A blog from Sunday’s sermon on Romans 9:1-5
When we watch the Olympics, we are inspired by athletes who train for years, push through pain, and sacrifice comfort for the chance to compete. What drives that kind of performance? Passion.
In the Christian life, passion should drive us as well. Just as the passion of an Olympian drives him or her to win a medal, the passion of a Christian should drive us to win souls for Jesus.
I. A Passion for Souls Drives a Passion for Revival
In Romans 9, the Apostle Paul opens his heart and gives us one of the most emotional statements in Scripture. He speaks of having “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” for his fellow Israelites. This wasn’t a passing concern. It was deep, ongoing emotional pain, so intense that he would be willing to be accursed if it meant their salvation.
Why such anguish?
Because they were lost.
Paul wasn’t speaking of every individual Israelite, since we know that he himself had been saved. He was speaking of their spiritual condition as a people. Tragically, they had every advantage: the covenants, the law, the promises, and the heritage that pointed directly to the Messiah. Yet without Jesus, they were still facing an eternity separated from God.
Paul felt a personal responsibility toward them.
Biblical Examples of Passion
Throughout the Gospels, we see that those who truly encounter Jesus cannot remain silent:
- In John 1:40–45, Andrew finds his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus.
- In John 4:28–30, the Samaritan woman leaves her waterpot and runs to tell her town.
- In Mark 5:19–20, the formerly demon-possessed man publicly declares what Christ did for him.
- In Mark 1:45, a healed leper spreads the news everywhere.
- Even in Luke 16:27–28, a man in Hell pleads for someone to warn his brothers on Earth.
The pattern is clear: when someone grasps spiritual reality, they are moved to action.
Application
The normal posture of a Christian is to be concerned about the souls of others. We have found salvation. We know the hope of Christ. It should be natural to want others to experience the same grace.
And yet, too often, we lose that passion.
We become comfortable. Distracted. Inward-focused.
Revival begins when God restores our burden for the lost.
II. A Passion for Jesus Drives a Passion for Souls
Ultimately, our passion for souls is directly connected to our passion for Jesus.
1. The Leadership of Jesus
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
After our initial decision to trust Christ, we are called to follow Him. That is discipleship. And if we are truly following Him, we will move toward the same things He moves toward: people.
If we lack passion for souls, it may reveal that we are not truly following His leadership. We may be religious on our own terms, but not responsive to His direction.
This is how someone can be a Christian for decades and never lead a single person to Christ: they have believed in Him, but they are not actively following Him.
The danger? We become inward-looking and stagnant.
2. Loyalty to Jesus
In 2 Corinthians 5:10–11, Paul reminds believers that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. With reverence and loyalty to Him, Paul says, “we persuade men.”
We evangelize primarily because Jesus told us to. That alone should be enough.
If we are not passionate about souls, it may reflect disobedience. We may be more concerned about fear, rejection, or inconvenience than about standing before Christ one day.
That lack of loyalty reveals a heart problem.
3. The Love of Jesus
In 2 Corinthians 5:14–15, Paul declares that “the love of Christ compels us.” This could refer to our love for Him, or His love working through us. Most likely, it is both.
Consider what love moved Jesus to do:
- John 3:16 – God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
- Romans 5:8 – While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
His love caused Him to see our lost condition and leave heaven to do something about it.
When His love fills our hearts, we begin to see others as He sees them. We recognize their spiritual condition. And we are moved.
The greatest danger here is indifference.
Theologically, we may say we believe that without Jesus people are lost. But practically, if we never speak, never share, never invite, what are we communicating?
Either we don’t really believe it, or we don’t really care.
Someone once said, “If you believe there is a hell and you have the solution, how much must you hate someone not to tell them?”
That question pierces the heart.
A Call to Personal Responsibility
Evangelism must become personal.
It’s not about statistics. It’s about people:
- Family members
- Friends
- Neighbors
- Classmates
- Coworkers
Think of an Amber Alert on your phone. You may not lose sleep over a missing person you don’t know, but what if your child was lost? You would act. You would search. You would mobilize.
What if we viewed lost souls with that same urgency?
Every person you pass on the road. Every interaction at school or work. Every conversation on the ball field. These are not random encounters. They are divine opportunities.
We are responsible.
A Prayer for Revival
If we lack a passion for souls, it reveals something deeper. Perhaps we are out of fellowship with Jesus. Perhaps we are spiritually stagnant. Perhaps we need revival.
A church that is not passionate about souls to the degree that it must do something about it is a church in need of awakening.
Let us pray:
- For a renewed passion for Jesus.
- For hearts that feel the weight of eternity.
- For courage to speak.
- For love that moves us to action.
May the Lord give us such a passion for Him that it overflows into a burning passion for souls.
That is passion-driven performance in the kingdom of God.
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