David Ray
Anyone who knows me very well knows that my favorite professional football team is the New England Patriots. Having lived in Massachusetts for five years, very near where the Patriots play, I can’t help but be. I was cheering when they won each of their six Super Bowls and felt the agony of defeat as they fell short in three others. One might say I have passion for the Patriots!
This is a typical example of the “passion” people possess today. But this word originally carried the idea of suffering (e.g., the passion or suffering of Christ). Today, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, its meaning is “a powerful emotion, such as love or anger.” In general, it carries the image of intense emotion, feeling, or desire. Nobody who has ever read Paul’s writings would doubt that he had intense emotion, feeling, and desire for the Lord and His church. We take nothing away from any other biblical character when we say that there was no greater leader in passion than Paul!
Passion in Preaching
This passion, which preachers today would do well to imitate, is seen clearly in 1 Corinthians 9:15-23. Having shown that it was the church’s obligation to pay the preacher (vv. 1-14), Paul then refused to accept payment (vv. 15-18). He said he couldn’t glory in his decision to preach because he was chosen by Christ for this mission, and woe unto him if he didn’t preach. So instead, he said he would glory in making the gospel free of charge. He would’ve rather died than to accept payment from them. This was because his passion (that for which he would willingly suffer) was in reaching the lost (vv. 19-23). He made himself a servant to all in order to save as many souls as possible! Are we willing to do this? Or are we too interested in our own desires, rights, and freedoms?
Passion in Encouragement
Paul’s letter to Philemon is a great example of encouragement, as he asked this brother to do something difficult, but that would benefit all parties. After making the request, Paul encouraged Philemon by saying, “having confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.” It’s a lot easier to do the right thing when our brethren have confidence in us.
Encouragement means more than patting a brother on the back and saying, “Good job!” Many times it means reproving, rebuking, and exhorting (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul was even willing to rebuke a fellow apostle for his sin. Because of Peter’s duplicity regarding the Gentiles, Paul correctly opposed him—an act that must’ve been difficult (Gal. 2:11-14). How many members of the Lord’s church today say nothing while their brethren continue in sin?
