In the verse before this one, Paul wrote that he would rather die than lose his reason to preach. Now that he has made the decision to preach the Gospel, he makes it clear that he is not boasting. He believes that he has no control over whether or not he will continue to preach about how faith in Jesus saves. Paul was compelled to preach the gospel by Christ. Paul was sent into the world by God Himself to spread the gospel of God’s grace. Paul cannot boast about the burden or the ability because they both come from God.
Paul describes what would happen to him if he stopped preaching the gospel using terminology from the Old Testament: “Woe is unto me.” This means more than just that Paul would be sad if he stopped preaching the gospel. It suggests serious real-world consequences from the Lord if Paul refused to fulfill his calling in an Old Testament context. Regardless, Paul is aware that he will never stop preaching the gospel. He does not have the option of doing so.
• Acts 9:15, But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Faith in Christ can bring both great blessings and a lot of pain. For his faith, Paul would suffer (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). God calls us to responsibility, not to comfort. He says that He will be there for us in times of trouble, not to keep us from them.
Just because we may have heard the word can we appropriately begin to speak? If there is any obstacle in the domain of feelings, it must be taken out before our words can be compelling. It presents genuine trouble if God’s word requires one sort of feeling, yet we have in us another sort of feeling. Today we are not contacting the feeling of the Bible from an external perspective; we are talking about the expressions of the Bible from within, out from our inclination.
Without some degree of emotion, it would be as if the minister were speaking in a robotic tone that does not express any emotion. If there is a word yet the speaker is void of any emotion, can that word be fruitful? How can one speak of something that they received without showing some type of emotion? What would the radio announcer that calls a football game of your favorite team sound like if he or she had no emotion behind the words? Even tennis game and golf announcers have some type of emotion in their voices while they whisper.
Imagine if you will, the scene of the woman at the well (John 4). She comes to draw water and meets Jesus. After talking with Him, she leaves and tells others that she has met Christ. How did she tell others? Was she excited? Was she sad? The Scripture does not specifically say. But, if we put ourselves into her shoes, what would be our reaction? Would we react in a way as we do when watching that football game on the weekend?
There is no specific example from my ministry that I can give in reference to the ministry of the word and emotion save this one. It was on a Sunday morning many years ago, I had a radio broadcast ministry. I cannot remember the message or Scripture that I was preaching from, but I do remember that as I began the sermon, the Spirit moved within me, and I began to cry while preaching. There was a sense of sadness and remorse that I had for those that may have been listening. I could feel the Spirit move out of me into the microphone as I preached. I was exhausted afterward as if a burden had been lifted.
The burden of seeing lost souls saved should be the burden every minister carries on their shoulders, regardless of the denomination, the region of the country that they live in, their social standing, or ethnicity. For that matter, every Christian should have the burden of seeing others come to know Christ as their personal Savior.
A minister of the word that only recites Scripture is ineffective. Anyone can memorize verses out of the Bible. Anyone can attend any number of Christian universities or Bible colleges and learn the Scriptures. And after doing so, they would have some type of Biblical degree (you can see some of them on television now). But what good are those degrees or the people with those degrees? Did those people know Christ as their Savior before they started the Bible college? If not, then during their studies did those people actually meet the Lord? Did the Holy Spirit touch their hearts?
Just because someone has a bunch of letters behind their name that they received from some Bible school does not necessarily mean that the Spirit lives within them. Those that speak but have no spirit are Pharisees. They speak only to receive man’s praise and not from God. They are like a whitewashed fence, painted to hide their flaws. So, what about everyone else?
Preaching the Gospel was Paul’s blessing and calling, and he said that he was unable to quit preaching regardless of whether he wanted to. He was driven by the longing to do what God needed him to do, utilizing his spiritual gifts for the glory of God.
• Romans 1:14, I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
Paul was referring to both civilized and uncivilized individuals when he said, “to the Greeks and to the Barbarians.” The phrase “to the wise and to the unwise” refers to people with and without education. Both of these phrases are significant as they are representative to all people from all walks of life. How much did Paul owe, what was his debt? His entire life was devoted to spreading the Gospel of salvation following his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9). He owed Christ a debt for saving him, and it was owed to the whole world. By proclaiming Christ’s salvation to all people, Jews, and Gentiles alike, across all cultural, social, racial, and economic lines, he paid his love debt. Because Christ took on the punishment we deserve for our sin, we owe Christ that same love debt. Although we will never be able to repay Him for everything that He has done for us, we can express our gratitude by showing others His love.
Can you imagine the emotion that Paul must have felt as he proclaimed the Word of God to everyone that he met during his travels? Looking back over his life on how he persecuted Christians, but now knowing the real truth, how he must have felt deep agonizing remorse for his actions and behavior toward the Body of Christ.
What has Christ brought you out of? What gifts and or talents has God blessed us with? Is it accurate to say that we have been spurred, like Paul, to respect and honor God with our gifts and talents? If not, then why not? What is holding us back?
