We all have different abilities, gifts and talents. Within corporate church systems, some members of the body are recruited or convinced they are 'called' to function in a part of the ministry they are not comfortable with. Others have chastised those who believe or function in a gift they themselves do not operate in and will teach that certain spiritual gifts have become obsolete.
This can be the result of misunderstanding or misinterpreting Bible verses ... or can be the product of leftover theology someone shared with them that gets blended into various teaching—whether it is rooted in legalism or grace. Let's encourage one another in love without forcing people to become Christian robots or some type of duplicated cookie cutter from the 'assembly' line. The best way to approach this is to allow God to teach us about love.
As we read the pages of the Bible, it can be a very difficult thing to put ourselves in the shoes of the people living during the time of Jesus and those first decades after the cross. But becoming more aware of the historical aspects of that time as it relates to the gospel message may help us to understand some of the writings better. Otherwise, we may skim past significant information that has relevance for us today.
For example, Jewish people who had been working for generations under the burden of the Mosaic law and were coming to believe in Jesus ... might have struggled greatly with Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the same Spirit of God by believing in Christ. After all, Gentiles had been viewed as outsiders, sinners, and unclean, and had no part of their previous covenant as the Jewish people who were considered exclusively set apart as God's people. It caused some division even among apostles and their companions, and would impact how the gospel would be spread and shared.
We've heard from so many listeners around the world over the years who came to be enlightened by God's perfect love, grace and once-for-all forgiveness. It can be stunning when coming to realize just how good the gospel message is while experiencing freedom from religious routines ... and coming to grips with how very different it is when compared to the many things we've been taught by religious tradition that seeks to establish right standing with God through human effort.
It's different and so much better to experience Jesus as our peace. But some will wonder how they should proceed as believers in Christ who are taking on a new mindset which may go against many of the things they've embraced as their most cherished and sacred assumptions. The focus of this week's conversation will be a reminder that we have much more than writings in the Bible, but as believers in Christ, we have the unique blessing of being able to interact with the living God by one Spirit who lives within.
In some church circles, there is a popular supposition that (non-Jewish) Gentiles were engrafted into Israel. The phrase often heard is, "We are now engrafted Jews." This idea can leave people with the wrongful impression that Gentiles would be brought under Jewish laws and customs that were from the Old Covenant, exclusively meant for Israel before Jesus fulfilled the law.
This is usually taken from a passage in Romans 11, but the theory is a misleading one that doesn't consider the bigger context of what else Paul said in his Romans letter regarding Jew and Gentile. And another explanation he gives is in Ephesians chapter 2 ... where both Jew and Gentile were reconciled together into one body—the body of Christ—giving both groups access to the Father by one Spirit. In other words, we Gentiles weren't merged into Israel. Both which had been separated were brought together and joined in Christ himself.
One of the things that we often focus on here at Growing in Grace is built around helping believers in Christ to understand the identity we now have in Him as a new creation. Sadly, people are seldom taught they are righteous, holy, complete, forgiven, perfected, saints, etc.
But a catch phrase that is often used to identify us as believers: We are “followers of Jesus.” Just exactly what is a follower of Jesus today? Get ready for a wide variety of different answers because it’s one of those talking points within Christianity which people don’t think too much about. Typically, we might think it has to do with following the teachings of Jesus. But as previous programs have revealed, Jesus often taught things related to the Old Covenant which targeted Jewish people who were under the law - impossible demands - now made obsolete since the cross.
Almost all references to those who were followers of Jesus are found in the four books of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)… people who literally and physically followed Jesus from one place to the next. But their following ceased at the cross as they were relocated to a New Covenant where they would be led by God’s Spirit. You’re not merely a follower, you are a child of God, living in union with Him.
