http://bible.us/n/5Ihk
We marry our identities to so many different things that are contrary to who we really are or were meant to be. And too often have these marriages begun with shotgun weddings. However, the Apostle Paul encouraged believers in 1 Corinthians 9:17-23 to reflect on their identity, with the gospel in view, by inviting them, and more appropriately us, to see a snapshot of his way of life.
A part of this identity that Paul described is demonstrated in our humble service to others as empowered by the gospel of our God. "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more" (19). Who we are is married to "whose" we are; and though it is in our very nature to be servants to none other than ourselves,
the life that is now married to the gospel of Jesus Christ is one that is hidden in His identity. Jesus Himself "did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). And in His identity we are empowered to serve others with the gospel in view.
(22b) "I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.
(23) I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."
To "become all things" refer again to this identity, and it was Paul's clear goal to identify and connect with people: thoughtfully, emphatically with the gospel in view. Who am I willing to become in order to reach others?
"All men" means all kinds of people without discrimination or prejudice. The gospel is for everyone (Acts 1:8). Where am I willing to go to reach others; and what cultural barriers am I willing to cross or bridge to reach others?
"By all means" refer to various kinds of methods to proactively pursue people. Prioritizing the gospel is key in these approaches. What methods am I willing to employ to reach others?
"Do all things" refer to his purpose. It was Paul's constant life goal to ensure that everything he did, every action commenced, and every step taken was done through the lens of the gospel. We, too, in a post-modern culture should find ourselves engaged in such a way in our own lives. In what ways does my life engage the culture right now; and what am I willing to do to ensure that it continues?
He did all of this in order to become a "fellow partaker" in the work of the gospel. "Fellow" regards partnership: with God and His work and with those who participate in that work. "Partaker" means participant. He wanted to be an engaged and active participant in the work that God had not only called him to, but to the same Lord that counted him worthy, having entrusted to him the stewardship of that work. What has God entrusted me with in my stewardship of the gospel and of my identity in its work?
Ultimately, the end goal of the life whose identity is married to the gospel of Jesus Christ is that "by all means some [will be] saved." As Christians, our very lives should be marked by that which is "the power of God unto salvation to those who would believe" (Romans 1:16). This is who we are. Moreover, this is who we were meant to be.
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Questions
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1. In what ways can I become all things to the people who are in my sphere of influence?
2. What are some approaches and methods that will assist me in using all means to reach others?
3. Is my life mark by a prioritization of the gospel, and do I do all things through that lens?
4. Am I engaging the culture while in partnership with God, His work, and His people from a biblical worldview?
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Four Points: Evan Roberts (1904)
In 1904, a small town in the British Isles (Wales) experienced what many have called one of the greatest spiritual revivals in modern church history. This revival would far expand beyond its city limits and usher in the transformative work of the Spirit of God in the lives of those who would repent from sin and believe the truth. One of the figures that the Father used to spark that revival was a young man named Evan Roberts. With a burden for people, Roberts and a small group of friends began to minister, as the Holy Spirit led, the Gospel of our God in a way that intended a fixation on Jesus and right standing with God, rather than one that was focused on the programs, people, and preaching of the camp meetings themselves. In this, he drafted four simple tenets that would later be called "The Four Points" that he admonished people to consider:
1. All sin must be confessed to God and repented of.
The church has to be cleansed—the Lord’s bride would be with out spot so there would be no room for compromise with sin. If there is anything in our lives about which there is even doubt as to weather it is good or evil—then cast it off!
2. There must be no cloud between the believer and God.
Have you forgiven everybody? If not don’t expect forgiveness for your own sins. The Scripture is clear; we cannot be forgiven until we have forgiven. Unforgiveness separates us from God.
3. We must obey the Holy Spirit. Do what the Spirit prompts you to do.
Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Spirit is required if we are going to be used by Him.
4. There must be public confessions of Christ as Savior.
This is not a one time incident after our salvation experience or baptism—for the Christian it is a way of life. (Evan also believed that there was a difference between confession and profession).
If I/we hope to see personal, spiritual revival as well as corporate, spiritual revival in my/our lives and in my/our cities, we must consider and affirm that God is sovereign and that He desires all men come to the knowledge of the truth. Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to empower me in such a way that God is then able to strip away those things in my life that hinder His work in me, and transverely affect my spiritual impact on those around me? This takes a trusting ear that listens for His voice, a humble surrender to His will, and a faithful obedience to His call.
1. All sin must be confessed to God and repented of.
The church has to be cleansed—the Lord’s bride would be with out spot so there would be no room for compromise with sin. If there is anything in our lives about which there is even doubt as to weather it is good or evil—then cast it off!
2. There must be no cloud between the believer and God.
Have you forgiven everybody? If not don’t expect forgiveness for your own sins. The Scripture is clear; we cannot be forgiven until we have forgiven. Unforgiveness separates us from God.
3. We must obey the Holy Spirit. Do what the Spirit prompts you to do.
Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Spirit is required if we are going to be used by Him.
4. There must be public confessions of Christ as Savior.
This is not a one time incident after our salvation experience or baptism—for the Christian it is a way of life. (Evan also believed that there was a difference between confession and profession).
If I/we hope to see personal, spiritual revival as well as corporate, spiritual revival in my/our lives and in my/our cities, we must consider and affirm that God is sovereign and that He desires all men come to the knowledge of the truth. Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to empower me in such a way that God is then able to strip away those things in my life that hinder His work in me, and transverely affect my spiritual impact on those around me? This takes a trusting ear that listens for His voice, a humble surrender to His will, and a faithful obedience to His call.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Immigration and Arizona
Posted as a response to a Facebook discussion on Arizona's new law giving law enforement agencies in the state "the power to question anyone they suspect might be in the country illegally" (Maiman,B. Populist Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/. posted April 24, 2010. Retrieved from "blogger won't allow cut and paste...boo." Last updated 4/24/2010).
------(Edited and Revised)
Racial profiling is never okay constitutionally because we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights... "All men," from the Declaration of Independence, does not simply refer to citizens of the United States of America, but to all people created in the image of God. That said, Arizona's new law does further extend and encourage police action as it regard a certain ethnic group, mainly those of those of Mexican, Latino/a, and Hispanic, non-white heritage and descent.
However, "all men" also includes citizens of the United States of America who are fed up with lax immigration laws and regulations that only perpetuate and encourage corporate greed, mainly the underpaying of "said" ethnic group in many of the jobs that help sustain this nation. If you've seen the documentary Food Inc., you'll know what I'm talking about. Not only do we as a nation face the outsourcing of jobs to other countries whose labor laws are unlike our own; and not only do we face the underpaying of illegal workers here in our own country. We come face to face with a large, clandestine network of systems secretly established to unlawfully "credential" many immigrants who are here illegally. That too is unjust.
In Jeremiah 22: 13, Jehovah declares, Sure to be judged is the king who builds his palace using injustice and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor." Both illegal immigrants working here in America, outsourced laborers employed by U.S. companies in other countries, and unemployed or underemployed U. S. citizens who could benefit from some if not many of those jobs are hurt by the kinds of unjust labor practices that impact the immigration debate.
In the end, what is the goal of Arizona's new law: love, grace, and compassion or law for law's sake?
And to answer poster's question in the strand as it relates to pressuring the federal government into seriously tackling the immigration conundrum: I could see this valid perspective; to go as far as to pass a law that verges on Jim Crow, in a hope to seriously shine a spotlight on the impact of not seriously tackling the issue of immigration at all. The law will more than likely be get overturned by the courts.
------(Edited and Revised)
Racial profiling is never okay constitutionally because we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights... "All men," from the Declaration of Independence, does not simply refer to citizens of the United States of America, but to all people created in the image of God. That said, Arizona's new law does further extend and encourage police action as it regard a certain ethnic group, mainly those of those of Mexican, Latino/a, and Hispanic, non-white heritage and descent.
However, "all men" also includes citizens of the United States of America who are fed up with lax immigration laws and regulations that only perpetuate and encourage corporate greed, mainly the underpaying of "said" ethnic group in many of the jobs that help sustain this nation. If you've seen the documentary Food Inc., you'll know what I'm talking about. Not only do we as a nation face the outsourcing of jobs to other countries whose labor laws are unlike our own; and not only do we face the underpaying of illegal workers here in our own country. We come face to face with a large, clandestine network of systems secretly established to unlawfully "credential" many immigrants who are here illegally. That too is unjust.
In Jeremiah 22: 13, Jehovah declares, Sure to be judged is the king who builds his palace using injustice and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms. He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor." Both illegal immigrants working here in America, outsourced laborers employed by U.S. companies in other countries, and unemployed or underemployed U. S. citizens who could benefit from some if not many of those jobs are hurt by the kinds of unjust labor practices that impact the immigration debate.
In the end, what is the goal of Arizona's new law: love, grace, and compassion or law for law's sake?
And to answer poster's question in the strand as it relates to pressuring the federal government into seriously tackling the immigration conundrum: I could see this valid perspective; to go as far as to pass a law that verges on Jim Crow, in a hope to seriously shine a spotlight on the impact of not seriously tackling the issue of immigration at all. The law will more than likely be get overturned by the courts.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Vox Dei
"Everyone who belongs to the truth, listens to My voice." One way that those who belong to Jesus listen to His voice is by reading, knowing, and heeding the Word of God. Because "the word of the Lord endures forever," "as new born babes," believers are charged to "desire the pure milk of the word, that (they) may grow thereby if indeed (they) have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (I Peter 1: 25; I Peter 2: 2, 3).
And as believers grow "thereby" effectively and productively in the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, becoming skilled in the "word of righteousness" (Hebrews 5: 13) by which we are saved (James 1: 21), we become rooted and established in the present truth; truth that is eternal, immutable, infallible, inerrant, and yes, powerful... So, "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3: 16). That is if you have tasted His grace. If not, permit your mind, and soul, and heart to savor the immeasurable, wonderful, marvelous grace of our God and Savior. The kitchen is open, and the Lord is cookin'. Bon appetit!
And as believers grow "thereby" effectively and productively in the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, becoming skilled in the "word of righteousness" (Hebrews 5: 13) by which we are saved (James 1: 21), we become rooted and established in the present truth; truth that is eternal, immutable, infallible, inerrant, and yes, powerful... So, "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3: 16). That is if you have tasted His grace. If not, permit your mind, and soul, and heart to savor the immeasurable, wonderful, marvelous grace of our God and Savior. The kitchen is open, and the Lord is cookin'. Bon appetit!
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