How Did it Happen?

While doing my study of Romans in preparation for this week's sermon, I came across something that really made me pause. I'm not sure that I'm even going to bring it up on Sunday, but it has caused me to follow a line of study personally that I think I'll write some posts about.

Paul is dealing with the fact that most of the Jews of his day rejected the gospel message. In Romans 10:18 he asks the question: Did they not hear (the gospel)? His answer is "Of course they did." Then Paul quotes Psalm 19:4: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world."

The astonishing thing to me is that Psalm 19:1-6 is about the stars and sun proclaiming the character of God. What Paul is claiming is that by the time of the writing of Romans (somewhere between 55-57 A.D), the gospel message had been so widely proclaimed among the Jews that it was like the stars or the sun...known by everyone. Paul says a similar thing in Colossians 1:23. While there is a degree of hyperbole in his statement, it is still amazing that the gospel message had become so widespread in 20-30 years that Paul could make these statements.

It made me wonder what it was about the early church that made it so effective and powerful. What were its secrets? How did it happen? How can we recapture the power of the early church?

Over the next several weeks, I hope to share some of the things I come up with as I study the Scriptures. Then will come the adventure of seeing them come to pass in our lives together.