Acts 20:24

"But. hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that. may accomplish my course, and the ministry which. received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God"I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself": "But my life does not matter" (Gspd). Consider the courageous attitude of Paul. It is one thing to endure unexpected suffering, but it is quite another thing to walk right into suffering, to continue to preach the exact same message, knowing full well that such preaching will get you into serious trouble. Probably these prophetic warnings were why Paul requested the prayers from the Christians in Rome (Romans 15:30). Consider the underlying attitude that enabled Paul to be successful, in spite of trials, his own life was not the consuming and overriding preoccupation of his thoughts. Paul could get his mind off himself and his comfort because he had already completely given his life to Jesus (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:14). The person who really understands the true depth of their sins and the love of God that is responsible for their salvation, understands that their Christian life is an undeserved second chance. It is. life that is now wholly dedicated to the cause of Christ.. can sacrifice my time and talents for Christ, because dying with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3 ff) means that. also died to doing things "my way". When. realize that every moment after my baptism is undeserved "time", "borrowed time", "time that. should be spending in hell for my sins", then it is easy to use much of that time to serve God. "So that. may accomplish my course": Paul often speaks of the Christian life as. race to be run (1 Corinthians 9:24 ff; 1 Peter 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:7). To Paul, getting the job done right was more important than self-preservation. "His overriding concern is not at all costs to survive, but rather that he may finish the race and complete his Christ-given task" (Stott p. 326). "And the ministry which. received from the Lord Jesus": The word ministry means service. Jesus had given Paul an area of "service" in His cause, and Paul was determined to finish the task, at all cost (Acts 9:15). "To testify the gospel of the grace of God": The message that informs people concerning God's grace (Titus 2:11).

The grace of God cannot be obtained by ignoring the gospel message. The gospel is the only message that properly informs people concerning how they can receive God's grace or obtain the benefits of the sacrifice of Christ. Notice Paul's sense of honor and loyalty to Jesus Christ. Paul would rather die than fail the One who has died for him. In our modern society we might not be physically persecuted for being. Christian, but. see Christians placing their own comfort ahead of the cause of Christ. When we are reluctant about sharing the gospel with others, or talking to. Christian who is manifesting spiritual weakness, we are placing our own lives ahead of the mission that God has given us. We will never be the Christian we can be, and we will fail God, as long as we place our own personal comfort as. greater priority than doing the will of God.