Monday, March 24, 2014
Reconciling The Gospel
As the believer's mind becomes renewed, they tend to turn this enlightenment back towards the unbelievers of the world in the form of intelligent argument. It doesn't take long to find that the lost aren't interested in our side of the argument, except that it gives them more fuel by which to mock us. The harder we try, the more they resent us.
We can expect this to play out our entire lives if our approach to proclaiming the gospel is through the strength of our mind apart from an intimacy with our own cross.
If those who live, live by faith, then believing is by faith, not by a convincing argument from the mind.
What is the source of our belief? -a head knowledge of God or a revelation of Jesus, drawn by the Father by the embrace of the Holy Spirit? If we say we believe that the Bible is the word of God, yet we disrespect and mock the lost world around us, then our faith thus far is based on a mere knowledge about God by the power of our minds alone. If 'our faith' has yet to learn how to truly love our enemies, then 'our gospel' is bound to the creativity of our minds.
When our mind drives the gospel, and the hearers reject it, we will become indignant and hateful toward them. That is the only consequence available to that kind of 'faith'. From there, 'believers' form and gather into assemblies wrought of common interests, and their gospel becomes a religion focused on worldviews.
The gospel means "good news", and any good news this world will recognize can only resemble a love that forgives its enemies. It offers the same saving grace of God upon others as it did for us; that is, if we have truly been captured by that love ourselves. From there, any suffering we may experience will be rewarded to us as having been found worthy of persecution for Jesus' sake, because this gospel comes from His love for the world, not from our knowledge about God.
We will not be known as ambassadors of Christ if we are too busy training as ambassadors of the world. And we can not love our enemies until God has placed us in their grip, affording His love the opportunity to express itself to them.
"We can have a mouth full of great and boasting words, but until we have lived through them, we don’t own them." http://lovinglikegod.com/relationships/table-manners/
The only part of love we play in the lives of others is to lay down our lives so that, "...it is no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me.". This is where death on the Cross becomes life in the Spirit.
"It is this desolation of the flesh that is the fertility of the Spirit." http://lovinglikegod.com/2012/11/09/desolation-and-the-desolate-woman/
Let's become carriers of Love cultivated by the Holy Spirit, and not a laboratory of religion concocted by man.
PJR
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
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Dear Paul, I like what you wrote here a lot. I used to work at a Christian bookstore years ago, and was aware then that the largest section of books by far were the 'apologetic' ones. I remember being overwhelmed with trying to learn all the arguments of every religion and cult. So many wasted hours that have added to how many weeks and months? And I don't remember a thing except Christ and Him crucified. Thanks for the reminder not to finish in the flesh, what the Lord has begun in us, in the Spirit. It is indeed by faith that we live. I'm convicted of this just now in a certain area. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAonother way to look at the lack of remebrance is that your mind has been renewed beyond those arguments. :-) If you only came out with Christ and Him crucified, you're set! You made a great summation- "...not to finish in the flesh, what the Lord has begun in us, in the Spirit."
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your heart. I don't find much that is more powerful and encouraging to the body of Christ beyond fearless and authentic soul bearing when the Spirit so leads us.
Your visit here is always a blessing!