A Word To Those Who Pass Out Tracts
(Tract ministers can sometimes become discouraged. We have all seen our tracts ignored or immediately thrown away. May the following words encourage you to stay in the field of battle.)
We Proclaim a Precise Gospel
Many today would have us believe that the gospel is so ambiguous and nebulous that no one can speak with certainty about it. They would have us believe that it is one thing to one person and something quite different to another and no one can say who is right and wrong.
It seems that we love precision in every area of life. We want the surgeon to be precise; we don’t want him just to be ‘in the right neighborhood’ when he opens us up to remove a tumor. We want precision in sports; we don’t want the referee to signal a touchdown when the ball carrier is still ten yards away from the goal line. We want precession in our banking; we don’t want our bank to shortchange us by a few hundred dollars.
But when it comes to the truth of God; our love for precision seems to disappear. The reason is not hard to identify. If the gospel cannot be defined, we are absolved of responsibility. We are off the hook.
While we comfort ourselves with the thoughts of an imprecise gospel, the Bible insists on the opposite. The gospel is the good news of precise details of what God has done in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It is the message of the Holy God. It is the message of God propitiating or appeasing His wrath against sinners by pouring out that wrath upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not hard to see why so many find this gospel objectionable. It assumes our sins and our meeting a holy God. It speaks of the reality of God’s wrath. It insists on the finality of Jesus Christ.
We Must Fight as Good Soldiers
The gospel has always been assaulted and attacked and continues to be to this day. Because it was being attacked in his time, the Apostle Paul urged Christians to ‘stand fast in one spirit … for the faith of the gospel.’ Philippians 1:27
Warren Wiersbe pointedly writes: “The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground. We are sons in the family, enjoying the fellowship of the Gospel (Philippians 1:11); we are servants sharing in the furtherance of the Gospel (Philippians 1:12-26) but we are also soldiers defending the faith of the Gospel’
Christians must resist Satan’s attacks on the truth of the gospel by refusing to break rank and flee the battlefield.
We Can Always Expect Opposition
… The opposition of our adversaries is temporary ….. Opposition to Christians constitutes opposition to God, and that opposition will finally end in perdition and destruction
(2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)
… The opposition of our adversaries proves our salvation. Matthew Henry notes that believers have two precious gifts. One is to believe in Christ. The second is to suffer for Christ. The fact that our adversaries cause us to experience the second gift indicates that we have truly received the first. While suffering is never pleasant, it is a privilege and honor to suffer for the Christ who suffered so very much to save His people.
Extracts from:
Opening Up Philippians
ISBN 1-903087-64-3
By Roger Ellsworth
© Day One Publications
Used with permission
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