Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Boldness is the willingness to do what must be done no matter the cost. Paul took a stand for the ages atop Mars Hill, telling Greek philosophers the truth about God and the Savior. But how can we be as bold as Paul?

When you stand on Mars Hill in Athens, you’re standing where history happened. Paul the Apostle stood on that same rock, telling the philosophers of his day about the true God. They were the intellectual cream of the crop, but in Paul, in the message he bore, they found their match.

Can the gospel stand up against modern philosophy? It did in ancient Greece. Paul sparred verbally with both Stoics and Epicureans. The truth of Jesus and His resurrection is our message, and we can boldly proclaim it like Paul. Can the gospel stand up against modern philosophy? It did in ancient Greece. Paul sparred verbally with both Stoics and Epicureans. The truth of Jesus and His resurrection is our message, and we can boldly proclaim it like Paul. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

When Paul reached Greece, he was a fearless witness for Christ in a pagan culture. He explained the true God to Greek philosophers. Paul is a role model as to how we must confront the world with the gospel.

Suffering for Christ has come into sharp focus as ISIS brutally kills believers just for following Jesus. The same fate may await us, but our Christian lives have almost been too easy. Do we know how to suffer? Let’s look at Paul’s example.

Paul wrote to Philippian believers, while he was in Roman chains. His counsel is blunt: it is given to us to believe in Jesus and also to suffer for His sake. Many Christians like the abundant life, but cringe when suffering comes. Yet this is our calling as believers.

It’s no picnic to be a follower of Christ. The more you are faithful to Him, the more the world will hate you, and the more the devil will try to stop you. The Apostle Paul had to defend himself against wolves in sheep’s clothing. There were and are false prophets in the church.

Like salmon swimming upstream, living the Christian life goes against the flow of culture. You can’t help but encounter enemies. Suffering for Christ is not a popular topic, but it is a part of what believers face around the world. Paul faced suffering head on.

Salvation is not something you choose to buy on a grocer’s shelf. You don’t compare the pros and cons of trusting Christ. Far from it. Every time someone is transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, it’s because God initiated a divine transformation.

When Jesus appeared to a man on the Damascus road, the fear in that man’s heart convinced him this was no ordinary encounter. Indeed, Saul was “Confronted by Christ.” Saul would never be the same again.