Serving to Advance the Gospel

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14 ESV)

The apostle Paul was a follower of Jesus Christ in the purest sense of the word “follower.” His life was totally transformed of the Spirit of God on that road to Damascus when he (then called Saul) was on his way to persecute even more Christians for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ. There Jesus Christ called (assigned) him to open the spiritually blinded eyes of both Jew and Gentile, “so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (see Acts 26:12-18)

And this is the essence of the gospel message that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to (save) our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we lose our lives (deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience), then we have life in him. For, he said that not everyone calling him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING God’s will (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

And since Paul taught what Jesus taught, he was also persecuted as Jesus had been, and as he once had persecuted other followers of Jesus Christ. And if we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in humble surrender to the will of God, and we also are sharing or teaching the truth of the gospel that Jesus and that his NT apostles taught, and with/to others, we should expect that we also will be persecuted as they were, if not yet physically, then verbally, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We will be hated, rejected, ignored, cast aside as unwanted, and perhaps even slandered.

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.” (1 Corinthians 4:9 NIV)

Although what we are sharing or teaching is in line with the Scriptures (in context), according to the expressed will of God (in the Scriptures), and we are living under the control and direction of the Holy Spirit, and not in deliberate and habitual sin, but in walks of holiness and in obedience to his commands, we are often treated as though we are the scum of the earth to be stomped on and thrown away. We are treated as though we have a disease and we need to be avoided at all cost. And if we are female, and not male, we are often discarded altogether as though God did not choose us.

But you know what? God has called many men to do what Paul did in taking the truth of the gospel to the people and in discipling them to walk with the Lord in faithful surrender to his will, and in walks of obedience to his commands, but they have gone AWOL, instead. They have ignored and rejected God’s calling on their lives, and instead they are living for their own selfish pleasures, to do what their hearts desire, rather than to obey God and to do his will. And so God is calling some women to do what the men should be doing but many (or most) are not doing. And we females are not always well received.

But it isn’t just a male/female thing. Many people are bound to rally around those who have college and seminary degrees, and who have official credentials from official religious organizations, and who thus have titles. So, if you do not have such degrees, titles, credentials, and thus status, and especially if you are female, and not male, you may be ignored, cast aside, rejected, and treated as though you are a nothing. And if you are teaching what Jesus taught and not what is so popularized today which tickles itching ears, there is an even greater chance that you will be treated unjustly.

For there is a great movement among us today, part of which is fairly new called “Unite Us,” or which is called “missional,” which is not teaching the gospel as Jesus taught it, nor as his NT apostles taught it, but in a way that appeases human flesh and does not require death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. And some of what they term as “missional” is just being “good deed doers” and being “nice” and friendly to the people of the world, but which is not confronting them with sin and calling for death to sin and obedience to God.

And what I am seeing, and have been seeing for a long while now, is this massive global movement toward global unity (unitarian universalism), which is a one-world all-inclusive religion which is of Satan, not of God. For they have partnered with the world in cutting short the gospel to where it can include all religions, for it requires no real allegiance to God, but uses God as a stepstool to heaven. This new movement “Unite Us,” which I have not yet researched in full detail, seems to me that it may be moving in this direction, too, for they are speaking of national unity and world unity. 

So, we must be followers of Jesus Christ who are teaching what Jesus taught and what his NT taught (in full context). We need to teach that God’s grace is not a free ticket into heaven while we go on living in sin and not in walks of obedience to his commands. We are given God’s grace and his salvation and faith as a gift from God, but the gift is that of deliverance from bondage to sin and of submission to the will of God, and it is empowerment of God to walk in obedience to his commands. This is what we must all receive. For receiving Jesus is in obeying him. It is not in lip service only.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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