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Letters to My Friend -The Gospel That Changes Lives
by Mary E. Stephens
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Since September 10th the internet is absolutely suffocating under the abundance of opinions, theories, and emotions. People are literally losing their jobs for speaking even a little negativity against a man whose passion for the freedom of speech should have prevented that. Not surprisingly, the conspiracy theories are thick on the ground. Also, there are mockers who have said and done things in public and online who will never live down their odious behavior in this life. (Let's hope they get saved and can leave it behind through Christ one day.) My purpose is not to address any of those issues. More than enough is already being said and written. I am also not interested in the political ramifications. Our job as Christians was never and will never be to make any nation on earth "great again." There is only one nation that has clear promises to be "great again," and that is Israel, and only the Lord Jesus Christ can accomplish that - when He comes to set up His earthly Kingdom (Rev. 19). The only nation we can make great now is the church of the living God which is referred to as an holy nation in 1 Peter 2:9-10, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. As Christians who are called out of darkness into God's marvelous light, I think we should be paying thoughtful attention to how we respond to this situation.
Is it making us angry? Filled with hate? Fearful? Admittedly there are plenty of frightening things going on right now. There is also plenty of potential for anger and hatred and wrath. But, are you going to let Satan win in your own personal life? 1 Peter 5:8-11 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. When we give way to fleshly emotions and feelings, we are giving the enemy of our souls the advantage. We are putting ourselves into a situation where we are vulnerable and at risk of being devoured. Our response should be to resist these things steadfastly in the faith, not in man's wisdom or in a political or nationalistic way. Indeed, not in any other way. Afflictions in the world are always going to be part of the Christian experience. We don't fit in any more. We aren't meant to. John 15:18-23 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. The world hates Jesus Christ and it will hate us too. However, it is important to remember that Jesus was hated for what He spoke unto them, which was the word of God. That is what removed the cloaks they had invented to cover their sin. The only persecution that is worthwhile in the end is that which comes from preaching Christ and Him crucified and risen again. The fact that we needed a sacrifice for our sins and a risen Savior to give us new life in itself shows that we were dead in our trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1, Col. 2:13). As Peter wrote, we are called unto God's eternal glory by Christ Jesus. We may have to suffer a while; and becoming perfect (mature), stablished, strengthened, and settled in the faith is not going to be a comfortable passage. But, let me be clear about one thing: God's eternal glory is not about forcing people into some type of behavior that we see to be right and good. It is not about a political, religious, or philosophical agenda. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. We are not sent to make a nation great. There is no such thing as a physical "Christian nation" to begin with. The only holy nation on this earth today is the spiritual body of Christ which is composed of individual believers who are born of the Spirit, washed in the blood of the Lamb, and made new creatures in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. We were not sent to stop abortion, although we may have the opportunity to help someone make a different choice. But, unless we point them to Jesus Christ, what good is it in the day of judgment? They will still go to hell. We are not sent to fix moral dilemmas. We may have the opportunity to stand with the injured parties and support the punishment of evil doers in some situations, but unless we point both the victims and the offenders to Jesus Christ, what good is that? What has been accomplished in the final analysis if they still perish in their sins? We are not sent "into all the world" to preach nationalism, patriotism, human rights, ecological responsibility, moral codes, good character, "inclusiveness," capitalism, survival tactics -- the list goes on and on and on. There are so many ways that believers get off track by preaching something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we are warned strongly against other gospels. Galatians 1:6-12 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. The problem is this: without the true gospel and the spiritual change that comes through true salvation and reconciliation with God, all that other stuff is just that - stuff. No matter how we may convince people to change or alter their behavior and to live better lives, it won't mean a thing on the day of judgment without salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Our primary ministry is one of reconciling people to God - whether they are saved already and in need of walking more orderly, or are not saved and need to enter into this great salvation in Christ. Our main ministry is ultimately not the reconciliation of people with people or people with creation. Godly behavior in any situation can only ever come from God. It is through Him, and Him alone, that people learn to love one another and be at peace among themselves and to follow that which is good. John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 ...And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. How would Jesus Christ view the masses of people who are pouring out spite, hate, frustration, fear, loathing, accusations, suspicions, lies, etc. in this particular moment of time? I have a pretty good idea. Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. The chaos, the aimless wandering, the vitriol, the confusion of the masses should move us to compassion. These people are like sheep with no shepherd. For most of them in their personal lives, there is no one to teach them the right way to go, no one to lead them in the right paths. Those who profess to be teaching and leading them are too often either not on the right path themselves, or they are wandering in spiritual weeds and briars, much like the political and religious leaders of Jesus' day. When Jesus taught the people many things, we get a good idea from scripture what He was teaching them. It wasn't to be good Romans or faithful to the Jewish cause. He pointed people to God the Father and presented Himself as the Messiah and Savior that He was and is. Do we dare offer anything less? Whatever the days ahead may hold in the bigger picture of world history and fulfillment of prophecy, for those of us who have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we have one primary objective: to point people to the Only One Who Can Save and Change Them - Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. (Note: that means He is over all the governments of this earth, by the way; not just the "good" ones.) Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. In her poem "The Shadow of the Cross", Annie Johnson Flint wrote this: O Cross of Christ! on me thy shade
is resting, Only henceforth, the bliss and
pain commingled Keep me forever, Lord, beneath
that shadow, Dear friend, let's not spend our lives for something less than the sweet service of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else will be worth it in the end. Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Related links in this site:
The Mouth of A Priest |
background and graphics by Mary Stephens
vintage graphic: unknown source