The Love of Christ Compels us
The apostle Paul writes,
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:14-17.
Here is something important to note. The apostle Paul says,
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view...” 2Corinthians 5:16b.
As Christians it is easy to view people from a worldly point of view, especially if we disagree with their religion, their lifestyle or their morals.
However we are told by Paul not to do this. He says “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view...”
When God sent Christ into this world he did so out of love. He knew by nature man could not live a life good enough to stand before Him.
When Jesus was in this world he did not look on the sins of the people around him. Jesus sat with Tax collectors, the Samaritan woman, Romans, and others deemed to be sinners by the religious leaders of the day.
The apostle Paul as he traveled around the Roman world did not speak out against the sin outside his own faith. He even wrote,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
Jesus, the apostle Paul and indeed all the disciples and writers of the New Testament showed the Love of God to all around them. They did not see sinners as such. Rather they seen souls in need of the redemptive Love of God through Christ Jesus.
The disciple did not go around criticising Roman laws or the practices of those outside the body of believers. They showed love towards them. In doing so within a century of the birth of Jesus the message of Christ had spread throughout the Roman empire.
Billy Graham the great American Evangelist said of those early disciples,
“The men who followed Him (Christ), were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up. The world has never been the same.” Billy Graham.
The disciples kept if you will to the script. They concentrated on saving souls for Christ. They did not despite being persecuted get involved in politics. Quite the contrary the apostle Paul wrote,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”Titus 3:1,2.
This from a man who was put to death by order of the Roman Emperor.
The Apostle Peter tells Christians,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12
The early church did this.
Pliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor writing to Emperor Trajan wanting to know what to do about Christians wrote,
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind...”Pliny the younger.
Pliny couldn't it seems find anything wrong with the Christians he observed.
Jesus speaking to his disciple said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16.
What Jesus was saying was watch the world around you. Be shrewd in your dealings with those in the world. But above all be innocent as doves.
If you are a dove you are not aggressive you are harmless.
People are more likely to listen to what a dove is saying than what a hawk is saying.
To be a Christian is to be a dove. We should be presenting our message plainly and concisely in a nonthreatening way.
We should be presenting the Gospel of Christ out of a love for the lost. We must see the world through the eyes of Christ who love mankind so much he died for us.
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:14-17.
Here is something important to note. The apostle Paul says,
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view...” 2Corinthians 5:16b.
As Christians it is easy to view people from a worldly point of view, especially if we disagree with their religion, their lifestyle or their morals.
However we are told by Paul not to do this. He says “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view...”
When God sent Christ into this world he did so out of love. He knew by nature man could not live a life good enough to stand before Him.
When Jesus was in this world he did not look on the sins of the people around him. Jesus sat with Tax collectors, the Samaritan woman, Romans, and others deemed to be sinners by the religious leaders of the day.
The apostle Paul as he traveled around the Roman world did not speak out against the sin outside his own faith. He even wrote,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
Jesus, the apostle Paul and indeed all the disciples and writers of the New Testament showed the Love of God to all around them. They did not see sinners as such. Rather they seen souls in need of the redemptive Love of God through Christ Jesus.
The disciple did not go around criticising Roman laws or the practices of those outside the body of believers. They showed love towards them. In doing so within a century of the birth of Jesus the message of Christ had spread throughout the Roman empire.
Billy Graham the great American Evangelist said of those early disciples,
“The men who followed Him (Christ), were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up. The world has never been the same.” Billy Graham.
The disciples kept if you will to the script. They concentrated on saving souls for Christ. They did not despite being persecuted get involved in politics. Quite the contrary the apostle Paul wrote,
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”Titus 3:1,2.
This from a man who was put to death by order of the Roman Emperor.
The Apostle Peter tells Christians,
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11,12
The early church did this.
Pliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor writing to Emperor Trajan wanting to know what to do about Christians wrote,
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind...”Pliny the younger.
Pliny couldn't it seems find anything wrong with the Christians he observed.
Jesus speaking to his disciple said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16.
What Jesus was saying was watch the world around you. Be shrewd in your dealings with those in the world. But above all be innocent as doves.
If you are a dove you are not aggressive you are harmless.
People are more likely to listen to what a dove is saying than what a hawk is saying.
To be a Christian is to be a dove. We should be presenting our message plainly and concisely in a nonthreatening way.
We should be presenting the Gospel of Christ out of a love for the lost. We must see the world through the eyes of Christ who love mankind so much he died for us.
Please think about it.
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