Compelled to Share



1 Corinthians 9:15-18
15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die – than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

Just 2 weeks ago we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, spearheaded in largely by Martin Luther. The famous quote that comes from that time is “Here I stand, I cannot recant.” He was compelled to speak the truth as he found it in the Scripture. To do any other would be, for him, a lie. Paul states a similar idea in his words to the Corinthians as he shares his motivation for sharing the Gospel. “For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” The message of salvation was one that burned through his veins. He had no choice but to proclaim it.

He considered the preaching of the Gospel a debt that he owed to the Lord as a result of Jesus appearance to him on the road to Damascus as recounted three separate time for us in the book of Acts. We find similar words as those found here in 1 Corinthians when he writes to the Romans.

Romans 1:14-15
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

There are two ways of incurring a debt. The first is when we borrow money from someone; the second is when someone entrusts us with money that he asks us to hand on to someone else. Until we actually hand it on, we stand indebted to the person for whom it is intended. Paul’s debt was of this second kind. He had been entrusted with the Gospel and was obligated to preach it to others. Jeremiah puts a picture to that idea as he experienced similar emotions when it came to sharing God’s message with the people.

Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

Just imagine you had something so important to say that it actually coursed through your bones! That is how Jeremiah and Paul felt about God’s message to the people. They had no choice – it had to be spoken. That makes me wonder how often we feel that strongly about the love of God and His work of salvation in our lives. I think that we can be accused of being pretty apathetic for that gift and complacent about sharing it. I pray that God will bring us to the same place of passion as we find in Paul.

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