Imprisoned for Christ
“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.”
Don’t you hate it when things don’t go to plan? Paul planned to go to Rome to preach Christ. You see, Rome was the heart of the Roman empire, the world superpower, and strategically speaking to preach the gospel there, and have a church there could open so many opportunities for the gospel to spread worldwide. So, Paul planned for open-air preaching, preaching in amphitheatres and arenas, but instead he arrived at Rome in chains.
At the time of writing this letter he was on house arrest, chained to a guard 24/7. Why would God have the greatest missionary he has on earth imprisoned? This cannot be an efficient way to advance the gospel. God surely laughs at such an accusation. Man’s wisdom is based off little knowledge, but God’s wisdom, well no person could ever comprehend the complexity of his wisdom. The all-wise God deals in higher levels of efficiency than any other being. And Paul rejoices for God’s wisdom has been made manifest once again.
Paul’s imprisonment was in God’s genius plan to advance the gospel, God didn’t want to limit the reach of the gospel, he wanted to get the gospel into the nooks and crannies Paul could never reach unless he was imprisoned. God wanted the gospel being circulated throughout the household of Caesar. The imperial guard, or the praetorian guard were the most elite soldiers in the Roman Empire, they were the emperor’s guards and here is Paul saying, that the whole imperial guard know that his imprisonment is for Christ. He knew that his imprisonment was for Christ’s sake; what a mindset to have; Paul was chained to a guard, but I think it’s better put that the guard was chained to Paul. The guards couldn’t escape Paul’s relentless witness, it was their job to be there.
No matter our situation, God in his infinite wisdom has sovereignly ordained that you are where you are, and I am where I am to advance the gospel, that’s the church’s mission on earth, to advance the gospel, and God will use us where we are if we are willing - Comfort is meaningless, Christ is everything. Paul looked through an eternal lens, he knew that every conversation has an eternal consequence, and that consequence could be the saving of one’s life, so he forfeited his comfort for the sake of making Christ known.
Paul provides us with a great example of what a courageous Christian looks like, and his courage in his imprisonment was used by God to embolden the believers in Rome, through his example, they became confident in the Lord to speak the word without fear. In life there are seasons where we are on fire for the gospel, passionate and bold in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others. But there are also seasons of dryness, seasons where we feel the fire we once had, has been extinguished. In these seasons I love to read biographies of Christians who were greatly used by God, people like Martin Luther, or George Whitefield, or Susanna Wesley, or John Paton or Charles Spurgeon, or Corrie Ten Boom. Testimonies that embolden us to live for Christ. And I encourage you also to pick up a biography of a hero of the Faith, for there is so much we can learn from how our brothers and sisters lived through the ages.
Tomorrow I will speak of a man who was incredibly courageous amidst persecution, and one who God used to encourage many throughout the ages, including me, to live for Christ.
