Are You Missing A Part?
Part Two
Keep in mind that EVERY born-again believer is a “teacher” by the example, be it good or bad, that he or she sets, as well as by what he or she says.
In Matt. 5: 19, Jesus taught that born-again believers who obey His commands and teach (by word and or example) other people to do the same of will be called “great” in the Kingdom of God, but those who disobey His commands and, by doing so, teach (by word or example) others to do the same, will be called least in the Kingdom of God.
Life is short, but eternity is forever! Investing in time and not in eternity is a very foolish thing to do.
The call to participate in the Great Commission not only applies to the few who have been called to be evangelists or pastor-teachers, but to ALL born-again believers as they go about their daily lives, taking advantage of every opportunity that God brings their way, to either evangelize unbelievers or to edify fellow believers within their personal periphery.
What then, are the spiritual gifts spoken of in 1Cor. 12, and for what purpose do they serve?
The short answer, is that a spiritual gift can be any God-given talent or ability that one has that contributes the SPIRITUAL well-being and or advancement in the SPIRITUAL lives of OTHER people. 1Cor. 12 lists several examples.
It is spiritual CONTRIBUTION that distinguishes one’s spiritual gift and productivity from other human talents and abilities that one may have.
Doing deeds of human good have their place in the lives of Christians, but do not, in of themselves, do anything to save or to spiritually edify the souls of the ones served.
On more than one occasion (1), Jesus fed thousands of folks, but His primary concern and objective was to serve the SPIRITUAL needs of the ones in attendance.
Christians and Christian organizations that spend time and resources providing such things as food, clothing, shelter to the needy, would be wise to establish the same spiritual priority and objective, as did Jesus.
This could be accomplished by such things as simply putting a tract with the unadulterated Gospel Message and or verses of edifying Scripture in the bags, boxes, or hangers, or pockets of the goods being distributed.
They may have come for the food, shelter, or clothing, but left with much more, that being the means to have a saved or an edified soul.
If just one soul was saved or edified, the event would be a success and have generated a celebration in Heaven (2) Luke 15: 10 .
On the other hand, one must consider the rhetorical question of Mark 8: 36, when what is done only benefits the body, and not the soul.
“For what does it benefit a person to gain (or to be given), the whole world, and (but then) forfeit His soul (Mark 8: 36 NASB2020 parenthesis mine).”
All born-again believers are immediately, completely, and forever saved, but individually are at different levels of spiritual maturity, with each one having different needs, if they are to continue moving forward.
Clinging onto unfulfilled desires that are independent of the plan of God can be a great distraction to the life of Biblical discipleship. There are times that before God can give us the desires of our heart (3), we must put our desires in their proper place of priority, and in some cases, dismiss some of them completely.
God will NOT fulfill any of our desires that run contrary to His direct or permissive will, but will always provide the means for us to fulfill His, even if it means putting us in the belly of a whale (4) Jonah 1.
Satan, on the other hand, will gladly give us any of the desires of our heart, if in doing so, it will take us away from the plan of God. Jesus did not dispute the devil’s claim to be able to do so (5) Luke 4: 6).
There can be a tremendous difference between what we want and what we need, in order to fulfill the plan and the will of God.
Do we not often pray for His will to be done? Perhaps what we really meant was for OUR will to be done, evidenced by our reaction when things don’t turn out the way that we prayed for.
Paul needed a tormenting thorn in his side. Job needed to suffer the loss of his children, his wealth, and his health. Jonah need a whale. Jesus needed a cross. God provided them all by what He directed or allowed to take place.
We are all smiles and can shout “Praise the Lord!” when we are the recipients of God’s prosperity, or when things are going our way, but it is how we handle the adversity that God sends or allows to come our way that tests our level of commitment, and can bring the greatest glory to God.
He may directly choose to send or to permit blessing and, or adversity, but often times will do so through other the involvement of other people.
There is a need for a word of caution here when it comes to impulsively “helping” others.
We seldom are given all the facts, and can unwittingly get in God’s way by coming to the rescue every time someone gets into a jam, after making the same negative choices and accompanying behaviors, over and over again. As long as the safety net that we provide in there, the person being a creature of habit, will likely continue to make the same negative choices.
I can tell you from personal experience that “tough” love can be just as painful to impose, as it is to receive. Our hearts will ache when we see the suffering of others, especially when it involved people with whom we have a personal relationship. Saying no can be a very hard thing to do.
Better to be hated now, then have the person later say of you that you knew where they were headed, but did nothing to try to stop me. The question is, do you love the person enough that you are willing to be hated, rejected, misunderstood, for doing what needs to be said or done for their own good.
Paul, put it this way, “So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth (Gal. 4: 16 NASB2020)?”
(1)\tMark 8: 19, 20 (2) Luke 15: 10 (3) Psalms 37: 4 (4) Jonah 1 (5) Luke 4: 6