In Paulβs day, his βpreaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mysteryβ encountered opposition on every hand. For faithfully proclaiming the glorious message which had been committed to his trust, he was constantly made to bear affliction and reproach. In one of his earlier epistles we already find a long list of the perils and persecutions he had by then been called upon to endure (II Cor. 11:23-33) and this opposition, bitter and relentless, continued throughout his ministry. In his last letter, written from prison in Rome, he calls attention to the distinctive character of his message, and adds:
βWherein I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even unto bondsβ¦β (II Tim. 2:7-9).
The almost constant suffering to which the apostle of grace was subjected naturally had its effect upon timid souls. Some, who saw the truth and the glory of his message, lacked the courage to stand with him in making it known. Others, who had started with him were tempted to β and some did β turn back. Of his first appearance before Nero, the Apostle had to say:
βAt my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: pray God that it may not be laid to their chargeβ (II Tim. 4:16).
In the light of all this it is not strange that Paul should write to Timothy:
βFor God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of Godβ (II Tim. 1:7,8).
Nor is it strange that in II Timothy 2:1-3 the apostle should urge his son in the faith to βbe strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesusβ and to βendure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,β especially in the light of the fact that he himself needed constant help in this regard. The average Christian would find it hard to imagine Paul ever needing prayer for courage, yet he closes his Ephesian epistle with the request:
βAnd [pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speakβ (Eph. 6:19,20).
Oh, that all who have come to see the glory of the gospel of the grace of God would pray this prayer for boldness!
Let us, who know and love the truth, determine by Godβs grace that nothing shall make us unfaithful to our glorious commission; that, whatever the cost, we shall faithfully and boldly proclaim to others the unadulterated gospel of the grace of God, βthe preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery.β source
