gospel disciple making by imitation

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

1 Corinthians 4:15-16

Disciple making begins with and stays focused on the gospel. We never get our eyes off Jesus Christ and His transformative work in us. Even the people God uses to make disciples aren’t the focus. The Corinthian church had gotten their focus wrong and the bragging about which man was their “guide” made divisions within the church taking them away from the gospel and Jesus. Paul reminded them as their “father” in faith to remember the gospel of Jesus that he brought them.

Once the focus is back on Jesus, we can have a proper view of being disciple makers and the people God uses to grow us. Mature disciples focused upon Jesus can legitimately ask those they are discipling to imitate them with confidence. That’s what Paul is doing here. The Corinthians could imitate the apostle as he was sure to imitate Christ. He pointed to Jesus. They could confidently follow where he led.

To make disciples means I must always seriously follow Jesus. I should have the kind of faith that people see Jesus living through me. And I should urge people to follow the change Jesus brings in me. But I must start with my own soul as I call others to follow with me, believe and apply the gospel together, and love Jesus with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength!

guiltless / faithful

...who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Paul wrote the less of First Corinthians to address a multitude of problems in a church where many sins were being tolerated. Yet he starts his letter with a prayer of thanksgiving — an encouraging prelude full of gospel hope. In Christ, even the worst confused sinner is not what they appear to be. And there are two reasons why this is. Those reasons are clearly explained for us in these two verses that end a prayer of thanksgiving. Those two reasons also give us hope today.

The first reason the gospel makes up for our confusion in sin is that God sustains us as guiltless. It isn’t about our own efforts to clear ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. We can’t fix our own sins in human power. We can’t keep ourselves forgiven by our personal efforts. God does it all and that is a great encouragement to sinners!

Secondly when we are unfaithful, God remains faithful. He has called us into new life with Him through His Son. And through our Lord Jesus Christ God remains faithful to us even when we slip up. He will not fail us because Christ’s sacrifice is perfect. So in Jesus we are declared guiltless and in Jesus God is faithful to forgive us. What a joy to know He will complete this work in me today!

what Christ accomplished

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed...

Romans 15:18

I did nothing

to please God.

Jesus did it all.

I did nothing

to save my soul.

Jesus did it all.

I did nothing

good in the kingdom.

Jesus did it for me.

I did nothing

another soul to win...

Jesus called them through me.

I did nothing

holy or righteous.

Jesus lived His life in me.

I did nothing

but accept His mercy.

Jesus saved and used me.

I did nothing...

Jesus did everything...

Let that be how I’m known.

burdened for the lost?

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Romans 9:1-3

Paul carried with him a certain sorrowful burden borne for the Jews who rejected Jesus. His desire was for Israel to repent and to joyfully find the Messiah in Jesus just as he had. He knew what it meant to be powerlessly unable to keep the law while zealously fending for it. God had mercifully saved him from legalism and rejection of the Messiah and brought him to a glorious love of Jesus through the gospel. This is what Paul wanted his kinsmen Jews to find.

Yet in all the joy in Christ, Paul had a sorrow in His heart for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It did not let up and showed itself in his missionary efforts where he first went to the Jews, always preaching the gospel to them first in the synagogue when he traveled to a new city.

Looking at Paul, I take a quick survey of my own heart for the lost, and I have to say that “unceasing anguish” and “great sorrow” really don’t fill my heart like they did his. And there is no way I really want to be cursed to hell if it would save the lost I should care about. I am quite the selfish evangelist in comparison. I must see those outside of Christ with the love of Christ Who died for them. O God... give me a passion for the gospel that is broken for those who need it so!

No condemnation!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2

As bad as I may feel over my struggles with my sin, I must always remember that because of Jesus, my sin is not condemned by the Law’s demands. I am powerless to live by God’s Law, but Jesus perfectly fulfilled that Law and has given me His righteousness so that the Father sees me as perfect... just like He sees His Son. My sins do not mean I am condemned. The righteousness of Christ and the Spirit of life set me free from the sin and death that follow condemnation. My life is about righteousness and eternal life now in His kingdom!

This transformation is only done by Jesus. He accomplished it by His death and resurrection satisfying the Father’s justice. And by faith this is appropriated to all who will believe. Christians are set free to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel and to be holy before the Father dressed in the righteousness of Christ.

No condemnation now I dread

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine

Alive in Him, my living Head

And clothed in righteousness divine

Bold I approach the eternal throne

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love! How can it be,

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

hyper-grace

For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:19-21

Sin is an enormous problem, made even more serious by our inability to keep God’s law because of our naturally inherited sin natures. But where sin seems to only increase, Jesus brings forgiveness through a grace much greater than all our sin. Where sin is everywhere present in humanity, through the work of Jesus, grace is now “super-abundantly” available beyond the immense scope of human depravity.

The word Paul creates to describe this is unique to him... a literal hyperbole of theological importance to convey this thought to the world... God’s grace is way more extensive than our sin. It not only abounds.... it “hyper-abounds” so that no sin is beyond the grace of God in Christ. No sin. Think about it... no sin... no genocide... no murder... no assault... no abuse of another... none of these horrible sins are beyond the forgiveness offered in Christ. To Paul this is shown as most important in the way God’s grace erases the permanence of death as the outcome to sin and instead, through belief in the gospel, hyper-grace gives us eternal life in Jesus! THAT is super-abundant grace!

Lord,

You know my sins are many. In thought, in attitude, in my actions... I am a selfish sinner. I deserve the death that my disobedience brings. But I find super abundant grace beyond my sin struggle by faith in Jesus Who died for me. And in His resurrection, by faith in his atoning work, I have eternal life. Thank You, Lord for hyper-grace!

Amen

everyone held accountable

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Romans 3:19

God’s word tells us what God expects. It is the standard for righteousness for all of us. It reveals Christ to us. For that reason it is imperative that all the people of the world have access to the scriptures in their own spoken language. That revelation of the law helps to convict of sin with the Holy Spirit’s work so that all people are accountable to God. But make no mistake... this verse written over two thousand years ago even as scripture was still being written reveals that the law already holds the entire world accountable to God. Furthermore, Paul had earlier established in Romans 1:25 that even pagans who have rejected natural revelation in favor of idolatry are deserving of God’s wrath justly. How much more those who have God’s law and cannot keep it?!

The whole world needs to have the gospel. This is why the Great Commission is serious work, involving translation efforts as well as gospel presentation and the establishment of churches. We MUST make disciples of all the nations... and even more so as we work hard to get God’s Word translated into every language that we can. And this generation can see that translation task completed! The whole world is accountable to God for sin. And the whole church is accountable to Jesus for making disciples!

A guilty world stands worthy of judgment from God. Jesus Christ is ready to forgive people through His death and resurrection. But this world needs God’s Word so people may know and believe both the bad news about sin and judgment as well as the good news about Jesus and salvation. And we Christians need to be publishing and preaching it as much as we possibily can to a world that is accountable to God.

My offensive self-righteousness

You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.

Romans 2:23

Try as best I can, I fail at keeping all of God’s law. I can’t do it. I am a sinner who at some point will fail to keep what God says I should. Even the Ten Commandments show the betrayal in my heart once I understand them as Jesus taught them. I have lied. I have cheated to get what I want. I have coveted. I have lusted. I have hated. I am a guilty lawbreaker on all counts.

And just like self-deceived self-righteous people everywhere, I want to think I can cover it all up. That means I am all bluster as I try to tell people to do right by God’s law while I myself often fail to do so. I judge severely the failures of others while all the while minimizing or conspiring to hide my own sins. I may at times boast in the law while dishonoring God in breaking it. I need the hope that only the gospel can bring.

Lord,

My self-righteous law breaking is a sin against You. It shows me how broken I am and what my hearts needs most is redemption and renewal through Jesus. I am powerless to live a righteous life. I need the life of Jesus found only in Your resurrecting work. You died and rose again for my law-breaking heart to be remade. I will let You do this work in me and stop trying to please You under my own power. I am accepted by God through Christ alone!

Amen

carried along

But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him.

Acts 25:25

As the pressures mounted against Paul by his accusers, the apostle made the calculated decision to utilize his ultimate right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. And now Festus and Agrippa are sorting out the details of the formal charges that will travel with Paul to Rome. Paul has gone full circuit in the call of God to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and now the Gentiles will bring the gospel, through Paul, to Rome. He will stand before the emperor himself in defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The man who once sought to destroy Christians will now stand in defense of his own life before Caesar for a faith he now protects.

The way in which these events occurred is a mix of the ordinary stuff of life and the sovereignly arranged work of God. God sovereignly saved Paul for this work. And Paul wound up in Roman rather than Jewish custody because a plot was made known by normal human means causing Rome to intervene, and now the rights of a Roman citizen in the judicial system could be utilized to their fullest potential. This is still the way the gospel advances, floating on a stream of human culture while the purposeful undercurrent of God’s sovereign hand carries it all along exactly where He wills it.

O Lord,

Use me as You will. In my ordinary day, please do Your extraordinary work with my life. Lead me where You will. Give me wisdom so my choices can help me to mature to be more like Your Son so that You may advance Your saving grace where You lead me to do so.

Amen

honor treated dishonorably

And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul.

Acts 24:1

There is a known conspiracy against Paul, with enough credible evidence that the Roman military took pains to protect him, and yet Paul is the one now on trial while his conspirators get to argue for his release into their hate-filled custody. This is a terrible injustice... a situation over which Paul has little control. His only “crime” is preaching the gospel. But the Jewish authorities from the very top of their religious structure are bent on silencing Paul for good. The high priest himself, along with the Sanhedrin and a hired Roman lawyer to represent them to the governor arrive in Caesarea.

Felix seems to know this is a witch hunt on the part of the Jews, but seems more interested in advancing his own political capital through this if possible, as well as amusing himself with this story. He doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about justice. He is a whimsical judge, and Paul can tell this. In fact, Felix settles into eventually holding Paul in legal limbo for two full years. All the while Paul preached to him at any opportunity, refusing to bribe his way of prison (Acts 24:24-26). Felix would eventually be replaced by another political appointment.

Paul was a man of honor being treated dishonorably. It was unfair. Yet he stayed clear with the gospel and kept faith in His Lord. He refused to sink to either the low standards of his accusers or to cheat the system when it was offered to him by the authorities that controlled his fate. He modeled integrity, faith, and faithfulness to the Lord. And even though years went by, God rewarded this integrity and protected him.

An antagonistic witness

And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.

Acts 19:26

These are the words of Demetrius the silversmith addressing a trade guild of idol makers and cultic craftsmen on the impact of gospel proclamation in Ephesus and beyond. This is a man who is not a friend to the gospel. Nevertheless his words collaborate the historic spread of Christian faith as it is detailed in the book of Acts. He is hostile to the gospel yet an accurate witness to its incredible impact. It turned an entire region away from pagan idolatry in a very short span of time.

Demetrius and this guild were quickly losing their means of making a living. His testimony confirms three things about the spread of the gospel in Paul’s ministry: 1) The gospel preaching in Ephesus rapidly spread to the entire region of Asia. The gospel moves outward in concentric ripple growth as lives are transformed and the message spreads exponentially. This is one reason why new mission work should strategically make disciples in influential cities. 2) The persuasive power of the gospel to transform hearts leads people to repentance. It excludes them from false religion as those new believers turn away from sins and idols. This repentance from false worship was what was destroying the cultic businesses and craft trade. 3) The gospel makes exclusive claims. It cannot include false religion. These idolaters knew Christians turned from “gods made with hands” aware these trinkets were not worthy of worship in comparison to Jesus, their Lord and Savior. This exclusivity naturally led to opposition. The gospel’s “one and only” way to salvation will offend what humans worship and what we tend to trust outside of God’s way. 

Even though there will be hostile action against the gospel by those who “lose” when righteousness wins, we should not fear. God is in control. God is building His church. The gates of hell will not prevail against it... in fact, they may inadvertently vouch for its authenticity!

city idols

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

Acts 17:16-17

Worship motivated Paul to keep pressing forward with gospel proclamation. It wasn’t just the worship of Jesus in his own life that led him to preach the gospel, but also the false worship and the lack of real worship of God he witnessed in the public life of the citizens of Athens. Everywhere the apostle turned, he witnessed a city caught up in idolatry. Athens was a city full of idols. These false gods captivated the hearts of a worshiping citizenry. Everyone was deeply spiritual. But that is not a good thing when people are spiritual in the wrong ways.

Paul’s response in this passage is instructive. His heart was moved by what he saw. His spirit was agitated by the rampant idols worship that he witnessed everywhere he went in the city. Enough was enough. The text says Paul was “provoked”... which conveys agitation and upset of spirit to the point of taking decisive, passionate action. The open idolatry filled Paul with an indignation to make a difference.

And so he set about preaching the gospel. He reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue since they already worshiped God, but did not know Him in Jesus or yet believe the gospel. And Paul took the gospel preaching from there to the public square, giving the truth of salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus to anybody who would listen to him in the marketplace. A city full of idolaters needed to know how to worship the one true God. And they needed to turn from their idols to their Creator and Savior through Jesus. Cities filled with idols need Jesus!

a rescue like a dream

When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Acts 12:11

Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church (Acts 12:5). Persecution was ramping up in Judea. Herod was moving against the church. He had already killed James, and when he saw how it gained him favor with the religious leaders of the Jews, he arrested Peter, intending to do the same to him after the Passover. So the timing of this was all too eerily familiar to the disciples. Jesus was crucified the night of Passover, and now just a few years later, Peter was looking at death around the same event.

But even though Peter was chained and sleeping between two soldiers with armed sentries guarding his cell, God would not allow Peter to be martyred at that moment. An angel awakened the apostle, his chains simply fell off and he was led out of prison, out onto the streets past sleeping guards and sentries. It was dreamlike, and it took Peter’s astonished realization that God had freed him quite a bit of time to settle in.

God will protect His people, even as they give lives and suffer for His name. Ultimately Peter’s release kept the church in Jerusalem thriving, praying, and eventually reaching out to the world even under such extreme deadly persecution. What the enemies of the gospel were expecting (the death of Peter and demoralization of the momentum of the church) God kept from happening by His power, so the gospel would advance. This rescue that felt like a dream furthered redemption of countless crowds of people. And I am able to rejoice in my salvation today because God rescues in ways we can never imagine!

Christians: prejudice ends in the gospel.

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”

Acts 10:28

In this way the gospel was opened by the Holy Spirit to bring hope to the world. The message of the gospel is for the world, and God used Peter to first preach the gospel to the Gentile world. A Roman fearer of God named Cornelius (and all his household) became the first non-Jew to respond to the gospel by faith. There were no barriers limiting types of people from Christianity. The gospel is good news to all people. Hope in Christ is a world saving message. Everybody ought to hear it. It is available to anyone who believes.

With this cultural wall torn down in Christ through Peter’s first encounter, the church now and has always been a place designed by Jesus to be free of prejudice. We sin if we make it less than this. We cannot hate or fear what Jesus loves, and He died for the sins of the world, loving everyone. So anyone who comes to faith in Christ is our family. The church is comprised of men and women from all nations, all ethnic backgrounds, all languages and cultural practices, forgiven of many sins, all worshiping and following one Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Disciples sin when they make prejudicial distinctions among the people of Christ’s church, including rich and poor, clergy and laity, educated and uneducated, or “native” and “non-native”. We sin if we decide a group of people aren’t quite as worthy of the gospel as we are because of skin color, language, culture, or pre-Christian lifestyle. God does not call any person common or unclean. We shouldn’t either.

Lord Jesus,

Forgive my sinful tendency to fear what is different. Give me gospel eyes for the world You love. Confront my pride. Break down my prejudices. Fill me with Your love and humble me as Your grace transforms me. Surround me with the tapestry of Your grace that is Your people from every tongue, tribe and nation as we ALL our made new in the gospel!

Amen

gospel guide

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Acts 8:30-31

The account of Philip meeting with the Ethiopian eunuch emphasizes the crucial role of scripture in conversations that lead to conversion. To get to the good news of salvation in Jesus, there has to be some element of “the Bible says...” in our conversation. We aren’t just making this news up. The gospel is rooted in ALL of God’s revelation, and getting to it requires some level of understanding scripture. Philip knew thi, which is why this was a great moment when the eunuch invited him to sit beside him as he journeyed back home.

Philip was the guide the Ethiopian needed. And the scripture he was reading was a powerful pointer to the gospel. Philip began right there in Isaiah 53 and got right to the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He guided the man from the prophetic account of Jesus’ suffering for our sins right to the most important point: Jesus has provided the way to be forgiven and find eternal salvation.

The Ethiopian eunuch believed this great news! He stopped the chariot at some water and asked Philip to baptize him on the spot. Philip had been used by the Holy Spirit to guide to the gospel. And that led to belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior for the Ethiopian eunuch. And this was all shown in his willingness to readily follow Jesus in baptism. A disciple had been made! Guiding to the gospel grows new believers.

thriving gospel ministry

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 5:41-42

The gospel thrives in persecution. We see it here. This was the response of the apostles after arrest, interrogation, threats, and illegal beating by the Sanhedrin, which was the Supreme Court of religious Jewish authority. The apostles were set loose with a warning to stop proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. And the apostles first rejoiced that they were so faithful to their Lord that they suffered for it, considering it a worthy honor, and then they stayed right at the task with the same fervor and seriousness as before, as if nothing had happened. They kept right at public and private gospel preaching and disciple-making.

Nothing changed despite the threat. They did not change their tactics. They did not alter their message, They did not back down. They stayed right at the privileged task of obeying their Lord, proclaiming good news of salvation in Jesus, and teaching disciples to follow Jesus. They made every part of their lives about gospel living and proclamation, and despite opposition, the Church kept maturing, growing, and expanding.

If we simply keep preaching the gospel and teaching disciples, the church will go on. No cultural, political, or religious opposition will stop what God has willed in Jesus. Christians may suffer and die, but the gospel never will.

by faith in His name

And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Acts 3:16

God used the healing of a lame beggar to ignite powerful gospel preaching among the early church in Jerusalem. The theme of Peter’s sermon here in Acts 3 is the importance of faith in Jesus to find salvation. The physical healing of this paralyzed man at the temple pointed to Jesus’ exclusive power to forgive sin and raise to real life all those who repent and turn to Him by faith (see Acts 3:19-22). The power of Jesus to heal this man by faith in His name, pointed to the greater saving power of a risen Savior to turn Israel back to God if they would believe the gospel (Acts 3:25-26) and in turn this would bless all the world through the salvation of sin Jesus provides.

Lord Jesus,

Just as You raised to new life in perfect health a paralyzed beggar in the temple courts, so You have raised my heart to real life in You... though I was dead in sin, Your raised me to life! And I was powerless to save myself. I simply believe the incredible, amazing, gracious good news that You died for sin, and rose again to forgive all sin. I trust that and I am made whole. Sin no longer has me pinned useless to a mat of shame begging for my life to change. Thank You for that great salvation accomplished in me, and as You call me to follow You, I will grow in daily believing by faith in Your name!

Amen

Ten words we should accept

You will be hated by all for my name's sake.

Luke 21:17

These ten words are NOT the effect of the gospel we normally hear talked about among modern Christians. But they are exactly what happens in the world system when Christians live in the light. We will be hated by those whose dark sin is most dear to them. Jesus starts warning His disciples of the inevitability of persecution in verse 12, where for His name’s sake they will be persecuted and delivered up to religious and civil authorities. This isn’t as much a warning as a reminder that this will be an opportunity for them to bear witness to the gospel (Luke 21:13).

But even in that moment, Jesus promises that He will provide in them the right response, so they should not fear its eventual time (Luke 21:14-15). Even family would turn against His disciples as they would be hated by all (Luke 21:16). They could endure and gain eternal life, knowing that by faith in Jesus they will never truly perish (Luke 21:18-19)

Yes, Christianity is hated by many in this world. But the gospel is still a powerful, life-changing message of love... good news to sinners who repent. And though it may be costly and hurtful at times for us to proclaim it, the church MUST bear the message of the cross even under persecution. And Jesus shall reign. One day He will judge all sin, even the sin of persecution, and in eternity, no suffering we undertake in this life will seem to matter in the light of His love. We will delight in His love, His rule, and His worship!

hanging on His words

And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Luke 19:47-48

Jesus was an amazing teacher, able to say the most difficult things in terms that captured the hearts of His hearers. And here we have documented just how the crowds reacted to His compelling teaching. They were captivated by it. They kept crowding into the temple in Jerusalem day after day to hear more from Jesus. Even as His preaching got more and more direct after the triumphal entry (He wept at Jerusalem’s coming rejection of Him - Luke 19:41-44; He confronted and drove the money changers from the temple courts - Luke 19:45-46) the audience flocking to Him kept growing and was all the more supportive.

The religious leaders were plotting to do away with the controversial young rabbi, but they found no way to do it without raising the ire of vast throngs against them. So they waited and they plotted. They could not success in a public confrontation with Jesus so they questioned His teaching (which is what is documented in the next chapter). They simply cringed in jealousy at the large following of supporters of Jesus and waited for a time to show itself.

The honest preaching and teaching of Jesus continued to compel the crowds because of Who Jesus is. God was speaking directly to humanity. The Word was made flesh and was speaking clearly and compellingly to the people that Jesus came to save. He was showing truth, breaking through the man-made constraints of false religion to show the love of the Father, and proclaiming hope to Israel. How could they not hang on His every word?

be merciful to me

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:13-14

Be merciful to me

O God

a sinner

without any hope

in need of mercy

who can never really atone

for my sins alone

God, be merciful to me.

Be merciful to me

O God

one request

I will plea

from the hand of

God Almighty

I’ll never be holy

unless God is merciful to me.

Be merciful to me

O God

my Savior

gave His life

my sin to atone forever

so I could know

the Father’s favor

God IS merciful to me, a sinner!

Count me with the needy sinners.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:1-2

The self-righteous religious people of Jesus’ day didn’t like the kinds of people who came to hear Jesus teach. What exactly got their panties all in a bunch? What was the big scandal? The crowds who followed Jesus were composed of... (gasp!)... sinners! That’s right.... your read it correctly... the people who were responding to the compelling messages of the man claiming to the the Messiah were normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill sinners who were not interested in playing the hypocritical games of the self-righteous religious elite. They were turned off by man-made religious rules. They flocked to Jesus.

And to add to the scandal of these crowds, Jesus willingly welcomed them, ate with them, enjoyed life with them, and ministered among them freely. He had become the friend of tax collectors and sinners. This made Jesus suspect to the scribes and Pharisees because He did not cultivate their version of a proper ministry portfolio.

Jesus is still the most attractive option for those of us who know we are sinners. I know this because I certainly am one. I sin in more ways than I can know every day both in my thoughts and in my actions. I need Jesus to receive my prayers for forgiveness and to love me. I don’t need self-righteous finger-pointing because I generally feel bad about my sin already. Jesus bore my guilt and punishment so I can be freed from sin to follow Him. He helps bear the load of my difficulties that are part of the consequences of my sin. I’ll flock to Him with the crowd of fellow sinners and find peace, joy, and purpose. Nothing else in the world offers this, and certainly legalistic religion fails to supply it! It only adds to my pain. Jesus receives sinners and loves them! Amen!

no need to worry

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Luke 12:25-26

Jesus turns the root of my anxiety upside down as He calls me to trust in my Father’s care. The whole problem with anxiety is that it wants control. I fear what I cannot control, and the span of my life is one of the most anxiety inducing questions a human can face. We did not control our birth and we cannot give ourselves even an additional guaranteed hour. Oh we try. Living with 21st century medical abilities and scientific knowledge, we can try to eat right, treat our bodies right, or live safely. But those things cannot make anything other than a statistically probable outlook.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe in wise stewardship of our bodies. Eating healthy, exercising, cultivating mindfulness, working at social interaction and emotion health are all things I want to pay attention to for good and godly reasons. But they are all submissive to the broader commitment to trust in the loving, sovereign rule of God. To defeat anxiety about the stuff of life, I must trust God, the giver of all life. And I must believe that He cares for me better than He feeds the birds and clothes the fields, both of which enjoy abundance.

Lord,

You know as I’ve been aging and dealing with my mortal body’s changes, I have struggled with anxiety. But You are wise, sovereign, and You control my world... not me. You will do with me what is beautiful and good in Your great grace. I thank You for this reminder now this morning.

Amen