So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
Romans 12:1-8 - (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Blessings,
Ron
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Forced to fight
As Paul talks about the life of faith, it is a thing far removed from a prosperity gospel. Many prosperity preachers quote from our reading for today, but they tend to leave out or gloss over certain parts of it.
The reality of being a child of God is that we live in the same world as those who reject being children of God. At first we might think that this is unfortunate, but in reality, for those of us who once rejected the idea of being a child of God, this is very much a God thing (fortune has nothing to do with it). Only being in a world with the children of God provoked me to reconsider my stance toward God’s kingdom. Consequently, I believe that the children of God are not supposed to use the planet Earth as some sort of escape pod into eternity, but to continue to enact kingdom thinking and kingdom action in a world that desperately needs it. The job of the children of God is to restore this world, not just spiritually, but in every other possible way.
This means that preachers need to find a way to speak the transforming word from a first century context into the context of their own century. It means that a farmer ought to leave the land in better shape the day that he is planted than on the day he first planted seed. It means that the medical professional and researcher should strive for progress by finding ways to ameliorate or cure disease. And the ecologist ought to steadily restore the health of this planet.
What about people that work with children? We deal with transformation and nurture and healing and restoration, too. But we also deal with secrets that resist truth and transformation, deprivation, sickness and toxicity. Constantly exposed to pain, we have to find a way to deal with pain. Which takes us back to our reading for today.
What if we saw the world, not as a place where we could completely avoid hurt, pain, persecution, violence, disease, disaster, or death. Not only is it a place where we witness these things; it is a place where we experience these things. If we, or those we love did not experience them, what calling, what drive would compel us to combat them?
It is not that we ought to expect to avoid these things but rather that we resist where we can, suffer where we have to, and yield only when yielding is inevitable. We will do none of these things as a victim, but rather a victor: a victor in Jesus Christ. Is this not what Paul calls us to do?
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31-39 - NRSV
Grace, peace, and victory -
Ron
The reality of being a child of God is that we live in the same world as those who reject being children of God. At first we might think that this is unfortunate, but in reality, for those of us who once rejected the idea of being a child of God, this is very much a God thing (fortune has nothing to do with it). Only being in a world with the children of God provoked me to reconsider my stance toward God’s kingdom. Consequently, I believe that the children of God are not supposed to use the planet Earth as some sort of escape pod into eternity, but to continue to enact kingdom thinking and kingdom action in a world that desperately needs it. The job of the children of God is to restore this world, not just spiritually, but in every other possible way.
This means that preachers need to find a way to speak the transforming word from a first century context into the context of their own century. It means that a farmer ought to leave the land in better shape the day that he is planted than on the day he first planted seed. It means that the medical professional and researcher should strive for progress by finding ways to ameliorate or cure disease. And the ecologist ought to steadily restore the health of this planet.
What about people that work with children? We deal with transformation and nurture and healing and restoration, too. But we also deal with secrets that resist truth and transformation, deprivation, sickness and toxicity. Constantly exposed to pain, we have to find a way to deal with pain. Which takes us back to our reading for today.
What if we saw the world, not as a place where we could completely avoid hurt, pain, persecution, violence, disease, disaster, or death. Not only is it a place where we witness these things; it is a place where we experience these things. If we, or those we love did not experience them, what calling, what drive would compel us to combat them?
It is not that we ought to expect to avoid these things but rather that we resist where we can, suffer where we have to, and yield only when yielding is inevitable. We will do none of these things as a victim, but rather a victor: a victor in Jesus Christ. Is this not what Paul calls us to do?
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31-39 - NRSV
Grace, peace, and victory -
Ron
Thursday, September 25, 2008
A litany of why
Sometimes we wonder why things are the way that they are for us. We are, after all, the children of God. Should we not be blessed? Let me voice the litany of “why” questions that I hear my brothers and sisters speak from day to day:
Why does our family struggle with finances, with meeting our bills? It’s not like, after all, that we spend hundreds of dollars each month on cigarettes or alcohol. It’s not as if one of us has a gambling problem. Yes, we probably could be a little more careful with our money, but why do we feel as if we live from day to day? Why are things happening that cause my retirement nest egg to decline, it seems like every day?
Why do I have this pain, why do I experience this personal suffering in my body? Why does this pain distract my spirit, restrain my godly passion, diminish my energy to do the righteousness of God? Since my body affects my spirit, why is this pain allowed to persist?
Why does this world careen from one crisis to another? We know that reporters are honored by their peers when they find the ugly, not the good; crisis, not creativity. Still it seems as if there is enough violence, hate, poverty, and war in our world for several lifetimes, not just ours.
Why are my children suffering? I know that God says that he loves children; why does he allow these challenges to happen in their lives? Aren’t their trials great enough? Haven’t I prayed enough, counseled enough, given enough?
Why does God withhold this desire of my heart from me? Does it not glorify him? Would it not please him? Do I not please him? Surely this is only a small thing in the power of God …
Why? Well, honestly “why” is the natural question in the face of suffering. It leads to lament, which is the moaning of our spirits before the spirit of God. We need to lament, we need to express to God our sorrow because he does understand it. He even understands the sorrow that is too deep for words. Eventually though, on the other side of lament, comes the act of faith, the act of endurance. James says, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NRSV)
Paul goes further. He says that suffering, that crisis, only serve as contrast to the glory that even now God is bringing to his creation.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:18-30 – NRSV
O God, be righteous; because your righteousness is our righteousness, the righteousness of your frail children.
O God, be glorified; because your glory spills over to bring glory to us, your children oppressed by an arrogant world.
O children of God, be righteous: do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly before your God, and you will demonstrate the righteousness of God.
O children of God, glorify God, humble yourselves, and he will lift you up.
O God hear the sighs of our heart, enact in us the glory of your righteousness, and help us trust that you are the Savior, the one who comes at just the right time. O Lord, expand the borders of your kingdom; please begin in our hearts.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Why does our family struggle with finances, with meeting our bills? It’s not like, after all, that we spend hundreds of dollars each month on cigarettes or alcohol. It’s not as if one of us has a gambling problem. Yes, we probably could be a little more careful with our money, but why do we feel as if we live from day to day? Why are things happening that cause my retirement nest egg to decline, it seems like every day?
Why do I have this pain, why do I experience this personal suffering in my body? Why does this pain distract my spirit, restrain my godly passion, diminish my energy to do the righteousness of God? Since my body affects my spirit, why is this pain allowed to persist?
Why does this world careen from one crisis to another? We know that reporters are honored by their peers when they find the ugly, not the good; crisis, not creativity. Still it seems as if there is enough violence, hate, poverty, and war in our world for several lifetimes, not just ours.
Why are my children suffering? I know that God says that he loves children; why does he allow these challenges to happen in their lives? Aren’t their trials great enough? Haven’t I prayed enough, counseled enough, given enough?
Why does God withhold this desire of my heart from me? Does it not glorify him? Would it not please him? Do I not please him? Surely this is only a small thing in the power of God …
Why? Well, honestly “why” is the natural question in the face of suffering. It leads to lament, which is the moaning of our spirits before the spirit of God. We need to lament, we need to express to God our sorrow because he does understand it. He even understands the sorrow that is too deep for words. Eventually though, on the other side of lament, comes the act of faith, the act of endurance. James says, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NRSV)
Paul goes further. He says that suffering, that crisis, only serve as contrast to the glory that even now God is bringing to his creation.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:18-30 – NRSV
O God, be righteous; because your righteousness is our righteousness, the righteousness of your frail children.
O God, be glorified; because your glory spills over to bring glory to us, your children oppressed by an arrogant world.
O children of God, be righteous: do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly before your God, and you will demonstrate the righteousness of God.
O children of God, glorify God, humble yourselves, and he will lift you up.
O God hear the sighs of our heart, enact in us the glory of your righteousness, and help us trust that you are the Savior, the one who comes at just the right time. O Lord, expand the borders of your kingdom; please begin in our hearts.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Dead man walking?
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law — indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:1-11 – NRSV
Do we move through this world like a “dead man walking”, moving as if surely the end were too grievous to bear? Is our demeanor defeated? Is our language languid? Or is there something different about us that is visible from how we look and act?
Shouldn’t we instead be men and women who are totally alive? Should not the spirit enliven our appearance in our bodies now that the flesh is no longer our master? Surely we should behave in a way that is consistent with being free forever of condemnation. Surely we should behave like the saved. Surely the Spirit dwells in us, and therefore Jesus is lived through us so that God can be visible in us.
Let us live into our promises today.
Blessings,
Ron
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:1-11 – NRSV
Do we move through this world like a “dead man walking”, moving as if surely the end were too grievous to bear? Is our demeanor defeated? Is our language languid? Or is there something different about us that is visible from how we look and act?
Shouldn’t we instead be men and women who are totally alive? Should not the spirit enliven our appearance in our bodies now that the flesh is no longer our master? Surely we should behave in a way that is consistent with being free forever of condemnation. Surely we should behave like the saved. Surely the Spirit dwells in us, and therefore Jesus is lived through us so that God can be visible in us.
Let us live into our promises today.
Blessings,
Ron
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Pictures of God
But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Romans 3:21-31 NRSV
How can we know God? How can we know what God looks like? How he would behave? Paul tells that God and his righteousness have been revealed in Jesus Christ. So if we want to construct a mental image of God, we could use the Bible, or theology, or the various materials of worship. Yet, more simply, if we look at Jesus we see God. God in the flesh. When Paul writes Colossians, he tells us that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation ... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:15,20 NRSV).
We know this; some of us will think that this is even intuitively obvious. But is this how we actually think? When we imagine God the Father, don’t we all too frequently tend to act as if the parental side of the Trinity has a totally different personality? A different demeanor? The Judge. The Traffic Cop. The Wrathful Warrior. The Landowner uprooting dead trees. How do we justify this? How do we maintain this in opposition to Scripture?
I think it is because all too frequently we tend to project our earthly fathers onto the face of God, however good or however bad this father image is. Obviously if our father is godly this is somewhat helpful if occasionally confusing. If our father is not godly, then we are going to have to be particularly careful about how we image God. Otherwise, this tendency causes us to engage in a serious if unintentional piece of idolatry – substituting the image of something or someone else for God. Truth stands in opposition to this idea. Jesus is the only, the true “image of the invisible God.”
If “Jesus loves me, this I know,” why don’t we believe this about the Father, even when the Bible tells us so? “For God [the Father] so loved the world ….” If Jesus wants to redeem us, can we not see that God wants to do the same? If Jesus is merciful, is this not a perfect picture of the Father’s mercy? Since Jesus is faithful, will not God be? Ultimately since Jesus is righteous as God is righteous, he makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God the Father and a healthy image of that Father who made himself visible in the form of Jesus. When you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the Father.
So is it our job to go around showing people pictures of Jesus so that they can know what God looks like? Yes, exactly so. We don’t have a photo of him in our wallet, or our computer, or even on our Facebook pages. His image is to be revealed in our demeanor, our lips, our hands, and our feet. So perhaps the reason that many people struggle to believe in God is not that we have yet to construct some “superproof,” some apologetic that can convince any and everyone. Perhaps the problem is that we, his imagers, need to present a clearer picture of Jesus. In focus. Consistent even in the little details. Not smudged. Surely this is something that can only be done by the power and grace of God.
Being conformed to the image of Christ, the mind of Jesus, is the calling of a lifetime. It is our calling today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Romans 3:21-31 NRSV
How can we know God? How can we know what God looks like? How he would behave? Paul tells that God and his righteousness have been revealed in Jesus Christ. So if we want to construct a mental image of God, we could use the Bible, or theology, or the various materials of worship. Yet, more simply, if we look at Jesus we see God. God in the flesh. When Paul writes Colossians, he tells us that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation ... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:15,20 NRSV).
We know this; some of us will think that this is even intuitively obvious. But is this how we actually think? When we imagine God the Father, don’t we all too frequently tend to act as if the parental side of the Trinity has a totally different personality? A different demeanor? The Judge. The Traffic Cop. The Wrathful Warrior. The Landowner uprooting dead trees. How do we justify this? How do we maintain this in opposition to Scripture?
I think it is because all too frequently we tend to project our earthly fathers onto the face of God, however good or however bad this father image is. Obviously if our father is godly this is somewhat helpful if occasionally confusing. If our father is not godly, then we are going to have to be particularly careful about how we image God. Otherwise, this tendency causes us to engage in a serious if unintentional piece of idolatry – substituting the image of something or someone else for God. Truth stands in opposition to this idea. Jesus is the only, the true “image of the invisible God.”
If “Jesus loves me, this I know,” why don’t we believe this about the Father, even when the Bible tells us so? “For God [the Father] so loved the world ….” If Jesus wants to redeem us, can we not see that God wants to do the same? If Jesus is merciful, is this not a perfect picture of the Father’s mercy? Since Jesus is faithful, will not God be? Ultimately since Jesus is righteous as God is righteous, he makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God the Father and a healthy image of that Father who made himself visible in the form of Jesus. When you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the Father.
So is it our job to go around showing people pictures of Jesus so that they can know what God looks like? Yes, exactly so. We don’t have a photo of him in our wallet, or our computer, or even on our Facebook pages. His image is to be revealed in our demeanor, our lips, our hands, and our feet. So perhaps the reason that many people struggle to believe in God is not that we have yet to construct some “superproof,” some apologetic that can convince any and everyone. Perhaps the problem is that we, his imagers, need to present a clearer picture of Jesus. In focus. Consistent even in the little details. Not smudged. Surely this is something that can only be done by the power and grace of God.
Being conformed to the image of Christ, the mind of Jesus, is the calling of a lifetime. It is our calling today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Monday, September 22, 2008
The gospel according to Paul and Leroy
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish — hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith."
Romans 1:8-17 - NRSV
Last night, Troy and I listened as Leroy Garrett preached this great text. Our brother in Christ reminded us that the gospel is, after all, a very simple and powerful thing. It is a word about God. It is, in sum, three things: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This, as he reminded us, brings about the threefold response described by our forebears in the Restoration Movement: faith, repentance, and baptism. Our obedience brings us into the blessing of three powerful promises: forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
There it is, in one paragraph, the simplicity of the gospel. That is the preaching, the kerygma, to those who are not yet in Christ. Yet for those who become Christians there yet remains learning the teachings (didache) of the church, our doctrine. Now teaching is an enterprise not accomplished in one paragraph. Actually a lifetime of study would not complete the task; the teachings of the church continue to grow as the world changes and new challenges require new responses.
How is the gospel alive and well in our lives today? How does it affect our world view, our actions, our words? How does it shape our interactions with one another and with those who have yet to claim it? As Leroy put it, “Let us treat others as Jesus Christ has treated us.” That is enough of a challenge for any of us on this good day, this day that God has given us.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith."
Romans 1:8-17 - NRSV
Last night, Troy and I listened as Leroy Garrett preached this great text. Our brother in Christ reminded us that the gospel is, after all, a very simple and powerful thing. It is a word about God. It is, in sum, three things: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This, as he reminded us, brings about the threefold response described by our forebears in the Restoration Movement: faith, repentance, and baptism. Our obedience brings us into the blessing of three powerful promises: forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
There it is, in one paragraph, the simplicity of the gospel. That is the preaching, the kerygma, to those who are not yet in Christ. Yet for those who become Christians there yet remains learning the teachings (didache) of the church, our doctrine. Now teaching is an enterprise not accomplished in one paragraph. Actually a lifetime of study would not complete the task; the teachings of the church continue to grow as the world changes and new challenges require new responses.
How is the gospel alive and well in our lives today? How does it affect our world view, our actions, our words? How does it shape our interactions with one another and with those who have yet to claim it? As Leroy put it, “Let us treat others as Jesus Christ has treated us.” That is enough of a challenge for any of us on this good day, this day that God has given us.
Grace, and peace,
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)