Week 8 - Living Out the Gospel
- Jul 14, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 30, 2025
In our final week, I'll reveal the simple ways you can organically reach out to others, creating space to touch lives within your community. Paul explains the essential steps toward disciple-making by walking with the weak.
Make sure to grab your Bible, journal, and pen to take notes. Make sure to write questions to seek answers for a fulfilled life of living out the Gospel.
Romans 14-15
Disciple makers (Walking with the weak)
Over the course of 8 weeks, we have discovered many great and wonderful aspects of the simplicity of the gospel - what Jesus has done for us through his life, death, and resurrection.
How through him we have received a new identity – the identity of righteousness – and that God views us this way through the Jesus filter.
Our statement for these weeks has been “What you receive, you believe and what you believe you live out.”
Unfortunately, for many in the Western Church, we have only received and believed half of the good news – the part that we believe in Jesus and receive eternal life. The second half of the good news is often unexplained, misinterpreted, or not even taught.
The whole gospel includes our part – our response to all that we’ve received through that unselfish act from Jesus.
How do we respond?
Well, we discussed becoming living sacrifices. That in view of God’s mercy (Jesus coming to save us), we live out the Gospel through our lives, not conforming to the world’s views, but becoming transformed through the Word of God.
Last week, we discussed the act of submitting to governing authorities as part of living out the Gospel. That was not only a tough issue to unpack with you, but also for you to receive (and believe).
So, this week, in our final week in Romans, let’s complete Paul’s intention for us to receive, believe, and live out the Good News of Jesus Christ by focusing on sharing it with others.
How many of you remember in your childhood people knocking on your door trying to sell your family a Bible? Or, witnessing to you about their form of religion?
I remember!
In Korea, there are several groups of people, usually a few guys or a threesome of older ladies, who roam the cities knocking on doors trying to sell some form of religion or another. I remember how shocked they would be when a white American woman opened the door!
When we lived in South Dakota – in a tiny town with a population of about 900 people - three young men showed up at our door in the dead of winter. They were passing out literature from the 7th Day Adventist church. Instead of brushing them off, Joe invited them in and began evangelizing THEM! It was amazing to watch him confront their belief system. They actually returned several times!
Why am I telling you this story? Well, because that tactic for spreading the Good News no longer works in our society. For one thing, it puts too much pressure on the people knocking on doors to accomplish what should happen organically in their everyday lives.
The practice of sharing the Gospel with those around us should happen naturally as we walk with people in daily life.
Let me explain through our passage for today.
In Romans 15:1-3, Paul writes:
“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbor for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself.”
This final section of living out the Gospel has everything to do with unselfishly giving up our wants and desires in order to build up and encourage others – showing, organically, through our lives, the love of Jesus in us.
You’ll notice Paul finds this unselfish act important throughout the entire 14th chapter of which I don’t have time to read tonight (so go read it afterward). But let me highlight a couple of verses there.
Verse one says, “Accept those whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” In other words, don’t judge what doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the kingdom of God. Stay focused on understanding and loving others without criticizing.
Another verse that supports the necessity of living unselfishly is found in verse 19. It says:
“Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
I like what the New Living Translation says. It says, “…let us AIM for harmony…”
I’m a visual person, so I like seeing in my mind a target and me trying to hit the bullseye of harmony, peace, and edification through how I live out the Gospel in my life. It’s challenging but not impossible.
Remember, receiving and believing the message of Jesus Christ is only one half of the Gospel. The other half is how we respond to his love by living out this message in our lives for the sake of others around us.
We don’t need to go knocking on doors trying to evangelize strangers. You can simply look around your area of influence, find someone who needs Jesus, and walk with them in their life. You don’t need tracks, or Bible memorization, or have all the answers for that matter! You just need a love for God, a willing heart, and love for others.
At some point, however, you will need to open your mouth and speak the words of life to people.
The only thing we actually have that allows us this opportunity is our testimonies.
You can easily share how God’s power saved you, or about his amazing love in some specific area that relates to their situation. Becoming vulnerable and transparent allows you to eventually share with them the forgiveness you received through Jesus Christ.
It. Is. That. Simple.
In the book “Organic Outreach”, Kevin Harney writes, “Too often we make things more complicated than they need to be.” This is a true fact!
The Good News of Jesus Christ is simple. It only makes sense for us to keep it that way.
Many of you may be thinking, “Oh, that’s easy for you to say, Debbie Mama, but I’m an introvert. I don’t like talking to people.”
Let me just remind you that this isn’t a focus on strangers, but on people we already interact with who need Jesus. It is living out the Gospel organically.
Paul encourages the Christians in Rome when he writes in verses 5-6:
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The pressure here is on God supplying you with endurance and encouragement so that He may be glorified by the way you live out the Gospel in your life.
Conclusion
To aid you in the process of organically reaching out to those around you, I suggest the book “Organic Outreach for Ordinary People,” by Kevin Harney. We all need training – even me!
Tonight, let me end by blessing you from verse 13:
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Receive. Believe. Live Out.
Week 8
Comments