The Gospel Call – Part 1

This week, Michael writes that the essence of the Christian message is the gospel of Christ. This is the “good news” ... a joyful message to a world downtrodden in sin This is the message that gives beauty to ashes and salvation to the perishing. This message sets the captive free and gives a new heart of hope to the disheartened. It gives grace to the undeserving and mercy to sinners. This is the message that opens the eyes of the spirit to those born blind to the spirit of the living God. Our calling is to share this message of the good news of the gospel of Christ.

The book of Philippians is a letter of joy and rejoicing. Thirty years before Paul penned this epistle from a Roman prison, he had answered the "Macedonian call" in Acts 16.  Philippi is where Paul and Silas began the first ministered in Macedonia. This is where they cast out a devil spirit from a young slave girl. Her masters were infuriated because they used the girl to tell fortunes through demonic possession for financial gain.  When they realized that the source of their income was gone, they had Paul and Silas thrown into prison. There they were beaten and chained, but during the middle of the night they sang praises to God. God received their praise and caused an earthquake so that Paul and Silas were freed from their chains and the prison doors were opened.

Thirty years later, Paul was imprisoned in Rome. He addressed his letter to the church in Philippi as an apostle and a bondservant of Jesus Christ. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “apostle” as: a person deputed to execute some important business; but appropriately, a disciple of Christ commissioned to preach the gospel.An apostle is one who starts new churches by bringing new light of the revelation, of the truth, of the Word of God. He is "one sent" to deliver the message of the gospel of salvation. Part of Salvation is winning people to Christ. For an unbeliever, the most important question is, "If you died today, where would you spend eternity?"  For those who have a sincere desire to know the answer to this question, an apostle is sent to deliver the message of the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

According to Philippians 1:3-5, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;”
We've been called to a holy team within the church of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:16 says, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”  God has placed us in the body of Christ to build each other up:  to edify, exhort, and comfort one another in love.

According to Philippians 1:6-7, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet (appropriate) for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”
God began a good work in us when we were saved...when we confessed with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead.  Upon salvation, we were born again of God's spirit and he "sealed us" with his Holy Spirit of promise until Christ's return.

Let's continue Michael"s message on the "Gospel Call" in the next post.

In Christ, Brian