A Call to Christ

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 15th of March, 2026, and our 4th blended service.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Family, do you understand what a “call” is?  That word call – C-A-L-L – has many meanings, both as a verb and a noun.  As a noun, a call is a summons, invitation, or bidding.  It can even be a demand or a claim.  A common usage of the word is in a request or invitation to a minister to become the pastor of a church, like when you called me to Pilgrim.

So a “calling” is just such a call or summons, or even a strong impulse or inclination, like an inner calling.  You’ve heard me say before that being a Deacon or an Elder is not just an elective position within the church, it is a calling to serve Jesus and His church with the special gifts given the called ones.

And family, we Christians are all called.  Called by Jesus to go into the world sharing the Gospel message and making disciples.  This is our calling, yours and mine, to call others to Christ.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome lately.  It’s not been by design so much, but more by interest.  I guess you could say I’ve been called to the letter, to Paul’s insights and thoughts expressed in it.  There is one passage where he writes about calling people to Jesus.  He helps us understand our calling and even provides some useful points we can share with others as we issue the call to them.

Please listen and follow along to what Paul wrote in the 10th chapter of his letter to the Romans, the Roman epistle, verses 8 through 17, as read by Myrna Davis from the Easy-to-Read Version of our Holy Bible…

8 This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” It is the teaching of faith that we tell people. 9 If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from death, you will be saved. 10 Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in Him, and so we are saved.

11 Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disappointed.” 12 It says this because there is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is the Lord of all people. And He richly blesses everyone who looks to Him for help. 13 Yes, “everyone who trusts in the Lord will be saved.”

14 But before people can pray to the Lord for help, they must believe in Him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about Him. And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. 15 And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”

16 But not all the people accepted that good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?” 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

--Romans 10:8-17 (ERV)

Before going further, I’d like to clarify that in verses 11 and 13, when Paul writes “Anyone who trusts in Him” and “Anyone who trusts in the Lord”, he is literally saying anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.  We show our faith and trust in our Lord when we call on His name, when we worship Him and pray to Him for help.

Let us call on Jesus now as we pray…  Lord Jesus, our Father God has given each of us a measure of faith to believe that You are the Son of God and our Redeemer.  And we are exercising and showing our faith when we come together in Your name, when we pray to You, when we call on You for help when all seems hopeless.  This is the full measure of our faith, that we put all our trust in You, lay our troubles at Your feet, place our lives in Your hands.  Jesus, we accept You as our Lord and do our best to carry out Your commands, but sometimes, maybe too often, we fail miserably.  We tend to forget that all of mankind was created in the image of God, not just we believers.  When we fail to show love or act in a loving way, we are disrespecting our heavenly Father and His creation.  Please help us put aside all bitterness, all pettiness, and all the ways of the world so that we can be better disciples.  Help us return hatred with love, violence with prayer and forgiveness.  Help us be more like You, Lord Jesus, as we walk through this life.  In Your beautiful name, Jesus, we pray.   Amen.

Christian apologist and author G. K. Chesterton once said:  "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it's been found difficult and not tried."

I wish I knew who penned this equally pithy statement, but the source is unknown:  "It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong; Not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians."

Being a Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus, is not easy.  It requires work and sacrifice, and sometimes forcing ourselves to do something we don't really want to do.  So we just have to keep practicing and exercising our faith.  And calling out to Jesus when we need Him the most.

Paul opens our morning passage saying that God’s teaching is in our mouths and in our hearts.  Let that sink in a bit.  God’s teaching is in our mouths and in our hearts.

We have been given the great gift of God’s own Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, in our hearts.  He guides us, directs our path, prays for us, gives us the words to say when we can’t come up with any, and He gives us further insight into God’s holy word.  Through His Holy Spirit, God has given us everything we need to carry out Jesus’ command to go and make more disciples.

And Paul follows this up with further assurance for us and the first assurance we can share with others.  Just confess Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved and made right with God.

The advice continues.  Anyone who trusts in Jesus, anyone who calls on His name, will never be disappointed.  The Lord is the Lord of all people – ALL people.

And then Paul reminds us of our calling.  I think I mentioned this years ago, but there was a point when I was dithering as to going into the ministry or not.  After wandering over 40 years in a wilderness of my own making, I finally realized that God had been calling me all that time.  But I just never thought of myself as a minister, or a preacher, or a pastor.  And then one day I picked up a book in our church library and opened it to a random page and began to read right where the author began quoting Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 10, verses 14 and 15.  It was a different version, but the message was the same.

“Before people can pray to the Lord for help, they must believe in Him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about Him. And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.  And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent.”

God finally got through to me, leading me to that book, guiding my hands to that page, forcing my eyes to that passage, writing His words on my heart.  Family, before anyone can come to know Jesus, they must be told about Him, and told in a believable, loving way.  It truly is Good News we share.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds us that no one is perfect.  This is important because we must be careful how we present ourselves to others when we are out sharing the Gospel.  Some non-believers disparage Christians by saying we think we’re better than anyone else.  Well, we’re not, and Paul makes that clear, while also giving us more insight into how to approach others.

In the next two passages I want to share, Paul is speaking to converted Jews for the most part, but everything he writes applies to us as well.  And after all, through our adoption by God, we can say we’re children of Abraham, too.

Please hear what Paul writes in the 2nd chapter of his letter to the Galatians, verses 17 through 21…

17 We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God, so it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not. 18 But I would be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. 19 It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20 So I am not the one living now — it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave Himself to save me. 21 I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace. If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die.

--Galatians 2:17-21 (ERV)

We are all sinners, even we Christians.  But Christ washed us clean of our sin in God’s eyes.  He died to this life for that very reason.  He died, because we are incapable of obeying God’s Laws.

If we could be made right in God’s eyes simply by following His law, then Jesus did not have to die.  But we can’t, and we never will be able to.  Believers and non-believers alike – we are all sinners.  Christ died so that we all might be saved.

One last point about calling to Christ, and being called by Christ.  For this I’m going back to Paul’s letter to the Romans, to verses 28 and 29 in chapter 2…

28 You are not a true Jew if you are only a Jew in your physical body. True circumcision is not only on the outside of the body. 29 A true Jew is one who is a Jew inside. True circumcision is done in the heart. It is done by the Spirit, not by the written law. And anyone who is circumcised in the heart by the Spirit gets praise from God, not from people.

--Romans 2:28-29 (ERV)

Putting this more into perspective for us Gentile Christians...  You are not a true Christian if you are only a Christian in your physical body.  True baptism - our outward sign of our inward faith - is not only on the outside of the body.  A true Christian is one who is a Christian inside.  True baptism is done in the heart.  It is done by the Spirit, not by religious procedure.  And anyone who is baptized in the heart by the Spirit gets praise from God, not from people.

Sitting in the pew on a Sunday morning does not make anyone a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes them a car.  Being a Christian involves transformation, a shift from sinful living to be sanctified, set aside and made holy, and living for God.  It involves purpose, living a life that reflects the character and values of Christ.  And it involves building a relationship, not merely following the rules but a personal, abiding relationship with Jesus.

So yes, being a Christian is tough.  But the rewards make it all worth the efforts.  This is the message we must share.  This is our calling, to call others to Christ.  Call on the name of the Lord!  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You give us faith to believe in Jesus, and when we do, You give us Your Holy Spirit to help us carry out our mission of calling others to Christ.  But sometimes, Father, we don’t follow Your Spirit’s guidance.  We struggle with our calling, hesitating to approach others and give witness for Jesus.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  We thank You for the faith You’ve given us.  Please strengthen us to put that faith into action and carry out our call.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving of Yourself to make us right in God’s eyes.  In return, You ask only that we love others and go out making more followers.  For us poor humans, this isn’t as easy as it sounds.  We’re afraid, we hesitate, we struggle, and too often we don’t even try anymore.  Please help us do as You command us, Lord.  Help us reach out to others and be more open in showing our faith, in sharing Your mighty works, in repeating Your beautiful promise of life everlasting.  Help us in our calling to call others to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.