By Greg Johnson
August 20, 2006
http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
The Apostle Paul had a passion to share the gospel with all people; rich and poor, educated and non-educated, Jew and Gentile. In Philemon we see that Paul shared the gospel with a run-a-way slave. In Acts we see Paul sharing the gospel with King Agrippa. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, we can feel the passion that is burning in his heart to share the gospel in Rome. Eventually, his heart’s desire will be fulfilled and he will go to Rome to share the gospel. He will go to Rome as a prisoner and will be martyred there for Christ and the sake of the gospel.
He writes (Romans 1:14-16 NIV) "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. {15} That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. {16} I am not ashamed of the gospel..." Paul says that he is "obligated", he is "eager" and he is "not ashamed" to share the good news of God. What powerful passion to share the gospel. I’m sure there were times when Paul was tempted to be ashamed of the gospel or he would not have made the proclamation that he was not ashamed. Paul knew that preaching the cross was "foolishness" to some and a "stumbling block" to others for he writes (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV) "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:23 NIV) "but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." Paul overcame any temptation to not share the gospel. May we be consumed with the same passion to share the gospel that Paul was consumed with so that we can overcome any temptation to be ashamed of the gospel.
What drove Paul’s passion to share the gospel? We get insight in Romans 1:16-17.
THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD.
(Romans 1:16 NIV) "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." The gospel is powerful in that it is the only thing that can bring salvation to us. There is no other way to be saved from the judgment and wrath of God that is to come other than believing the gospel; the good news of God that tells us that God sent Jesus to stand in the gap that separated us from God and was caused by our sin. Jesus bore our sin on the cross so that we can be reconciled to God.
The gospel is powerful in that it brings salvation to "everyone" who believes. Salvation comes to all who believe; rich and poor; educated and non-educated; Jew and Gentile. All those who believe have experienced the supernatural power of the gospel. It transforms our life. It regenerates us into new beings as we are born again. It gives us a new heart full of love for God and compassion for others. We can look at our own lives and see the power of the gospel at work and it compels us to fight off the temptation to be ashamed and it gives us the passion to lovingly share the gospel of Christ with others so that they can experience what we have experienced by the grace and mercy of God.
THE GOSPEL REVEALS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.
(Romans 1:17 NIV) "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."" Everything that God does from salvation to judgment is right. God can do no wrong. Every ounce of His being is righteous.
God’s righteousness is revealed in the cross of Christ. Through the cross of Christ, God has provided the way for us to be made right. Our righteousness is found in Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV) "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
God reveals His righteousness to us at the cross of Christ and He imparts righteousness to us as we place our faith in what Christ has done for us at the cross. We don’t earn righteousness and thus we can not achieve it through works. There are so many today that are trying to earn righteousness through volunteering all of their spare time to church activity and it zaps all of their passion to share the gospel at the point of need. Righteousness is not imparted through church activity. The righteousness of God is a gift that is imparted to us through our faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us at the cross.
THE SPIRIT OF ANTI-CHRIST WILL NEVER DESTROY THE GOSPEL.
Please listen to me now as I share with you an important Word that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart. The spirit of anti-Christ is growing in our day. The devil is increasing his activity against those that profess Jesus Christ. Militant Islam and demon possessed world leaders are trying to stamp out the very name of Jesus. They are against the gospel of Jesus Christ and will do everything and anything to try to stifle it. That is the root cause of terrorism by militant Islam. As the spirit of anti-Christ continues to grow in the world, the temptation to not share the gospel of Jesus Christ will grow as some people will become afraid to even mention the name of Jesus. Don’t give into the temptation. God will not allow anything, absolutely nothing, to destroy the proclamation of the gospel. You stand strong in the Word and in the might of the Holy Spirit. No matter what happens in this land, refuse to live in fear. Stay in the Word and seek God with everything you have. What can man do to you? Even if they take your life, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul lost his life in Rome for the sake of the gospel, but the gospel did not die.
OBLIGED, EAGER AND NOT ASHAMED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL.
Beloved, we have a powerful gospel to share that nothing is going to destroy. It’s the gospel that has the power to save and it’s the gospel that reveals the righteousness of God. As we live by faith in what Christ did for us at the cross, God imparts His righteousness to us and we are consumed with a passion to share the gospel with others. It’s through our personal experience with the gospel that we will overcome any temptation to not share it with others that are in need of it. Praise the Lord! As our faith increases, our passion to share the Gospel increases and we feel obligated, eager and not ashamed!
http://lovinggodfellowship.org/greg_johnson_blog
