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To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Romans 2:7
What ever happened to seeking glory, honor and immortality through well-doing? Are glory and honor even valued in the Church today? Do we encourage these values or degrade them as self-seeking? And yet, when we read the very next verse (vs. 8 ) we see the seeking of these values through well-doing is contrasted with self-seeking. Please read this excellent post by Andrew Kern about loving honor: What is Precious.
From a post by Gene Helsel (Statistics are from U.S. Center for World Missions)
God promised Abraham saying, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah foretold a day when, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). John foresaw a day when there would be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9).
It seldom gets reported in the news (secular or Christian) that God is actually doing what He promised to do. But He is. Really. Consider the following:
Today there are approximately 6.7 billion people on the earth, comprised of approximately 24,000 people groups (ethnicities.) Of these 24,000 people groups, about 16,000 have embraced the Gospel of Jesus and now have solid, thriving churches committed to evangelizing their own people. This leaves about 8,000 people groups who lack churches, evangelists and scripture (in their own language.) Not bad considering where the church began 2000 years ago.
At Pentecost the disciples of Jesus were an infinitesimal portion of the human population (approximately 120 out of 170 million souls). But look how the church has grown in proportion to the general population!
By A.D. 100, one in every 360 people was an active believer
By A.D. 1000, one in every 270 people was an active believer
By A.D. 1500, one in every 85 was an active believer
By A.D. 1900, one in every 21 was an active believer
By A.D. 1970, one in every 13 was an active believer
By A.D. 2010, one in every 7.3 was an active believer
‘The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing, who would ever have been spared?’ – Martin Luther
A great quote from Tim Challies. It kind of reminds me of this post. Thanks Anne!
“We live in an age where too many who profess to be Christians rarely consider their spiritual maturity-an age when many consider spiritual immaturity a mark of authenticity, and when people associate doubt with humility and assurance with pride. Far too many people consider sound theology the mark of a person who is argumentative and proud.” ~Tim Challies
Rather than raising children to “succeed” in a future you cannot even imagine, raise them in the forms of piety to the most profound things you can know: to the generations of family who made them possible; to the natural community that may, if not ignored by the placeless, give form to their lives; and to the God who creates and governs all things, and in the thought of Whom alone can we find that which is most sweet and enduring. ~ James Matthew Wilson
A great post on the Bayly’s Blog: Saving People.
Here is a sample:
Being saved, then, is not the end of our lives, but the beginning of the work God from eternity past prepared for us to do. It is our happiness and glory to give ourselves to that work knowing it will be the beautiful clothing adorning Christ’s Bride, the Church, at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.
Certainly, the work of evangelism—what our friend referred to as “saving people”—is one of the righteous acts, one of the good works God has prepared for us to do. But there are more.
A couple of great posts by Nancy Wilson: Here and Here.
A conversation I joined in recently was with a group of teens who were talking about a church event. It was proclaimed to me that the speaker who came to speak to them was the “coolest” guy they have ever met. And knowing these teens, that is saying something.
The speaker was a surfer/snowboarder/rockclimber/exdruggie/evangelist who surfs/snowboards etc. “for Jesus” and witnesses to the others in that surfer culture. His message- “Shred the gnar”. That is surfer talk for ”Go for it” or something like that. My question is- go for what? Perpetual adolescence? A care free life? No responsibilities? A life of adventure on your trust fund?
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad surfers get saved and witness to others. But why are these “cool” guys being promoted as a model for our youth? What I would love to hear from youth coming home from an event: “We just heard from a great man.” There are a lot of more or less “cool” guys out there. Many who are fast approaching 50 instead of 25, still wearing the cool earring, cool snap button shirts, cool hair, cool jeans, and even cool tattoos. Is the Kingdom really about cool. Where are the great men?
From an interesting article:
- Jews were successful immigrants to the U.S. in large part because of their low time preference (these were not Prof. Chiswick’s words, but my inference from them). This tracks with the observations of Edward Banfield in The Unheavenly City, which I’ve referenced on this blog before.
- Jewish dietary laws produced many transaction costs for Jews attempting to “make it” in the broader economy outside Jewish enclaves by making business lunches, etc., more cumbersome to deal with.
- Reform Judaism provided an “out” for Jews trying to blend in more with the surrounding culture, and the economic benefits provided strong incentives for Orthodox Jews to abandon their traditional faith.
- After a generation or two, Reform Judaism helped lead to widespread secularization to the extent that large numbers of Jews today no longer see Judaism as a significant part of their identity, are willing to marry non-Jews, etc.
Anyone who knows anything about demographic trends in mainline Christian denominations and who doesn’t see any parallels here is simply not paying attention.
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