A church can be doctrinally pure and morally upright yet lack love (ch. 13). This will be a serious hindrance to the gospel. Therefore, we should endeavor to speak and live the gospel in a warm and compelling way. This will mean taking a real interest in the lives of others. Genuine friendship adorns the gospel in a powerful way and can itself remove many obstacles.

The good news of Jesus Christ is offensive. Many who heard Christ found His teaching hard and stopped following Him (John 6:60–66). Others turned away disheartened and sorrowful at His message (Mark 10:22). Similarly, the Apostle Paul’s clear preaching of the gospel caused confusion and hostility almost everywhere he went. Since then, Christians in every culture have faced stern opposition to their declaring the glories of Christ.

While Paul and the early church knew the reality of this, they were still at pains to do everything within their power to ensure that the gospel was heard clearly. Rather than becoming resigned to the fact that many would reject Christ, they went to great lengths to remove impediments from hearing and accepting Him. This is why in 2 Corinthians 6:3–4 Paul asserts, “We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way.”

If we are to faithfully engage our world today with the gospel, we need to declare it boldly and without compromise. Yet this needs to be coupled with a purposeful removal of all human obstructions that will prevent sinners from hearing, believing, and following the Christ we proclaim.

Relinquishing our Rights

To remove hindrances to the gospel, we first need to give up our own rights. Paul tells the Corinthian church in his first letter that he “endure[d] anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:12). In context, he is talking about the right of gospel workers to receive financial support for their ministry. Having established the biblical principle for this, he then reminds his readers that he surrendered this right. Why? To cause no obstacle for the gospel.

This principle is at the heart of the gospel itself. Christ set aside His own rights as the eternal Son of God, becoming sin for us and dying on the cross. He sacrificed Himself for the sake of others. Paul embodies this principle in 1 Corinthians 9 and teaches it in 2 Corinthians 6. We are to be ready to forgo what is rightfully ours so that nothing—not even ourselves—will get in the way of the gospel. This is simply a call to live true to Christ and the gospel we believe and offer.

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