
guessed It would come this soon I'd always tell
her Can't bring her back here I long for one
more chance to tell her It came suddenly A young
twenty -three That she died calling for me If
only I'd been a concerned, loving friend My faith
wouldn't be chose to be the silent one. Failed
in my one obligation. But her was there for her
dry thirsty soul. But I let it just slip through
my fingers Excuses are few when the Lord questions
you If your friends know about him For they are
the ones he's chosen to tell The song is a bit
haunting to me. When I was in high school, I,
as a lowly freshman, was looked upon with friendship
by a junior. That's unusual. His name was Ron.
And one of the ways he showed me friendship was
to invite me to sit in his car during the noon
hour. Now that seems small to you, I know, but
that was a big thing back then. I could sit out
in his car and we chatted and others would sit
in the car, but I was a freshman, he was a junior.
I was a Christian, Ron was not. We parted that
summer, he had his responsibilities, I had mine.
I remember very well the night before school
was to begin again that fall, someone coming
into church and saying to me, Did you hear that
Ron Flory drowned this afternoon? And the very
first thing that went through my heart was an
arrow of conviction that as many times as I had
sat with Ron and talked with him, not once, had
I ever mentioned Jesus to him. Not once. I remember
Claire's son -in -law There's a policeman in
Wisconsin told me a story of an accident now
maybe a year, a year and a half ago. And I shared
it with you at that time. He was called to a
terrible accident outside of Black River Falls
and rushed there. First one on the scene. There's
a car on its top. It had turned over. A person
is trapped inside. Someone is laying out on the
grass. That person is alive. He ran to the car
where someone was still inside. He climbed in,
being on the roof, of course. The young man was
hanging there, trapped. And he said, are you
all right? And the young man looked at him and
said, I'm dying, and I don't know where I'm going.
I hope this morning that the point of conviction
that we might feel regarding being silent will
be turned around to an impetus, to a motivation
for speaking and telling about Jesus. Because
they need to hear. We've been sent. Our Lord
is ready to save. We have our job to do. Let's
be about it. This week and every day. Would you
stand with me please? And now, Father, with these
convicting thoughts on our hearts, and I trust
that by the Spirit, a renewed motivation to witness,
and to invite, and to tell. May we go from here.
And I pray that as we go, the Holy Spirit will
keep fresh what He has said in this hour to us.
and produce the kind of change that would be
pleasing to you where that's needed. In Jesus'
name, Amen. God bless you.