The message of the gospel is about reconciliation. Man is reconciled to God and to others. This devotion looks at how we can see others as God sees them.
Nuggets
- Our relationship with Jesus should change how we interact with others.
- Jesus calls us to a totally different way of life.
- Disciples want to witness to non-believers because they are currently going to suffer the consequences of sin, which are spiritual death and separation from God.
Paul was a man of conviction. He was driven to tell anyone who would listen about the love that Jesus has for us.
No, Paul hadn’t always thought that way. In fact, for most of his life, he felt the opposite. He had known God — and Jesus wasn’t a part of the equation.
Then one day, Paul met Jesus. He found out firsthand the love that Jesus has for us. He found a love for Jesus.
For Paul, that took him out of the “me first” worldview mentality. He found a Savior he could serve.
Let's Put It into Context
“For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised” (II Cor. 5: 14-15 NLT)
Why? “… If one died for all, then all died” (II Cor. 5: 14 CSB). When we admit our sins, believe in Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, and confess God as Sovereign Lord, we put to death our sins. The churchy word for this is mortify.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in your life to
live the way in which God has called you
The Disciple’s Job Description
This is represented through baptism. Baptism is the symbol of our conversion experience, providing the physical evidence that we have died and been buried to sin and have risen in a new spiritual life with Jesus.
Jesus came to give His life for us to pay the penalty for our sins. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (II Cor. 5: 14 WBT). It was never about Himself; it was always about others.
Reconciled to Others
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view …” (II Cor. 5: 16 NLT)
Our relationship with Jesus should change how we interact with others. “No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards …” (II Cor. 5: 16 GNT).
Oh, and we are so good at judging, aren’t we, when we are following a worldview perspective? Take a good look at comments on social media to figure out that answer.
How do we judge others by worldview standards? Well, off the top of my head —
- Appearance
- Job
- Possessions
- Political party affiliation
- Opinions
- Mannerisms
- Dietary habits
- Punctuality
Need I go on? We are very good at judging others because, when we find them lacking against our standards, that puffs us up.
Jesus told us not to judge others. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and we will not be condemned, forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Lk. 6: 37 NIV). Instead, Jesus commanded His disciplines to love.
Jesus calls us to a totally different way of life. This includes a different kind of love. We talked once about how Jesus’ love is different from the worldview’s love.
- The world’s love is predicated on tolerance, but Jesus’ love goes straight to the heart.
- World love says, “I’ll love you as long as …” but Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for us.
- While the worldview wants to give the illusion that it is inclusive, but it isn’t; Jesus truly is inclusive.
- It seems that many world relationships do not last very long, but Jesus wants to spend eternity with us.
- People may not love as they say, but Jesus loves us with a pure love.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Not judging others doesn’t mean we have nothing to do with them. If we look back at our list of worldview standards, they look selfish, don’t they? If we are called to the opposite, we would be called to be selfless — that definitely isn’t isolationist.
But “not judging” doesn’t mean tolerance for sin. Sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments.
Witnessing to non-believers isn’t judging them. It is loving them enough that we do not want them to remain spiritually dead.
Our job is to proclaim the gospel and make disciples. In order to do that, we have to build relationships with others.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #4
Proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16: 15)
Job Duty #6
Make Disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20)
It is really important that we do our jobs. Thorpe wrote, “The cause in which, as a missionary society, we are engaged, is the salvation of the human race.” Salvation is the deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with eternal life and good.
Oh, yeah. I can see worldview people calling disciples drama queens for believing that.
But it is true.
- “They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven’” (Ac. 1: 11 CSB).
- “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead” (Ac. 17: 30-31 NLT).
- “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (II Cor. 5: 10 NLT).
That shows how much value Jesus — and disciples — put on each individual person.
Disciples want to witness to non-believers because they are currently going to suffer the consequences of sin are spiritual death and separation from God.
What that means is, on judgment day, if they haven’t ABCDed, they will be sentenced to eternity in hell. That isn’t going to be pretty.
To read a devotion in the Hell Does Have Fury series, click on the appropriate button below.
So, when we ABCD, we stop judging others and start loving them. “… Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22: 39 CSB).
Being a disciple is all about love. Robertson wrote, “Love, [is] the main principle of Christian life.”
We’ve talked about this a lot lately. When we looked at the Beatitudes, we looked at what it meant to be blessed.
- Blessedness means we have been perfected.
- For the disciple, perfection is holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure.
- Christian perfection is achieving the two greatest commandments.
- If we look at perfection as the act or the process of becoming, that is sanctification.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Oh, yeah. It is going to be a process to become what God wants us to be. He wants us to imitate His character. That is totally different than worldview.
Human Jesus
“… At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view …” (II Cor. 5: 16 NLT)
This is an interesting thought. How would we see Jesus if we saw Him only from a human point of view?
- Jesus was conceived normally.
- Jesus sinned as we all do: He lied, stole a candy bar, didn’t revere God as He should have.
- Jesus didn’t die to pay for our sins.
- Jesus didn’t raise from the dead.
- Jesus won’t live throughout eternity.
- Jesus isn’t and won’t be king.
- Jesus was a good teacher but wasn’t God.
King Jesus
“… How differently we know him now!” (II Cor. 5: 16 NLT)
When we search for Him, we learn who Jesus truly is.
- “‘Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.’ … Mary asked the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?’ The angel replied to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’ (Lk. 1: 31, 34-35 CSB).
- “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Cor 5: 21 NIV).
- “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15: 3 NIV).
- “So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. ‘Why are you looking for the living among the dead?’ asked the men. ‘He is not here, but He has been resurrected!’ …” (Lk. 24: 5-6 HCSB).
- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13: 8 ESV).
- “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever’” (Rev. 11: 15 NLT).
- “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30 ESV).
Making the Connections
Paul’s mission in life was to reconcile people to God. We would say he lived, ate, and breathed that mission.
In carrying out that mission, Paul also showed mankind how to be reconciled with each other. This helps us carry out our missions to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.
Jesus paid too high of a price for us to isolate ourselves from others. We should, instead, do all we can to show His love to others.
How Do We Apply This?
If we are living under the consequences of sin, we need to be introduced to God’s plan of salvation.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
We should seek God in order to grow in grace and knowledge. In that way, we will be better equipped to disciple others.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Father God. It is humbling that we can call the Creator of the universe our Father. It is mind boggling that Jesus loved us enough to empty Himself of His divine attributes, come to earth, and die to pay the penalty for our sins. Lord, we admit that we need to be reconciled to You. Forgive us when we continue to sin. Help us to grow in grace and knowledge of You. Show us those who You want us to tell of You. Amen.
What do you think?
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