The Awesome Power of the Gospel

Let us stand in utter amazement at God's gift to us in Christ.

Pastor, Cincinnati, Ohio

One of the most impressive scenes of the 1964 Winter Olympics held at Bergisel Stadium, Innsbruck, Austria, was the triumphal pro­cession of the four hundred com­peting amateur athletes. On their shoulders rode the hopes of the 37 participant nations for honor and glory in the Olympic games. These young athletes were not only competing for gold, silver, and bronze medals but for im­pressive global prestige in a troubled, jittery, cold-war-infected world. Amid the roll of drums and the sounding of bugles, and with 50,000 spectators lining the arena, these proud amateurs, bedecked in native costume, marched into snow-kissed Bergisel Stadium. All of them had labored hard and long, and many of them with tears. Some had trained most of their lives in order to parade with that throng. This was their proud hour, their glorious day, and no matter what the outcome, they would well remember the 29th of January, 1964—the day of their triumphal proces­sion through the Austrian arena.

But the fervor of athletic prowess and victory is not peculiar to our day. Paul speaks freely of the athlete's competitive ambitions in the sports arena of his day, "to obtain a corruptible crown."

There was a time, however, in ancient Rome that far surpassed any amateur achievement, and that was the triumphant return of the professionals—the soldiers of war who had not only preserved the na­tion but had brought glory to Rome—and some of the conquered in chains. This was the great triumphal procession sanctioned by the senate and conferred on the victori­ous Roman general, celebrating his mili­tary victory.

It began at the city gate on the morning of the day appointed. The entire procession was welcomed by the reigning Caesar and the officers of the government. The Roman senators and magistrates headed the procession. Then came the trumpeters, from twelve to fifty of them, followed by horse-drawn carts filled with the spoils of war —spices, jewels, silks and linens plus many of the treasures of a foreign land never before seen by Romans. Behind them came the white bulls and oxen, a prelude to the sacrifices soon to be made. Here and there incense bearers waved their censers to and fro, perfuming the air. Lions, tigers, ele­phants, and strange animals from the con­quered lands appeared in the procession. After these came the captives; the con­quered kings, princes, generals, and the long train of captive soldiers, bound and fettered. Next came the conqueror himself —the victorious general—in a gleaming chariot, wearing a crown of gold upon his head. In one hand he held a laurel branch, emblem of victory; in the other his staff of authority. Behind him marched his faith­ful army—officers, horse soldiers, foot sol­diers, each holding aloft a spear adorned with laurel boughs. The procession moved on through the crowded streets; along the Via Sacra, through the Triumphal Arch to the Capitoline. Here it came to a halt, and there before the eyes of the assembled crowd the most awful ceremony of the procession took place, the cold-blooded killing of many of the prisoners. Others were thrown into prison to await death in the Colosseum, while yet others, considered worthy of pardon, were set free. Animal sacrifices were offered to the Roman gods and the triumphal feast began, lasting for days and ending in revelry.

This is evidently the scene Paul had in mind when he wrote, "But thanks be to God, who continually leads us about, cap­tives in Christ's triumphal procession, and everywhere uses us to reveal and spread abroad the fragrance of the knowledge of himself! We are indeed the incense offered by Christ to God, both for those who are on the way to salvation, and for those who are on the way to perdition: to the latter it is a deadly fume that kills, to the former a vital fragrance that brings life. Who is equal to such a calling?" (2 Cor. 2:14-16, N.E.B.).*

Paul envisioned himself in that proces­sion, but not as the conqueror. No! He reserved that position for his Lord. To Paul, Jesus was the great Conqueror, and Paul was content to be chained to His char­iot, a willing slave of Christ. In that pro­cession Christ was leading him up and down the world, a trophy of His conquer­ing power and matchless grace. See him be­fore the Jews, before the Gentiles, before Festus and Agrippa and finally before Cae­sar; one of the most compelling portrayals of a man surrendered to his God. In this panorama Paul sees not only himself, but all of us as well, for he envisions all true Christians as God's slaves, trophies of the Redeemer's victorious campaign against sin. "You know well enough," he says, "that if you put yourself at the disposal of a master, to obey him, you are slaves of the master whom you obey; and this is true whether you serve sin, with death as its result; or obedience, with righteousness as its result. . . . You, who once were slaves of sin, . . . emancipated from sin, . . have become slaves of righteousness . . . , making for a holy life" (Rom 6:16-19, N.E.B.).* We are slaves, fellow ministers, but God's slaves, willingly so, trophies of God's triumph over sin. We and Paul, as captives of the Lord Jesus Christ, are led by Him throughout the world in triumphal proces­sion, living examples of victory over the devil. This is the grandest of all victories, the triumph over sin through the power of Christ.

Yet the apostle carries us a thought far­ther. He thinks of himself and of us not only as willing slaves in His triumphal pro­cession but as incense bearers as well, in that same procession. "And everywhere uses us to reveal and spread abroad the fra­grance of the knowledge of himself!" (2 Cor. 2:14, N.E.B.).* Paul is testifying that the knowledge of Christ, or in substance, the gospel, is being spread abroad, dif­fused, filtered, through human representa­tives—through me, through you, as minis­ters, everywhere! Paul really believed this. In less than thirty-five years the gospel went through Paul and his associates to almost all of the then-known world. Today the gospel is still going everywhere; its sweet fragrance is being wafted on the air by ministers, missionaries, laymen—Chris­tians, everywhere!

Yet, Paul continues, not only are we in­cense bearers but "we are indeed the in­cense offered by Christ to God, both for those who are on the way to salvation, and for those who are on the way to perdition." Not only do we bear the gospel and its sweet fragrance, but we are the gospel, the sweet smell of the gospel to all men.

Every part of this passage revolves, then, around one central theme; the gospel, the perfume of God's Word. It ascends to God. It is diffused in our hearts. It makes us will­ing slaves. It is shed abroad to others through us. The central point of Paul's concern is the "good news," its saturation in us, and its pouring out through us, and then its final effects on those who receive it.

Standing in utter amazement, we at last behold the awesome power of the gospel. Some are saved, yes, but alas, some are de­stroyed, for, he points out that "we are in­deed the incense offered by Christ to God, both for those who are on the way to salva­tion, and for those who are on the way to perdition; to the latter it is a deadly fume that kills, to the former a vital fragrance that brings life." Can it be that that which gives life can also bring death? What awe­some power is this that is contained in my body? With what sweet and deadly perfume do I permeate the air as a slave of Christ? It is none other than the gospel, the good news of salvation, and I tremble in its pos­session.

But does the gospel change? Does it be­come one thing at one time, something else at another? Oxygen is life to man and ani­mals, but, under certain conditions, death to plants and flowers. Carbon dioxide is life for flowers and shrubs, but death to ani­mals and man. The oxygen does not change, nor the CO„ nor the gospel. No, the good news never changes, it is always the "power of God unto salvation."

What then determines who shall live thereby and who shall die? And here Paul returns to the triumphal procession moving along the streets of Rome. Some of the cap­tives who marched in that procession were on their way to execution, others to release and freedom; some to life, some to death. Both groups breathed the incense as they marched along. To those who were to be killed it was a reminder of death, to those who would be set free a reminder of life. So it is with the gospel. The unchanging Christ is life or death to men as they accept or reject Him. You and I, fellow ministers, give off the fragrance of the gospel and men everywhere breathe it in—they cannot help it. Some accept, some reject. Whether a man lives or dies depends on his reaction to the perfume of the gospel. But make no mistake; once the gospel is preached, once its awesome power strikes the heart of a human soul, that man is never the same again. This is the power that you and I bear as ministers, everywhere!

When preaching the gospel in a south­ern Illinois town, a fellow-minister and I called upon a middle-aged woman who had been attending our meetings nightly. She said to us, "Why did you come here? Why to this town? If I had not known these things I wouldn't have to do them." Ah, yes, the life and death fragrance of Christ on the cross took away her peace of ignorance. It shattered her lethargy. She desired a more convenient season, wilfully postponing the hour of decision. We had interrupted her way of life. She was moved to a sense of urgency, forced that day by the sweet fra­grance of the gospel to make a decision. "Choose ye this day," our ministry had said, "life or death." Unfortunately she chose the latter, and became like Pharaoh. She "hardened her heart." Conversely and thankfully in that same town there were many that received life and are now breath­ing in—and out—the perfume of the gos­pel story. Once confronted by truth in Christ no man can avoid a decision. He may think to postpone it or rationalize it, or ignore it, but is not that in itself a de­cision, and one that is rarely changed? For to how many does "a more convenient season" ever come? When the gospel is preached, Christ either becomes the chief cornerstone or a stone of stumbling.

Oh, fellow ministers, wherever we go, slaves in Christ's triumphal procession, our lives waft into the air the perfume of decision. What a responsibility that is. Is it any wonder that Paul adds, "Who is suffi­cient for these things?" "Who is compe­tent?" "Who is equal to such a calling?" Why I tremble, even as Paul, at the thought of standing in Christ's stead. Yet I dare not do less. I have taken His name. I have been ordained to the highest calling. I have be­come His willing slave. I am an incense bearer; more than that, I am the incense. I cannot help perfuming the air with the gospel, for I am His minister. Therefore I join Paul in the cry, "Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" Yet it is not only words that move people to a decision, but the life—my life, my actions, my habits. That is why Jesus was the greatest of preachers. He lived what He proclaimed.

Herein lies the solemnity of this dis­course. Is my life a sweet savor unto life or does it carry the stench of death? Do I com­pel or expel? Do I attract or drive men away? just here we might ask, What are some of the reasons why people are turned from the gospel to perish? Oh, yes, we quite well know that many times it is their unbe­lief, their indulgences, their stubbornness, their iniquities, their procrastinations, their desire, their decision, their will to be lost. They are lost because they reject Christ, and in this we have no responsibility except as we bear the perfume. But if men are driven away because of our lack of fra­grance, our counterfeit life, the noxious mixture of our sinful fumes with Christ's fragrant gospel—ministers, beware! We all bear the name Christian. We all preach. We all surround ourselves with an atmos­phere of influence. It is either the fragrance of life or the stench of death. If men are lost because they reject the Saviour, that is one thing, but if they are lost because of our lack of conversion or careless living, how shall we look upon the face of our God in the judgment day?

There are, then, great dangers and frightful consequences to being a minister, but there are also great compensations. What can compare with the God-given love for sinners beating in the hearts of His ministers? The supreme joy of the ministry is found in leading a soul to Christ, baptiz­ing him in the waters of forgiveness and knowing that another name has been added to the book of life.

* The New English Bible, New Testament. © The Dele­gates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press 1961


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

Pastor, Cincinnati, Ohio

September 1964

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Our Responsibility

To be called as an appointed messenger for God in this the greatest and most challenging hour since Pentecost is both thrilling and sobering.

A New Emblem

The story behind our cover picture.

Christ on the Law and the Sabbath

Opponents of the law of God use every argument they can devise to gain their end.

Was Christ Truly Human?

A look at the nature of Christ.

Spiritual Ingathering

Spiritual methods of promoting the annual Ingathering campaign.

The Minister as a Student of God's Word

What greater or more re­warding honor can be given a pulpit speaker than to have it said that he divides the Word with great acceptability.

From Cow Pasture to Church Property

Nine months ago there were no Seventh-day Adventist members in Highland County.

Evangelism Myth and Fact

What really happens to converts?

This Hour of Decision

On lasting decisions.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - SermonView - Medium Rect (300x250)

Recent issues

See All
Advertisement - SermonView - WideSkyscraper (160x600)