Romans 15:4-13
They are your brother and sister in Christ
Romans 15:7, “receive one another, just as Christ also received us.” Through out this passage the theme of christian brotherhood is clear. This is more than tolerate. Verse 5 states, “be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus”; and verse 6 “one mind and one mouth”.
Christians come in all shapes and sizes; with different nationalities, languages, and ethnicities…and yet we all share a common re-birth through faith in Jesus Christ - and that makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus calls us “the church”. He did not use the more common phrase “congregation”, but used a more greek word - “church”. It means being called to a public assembly. In essence, we are a new community - called out of the life of sin and into a life redeemed by Jesus Christ. And this new community is not limited to people groups, nationalities, or anything else…its open to all who believe that God was working through Jesus on the cross to bring about salvation. We are not merely saved as individuals but we are saved as a people.
and
together we bring glory to God
Verse 6, “you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And again verse 7, “receive one another, just as Christ received us, to the glory of God."
I’ll never forget visiting the Christian community in Arib Emirate of Dubai. 11 different churches worship in the same building. Standing in their building challenged my views of segregated christianity. Now why is all of this important? How does Christian brotherhood and sisterhood bring glory to God? How do groups of different people, redeemed by Jesus and reborn by the Holy Spirit, bring glory to God simply by their unity? Christian unity brings glory to God because it is a reflection of heaven - one family united by our faith in Jesus Christ. It brings glory to God because it illustrates to a broken and hurting world how to live in peace and harmony with one another. It brings glory to God because it shows the universal love and salvation of God’s plan. And thats why standing next to another christian ought to make you want to shout amen!
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
The single greatest decision we can make everyday is the decision to put on Jesus Christ!
Romans 13:11-14
Keys, books, coat, wallet, purse…we prepare ourselves every morning - why is it so important to also remember to put on Jesus Christ? Putting on Jesus Christ…
Establishes our Identity
Have you noticed how obsessed our culture is with identity - particularly our self identity? We have become enamored with ourselves! The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the year for 2013 is “selfie”. Selfie is defined as a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Our culture is training us to be obsessed with ourselves. But sadly, its not even our true self - its a shadow of our fallen nature that we are catering to. And this is no place for a person born of the Spirit, washed of our fallen nature to be.
In his book Mere Christianity, CS Lewis addresses this issue of our fallen self and our true self found in Jesus Christ. He relates it to table salt. Salt is a strong substance, and its hard to imagine how something so strong could be good. Yet, salt bring out a deeper, truer flavor. The same is true of Jesus. It is only when we give ourselves over completely to his personality, that we, for the first time, experience our true self.
Romans13:12: “Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Daily we are faced with forces that influence the way we think, act, and speak. Sometimes these they capitalize on our weakness, other times they chip away at our foundation. But regardless of the type of influence, it requires daily attention to our identity in Jesus Christ. Establishing our identity in Jesus is achieved by, what Paul calls, “putting on the armor of light”, which is the same as “putting on Lord Jesus Christ”. It is only through giving ourselves completely to Jesus Christ that we can experience our true self.
Keys, books, coat, wallet, purse…we prepare ourselves every morning - why is it so important to also remember to put on Jesus Christ? Putting on Jesus Christ…
Establishes our Identity
Have you noticed how obsessed our culture is with identity - particularly our self identity? We have become enamored with ourselves! The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the year for 2013 is “selfie”. Selfie is defined as a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. Our culture is training us to be obsessed with ourselves. But sadly, its not even our true self - its a shadow of our fallen nature that we are catering to. And this is no place for a person born of the Spirit, washed of our fallen nature to be.
In his book Mere Christianity, CS Lewis addresses this issue of our fallen self and our true self found in Jesus Christ. He relates it to table salt. Salt is a strong substance, and its hard to imagine how something so strong could be good. Yet, salt bring out a deeper, truer flavor. The same is true of Jesus. It is only when we give ourselves over completely to his personality, that we, for the first time, experience our true self.
Romans13:12: “Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Daily we are faced with forces that influence the way we think, act, and speak. Sometimes these they capitalize on our weakness, other times they chip away at our foundation. But regardless of the type of influence, it requires daily attention to our identity in Jesus Christ. Establishing our identity in Jesus is achieved by, what Paul calls, “putting on the armor of light”, which is the same as “putting on Lord Jesus Christ”. It is only through giving ourselves completely to Jesus Christ that we can experience our true self.
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