Preaching the true gospel will be met with negative response, and we are called to pay the price of preaching boldly. However, Paul reassured the Christian that anything we endure in this life is dwarfed by the reward promised to God’s people. It is worth it to live faithfully.
Preaching the true gospel will be met with negative response, and we are called to pay the price of preaching boldly. However, Paul reassured the Christian that anything we endure in this life is dwarfed by the reward promised to God’s people. It is worth it to live faithfully.
We, fallen and redeemed sinners, have been given to incredible privilege to preach the message of life, and we must do so. We are called to humble living, and a life of suffering or even death in order that others may live by the gospel. And God has promised ultimate victory in this mission.
Jul 24, 2019Session 3: The Tough Questions (Pt. 2)
As faithful Christians, we must not put up with anything that is false or deceitful, but rather, we owe the world a bold, faithful, and full proclamation of the gospel, which God has prepared us for.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul makes a distinction between the Old Covenant and New Covenant, between the law and gospel. What is made clear is that the law cannot save anybody and was never intended to save anybody. All the law can do is point to our failure to keep it and earn is condemnation; it’s only because Jesus kept the whole law and was punished in our place that we can be made right before God. The law and the gospel are both necessary for our salvation.
Authentic, Christ-centered ministry is epitomized in Paul’s work - and yet, he was still slandered and doubted. Paul pursues the Christians in Corinth, not by boasting of himself, but by appealing to their own lives. The transformation by the Holy Spirit in these individuals validated Paul’s ministry - and so it is for all ministers of God’s Word.
It is a privilege and an honor to minister in the name of Christ. No person, in themself, is sufficient to preach the Word of God, so we must do so with great fear and humility. However, there are always false teachers we need to be aware of who seek to use the gospel to exalt themselves and deceive others.
The first part of our summer series “Faithful.” Christ Jesus has won victory for every single Christian, and He continues His mercy by using us to do His work in the world. Because of Christ’s faithfulness, we are now acceptable and pleasing before the Father, and all the world ought to see that - whether they embrace the gospel or continue to reject it.