Thomas Cosmades |
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THE TRIUMPH OF THE EVANGELIUM
IN LIFE AND DEATH
“…who saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the
grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested
through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"
(II Timothy 1:9, 10). By Thomas Cosmades
As he is facing death,
the aged apostle of Jesus Christ is addressing his young fellow-worker
Timothy with entire confidence. Awaiting the stroke of Nero's cruel sword,
he talks about the abolishment of death on one hand and the certainty of
life and immortality on the other. Can you stretch your imagination to a
person at death's door assuming such a mien? There are various kinds of
death: inexplicable, violent, heroic, fatalistic, suicidal, accidental,
journey's end, etc. In this scriptural passage we come to a kind of death
entirely different than the rest: the invalidation of death through death
and the manifestation of immortality through life. The old soldier Paul
goes on to explain the cause of this unparalleled effect: God's message
declared in the Evangelium, namely the grace given in Christ Jesus ages ago.
The elements of assurance and permanence convincingly demonstrate the cause
set forth by a person in his approaching encounter with death. The apostle
was set apart for the Evangelium; throughout his life he fearlessly and
unswervingly proclaimed the Evangelium, all his actions were determined for
the sake of the Evangelium and now he is marching confidently to his death
with the security offered by the Evangelium. This sounds like the Evangelium
is the most dynamic cause with which a person can motivate his whole being.
Such a conclusion should lead the thinking person to ask: What is there
about the Evangelium which offers such infinite assurance for life and the
afterlife?
I. IT IS THE POWER OF GOD
(Romans The immediate tragedy
in the Old Testament following the resplendent marvel of creation is the
fall of man which introduced sin and death to Adam's race. This amazing
creation was tainted with sin, and died. Now man is in desperate need of
redemption and reconciliation. Immediately, God pronounced the
Protevangelium, promising a
Savior to come from the seed of the woman. This Redeemer would crush the
head of Satan and save men and women from their hopeless bondage to sin. In
doing so, he would endure suffering. From that momentous occasion until now
evangelism manifests the power of God for salvation to all who believe in
Christ and turn away from their sin. These are sealed with the Holy Spirit
to everlasting life. Jesus Christ is
Infinite Life (John 1:4) and the
Author of Life (Acts 3:15). He
ushers transient sinful humans condemned to the dark confines of death into
triumphant life illuminated by the Evangelium. The Evangelium reveals the
power of Christ. He said with absolute authority,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives
and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25). This is the life
everlasting sought by all religions and religious pursuers, but never
attained to! Only the Evangelium can illuminate a person's understanding so
that he can discover life without end. Mortality must be
swallowed up by immortality. In his triumphant resurrection, Christ clearly
showed his supremacy over death. He demonstrated to all generations that he
alone can tread on sin and wipe out death. The dazzling apparel of the two
men at the empty tomb clearly signals the light of Christ dispelling the
darkness of mortality. This is why Hosea in the Old Testament
(13:14), and Paul in the New
Testament can celebrate with this jubilant song: “Death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory, O death, where is
thy sting?" (I Corinthians 15:55). Because of the power of the
Evangelium, believers everywhere triumphantly sing of Christ's conquest over
sin and death.
II. IT IS THE ATTESTATION OF THE GRACE OF
GOD
(Acts 20:24) Its designation is,
'the Evangelium of the grace of God'
(Acts 20:24). It is also
referred to as 'the gospel of God'
(II Corinthians 11:7; I Thessalonians 2:2, 8, 9; I Peter 4:17). Another
name used for it is 'the gospel of
Christ' (I Corinthians 9:12; II Corinthians 2:12; I Thessalonians 3:2;
Galatians 1:7). It bears the irrefutable endorsement of the Father and
the Son; affirmed by Christ's blood poured out on Golgotha for sin--life
given for life--to procure redemption. The Evangelium has reference to God's
free gift for all finite mortals. This is called ‘grace’,
the most beautiful word in any language. In stark contrast to
the message and principle of the Evangelium is a profusion of ritualistic
performances seeking to appease God and gain merit for forgiveness.
All efforts emanate from man's initiative; not God's. However the
Evangelium of ‘the grace of God'
proclaims his unique salvation as a free gift, which can only be
appropriated by faith. The most important truth of the Evangelium continues
to speak to people today: “The just
shall live by faith” (Habakkuk
2:4b; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11b; Hebrews 10:38). This is faith in the
only Redeemer. Rejection of him is equivalent to unbelief with its
consequence of retribution. The judgment of death is negated only by God's
pronouncement of forgiveness through Christ's death on the cross:
"For our sake he made him to be sin
who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”
(II Corinth. 5:21).
III. IT IS THE CONCEPTION OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
(Matthew
4:23; 9:35; 24:14) Earthly kingdoms have
citizens who are born and die. In God's kingdom citizens gain the right of
entry by being born again. In the earthly realm, not only individuals, but
kingdoms rise and demise. But God's kingdom stands forever; likewise its
citizens reign forever: "But our
commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ" (Philippians 3:20). God has his own coherent structure of
government for the eons to come. Christ's believer on
earth lives and dies like everyone else. But as a regenerated person he/she
dies with a unique certainty. The cause of this assurance is called
'the glorious Evangelium of the
blessed God’ (I Timothy
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