So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. RSV
Why do we do things?
That seems like such a simple question, but it really cuts to the heart of who we are. “Why do we do things?” The reality is, motivation in the Christian life is everything!
Paul describes his own behavior:
• What I do, I do to the glory of God
• I give no offense to Jews, Greeks (Gentiles), or the church of God
• I try to please all men in everything I do
• I seek not my own advantage
Now, taken individually, these could be used to justify a number of doctrines and attitudes, some of them obviously not Christian. I mean, if you want to, you could say (from this) that Paul was a people-pleaser, that he did whatever made people around him happy (“I try to please all men in everything I do”).
In some ways, this passage has been used to justify the seeker-service mentality of many megachurches. And yet, as Bill Hybels of Willow Creek just discovered, such an approach can backfire. (They have recently discovered that their church format hasn’t resulted in any increased spiritual growth for their congregation).
In some ways, this passage has been used to justify the legalists within the Christian community (“I do all to the glory of God”). Many things can be justify as doing them to the glory of God and then, when those things aren’t done (certain styles of dress, styles of behavior, etc.), one can criticize those around them.
Both groups—and everyone else—misses Paul’s point completely! Paul’s motivation for what he does is the very last phrase in the passage: that they might be saved. That’s the measure that Paul uses for his behavior. If people are being saved, then what he is doing is the right thing; if people aren’t being saved, then he adjusts his behavior accordingly.
His motivation is that people get saved!
What’s ours?
Musing
Showing posts with label evangelism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evangelism. Show all posts
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Mark 16:15
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. NLT
I think it is the desire of every Christian person to work within a “Christian” environment. How often have you wished you could have a job (albeit with your same salary) at your local church, at the local Christian school, at a Christian bookstore, at a Christian camp? The desire of Christians to be together is inbred into us at our salvation, the desire of “family,” the desire to be with ones who are like-minded in the things of the Lord.
But the fact is, the highest calling of the Christian is very likely the calling to be “in the world, not of it.” The Lord Jesus has commanded us to “Go into all the world.” And while He tells us to “preach” the gospel, it doesn’t mean that we all are preachers. The fact is, the preaching that is done when we “go into the world” is more often done with our lives than with our mouths, more often done with our deeds than with our words.
When I was growing up, chalk artist evangelists and preachers were very popular. These were people who had the ability to draw pictures related to their sermons on large canvases or sheets of paper. As they talked and quoted scripture, the pictures would come alive under their fingertips. The importance of chalk sermons isn’t the medium, but the fact that these pastors understood the importance of the visual (what we see) as compared to the auditory (what we hear). Often what we see far outweighs, in our hearts and minds, what we hear.
“Your actions speak loud than your words.”
The Lord Jesus needs His Church to refuse to cloister itself, but to permeate the world with the gospel through our lives. Paul taught, in Philippians:
“You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.” (2:15b-16 NLT).
The Lord Jesus taught us (also) that we are the salt of the world (Matthew 5:16). But think about salt. By itself, it is bitter and distasteful. Added into food, it permeates everything it touches and changes it through it’s very nature. If we, as salt, cloister ourselves away, then we become useless and should be thrown out.
It may be that we are working a job that is difficult, where being a Christian is hard. But that may be the very situation where God needs us to the most: in politics, in public school teaching, in the military, in the retail industry, wherever it’s difficult to easily shine as a light for Christ . . . that’s where Christians are needed the most! We need to stand firm in this invisible calling to ministry and to remember that we are there first to serve the Lord and His purposes. Like an underground army, we are the army of the Lord, spreading the gospel in covert and overt ways as He makes possible.
I think it is the desire of every Christian person to work within a “Christian” environment. How often have you wished you could have a job (albeit with your same salary) at your local church, at the local Christian school, at a Christian bookstore, at a Christian camp? The desire of Christians to be together is inbred into us at our salvation, the desire of “family,” the desire to be with ones who are like-minded in the things of the Lord.
But the fact is, the highest calling of the Christian is very likely the calling to be “in the world, not of it.” The Lord Jesus has commanded us to “Go into all the world.” And while He tells us to “preach” the gospel, it doesn’t mean that we all are preachers. The fact is, the preaching that is done when we “go into the world” is more often done with our lives than with our mouths, more often done with our deeds than with our words.
When I was growing up, chalk artist evangelists and preachers were very popular. These were people who had the ability to draw pictures related to their sermons on large canvases or sheets of paper. As they talked and quoted scripture, the pictures would come alive under their fingertips. The importance of chalk sermons isn’t the medium, but the fact that these pastors understood the importance of the visual (what we see) as compared to the auditory (what we hear). Often what we see far outweighs, in our hearts and minds, what we hear.
“Your actions speak loud than your words.”
The Lord Jesus needs His Church to refuse to cloister itself, but to permeate the world with the gospel through our lives. Paul taught, in Philippians:
“You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.” (2:15b-16 NLT).
The Lord Jesus taught us (also) that we are the salt of the world (Matthew 5:16). But think about salt. By itself, it is bitter and distasteful. Added into food, it permeates everything it touches and changes it through it’s very nature. If we, as salt, cloister ourselves away, then we become useless and should be thrown out.
It may be that we are working a job that is difficult, where being a Christian is hard. But that may be the very situation where God needs us to the most: in politics, in public school teaching, in the military, in the retail industry, wherever it’s difficult to easily shine as a light for Christ . . . that’s where Christians are needed the most! We need to stand firm in this invisible calling to ministry and to remember that we are there first to serve the Lord and His purposes. Like an underground army, we are the army of the Lord, spreading the gospel in covert and overt ways as He makes possible.
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