Soul Hunter
Posted July 16, 2008
Paul is being led -- he is not at all in charge of his life. he is a prisoner. In God's purposes Paul is to appear before the most powerful political figures of his day. But he is not able to access their presence apart from unusual providence.
His life is at risk. There are folks out to kill him -- once more. He stands before men of power and flagrant sin. Yet Paul is not taken up with a self-defence. He is defending the Gospel. More than that, he is hunting for souls.
Luke records the event -- and in it there is a surprise. In violation of all propriety and decorum -- Paul gets personal with King Agrippa. After summarizing his experience of sovereign grace, he looks Agrippa in the eye and presses home with the Gospel. Festus calls him mad, but Paul persists. He lays bare his heart -- would that all who hear me believe in Christ!
Where did Paul gain this boldness - this love? It was not self-generated. It was not even religiously developed. No, Paul has been seized by the love of God. He had stood before the crucified Christ, had wished for his death, and Jesus had voluntarily been cursed for Paul. The innocent victim dies for the murderous perpetrator.
No other reality can change the heart and compel us outward with the Gospel. Nothing else can give us a heart if sincere love for those who were like us.
At Grace Church, we want to press into the good news so deeply that we are increasingly constrained to speak to others in love of Christ.
