The Gospel-Centric Life
The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the grandest
message ever to fall upon human ears. At its very core is the Cross
upon which Jesus died—a death that provided (1) a total satisfaction
Godward for transgressions against his law, and (2) an acceptable
substitution manward in terms of the justice every sinner deserves
for violations of that law. Could there be a better news flash than
that of a loving God providing a sin solution for all mankind and
offering forgiveness and life eternal to every man and woman who
believes it?
The word “gospel” is the Greek euaggelion, meaning “a
good announcement, glad or good tidings.” It is found seventy-seven
(77) times in the Greek NT. The apostle Paul accounts for
fifty-eight (58) of those usages. Eleven (11) are found in the book
of Romans—his most prolific epistolary usage. It goes without saying
that Paul made it a dominant theme in his theological discourse.
The book of Romans represents the mother load of
Paul’s theological thought where the gospel is concerned. It is
therefore no surprise to find him referring to the gospel four times
within the first eighteen verses (1:1-18). It is inarguable that
Paul was gospel-centric in all of his living—a centricity that
spilled over into his writing! Let us examine those four
introductory references.
First, the apostle Paul was separated unto it (1:1).
Separated is aphorizo, meaning “to mark off by boundaries, to limit,
to set apart for a specific purpose.” It is a perfect passive
participle in nominative case. An expanded translation: “Paul, one
having been permanently separated by God unto the gospel.” It might
be stated as “once separated, always separated.” Our English
“horizon” comes from its root. As far as Paul could see on his
life’s horizon, he saw a servant of God inseparable from gospel
ministry. Oh what a vision! Do you and I share that same sense of
separation?
Secondly, he was serving in it (1:9). Serve is
latreuo, meaning “to serve for hire, to render religious service as
an extension of worship.” The present tense signifies the durative
quality of service. In Paul’s mind, the gospel service he rendered
was an outworking of his worship. He was working out in service what
God was working in as a result of worship. Worship and service are
inseparable. Show me a man or woman who worships the Lord Jesus and
I’ll show you an individual engaged in gospel enterprise on a
discernable level.
Thirdly, he was ready to preach it (1:15). Ready is
prothumos, a combination of pro (“before”) and thumos (“eager”). We
get our English word “thermos” from its root. Paul’s readiness to
preach the gospel at Rome was spawned by a residual spiritual heat
that predisposed him to do so. You might say that Paul’s spiritual
oven was “pre-heated” to a temperature conducive to evangelism!
It is entirely possible for a child of God to cool
down in his or her readiness. Paul told Timothy to “stir up [fan the
flames of] the gift” that was in him for a reason (II Timothy 1:6).
The challenges the young pastor dealt with daily tended to deprive
his spiritual fire of oxygen. Every pastor can relate. A few typical
criticisms: He spends too much time in study…or not enough. He
spends too much time visiting…or not enough. His pulpit manner is
too abrasive…or too tame. He is too emotional…or too laid back. He
spends too much time with one group to the neglect of others. The
list goes on infinitum!
By the very nature of their task and individual
giftedness, pastors can garner a lot of baseless criticism. Throw in
the setbacks incurred by mankind at large and you have a myriad of
potential readiness killers. If you’re reading this, I suspect your
readiness has made the obituaries more than once—whether pastor or
layperson. It is rather remarkable that Paul, who suffered multiple
shipwrecks, beatings and imprisonments, was able to keep himself in
a chronic state of gospel readiness!
Fourthly, he was unashamed of it (1:16). Ashamed is
epaischunomai, a combo of epi (“upon”, intensive prefix) and
aischuno (“to disfigure, dishonor, suffuse with shame”). The tense
is present, middle voice. An expanded translation: “I continue to be
void of any shamefacedness whatsoever with regard to the gospel of
Christ.” Basic to his unflinching resolve was the power (Gk.
dunamis, Eng. “dynamite”) of the gospel to save the sinners who
believe it! Paul was no more ashamed of the gospel than a sailor
would be of the life preserver he tossed to his fellow seaman who
had been washed overboard in the midst of the ocean!
The apostle Paul was a
gospel-centric man. And regarding that gospel, he was separated unto
it, serving in it, ready to preach it, and unashamed of it. Such are
the basic attributes of the gospel-centric life. Are they ours?
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