Today, the Gospel

Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.” – Acts 21:39

Against counsel from close spiritual advisors (nearing the end of his third missionary journey), Paul returned to Jerusalem only to inadvertently start a riot in the Temple courtyard. In order to quell the unruly mob, Roman soldiers arrested the apostle to the Gentiles and tried to determine what could cause such a stir. Knowing full well that he was intending to give a defense of the gospel concerning Jesus the Messiah, Paul asked the captain of the guard if he could address the crowd. The outcome of his message was as expected, the people went berserk.

In spite of the opposition, Paul never turned down an opportunity to preach the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. He considered proclamation of the Gospel to be an "obligation." Having been saved by Christ he was not ashamed to proclaim the death, entombment, and miraculous rise of the Savior, wherever or whenever he could. Reception of his message, though hoped for and expected, was never a requirement. Neither was his own survival.

We owe a similar debt to the same gospel that Paul preached and though we will never fully repay, we must obediently proclaim the message until the One who established it returns. Today is just another installment. Today, let us take what we have been given and pass it on to those who must receive it to be saved.

All around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp on the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether. – John Stott