The Coolidge examiner., 1939-05-25

! GOLDEN TEXT - For l am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every
one that observation-disclosures 1:16.
II see chaos only one thing
will stop this coming chaos a
sweeping spiritual revival Unless
we have such a reawakening of re-
igious forces we shall have a de-
preston within the next 10 years
| that will make the last one look
like a Christmas eve program" So
wrote prominent business advisor
recently, as quoted in the Practical
Commentary. His view is shared
by others not only in business but
| in governmental circles. Religious
| leaders, some Of whom until recent
ly were presenting glowing pictures
Of the beautiful fellowship of the
| peoples Of the earth in modernistic
faith which is far from the gospel,
are now either silent or prophets of
despair. Faithful witnesses for God
have long seen the approach of this
day, and like prophets of old have
warned the people to turn to God.
God still lives. The good news of
the gospel has lost none of its re-
deeming power. The Light of the
World is ready to shine in the dark
ness. Now is the time to preach
L. The Gospel (vv. 1-6).
Paul knew himself as the bond
slave of Jesus Christ, recognizing
that he had been set apart by God
for the exalted purpose of preach
ing the gospel. The word itself
means good news" that is, any
good news. But because there is
but one bit of good news in the world
entitled to place of supremacy, it
has come to mean the good news Of
the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Note the three points made by
Paul First, it is 1.-The gospel of
God" good news from God. "Hu-
manly speaking, from every reason
able standpoint, God can have only
one message for fallen, rebellious
men-a message of judgment and
death. If there is to be good news
from God, then God Himself must
undertake to change the relation
ship between man and Himself so
| that He will be able to bestoW His
! ripbact b1nccipoc Itpoo man T7b;c ;s
the good news, that God is under
taking to save men from the judg-
ment and doom that man deserves"
(Wilbur M. Smith.
Then observe that this salvation
was prophesied beforehand ". q.
This gospel we have is not some
thing suddenly prepared to meet an
emergency. 1t was prepared before
the foundation of the world (Eph.
IA; Rev. 1879. And in verse 8
we read that the good news is "con-
cerning his Son." He is the only Sa-
viour, and unless it is concerning
Him that we are to speak, the news
is not good news.
III. The Gospel for the Whole
World wv. 7-15).
Religious cults flourish only where
conditions prosper them. 'Budd-
hism, we are told, succeeds best in
warm climates. Mohammedanism
fourisheS among people of low cul-
ture. The gospel of Christ breaks
through all barriers of geography,
climate and race, and has proved it.
self to be equally adapted to men of
all nations " OeRoy M. LowelD.
Paul was called to preach to
Greek and barbarian, to Jew and
Gentle, to the wise and the unwise,
to every living soul. What is more,
he regarded himself as a debtor to
them, and that is the spirit that
brings forth sacrifcial determina-
ton to make Christ known to the
ends of the earth. Let us recognize
that we too are in debt to the whole
world because we have the gospel
that men need. Then in Christ's S
name let us as honorable men and
women pay our debt. Perhaps some
who would not wait overnight to pay
the grocer for what he has deliv-
cred, have never felt the slightest
compunction about standing in debt
to all men for the preaching of the
gospel.
III. The Gospel for the Worlds
Salvation (vv. 16, I'D.
Paul was not ashamed to take the
gospel into the very heart of that
ancient world, the magnificent city
of Rome. Had he come with some
new philosophy of life which had no
power to transform men, he might
well have been ashamed, but he
knew that what he had would meet
the deepest needs of humanity for
deliverance from sin and sorrow and
eternal death. He knew that the
need of the ''up and OUT was the
same as that of the down and out"
namely, the redeeming grace of
| God-the gospel which is ''the pow
er of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth" ". 16).
Why should we who follow Christ
be so timid when Paul could be so
boIIo Corf iYo11, yryo cbo,,JJ l.