No Price Too Great

The gospel stirred the Apostle Paul that not only did he pray continually and desired above all else to share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone, but also that there was no price too great that he was not willing to pay.

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise” (Romans 1:14).

To be a debtor means that you owed something of value and you were duty bound to pay it. This was the reason why Paul calls himself first and foremost “a bondservant of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1).

Seeing what Jesus Christ did for him, taking his place upon the cross and dying for his sins, Paul became forever indebted to Jesus, making Jesus the Lord of his life.

It was such an indebtedness that compelled Paul to preach the gospel everywhere he went. To say it another way, Paul couldn’t do anything else but preach the gospel. He was obligated and duty bound to preach it.

And yet that indebtedness cost Paul not only his health but also his life in the end.

I have heard it said that to know the good news and not share it is the most inexcusable and criminal act in all of human history, even though such faith may cost us our lives.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are likewise indebted to Christ for saving us, and as such we are likewise indebted to get this great good news out to the world.

Notice the urgency in Paul’s language. “I am ready to preach the gospel” (Romans 1:15b). Paul was so ready and willing to preach the good news that it was like a fire burning inside that had to come out, much like the prophet Jeremiah.

“His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jeremiah 20:9).