DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 26, 2020
“Get Out!”
Prayer: Jesus, You left Heaven itself to come into this sinful and darkened world to be the Light of Salvation. Through Your blood on the cross, You have secured our eternal life in the presence of God. Lord, in Your mercy, strengthen our faith in Your sure salvation that we may dare to go out into the world for which You died and proclaim Your Word and Truth just as You have commanded us to do. Amen.
Scripture: Acts 13:47
The Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Devotion – “Get Out!”
It is no secret to anyone that the Church in America finds itself in a challenging time. Nearly every major church body and denomination is seeing declining attendance. There is no shortage of books and articles written on trying to explain why this is. I certainly don’t claim to have all of the answers, however, I am quite confident in suggesting that at the root of the challenges facing the church today (and our Lutheran church body is no exception) lies a tendency for some in the church to see the mission and purpose of the church primarily as protecting ourselves from the world outside; safeguarding the way we do things because we have always done them that way and maintain an aversion to anyone that may be different or even challenge the traditions and ways of “doing church” we are most familiar and comfortable with.
Before I go any further, let me be clear; as the church of Christ and as any church that confesses Christ as Lord and Savior we absolutely have as a first priority safeguarding the unadulterated Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as found only in the pages of the Bible which is Holy Scripture. There can be no doubt that if we fail to protect and keep pristine the only true message of salvation found in Christ Jesus, then there is no hope and there is no church. As Christ Himself said in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” If we do not have the Word of God, we do not have Christ, and Christ is our only hope and purpose – He is the only Way and Truth and Life.
At the same time however, Christ gave us a very specific mission as His church in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The world is a dark and sinful place that Scripture tells us is desperately wicked and dangerous. Yet, this is exactly why Christ commands us and commissions us with His authority and His Word to go OUT into the world so that His Light and Life would enlighten those who are lost in sin and bring the mercy of God that we have been blessed to come to know by faith in Christ to those who need it most. If the church’s response to a scary world, to a world that looks different and that hates us is to “circle the wagons”, we do so at our own peril. Christ is not standing still or taking cover. Christ calls us to venture into the unknown and fear not because that is where He is going and where He will be found, and we dare to live and exist as the church in the world because as Christ promised, He is with us to the very end of the age.
God gave His promises to Israel and remained faithful to Israel even in their sinfulness for the sake of His promise to bring the good news of His grace and forgiveness to the whole world.
Likewise, God has revealed to us and has in fact given us His grace and forgiveness in the Blood of Christ by the power of His Word so that we would then share and proclaim that Gospel of Jesus to everyone – so that we would venture into the wild frontier that is this sinful world with the only True message of hope and salvation. At the same time, God calls us to also remain faithful and holy and separated to him. We should not engage in anything that compromises our faithfulness or the Truth of the Word of God and of Christ we hold so dear, however, I fear that we have perhaps become more concerned about safeguarding manmade tradition and the styles and preferences of church that make us comfortable.
We have been given great confidence and assurance of the truth of Christ’s salvation in His Word, and we also learn in that Word of the great freedoms that we have in Christ; the freedom to, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, “become all things to all people, that by all means we might save some.”
Jesus put it this way in John 17 as He prays to His Heavenly Father and prays for His disciples. Jesus said, “14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
Christ allowed Himself to be welcomed into the homes and share meals with tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners. Christ defied all man-made cultural and societal boundaries in order to bring God’s love and salvation to everyone, and Jesus taught His disciples to reach out to do the same. The Risen Christ personally revealed Himself to Paul on the Road to Damascus and made Him an apostle exclusively to the Gentile or “unbelieving” world.
You and I as the church have been given Heaven itself. Our future is secure in the presence of God and Christ. Until we receive our sure inheritance, either by death or by the witness of the Lord’s return, we are not here to keep ourselves or others safe from the world. We are here and Christ is indeed with us because it is through even us that Christ wants to save the world. We’re here on a great adventure my friends; to walk with the Risen Christ out into the world and witness His miraculous ministry of love and grace.
Thanks for joining me for another daily devotional, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
