Ambition

Excerpts from Holy Ambition: To Preach Where Christ Has Not Been Named by John Piper

[Romans 15: 18-24]

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Verse 20: “And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.”

Paul was controlled by a holy ambition. I say he was controlled because he says in verse 22, “This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.” And he says at the end of verse 23, “I have longed for many years to come to you.” When you long to do something for years and years, but you don’t do it, something is controlling you. And what was controlling Paul and keeping him from going to Rome is that he was not finished with his ambition in the regions from Jerusalem to Illyricum. But finally, he says in verse 23, “I no longer have any room for work in these regions.” And then in verse 24: “I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain.”

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It is a good thing to be controlled by a holy ambition. Are you controlled by a holy ambition? I am calling it “holy” because its aim is holy—to see people from all the nations who have never heard of Jesus believe in him and become obedient to him and be saved by him from their sin and from God’s wrath. And I am calling this ambition “holy” because it comes from God and his holy word, as we will see in a few moments. It is right and it is good to be controlled by a holy ambition.

Do you have a holy ambition? Not everyone should have Paul’s ambition. One plants another waters (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). Each has his own gift (1 Corinthians 7:7). Each stands for falls before his own master (Romans 14:4). But I think God would be pleased if each of his children had a holy ambition.

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So my answer to the question Where does your holy ambition come from? is this: It comes from a personal encounter with the living Christ (not necessarily as dramatic as the Damascus road) shaped and informed and empowered by the written word of God. As you meditate on the law of the Lord day and night (Psalm 1:2)—as you immerse yourself in God’s word—he comes and takes some truth of that word and burns it into your heart until it is a holy ambition. If that hasn’t happened yet, saturate yourself with the word of God and ask him for it.

God doesn’t lead us into ambitions that are pointless—that you will regret at the end of your life. There is always a need to be met—not a need in God, but in the world—by a holy ambition. Holy ambitions are not about self-exaltation. They are always a form of love. They always meet someone’s need.

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