Live and Speak the Gospel Fearlessly

| September 07, 2010

Scripture:

2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 40-41, Revelation 12

Observation/Application:

This is an interesting juxtaposition of Old and New Testament passages. Revelation 12 is about the spiritual battle we are in; the OT passages describe the physical battle of the Babylonians completing their conquest of Judah, and of some Judean rebellion against Babylonian authority. But the OT authors see God’s hand in the conquest of Judah; God was punishing her for her sins (God would later punish the Babylonians for their sins). So behind the physical conquest lay a spiritual battle. The Israelites were seduced by evil and worshipped idols, not God. The dragon of Revelation 12 was at work in ancient Israel, declaring war then against God and his children.

That battle continues and we are part of it. The “great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world…the accuser of our brothers and sisters” is angry (he knows his time is short), and he has “declared war against…all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.” It sounds frightening, and would be if it weren’t for the presence and power of God, and His promise that we shall overcome and be victorious. “They have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” Notice three things that secure our victory:

  1. The blood of the Lamb: the death of Jesus defeated the devil.
  2. Our testimony: the message of the gospel extends God’s reign. The testimony (marturion: witness) is their witness to the good news of Jesus, the sacrificial death of God’s Son.
  3. Our courage based on our love of God: we don’t fear death because we love God more than life itself.

The challenge is to live the gospel and speak the gospel completely fearlessly. We not only don’t fear people and what they think of us, but we don’t fear the enemy or even death. We fear God alone, and so we obey fearlessly, and we speak fearlessly and joyfully. We share the good news of God’s redeeming work in Christ joyfully, knowing that it is “the power of God for salvation” and the bane of the evil one. Live and speak the gospel fearlessly!

Prayer:

Lord, help me to live and speak the gospel of Jesus fearlessly, knowing that is the way to victory over evil, both personally and socially. Thank you for the promise of victory. Even if we die for Christ, we live eternally. We win in Jesus!