Missional Living in the Postmodern Age.
Romans 5: 8 - 11. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
1 Corinthians 1: 17 - 25. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
The two passages in scripture I hold to on being missional are these... there are more passages, but to me to grasp these two in both their simplicity and complexity will give one a HUGE vision...
In Romans we are given the "mission" to grasp what Jesus has done... that we were God's enemies yet even with that He loved us and did everything He did to reconcile us to Him...
Once we grasp that Grace cannot be earned... and we should have never expected mercy... yet both are given freely, we are then free from the bondage of sin... Notice many teach we are saved by the death of Jesus and yes that is part of the story... But read through Acts and you will see that they did not preach Jesus crucified... everyone knew that... it happened every day...
But what did not happen everyday was that someone rose from the dead. Yet Jesus did just that!
This is the second part... the hardest part to grasp...
Paul states he did not use words of human wisdom...
Think about it...Jesus was a stumbling stone as He fulfilled every part of the coming Messiah... even coming into Jerusalem the day Daniel predicted the Messiah/King who would deliver all from their enemies... yet they did not accept Him as King let alone Messiah... Jesus did not meet the expectations...
And even more think about this... Athens had some of the greatest minds alive at this time... and Paul... this little Jewish man... comes and tells them about this carpenter from Nazareth who became a rabbi and taught, then was arrested, and them crucified and died... most would probably say, "so what?" then Paul drops the bomb... and says... Then Jesus rose from the dead!
The response in Acts was basically, " Um... we get the story up to the last point... can you go over that again?"
But something happened... the Power of God came down on the people and they believed! They believed the foolishness of Christ... this weird story about that Jewish man who died by the Roman Cross and rose from the dead... Think about that... try to imagine this without knowing "The Story"... then try to imagine how stupid this story is to those who had not ever heard of it before... yet God's power came down...
And that is being missional to me... trusting in that Person in that Story... trusting in that foolishness in hopes to gain salvation...
Blessings,
iggy
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