Relevant Life

Titus 2:7  Always set an example by doing good things. When you teach, be an example of moral purity and dignity.

One thing Christians should be are examples for the world to see. We are vessels used by the living God to demonstrate to the world that the Gospel of Christ is life changing. Unfortunately, many Christians have fallen into religiousness. This religiousness gives the wrong reflection to the world and this is why many are not turning to Christ in the droves.

Did the 1st Century church have this same problem? Was there a period to where people stopped converting to the faith?

Scripture can gives us a hint and we can look at history sources outside of the bible to narrow down the answers. In Acts 4, you will see the honeymoon stage of the church.

Act 4:32-37  And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.  (33)  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.  (34)  Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,  (35)  And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.  (36)  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,  (37)  Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

A multitude of people came together with one heart and one soul. Everyone in the church was in harmony and following one vision. Everybody helped each other regardless if in lack or abundance themselves. It was truly a sight to behold.  In Acts 6, we find the Honeymoon stage of the church starting to wear off.

Act 6:1  And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

When human beings interact  with each other; it will always cause a reaction of some kind. Either a reaction with positive results or a reaction with negative outcomes. There are some key words to look at in this one verse. “ And in those days,” The writing is obviously writing about events which took place in one time period but were written about in another. Luke, the author, states in those days when the number of the disciples were increasing. It would stand to reason that at the point of Luke’s writing, he was seeing less people come to the faith. Why? 

The answer is simple. If you read the rest of the book of Acts, you can see the “Why” It is called RELIGION. Religion is the contributing factor which hinders believers from being examples to the world for Christ. Jesus preached more against religion than he did heaven, hell, sexual sins, greed, corruption and so forth. So what does Religion look like in the church?

1. Following man-made doctrine over the Message. For instance, some churches talk about Heaven is our home and we will escape to heaven one day. This is unbiblical and totally opposite of what Jesus taught about his kingdom.

2. Following pieces of the bible and misquoting/interpreting certain passages. For instance, some churches make the Homosexual sin of a higher status than any other of the sexual sins. They are all actually lumped in the same form of sexual sin. Therefore, when a good ole deacon looks at porn; he is committing the same sin as someone who is in the homosexual life style.

1Co 6:12-20  Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life.  (13)  Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will put an end to both of them. However, the body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.  (14)  God raised the Lord, and by his power God will also raise us.  (15)  Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable!  (16)  Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? God says, “The two will be one.”  (17)  However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.  (18)  Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies.  (19)  Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves.  (20)  You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.

3. Following ignorant religious dogmas that have nothing to do with the faith. For instance, some churches will only read from the KJV bible and state that it is the only one true version. They are too ignorant to realize that the KJV has been revised several times and the current version today has changed tremendously from it’s original form. In fact, most today could not fully read the original version. Jesus never intended for the Bible to become an idol or religious object to bow to. His word is meant to be followed and taught to others without our religious mindsets.

So how can we be the true examples for the world to see? How can we change our current state of living and help draw others to the gospel.

BE LIKE JESUS

This is simple and true. Being like Jesus means hating religion, standing up for those who religion destroys and condemns, it means showing grace and love but still condemning the sin and revealing a way out. It means being willing to lay one’s life down for others and being in constant communication with the one true God. It’s called having a relationship with the Father.

If we truly are like Jesus then the example to the world will shine through.