Before Robert Fulton's invention of the steamboat in 1803 and Stephenson's railway engine in 1825, vehicles had to be pulled by horses, mules, oxen, or donkeys--all of which needed to be whipped, kicked, or prodded into action, or shouted at. The world of that day marveled when it came time to see a self-propelled vehicle!
Is the gospel a self-propelled vehicle? Or does its proclamation and propagation depend on church members (and pastors!) constantly being prodded by church leaders into action? "Lay Activities" leaders in churches can testify: to get much done it takes constant "promotion" (the polite word for prodding, kicking, or whipping reluctant "livestock" into action). The zealous "promoter" gets some publicity for his enthusiasm, until finally "evangelism fatigue" sets in. Then a new leader must be found, and new programs, methods, systems, must be devised.
The New Testament letters of the apostles reveal a strange lack of such works "promotion." They chronicle amazing activity, but seldom if ever were believers prodded or whipped into action. Their zealous activity was simply assumed, it was natural. Their gospel was a "self-propelled vehicle." Why?
Their message had the power built-in. Nobody needed to be whipped into action. The motivating force was greater than that of a steam engine, for the power was implicit in the News about the sacrifice of the Son of God. He burst upon everyone's consciousness as "the Lamb of God," a blood-sacrifice offered by God. Examples: "I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." "He is the propitiation ... for the sins of the whole world," etc. The power was not magic, certainly not mysteriously impossible for our day. The internal-combustion "engine" was the agape of Christ which "constrained" them (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).
The Book of Revelation predicts that again such a self-propelling gospel will "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1-4). And again the central Character of interest will be "the Lamb of God"--mentioned 26 times in that Book alone. Does anybody "hunger and thirst" to understand the News more clearly?
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
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