Preach It, Preach It, Preach It

To a chapel full of seminarians, Haddon Robinson stood up to preach a sermon from Romans 4:5, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…” (ESV).

It was the fall of 2003. Twenty-three-year-old me was sitting in the balcony, a first year, first semester student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

The message he delivered and the exhortation he gave moved me then, and it moves me now.

The chapel series was “If I Could Tell You One Thing,” and so Haddon concluded his sermon like this:

My word to you is this: Know the gospel. Get it clearly in mind. Revel in the gospel. Delight in it.

Preach it, preach it, preach it!
 And take it to the ends of the earth!

Tell women and men everywhere that it’s to those who do not work for it, 
but simply put their trust in the God who justifies the ungodly, that person’s trust and faith is counted for righteousness.

And that is the good news that we tell to the world.

Let’s tell it and make it clear.

That good news saved a wretch like me.

And that call to preach it, preach it, preach it I still feel.