Friday, March 6, 2009
In Defense of the Gospel
(Philippians 1:12-20)
Since the first century A.D., the Gospel has come under continual attack. Early on, Jewish believers taught that keeping the Old Testament law, in addition to faith, was necessary for salvation. (Paul addressed this very issue in his Epistle to the Galatians.) Later, a spiritualist teaching known as Gnosticism threatened the very core of the Gospel by denying the physicality of Jesus. (The Apostle John combated this increasing heretical influence in his epistles.)
As in the first century, the same is true today: the Gospel is under attack. Today, the attack is somewhat more subtle, clothing itself in the garb of “tolerance.” For example, common wisdom has it that all religions are good; they’re all pointing in the same direction. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. By way of illustration, Christianity teaches that Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son and that He was crucified for our sins. Islam, contrary to Christianity, denies all of these propositions. Obviously, both can not be correct.
The Gospel of the grace of God, then, must not only be preached; it must be defended. Paul stated, “I am set for the defense of the gospel” (17). In other words, Paul would both preach the gospel to the lost and defend the gospel from detractors.
May we never be taken in by the siren song of tolerance! May we, like Paul, be “set for the defense of the Gospel.
