Preaching Christ

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Scripture:

Eph. 3:7   Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power.  8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ,

Observation:

Paul was living into his calling. He recognized that God had saved him from a journey aimed at the destruction of those who were following Christ. This remained a humbling factor throughout his entire life. But while he had soundly rejected Christ, once he met him face to face on the road to Damascus, Paul was transformed. He embraced his calling to preach the good news of Christ everywhere he went, and specifically to the Gentiles. This was radical for Paul — a Jew among the Jews — with an incredible pedigree. He became not only a missionary, but a theologian-teacher. He left all behind when in obedience he preached Christ to the Gentiles, those whom the Jews had thought were out of the reach of God. Paul opened up the possibility of the incredible riches of Christ to those who were poor in faith. It wouldn’t have made sense to those in authority, but God was Paul’s authority, and so he lived in obedience and continued to preach the good news of Christ everywhere he went.

Application:

Think about the popular preachers of our day and the topics about which they preach. How often do we hear Christ preached? I’m not sure that it’s all that often because we are covering a variety of contemporary topics. That’s not necessarily a problem because I believe that Paul preached on the big issues of the day but always through the lens of knowing Christ. When he preached the good news of the “boundless riches of Christ,” he was sharing the ways in which Christ resources the needs of our day. But again, always giving perspective through Christ.

Our lives are to preach Christ. No matter what we are facing today we need to reference Christ. Christ becomes an example for us to follow, and the Holy Spirit empowers us for all that we encounter. If we are called to stand behind the pulpit and proclaim the good news — don’t forget Christ! The calling of Paul falls upon us as we continue to preach Christ to the Gentiles today. We have a world that may be just as illiterate about the Messiah as the Gentiles were in Paul’s day. His example may just be more relevant than we imagine. The world isn’t in need of the latest self-help manual, but needing to know Christ and the “news of [his] boundless riches.”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am grateful for the good news which was preached to me. Please, help me be faithful in sharing the news of you with others.  Amen.

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