Weapons of Light

A week from tomorrow I'm going to a special event at my church.  It is a "women's event" where we will participate in a simulcast of Priscilla Shirer, teaching the Word.  Do you remember her?  She starred a year or so ago in the movie, "War Room".

After watching that excellent movie, I went onto Twitter to "follow" (Twitter-ese for those of you who don't tweet!) Priscilla.  Her bio-tag line on Twitter?  "Just a girl....with a sword".

What is she talking about?

Our scripture passage for today is Romans 13:11-14, and with it we finish this chapter.

11And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers. 12The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. 13Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires.

In order to "get" the context of these verses we must remember the ones that went before, the ones I blogged on yesterday, the ones concerning loving our neighbors.  When Paul says "and do this", he is talking about loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as those who have yet to claim Christ as Savior.  So, actually, he is expanding upon how we love our fellow man.

Specifically, he talks about putting on "weapons of light".  (The underlining in the passage above is my editing.)  This is what Priscilla is alluding to when she refers to herself as bearing a sword.  I have a friend who refers to putting on these weapons as "armoring up".

But...what are the Christian's "weapons of light"?

Out of curiosity, I googled the phrase and the results were all these links to discussion boards about weapons upgrades in a video game called Destiny.  Interesting how fantasy mimics reality...

Biblically speaking, we find Paul describing these weapons of light elsewhere ... in his letter to the Ephesians.  (Ephesians 6:12-20) In my first month or so of blogging here at RDM, I elaborated on them in the posts below:

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/marching-marching-marching.html

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/battle-gear.html

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/and-more-weapons.html

In the 3rd link, you can learn more about the sword Priscilla loves so very much....her love for a sword so great that it is part of how she describes herself.

These posts can be a great start in understanding this life-and-death struggle in which we find ourselves.  Life or death?  Surely, Gena, you exaggerate!  No, and Ephesians 6:12 concurs.  In The Message version the daily spiritual battle is described as "a life-and-death struggle", an ongoing cosmic battle for the souls of men and women.

Look, Paul is saying in Romans 13 that if we TRULY believe that people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, who do not worship Him, are destined for an eternity in Hell, then we need to
a) WAKE UP (vs. 11) and
b) ARMOR UP (vs. 12).
Both of these actions require daily, deliberate decisions on our part.
If we, instead, either "sleep on", oblivious to the battle around us or live as though we do not even know Christ, then we are not "loving our neighbor", nor are we advancing the cause of Jesus Christ.

Father, we never have to ponder "what we should wear" spiritually, as we start each new day.  You have provided for us and told us how we should dress and arm ourselves.  From the moment we rise from our beds, our spirits are in Satan's cross-hairs.  How we prepare for battle will determine whether we advance the kingdom of Your Son, our Savior, or not.  May we choose well, dress well, live well, for Your glory!  In Jesus' name, amen.

How Will They Hear?

We are finishing up Romans 10 today by focusing on this passage:

14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.”16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.

(NET)

In one of my recent posts (Mar. 7, 2016 - - "Mobile...") I gave an argument as to why I do not believe as some Calvinists do in "unconditional election".  This is a belief that says people God has predetermined for salvation have no choice in the matter.  They WILL come to accept Christ, regardless of what we do or don't do.  That teaching flies in the face of our passage for today.

The apostle Paul had come face-to-face with the risen Christ.  What an evangelism experience that must have been!  In this passage of his letter to the Roman church he emphasizes the importance of evangelism or to put it simply, "sharing the gospel message".
If it weren't crucial, necessary that we individually and corporately (as churches) tell others about Jesus and urge them to accept Him as Savior, why would Paul have emphasized this to the Romans? Why would Paul have, then, dedicated the rest of his life to missions work?

Depending on how you define an "unreached people group", there are between 3,000 to 6,000 of them.  The Joshua Project website1 explains the scope of the problem:

Data from the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest denominational mission board in the world, suggests that there are approximately 3,000 ethnic people groups that are not only unreached, but also completely unengaged meaning there is no known active on-site church planting effort underway and few if any know believers. To say that a people group is unengaged means there are definitely no missionaries, in all likelihood no outreach, no church or fellowship of believers, no Christian materials, and few if any Bibles in these people groups. While it is certainly possible the Lord has supernaturally appeared to and been at work among an unengaged group without outside involvement, this would not be the typical way He has ordained for the spread of the Gospel. He commanded the Church to go. There are millions of individuals in these unengaged people groups that have never heard of Jesus or His work of redemption.

The site goes on to quote Wycliffe Bible Translators, stating that of the 6800 known languages, about 1800 of them have no Bible in their mother tongue.  What a stunning translation need!

A huge number of Christians want to dismiss this Romans passage as only applying to preachers and/or foreign missionaries.  That would be a mistake.  It was originally intended for a group of local believers (the young Roman church) initially.  But, more than that, it speaks to each of us.  In fact, Paul is issuing an "imperative", a command.

What we tend to do as believers is to insulate ourselves, surround ourselves with those of like mind and keep as far away as possible those who would challenge our beliefs.  Well, an untested belief - - one that can't tolerate the scrutiny of others is no belief at all.  When we closet ourselves away, our faith becomes increasingly weaker.  Even if it takes some knocks and nicks, we need to get our faith out into an unbelieving world.

Yesterday my heart was grieved as my pastor presented an impromptu, short-term missions opportunity in southern LA, where flood waters have damaged many homes.  Unfortunately, the trip clashes with prior commitments Hubster and I have made for this weekend.  The thing is, though, there are opportunities to share the gospel every day, if we will take them.

Will we take them, fellow Believers?

Heavenly Father, this passage hits me like a rock because I know I could be doing more to spread the gospel.  I need a mighty infusion of Your supernatural boldness, to make the most of the opportunities you put in my path.  I also know that I can be more faithful in my giving to missions efforts, Lord, in accordance with how You have blessed me.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

https://joshuaproject.net/resources/articles/has_everyone_heard

A Striving of the Bowels

Good morning,

An exemplary life is a compassionate life, a life marked by compassion for those who do not know the Savior.  

We read over and over in the New Testament that Jesus was "moved with compassion" (Matthew 9:36). Watch what the early 20th century evangelist Charles Spurgeon had to say about that phrase:

The original word is a very remarkable one. It is not found in classic Greek. It is not found in the Septuagint. The fact is, it was a word coined by the evangelists themselves. They did not find one in the whole Greek language that suited their purpose, and therefore they had to make one. It is expressive of the deepest emotion; a striving of the bowels—a yearning of the innermost nature with pity. As the dictionaries tell us— Ex intimis visceribus misericordia commoveor. I suppose that when our Saviour looked upon certain sights, those who watched him closely perceived that his internal agitation was very great, his emotions were very deep, and then his face betrayed it, his eyes gushed like founts with tears, and you saw that his big heart was ready to burst with pity for the sorrow upon which his eyes were gazing. He was moved with compassion. His whole nature was agitated with commiseration for the sufferers before him.

His compassion was so deep there was not a Greek word for it, and Greek is a marvelously expressive language.  They had 3 different words for "love", for goodness sake!  Jesus - - - the Indescribable One.  He was heartbreakingly compassionate for the needs of others.  Remember how He cried as He was on the hilltop overlooking Jerusalem, just before the "triumphant entry" into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday?

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!

Luke 13:34

I am so convicted by this because often my heart is unmoved by the needs of those who are suffering, who are needy, or lonely, or sick or shunned...or lost without Christ. 
I shut my eyes to the sight of their suffering and close my ears to their pleas.  I throw some money at them from time to time and think I've done my part, but God forbid that I should get my pretty clothes dirty.

What about that last group, the lost?  In the college Bible study group Hubster and I co-lead with another couple, we are studying a book called Erasing Hell, by Francis Chan. The author wrote the book because in modern-day American churches we have largely erased Hell from our vocabularies.  We don't preach about it, but more importantly, we don't live in the reality of it.  That is, if we really believed in an actual Hell, would we not be living differently?  Would we not have a severe "striving of the bowels" for those God has placed in our paths?  Would we still be afraid to share the gospel, for fear of being misunderstood or rejected?

Let's be honest.  What we need as Jesus Christ's Church is a heaping helping of compassion, not the phony compassion that gives lip-service to Him, not the kind where we go to church on Sunday to wave our hands around exclaiming how we "love the Lord!" and then live the rest of the week loving on ourselves. 

Lord Jesus, over and over we stand in church and sing about how we want to be like You, but I confess that I've not been a big fan of Your compassion.  I've been largely unmoved by the example you set...how Your poured Yourself out for "the unlovely".  I've been deceived into thinking that I've been living an exemplary life, but when I face this ugly truth about my hard-heartedness, I realize that I've got a ways to go.  Show me and lead me, Lord, to open my heart to the lost, the  "poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."  (Matthew 5:3).

Source:

http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/3438.htm