July 7
1 Chron 4:5-5:17 | PS 5:1-12 | Prov 18:19 | Acts 25:1-27
Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” Our content of the gospel message must never change because truth is truth and if altered is no longer truth. But how we choose to phrase this truth might alter depending upon our audience, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” As we go through life we might encounter those who are religious and those who are secular, those going through painful situations and those in times of ease, those from any of a number of different backgrounds and situations. Armed with the gospel message and our testimony, we are to never alter the truth of this message, but we adjust and highlight in order to engage others.
Those individuals hearing Paul’s message are constantly changing. He has spoken to Jews and Gentiles, educated and uneducated, etc. Throughout it all, he never weakened his message. He conveyed the truth to any who had ears. We read of the short description of Paul between Festus and King Agrippa in Acts 25:18-19, “When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed, but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.” Paul never weakened his message. The resurrection is the heart of the gospel. The cross has no power or meaning if Jesus did not rise from the grave. It is Jesus’ resurrection that gives hope to listeners who allow this truth to take root. Paul did not allow anything or anyone to distract him from the power of his message and the purpose for his life.
Much of our problem is that we are often all over the place. The world has amassed huge amounts of information which people enjoy talking about. These often serve as distractions from the more important message which is the true gospel message. We read in James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” It is not politics and Jesus, the pandemic and Jesus, the issues of the day (abortion, LGBTQ) and Jesus. If we allow ourselves to get into the rabbit holes of these other issues we might find it hard to get back to the issue at hand. Daily we face those who are literally on the broad road leading to hell and we choose to converse about issues that we are passionate about or that are comfortable because we might agree about them. Unless we can get the conversation back to the gospel, that individual has come no closer to salvation. May we learn to keep the focus and composure of Paul as we navigate our own mission fields.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: