May 5, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God . . .
—1 Peter 4:17

Quote[/b] ]The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.

In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.

If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.

 

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s;

What a profound statement.  It seems to me that today's devotional is another jump point for a tirade against emotionalism with Christianity.

It tells us that we are to never preach the experience, but rather we're to preach the Gospel.  We're not to brag about how it feels, we're not to beat the bush about emotional mood swings.  We're not to encourage those emotional highs and lows that so often are evident in revivals.

The Gospel stands on its own.  Without our emotionalism.  Without the need for that little umph of human persuasion.  We're to tell the story of salvation. We're to tell of the great work of salvation in our lives.  We're not to tell how good or bad we feel.

And we're to tell of this great work in everything we do, and in everything we say.  We're to live holy lives worthy of the work that God has performed in us.  We're to live holy lives so that those around us know, without a doubt, exactly to whom we belong.

So what does your life preach?  Are you preaching emotionalism.  Letting how you feel today decide on how good of a Christian you are?  Or are you letting the work that God performs on you shine through.  Living a holy life daily and without fail.  Safe in the knowledge of joy, even through good times and bad.