“And pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds; so that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Eph. 6:19-20.
The apostle Paul was “an ambassador in chains” - he was a prisoner of the Roman Empire - and faced the likelihood of being executed for his gospel testimony of forgiveness and life through faith in the atoning sacrifice of the crucified and risen Messiah, Jesus.
Had he held back and refrained from speaking in the name of Jesus, had he even compromised the Gospel and allowed for salvation by works of the law and perhaps by other beliefs and faiths, he could have saved his life in this world. Many have made such compromises.
Jesus said (in Mark 8:34-38): “Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, he shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Therefore whoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man shall also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” He also said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).
Therefore, Paul asked his readers to keep him in prayer that he would not shrink back from his faithful testimony to the Gospel, but that he be given opportunity to testify of Christ Jesus and open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel - that truth revealed only in part over the ages but now fulfilled and made known in Christ Jesus and the atonement He accomplished for all by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death for the sins of the world.
Christians today, too, should be praying for their pastors and teachers, evangelists and missionaries, that they have opportunity to speak of Christ and the salvation He won for all, and that they speak boldly all that Christ has commanded in His Word, holding nothing back.
O Lord Jesus, grant to our ministers the opportunity to speak Your life-giving Word and to preach boldly the Gospel of forgiveness and life in Your name. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the Modern King James Version of the Holy Bible
Copyright © 1962 - 1998 by Jay P. Green, Sr., used by permission of the copyright holder.]
News, Pages 4 on 10/12/2011