Christian Phan is the founder and senior pastor of Agape Baptist Church in Renton, Wash., and former president of the Vietnamese Baptist Fellowship in the U.S and Canada.
Spreading the Gospel is a special call.
In Romans 1, Paul the apostle said he was redeemed by Jesus to preach the Gospel. The Lord Jesus Himself called Paul to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God.
This was Paul’s experience when he was going to Damascus to persecute the followers of Jesus (Acts 9). He became a servant of Jesus Christ because God redeemed him from sin. We are likewise called to spread the Gospel for our generation just as Paul for his generation.
Let us remember:
— Paul said he was preaching the Gospel clearly predicted in the Old Testament, so that Jews and Gentiles can receive this Gospel (Deuteronomy 18:15; Isaiah 7:14, 9:5-6, 11:1-2, 53:1-11; Hosea 11:1; Micah 5:1-2; Habakkuk 2:4). And the Gospel is foretold through such symbols as the ship of Noah, the fiery serpent in the wilderness, sacrifices in the Old Testament and Jonah inside the belly of a great fish.
— Jesus, who is a divine man, is the center of the Gospel. He came from the descendants of David in the flesh, but He is not merely a man (Romans 1:3-4). If he were a normal man like everyone else, His Gospel would be nothing. But He comes from God the Father in the Spirit. He is the Son of the living God. He has supreme power. He rose again by the power of His resurrection and He too can make others rise again.
— The Gospel comes from Jesus, and through Him mankind receives grace and peace. Paul used the word “grace” (charis) from the Greek language in combination with the word “peace” (shalom) from the Jewish blessing in harmony regarding those who believe in Jesus (Romans 1:7). Indeed those who believe in Jesus surely will receive grace and peace from the Father and the Son.
— In speaking of the Gospel, Paul defined it as follows: “The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16). The power of God was shown in Jesus, who died on the cross for our sin. He overcame death, rising from the grave, and giving mankind salvation. God’s salvation is for all, Jewish or Gentile, as long as they believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.
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Source: Baptist Press
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