Guard the Gospel – A summons to nobility

2 Timothy 1:9-10
{9} who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, {10} but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel,

Peter Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University, speaks of the “Greatest Generation” in his book The Good Life, Truths that Last in Times of Need. There he gives a short list of graduates who left the halls of Harvard and pursued lives of service to their fellow man. It is easy to see the impact of this academic institution in American life – Gomes lists John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, We E. B Dubois, Helen Keller, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Each of these individuals could be viewed as visionary leaders who made major impacts upon their world. After listing these greats of America History, Gomez then poses a question for this present generation:

“What will be our call to greatness, our summons to nobility? In this season of endless prosperity and self-interest, is there anything that will require the best of what we have to offer? Is there any cause great or good enough to provoke goodness and greatness is us?”

The modern church struggles with our own summons to nobility. What many of us fail to realize is that the great cause of our faith is the common salvation which all Christians share. Too often we become intoxicated with something shiny and new, the next “big” thing in church life. Our cause is as old as creation itself. It is the cause of the Gospel – God’s plan to bring redemption to a fallen world.

There is a summons to nobility – We must guard the Gospel because it is a unique treasure of God given to us.
It is simple enough for a child to understand but yet so profound that it cannot be fathomed in human understanding. There are 7 verbs in these two verses. Each of them is in the Aorist tense of the Greek language emphasizing a point in time action. These verses state that at one point in time or contained in one incident Jesus did all of these things. It is a statement of an encapsulation of the Gospel. Through this one thing, the mighty Gospel of God: Jesus saved us; called us; granted us purpose and grace; revealed himself; appearing in the flesh; abolished death; and brought life and immortality to light. His plan of salvation is beyond the scope of human imagination and invention. It is a plan that on one hand has nothing to do with human works or ability (verse 9 states not according to our works) but at the same time uses human works and ability to accomplish its purpose (verses 4-6 speak of the impact others had in Timothy’s salvation and call).

There is a summons to nobility – We must guard the Gospel because it is the only hope mankind holds for eternal change.
We are constantly looking for that thing which will change us or our society. The call for hope and change rings loud for all of us because hope and change are so desperately needed. All of the changes that are embraced outside the Gospel are nothing more than cosmetic in nature and temporal in result. Only the Gospel brings change within. A change of the heart brings a change that is so much more than cosmetic in nature. It is a change that lasts forever.

There is a summons to nobility – We must guard the Gospel because it is a treasure so great God came to deliver it in person.
Included in Paul’s description of our call to nobility he makes mention of the fact that God’s Gospel is revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. God did not send another prophet to deliver the Gospel. He came in person, deity wrapped up in human flesh. The mystery and miracle of the incarnation were for the purpose of hand delivering God’s greatest gift to sinful man.

There is a summons to nobility – We must guard the Gospel because it abolishes death and generates life.
Our world is dying. Our culture is dying. Because of the ravages of sin, we are all dying. Today’s world embraces a culture of death and seems to be happy to do so. From the violence of our entertainment to the growth of militant Islam we are marching ourselves to an open grave of dismal hopelessness. We are moving from the bedrock biblical principles which gave rise to the prosperity and hope of Western Civilization to a new dark age of skepticism and godlessness where man is nothing more than an evolved life form and has little meaning for existence. Only in the Gospel can life be found. Jesus said in John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

There is a summons to nobility – We must embrace the calling of God on our lives to guard the Gospel.
Paul here mentions the stations of his own calling. The calling of God is for all of us. Not all are called to be preachers, apostles, or teachers. But we are all summoned to guard the Gospel. We are all summoned to nobility.

PRAYER
Lord, help me to rise to the occasion of my calling. Teach me that without God I am nothing. But also convict me that with the power of God in my life I can make an impact on the world in which I live. Summon me from my commonness and let me hear your call to nobility. May I guard the Gospel with all my heart and life. In Jesus name, Amen.