Dispersion of light happens when white light is broken through a prism, resulting in a rainbow. I've often found myself in conversations with people who suffer from Spiritual blindness and in reading 2 Corinthians 4:3-7, it occurred to me that I have the light of the Gospel and in preaching "facets" or "colors" of Jesus Christ this could help others to see. Now the danger is when we only preach our "favorite color" and filter out the difficult aspects of following Jesus. God's word is a lamp unto our paths and good news is accepted when it's understood in terms of a persons circumstance. So it's important to store up God's word and be able to display meaningful facets of God's Character to unbelievers when you see they need it most.
We were once Non believers
I've always understood that most people believe in a god or higher power or "something" out there. A lot of people have received some Christian teaching and have mixed that with other teaching and personal preferences to come up with their own "custom" god, one that is "right" for them. Many religious systems support this notion and it seems very prevalent today. This is where "truth" comes into play. If there is a real, true "God", there must be evidence for that like gravity and other objective truths.
God is revealed to us in the Bible, the Holy Spirit of God guides us in this truth and we come to believing God and experiencing his faithfulness in our lives. We are able to know God's will and carry it forward with the gifts he has provided to us. This includes bearing witness to God's good work in our lives, proclaiming the Gospel to everyone and building his Church. At one point everyone in the church was a non-believer, even those who have been "in the faith" all their life. At one point it goes from being my family's faith to being "my faith".
In remembering who we were, it enable to help others get from there to here. We remember that God’s grace and mercy revealed in Jesus Christ is the basis of redeemed, changed lives where once bad people can now do good (Titus 2:11-3:15).
We still struggle with our faith (Unbelief)
People who know me know it how much I hate when pastors use the term "unbelievable" because I know they mean "amazing" because unbelief is a sin, in fact the original sin of man in Genesis 3 was because mankind didn't believe God when he said, "surely you will die". The earliest follows of Jesus asked, "Lord increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). John Piper has a good word on How Jesus Helped His Disciples Increase Their Faith
We fail to live up to our own standards (God's Standard - Holy without sin)
Our "good works" apart from God are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In our sins we are "totally depraved" (Ephesians 2:1-5). God's standards are high and holy. Impossible for us to achieve. We can only do the good work he has called us to accomplished (Ephesians 2:8-9) when we are connected to him (John 15:1-17) and we aren't connect to him when we are living in sin (1 John 1:8;2:4).
Many in the church struggle with self-deception, this is a good resource on the topic (Bible verses about deceiving yourself.
We are 100% dependent on God's Faithfulness to His Promises
We trust and obey Jesus because he has shown himself true
(John 15:9-12) Obey commandments of Jesus thereby remaining in his love. Simply love each other in the same way Jesus loved you. How will you know? You will be filled with joy and your joy will overflow!
Application: In talking about spiritual maters with people it's important to know the scriptures and speak the very words of God, motivated by Love - to the glory of God (2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Peter 4:7-11)
http://www.gotquestions.org/filthy-rags.html
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| bibleverse411.com |
I've always understood that most people believe in a god or higher power or "something" out there. A lot of people have received some Christian teaching and have mixed that with other teaching and personal preferences to come up with their own "custom" god, one that is "right" for them. Many religious systems support this notion and it seems very prevalent today. This is where "truth" comes into play. If there is a real, true "God", there must be evidence for that like gravity and other objective truths.
God is revealed to us in the Bible, the Holy Spirit of God guides us in this truth and we come to believing God and experiencing his faithfulness in our lives. We are able to know God's will and carry it forward with the gifts he has provided to us. This includes bearing witness to God's good work in our lives, proclaiming the Gospel to everyone and building his Church. At one point everyone in the church was a non-believer, even those who have been "in the faith" all their life. At one point it goes from being my family's faith to being "my faith".
In remembering who we were, it enable to help others get from there to here. We remember that God’s grace and mercy revealed in Jesus Christ is the basis of redeemed, changed lives where once bad people can now do good (Titus 2:11-3:15).
We still struggle with our faith (Unbelief)
People who know me know it how much I hate when pastors use the term "unbelievable" because I know they mean "amazing" because unbelief is a sin, in fact the original sin of man in Genesis 3 was because mankind didn't believe God when he said, "surely you will die". The earliest follows of Jesus asked, "Lord increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). John Piper has a good word on How Jesus Helped His Disciples Increase Their Faith
We fail to live up to our own standards (God's Standard - Holy without sin)
Our "good works" apart from God are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In our sins we are "totally depraved" (Ephesians 2:1-5). God's standards are high and holy. Impossible for us to achieve. We can only do the good work he has called us to accomplished (Ephesians 2:8-9) when we are connected to him (John 15:1-17) and we aren't connect to him when we are living in sin (1 John 1:8;2:4).
Many in the church struggle with self-deception, this is a good resource on the topic (Bible verses about deceiving yourself.
- Lying to yourself, that you aren't sinning (Romans 14:23; Proverbs 30:20; James 4:17; 2 Timothy 4:3;1 John 1:8-10;2:4)
- Thinking your "Christian" when you don't live a Christian lifestyle (Luke 6:46; James 1:26; 1 John 2:4;1:6; 3:9-10)
- Thinking "I'll get away with it" (Galatians 6:7; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Proverbs 28:13)
We are 100% dependent on God's Faithfulness to His Promises
- (John 3:7) You must be born again, of the Spirit
- (John 15:4) Remain in Christ, you can’t have fruit of Spirit without remaining in Christ
- (Matthew 6:25-26) Don’t worry about everyday life, God if faithful to provide for your life
- (Matthew 6:34) Focus on today, don’t worry about tomorrow
We trust and obey Jesus because he has shown himself true
(John 15:9-12) Obey commandments of Jesus thereby remaining in his love. Simply love each other in the same way Jesus loved you. How will you know? You will be filled with joy and your joy will overflow!
Application: In talking about spiritual maters with people it's important to know the scriptures and speak the very words of God, motivated by Love - to the glory of God (2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Peter 4:7-11)
http://www.gotquestions.org/filthy-rags.html
