spiritual consequences

God’s character

“John’s gospel is the only one that begins with a discussion of the eternal existence of Jesus Christ rather than the time he appeared on earth” (note on John 1:1-17). John stated, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Speaking of Jesus, John went on to say, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). We are told in Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Greek word that is translated the exact imprint, charakter (khar-ak-tarˊ) is where the English word character comes from in the sense of a letter of the alphabet being engraved on a stone tablet. The idea behind this is that even though we can’t see God, we can see the mark that he made on the world through the life of his Son Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews indicated that the mark that Jesus made was “purification for sins,” after which, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:3-4).

Jesus making purification for sins helps us to understand the nature of God with respect to his attitude toward sinners. Jesus said that he “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). A ransom is “’loosing-money,’ i.e. price paid for redeeming captives.” It is used metaphorically in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45, “for the ransom paid by Christ for the delivering of men from the bondage of sin and death” (G3083). Jesus said that he came to give his life as the ransom for many and told his disciples that his motivation for doing so was his love for them. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus also told a man named Nicodemus that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Eternal life is equivalent to entrance into the Kingdom of God. Jesus explained, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

The mark Jesus made on the world is still having an effect 2000 years later. People are still getting saved as they place their trust in Christ’s redeeming work on the cross. The supremacy of God’s Son is expressed in Hebrews 1:8-9 where it says:

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

This passage indicates that Jesus loved righteousness and hated wickedness during his life on earth. The Greek word that is translated righteousness here is dikaiosune (dik-ah-yos-ooˊ-nay), which means, “doing alike to all, justice, equity, impartiality.” With regard to character, dikaiosune means “being just as one should be” (G1343).

Dikaiosune is used in the expression, “to count or impute as righteousness” (Romans 4:3, 5, 6, 9, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23, all quoted from Genesis 15:6) and is “spoken of the righteousness which is of (ek [1537], out of) or through (dia [1223]) faith in Christ, i.e. where faith is counted or imputed as righteousness” (G1343). Imputing righteousness has to do with reasoning, the mental faculty or motive behind God declaring sinners innocent, free from the penalty of their sin. God is able to impute righteousness because Jesus paid the penalty for sin on behalf of everyone. Each individual who accepts Christ’s payment, the free gift of salvation that is offered to all people (Romans 5:15-18), will be saved from the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed and God will render to each one according to his works (Romans 2:5-6).

God’s righteous character demands that sin be atoned for. “Paul concluded that since all men are guilty, they cannot be ‘justified’ by their own personal character or conduct (Romans 3:20). Justification is a legal term signifying that the demands of justice have been satisfied, and there is no longer a basis for condemnation (Romans 8:1). The justified transgressor no longer stands guilty or deserving of punishment” (note on Romans 3:19, 20). The writer of Hebrews warned his readers against neglecting the salvation that God offers to everyone. He said, “Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3). To neglect salvation means that you have no interest in eternal life and are not concerned about the spiritual consequences of your sin. If that is the case, then God’s just retribution is deserved and will be carried out at the appropriate time (Matthew 25:31-46).

Preaching the gospel

Paul’s mission after he became a Christian was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish population in what was considered to be in Paul’s time the world at large. Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that it was necessary for people to hear the gospel in order for them to be saved. Paul asked:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17)

Peter was the first apostle to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-43). While Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard his message. “And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44-45).

Paul initially preached the gospel in the synagogues of the Jews (Acts 13:5), but a turning point in Paul’s ministry occurred when he and Barnabas were in Antioch. Paul’s first message in the synagogue of the Jews had such an impact on the people of Antioch that they urged him to preach the gospel to them the following week also. It says in Acts 13:44-46, “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles’” (Acts 13:44-46).

“In the early portion of Paul’s second missionary journey, the Lord indicated that he wanted Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16:9, 10). Apparently, there were no synagogues in the city because on the Sabbath, Paul went out of the city and down to the bank of the river where he found Lydia and a number of other women who accepted what he had to say (Acts 16:13, 14). After Lydia and her family had been baptized, she asked Paul and his companions to stay at her house (Acts 16:15). Later, Paul and Silas were imprisoned for casting the unclean spirit out of a slave girl (Acts 16:16-25). This led to the salvation of the jailor and his family (Acts 16:26-34). Paul may have visited them again when he journeyed from Ephesus to Macedonia because he spent the spring with them (Acts 20:1, 6; 2 Corinthians 2:12, 13). The church that Paul established there was probably the first in all of Europe” (Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Philippians).

Paul is thought to have completed four main missionary journeys in approximately 14 years and to have traveled more than 9,000 miles, mostly on foot, to preach the gospel across Asia and Europe. Paul was arrested at the temple in Jerusalem when he returned to Israel after his third missionary journey. Paul is thought to have written his letter to the Philippians “during his first Roman imprisonment (ca. AD 60-62)” (Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Philippians). In this letter, Paul talked about his mission of preaching the gospel and told the believers in Philippi:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (Philippians 1:12-18).

Paul was glad that everyone knew he had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Paul said that his imprisonment had served to advance the gospel (Philippians 1:12). During the time that Paul was in prison in Rome, he wrote four letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon) that contain key doctrine that his gospel message was based on. Ephesians and Colossians are very similar in that they “both stress doctrine and both give instruction in practical Christian duties” (Introduction to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians). Paul’s concern during his imprisonment may have been that the gospel would cease to be preached if he was put to death in Rome. Paul gave others the ability to continue preaching the gospel after he was gone by recording key doctrine in the letters that he wrote to the churches he had established.

Paul knew from his own experience that preaching the gospel was hard work that it required many sacrifices in order to be successful. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addressed many of the issues that Christians have to face when they decide to speak out about their faith, and also emphasized the rewards for doing so. Paul told the Philippians:

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:18-26)

Paul expected to be put to death for preaching the gospel, but he was not concerned about dying. Paul said his circumstances would turn out for his deliverance (Philippians 1:19). The Greek word that is translated deliverance, soteria (so-tay-reeˊ-ah) comes from the Greek word soter (so-tareˊ) which means “to save. A savior, deliverer, preserver, one who saves from danger or destruction and brings into a state of prosperity and happiness.” Soter is spoken “of Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of men, who saves His people from the guilt and power of sin and from eternal death, from punishment and misery as the consequence of sin, and gives them eternal life and blessedness in His kingdom” (G4990). Soteria is used both particularly and generally to refer to “deliverance from danger, slavery, or imprisonment (Luke 1:69, 71; Acts 7:25; Philippians 1:19; Hebrews 11:7). By implication victory (Revelation 7:10, 12; 19:1),” but it is also used in the Christian sense to refer to deliverance from sin and its spiritual consequences and admission to eternal life with blessedness in the kingdom of Christ” (G4991).

Paul was confident that his salvation was going to result in him being blessed in the kingdom of Christ and that death was his doorway into that eternal blessed state. Paul said it was his eager expectation and hope that he would not be ashamed, but that Christ would be honored in his body whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20). Paul concluded that it was God’s will for him to continue preaching the gospel and was convinced that in spite of being imprisoned in Rome, he would return to Philippi. Paul stated, “Convinced of this, I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again” (Philippians 1:25-26).

“It is clear from Acts 13:1-21:17 that Paul went on three missionary journeys. There is also reason to believe that he made a fourth journey after his release from the Roman imprisonment recorded in Acts 28. The conclusion that such a journey did indeed take place is based on : (1) Paul’s declared intention to go to Spain (Romans 15:24, 28), (2) Eusebius’ implication that Paul was released following his first Roman imprisonment (Ecclesiastical History, 2:22.2-3) and (3) statements in early Christian literature that he took the gospel as far as Spain (Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. 5; Actus Petri Vercellenses, chs. 1-3; Muratorian Canon, lines 34-39). The places Paul may have visited after his release from prison are indicated by statements of intention in his earlier writings and by subsequent mention in the Pastoral Epistles” (Paul’s Fourth Missionary Journey, KJSB, p. 1738). Based on Philippians 2:23-24 and 1 Timothy 1:3, it is believed that Paul returned to Philippi in AD 66, just a year or so before he was martyred in Rome.