For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Let me tell you this: The Christian leader is not ashamed of the gospel. In fact, their whole life revolves around it.
Paul wants to tell us something in this verse. He wants to tell us something very important. The gospel is the most important thing that we know. To be ashamed of it is unthinkable. To do anything with it other than share it with every person we meet is unthinkable.
What do you think of the gospel? How do you treat it?
The answer to that question will tell you a lot about yourself and what you do. No matter what kind of leader you turn out to be, the Christian leader is always about the work of the gospel. We cannot be ashamed of it.
Why would we be ashamed of it? How could we possibly turn our backs on it? I don’t know. But I do know that we often do. Often we tiptoe around it, sometimes we water it down so it’s more palatable. Many times we just ignore it. Paul believed he owed everyone he met the gospel. Do you?
Why is the gospel even so important? Paul lays it out for us right here: it is the power of God for salvation. If that doesn’t strike you as being important read it again. If it still doesn’t strike you as being important, then you need to step back and examine yourself and your priorities.
It stands to be said that the reason we exist is to share the gospel with everyone we meet. The story of the bible is the reconciliation of all things back to God. The gospel is the means by which God has chosen to accomplish that. Therefore, we cannot be ashamed of the gospel.
Whatever we choose to do in life, and wherever God has put us to lead, His main concern is still the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Our main function is still to share it with those around us.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: The gospel is the main focus of every Christian leader. No matter where we end up serving, sharing the gospel is our mission and our joy.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Prayer: Father, make sharing the gospel important to me. Help me, God, to not be ashamed of it. In Christ’s name, amen.
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Day 34: Romans 6:11
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Sin is a funny thing. If you give it an inch, it will take a mile. When you crack the door open to sin, then expect it to be kicked off the hinges.
Sometimes sin does it slow, creeping in without you really paying attention to it, and at other times sin will wage a shock and awe campaign, overwhelming you with its relentless attacks and incessant temptation.
Whatever the case may be, we let it. There’s no getting around that fact. We choose to sin; we choose to spit in the face of our great God, telling Him that our way is better than His.
In Romans 6, Paul is dealing with a particularly nasty group of people that believe that because they are saved from God’s wraith through Jesus Christ, they can go ahead and do anything they want. We call these guys antinomians. All right. I call them antinomians, you can call them wrong.
Paul is urging us to consider ourselves dead to sin (that’s the point of the second birth). We have to remember that when we say we are dead to something, we’re effectively saying that we don’t want anything more to do with it. We’re saying that as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t even exist to us. That’s what Paul is saying our attitude should be.
Paul is playing on the theological argument that he just made in Romans 5; that through Jesus, God took us out of the kingdom of sin and death and made us alive in His Kingdom. So, if that’s the case, we are dead to sin.
As Christian leaders, we have to be careful. If we are being effective, working for the Kingdom, bearing fruit in our Christian life, then Satan is going to come knocking. Satan doesn’t mind an inactive Christian, because an inactive Christian isn’t a threat to Satan or his kingdom. But an effective Christian, well, he can’t have that.
When the devil comes knocking, consider yourself dead to him. Consider yourself dead to his temptations. Consider yourself dead to sin. You left the devil’s house a while back, and you really don’t want to go hang there anymore.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: A Christian leader will come under temptation and spiritual attack. We must consider ourselves dead to sin, resisting temptation as though we will have nothing more to do with it.
Here’s some verses to meditate on today: Romans 5
Prayer: Father, help me be dead to sin. I don’t want to walk in it anymore. Help me to resist temptation when it comes my way. Keep the devil from me, and help me resist when I am tempted to turn my back on you. I love and serve only you, Lord. In Christ’s name, amen.
Sin is a funny thing. If you give it an inch, it will take a mile. When you crack the door open to sin, then expect it to be kicked off the hinges.
Sometimes sin does it slow, creeping in without you really paying attention to it, and at other times sin will wage a shock and awe campaign, overwhelming you with its relentless attacks and incessant temptation.
Whatever the case may be, we let it. There’s no getting around that fact. We choose to sin; we choose to spit in the face of our great God, telling Him that our way is better than His.
In Romans 6, Paul is dealing with a particularly nasty group of people that believe that because they are saved from God’s wraith through Jesus Christ, they can go ahead and do anything they want. We call these guys antinomians. All right. I call them antinomians, you can call them wrong.
Paul is urging us to consider ourselves dead to sin (that’s the point of the second birth). We have to remember that when we say we are dead to something, we’re effectively saying that we don’t want anything more to do with it. We’re saying that as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t even exist to us. That’s what Paul is saying our attitude should be.
Paul is playing on the theological argument that he just made in Romans 5; that through Jesus, God took us out of the kingdom of sin and death and made us alive in His Kingdom. So, if that’s the case, we are dead to sin.
As Christian leaders, we have to be careful. If we are being effective, working for the Kingdom, bearing fruit in our Christian life, then Satan is going to come knocking. Satan doesn’t mind an inactive Christian, because an inactive Christian isn’t a threat to Satan or his kingdom. But an effective Christian, well, he can’t have that.
When the devil comes knocking, consider yourself dead to him. Consider yourself dead to his temptations. Consider yourself dead to sin. You left the devil’s house a while back, and you really don’t want to go hang there anymore.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: A Christian leader will come under temptation and spiritual attack. We must consider ourselves dead to sin, resisting temptation as though we will have nothing more to do with it.
Here’s some verses to meditate on today: Romans 5
Prayer: Father, help me be dead to sin. I don’t want to walk in it anymore. Help me to resist temptation when it comes my way. Keep the devil from me, and help me resist when I am tempted to turn my back on you. I love and serve only you, Lord. In Christ’s name, amen.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Day 24: Romans 10:17
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Have you ever found yourself exasperated after sharing your faith with someone? You know you shared the gospel right, your arguments were airtight, and your testimony was flawless. But still the other person walked away having not received the Lord. Agitating, isn’t it?
We’ve all found ourselves in that spot. It is agitating. It is frustrating. But be careful. Why is it agitating? Why is it frustrating? These are important questions. I think at first glance we’d want to say that it’s because they weren’t saved. That’s the right answer. We should have a heart that breaks for the lost.
I think, however, that sometimes we get upset because we didn’t save them. I know that you know that you can’t save them, but admit it: if you look deep into your soul and think about it, you’ll be thinking about ways to improve your presentation, improve your apologetics, and tweak your testimony. You may even look for a new way to share your faith, or the newest method by which to share your faith.
If this is you, let me warn you: evangelism has become about you.
We are not responsible for whether or not other people get saved. That is between them and God. We are only responsible for sharing the love of Christ with them. We are responsible to pray for them. We are not the Holy Spirit. We are not Jesus. We are not God.
As Christians, and especially Christian leaders, Jesus should just kind of ooze out of us from day to day. Our actions and our words should mimic those of Christ. We aren’t responsible for how others perceive that any more than we are responsible for if they are saved. We are simply called to be obedient.
Faith does come from hearing the word of God, but the real work is done by the Holy Spirit, which takes our words and convicts the hearer with them. Without the Holy Spirit, there’s no conviction. Without the Holy Spirit, there’s no conversion. Conversion has nothing to do with us. We are simply obedient to live like Jesus and share the Gospel.
The next time you get frustrated because a person wasn’t saved after you told them about Jesus, just pray for that person. Pray that the seed will be watered, and that someone else will see the joy of watching that very person believe in Jesus.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: You aren’t responsible for people converting to Christianity. You are responsible to tell them about Jesus and to live your life a testimony to Jesus.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: John 12:32-33
Prayer: Father, help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to remember that I am to be obedient, and you use my obedience to bring people to faith in you. Thank you, Father, for your love and for the sacrifice of your Son. In Christ’s name, Amen
Have you ever found yourself exasperated after sharing your faith with someone? You know you shared the gospel right, your arguments were airtight, and your testimony was flawless. But still the other person walked away having not received the Lord. Agitating, isn’t it?
We’ve all found ourselves in that spot. It is agitating. It is frustrating. But be careful. Why is it agitating? Why is it frustrating? These are important questions. I think at first glance we’d want to say that it’s because they weren’t saved. That’s the right answer. We should have a heart that breaks for the lost.
I think, however, that sometimes we get upset because we didn’t save them. I know that you know that you can’t save them, but admit it: if you look deep into your soul and think about it, you’ll be thinking about ways to improve your presentation, improve your apologetics, and tweak your testimony. You may even look for a new way to share your faith, or the newest method by which to share your faith.
If this is you, let me warn you: evangelism has become about you.
We are not responsible for whether or not other people get saved. That is between them and God. We are only responsible for sharing the love of Christ with them. We are responsible to pray for them. We are not the Holy Spirit. We are not Jesus. We are not God.
As Christians, and especially Christian leaders, Jesus should just kind of ooze out of us from day to day. Our actions and our words should mimic those of Christ. We aren’t responsible for how others perceive that any more than we are responsible for if they are saved. We are simply called to be obedient.
Faith does come from hearing the word of God, but the real work is done by the Holy Spirit, which takes our words and convicts the hearer with them. Without the Holy Spirit, there’s no conviction. Without the Holy Spirit, there’s no conversion. Conversion has nothing to do with us. We are simply obedient to live like Jesus and share the Gospel.
The next time you get frustrated because a person wasn’t saved after you told them about Jesus, just pray for that person. Pray that the seed will be watered, and that someone else will see the joy of watching that very person believe in Jesus.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: You aren’t responsible for people converting to Christianity. You are responsible to tell them about Jesus and to live your life a testimony to Jesus.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: John 12:32-33
Prayer: Father, help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to remember that I am to be obedient, and you use my obedience to bring people to faith in you. Thank you, Father, for your love and for the sacrifice of your Son. In Christ’s name, Amen
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Day 18: Romans 10:9
“If You Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Have you ever found yourself missing the big picture? You’ve probably heard the saying, “He can’t see the forest for the trees,” haven’t you?
Sometimes as Christian leaders we forget the big picture. We forget why God has made us, and why He uses us. We get so busy trying to be leaders that we forget why we lead.
Don’t ever forget that the gospel is preimminent in every thing we do. As the great commission explains, our purpose here on earth is redemptive. We literally exist to spread the gospel.
We often forget that. We’re too busy trying to save the world from a number of other disasters, or trying to consume for our own pleasure, or we’re so caught up in our daily lives that we just don’t realize it.
God loves us so much that Jesus died in our place. We are recipients of that love, and if we truly are, then we will share it with others. As you are in school, at work, with your friends, or wherever you spend your time, remember what you’re here for: to be an image-bearer of God and display His grace and love for the world to see.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Don’t forget what you’re here for. Leadership is a calling that God has given you to work for the Kingdom of God, and that means that the Gospel is central to that calling.
Here’s a verse to meditate on today: John 3:16
Prayer: Father, help me keep my priorities straight. Help me to share Your gospel in word and deed with the whole world. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.
Have you ever found yourself missing the big picture? You’ve probably heard the saying, “He can’t see the forest for the trees,” haven’t you?
Sometimes as Christian leaders we forget the big picture. We forget why God has made us, and why He uses us. We get so busy trying to be leaders that we forget why we lead.
Don’t ever forget that the gospel is preimminent in every thing we do. As the great commission explains, our purpose here on earth is redemptive. We literally exist to spread the gospel.
We often forget that. We’re too busy trying to save the world from a number of other disasters, or trying to consume for our own pleasure, or we’re so caught up in our daily lives that we just don’t realize it.
God loves us so much that Jesus died in our place. We are recipients of that love, and if we truly are, then we will share it with others. As you are in school, at work, with your friends, or wherever you spend your time, remember what you’re here for: to be an image-bearer of God and display His grace and love for the world to see.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Don’t forget what you’re here for. Leadership is a calling that God has given you to work for the Kingdom of God, and that means that the Gospel is central to that calling.
Here’s a verse to meditate on today: John 3:16
Prayer: Father, help me keep my priorities straight. Help me to share Your gospel in word and deed with the whole world. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Day 15: Romans 8:28
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Many times we go through our lives not understanding who we are or why we do things. How many of us know why we think the way we think, or why we act the way we act? How many of us have questioned God about why things do or do not happen to us?
For many of us, suffering is just suffering. The process is so painful that we fail to look beyond it and learn from it. By looking beyond the pain, we deny ourselves the one benefit of suffering: seeing God work through the pain, suffering, and heartache to advance His kingdom.
It amazes me that God can use suffering for good. But then again, He uses our lives for His glory, and our lives are full of junk, sin, darkness, and unfaithfulness. And still God uses them.
It is very important as Christians to understand that God uses our lives to mold us in the image of His Son. It’s also important not to become bitter when bad things happen to us, because what we consider bad for us can become good in the hands of a loving God.
As leaders, we not only have to acknowledge this fact, but look further into it, making the connections between events and attitudes to gain a better understanding of ourselves. To understand why we do things allows us to better control our behavior, and to make decisions based on our knowledge of ourselves. When we see the journey that God is taking us on, it is much easier to deal with the day-to-day drudgery of life, and to learn the lessons God wants us to learn as we go.
We also have to see and understand where others’ circumstances have shaped their attitudes and behaviors. When we lead or work on a team, this understanding allows us to put people into a job or responsibility that suits them and their unique temperament. It also allows us to understand them better as people.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God uses everything in our life to shape us for His purpose. Our life’s circumstances, those things that happen to us, both good and bad, make up who we are and who God wants us to be.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Genesis 50:15-21.
Prayer: Father, help me to see Your purpose in my life. Help me to see it unfold everyday as You unfold it. Give me the eyes to see how You are working in the lives of others, as well, and help me to better understand them as a result. Thank you father, for shaping and molding me. In Christ’s name, amen.
Many times we go through our lives not understanding who we are or why we do things. How many of us know why we think the way we think, or why we act the way we act? How many of us have questioned God about why things do or do not happen to us?
For many of us, suffering is just suffering. The process is so painful that we fail to look beyond it and learn from it. By looking beyond the pain, we deny ourselves the one benefit of suffering: seeing God work through the pain, suffering, and heartache to advance His kingdom.
It amazes me that God can use suffering for good. But then again, He uses our lives for His glory, and our lives are full of junk, sin, darkness, and unfaithfulness. And still God uses them.
It is very important as Christians to understand that God uses our lives to mold us in the image of His Son. It’s also important not to become bitter when bad things happen to us, because what we consider bad for us can become good in the hands of a loving God.
As leaders, we not only have to acknowledge this fact, but look further into it, making the connections between events and attitudes to gain a better understanding of ourselves. To understand why we do things allows us to better control our behavior, and to make decisions based on our knowledge of ourselves. When we see the journey that God is taking us on, it is much easier to deal with the day-to-day drudgery of life, and to learn the lessons God wants us to learn as we go.
We also have to see and understand where others’ circumstances have shaped their attitudes and behaviors. When we lead or work on a team, this understanding allows us to put people into a job or responsibility that suits them and their unique temperament. It also allows us to understand them better as people.
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God uses everything in our life to shape us for His purpose. Our life’s circumstances, those things that happen to us, both good and bad, make up who we are and who God wants us to be.
Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Genesis 50:15-21.
Prayer: Father, help me to see Your purpose in my life. Help me to see it unfold everyday as You unfold it. Give me the eyes to see how You are working in the lives of others, as well, and help me to better understand them as a result. Thank you father, for shaping and molding me. In Christ’s name, amen.
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