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February 3, 2008
THE RECOGNIZED BAN OF RELATIONSHIP
We are made as the filth of the world.
1 Corinthians 4:9-13
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1co+4:9-13&sr=1
These words are not an exaggeration. The reason they are not true of
us who call ourselves ministers of the gospel is not that Paul forgot
the exact truth in using them, but that we have too many discreet
affinities to allow ourselves to be made refuse. "Filling up that
which is behind of the afflictions of Christ" is not an evidence of
sanctification, but of being "separated unto the gospel."
"Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you," says Peter. If we do think it strange concerning the things we
meet with, it is because we are craven-hearted. We have discreet
affinities that keep us out of the mire - I won't stoop, I won't
bend. You do not need to, you can be saved by the skin of your teeth
if you like; you can refuse to let God count you as one separated
unto the gospel. Or you may say - "I do not care if I am treated as
the offscouring of the earth as long as the Gospel is proclaimed." A
servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to go to martyrdom for
the reality of the gospel of God. When a merely moral man or woman
comes in contact with baseness and immorality and treachery, the
recoil is so desperately offensive to human goodness that the heart
shuts up in despair. The marvel of the Redemptive Reality of God is
that the worst and the vilest can never get to the bottom of His
love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a
wonderful man He could make of him, but "to reveal His Son in me."
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SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE, by N. T. Wright
Destined to become a classic alongside Lewis's Mere Christianity - a
fascinating and accessible apologetic for modern seekers.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?255
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