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BOLDNESS IN THE FAITH

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Apr 4, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 14.

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BOLDNESS IN THE FAITH.

By G.

IN writing to the church at Rome, Paul declared, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." As a matter of fact no man is ashamed of power; that is just what every one most desires—power to do the things he would like to have accomplished. Then why should any one be ashamed of that which puts him in living touch with the greatest of all power—the power of God?
Paul had realized to his great sorrow that he was bound to a body of death (Rom. 7:24), and had cried for deliverance from his "wretched" condition. Having found deliverance through Jesus Christ, why should he be ashamed of that which had been the means of his salvation? or why should he be ashamed to proclaim it to others who are under condemnation of death?
When we consider what Paul had attained through the power of the Gospel, it seems not surprising, but the height of reason and logic, that he should determine "not to know anything . . . save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 1 Cor. 2:2. He had experienced a wonderful manifestation of the power and mercy of God through the Gospel of Christ.
After leading a most cruel crusade against the disciples of Christ in Jerusalem, Paul was journeying to Damascus for the purpose of continuing his work of persecution. As he neared that city, the One whose children were being hunted by the destroyer suddenly appeared in the heavens. Just one flash of the power and glory of His majesty was sufficient to lay the proud persecutor prostrate upon the ground. One word from the mouth of the hated One, and one breath of His Spirit upon the hard heart of the tyrant, was sufficient to transform him into a humble suppliant. "Trembling and astonished," the self-righteous Pharisee inquired of the once humble Nazarene, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"
Then follows the honor that fell to a humble disciple in Damascus. Jesus says to Paul, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." So a disciple named Ananias, one of those whose life was sought by the persecutor, was the one chosen to instruct his would-be executioner as to what he must do to be saved. Such is the power of God unto salvation. It is a power mingled with love and mercy; a power that is ever used with the primary purpose of saving rather than of destroying. The power that creates is also the power that saves. The Creator of men became the Saviour of men when they fell under condemnation of death through arraying themselves against His law. This Saviour humbled Himself to the condition of sinful men, in order that He might exert His wonderful power in the exercise of mercy toward those who would accept it by believing on Him.
The merciful and forgiving Spirit, combined with the power of God, is also manifest in the Lord's immediately taking the penitent one into His confidence, and making him a co-worker in the greatest cause in the universe. When Ananias hesitated to visit Paul, knowing of his purpose in coming to that city, the Lord said to him, "Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."
Thus Paul, who had sought and secured authority from the Jewish high priest to destroy men's lives, became imbued, through the Gospel of Christ, with power from on high to save men. He had not been ashamed of his former authority and work, then why should he be ashamed of the higher calling and greater power? And his privilege of being vitally connected with "the power of God unto salvation" is open to "every one that believeth." Why, therefore, should any one be ashamed of such an attainment?
The trouble in this connection is not that men are ashamed of the power, but they are ashamed of the Gospel, and of the humiliating process through which the power is attained. They are ashamed to confess sin, and ashamed to come out from the world and stand with the "little flock." The worst part of this trouble is, many even of those who have made the profession of faith are ashamed of some of the requirements of the Gospel, and seek compromise with the ways of the world. This sad condition comes of a lack of faith in, and appreciation of, the power of God.
But right here is a vital point. The Lord puts us squarely to the test on this issue: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." How much better, then, to stand out here in the strength of the power of God, to be found in the keeping of "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus," than to be subjected to the scorn of Him who shall gather the jewels for the everlasting kingdom.
Shall we not rather say also with the apostle, that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?"