For everyone, whoever should be invoking the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How, then, should they be invoking One in Whom they do not believe? Yet how should they be believing One of Whom they do not hear? Yet how should they be hearing apart from heralding? Yet how should they be heralding if ever they should not be commissioned? According as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those bringing an evangel of good!
Paul to the Romans 10: 13-15, Concordant New Testament
When it comes to the traditional church, I've been out of the loop for more than a few years. In all honesty, the only thing I miss about my days in the mainstream church is the people I've met. The rest of it I can do without. The reason I mention this is because of something I've noticed over the past few years. This involves the ministry of the gospel of Christ and how it is that we reach out to those around us. It used to be that the mainstream church would "Prepare" those who were interested in speaking Jesus to others. Often, this involved more than a few training classes and/or seminars. I have been a part of more than a few of these in my time. I always wondered why it was that we needed classes to talk about Jesus. Yet this is the way of the institutional church. I can honestly say that I can speak of Christ with or without the training of the church. Now, my own beliefs in Jesus might not mesh with someone who has been taught in the church, but the concept is the same more or less. The history of the life of Jesus, documented in scripture, is there for all to see. Indeed, even the truth of Christ which I believe is there in the pages of the bible for everyone to see. Yet it is this truth which is rarely spoken of within the mainstream church. This is the truth of our life IN Christ Jesus. Perhaps the most prominent speaker to this belief is the apostle Paul. It is Paul who speaks to the presence of the indwelling Christ within us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. Yes, it is Jesus who is alive in us. But how can Jesus be in the presence of sinners? Well, Paul speaks to that as well. For it is Christ who has given Himself once for all {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. It is Paul who speaks to our being "Dead to sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:11}. This is the truth of Christ which I speak unto others. This is the basis of my ministry of the gospel of Jesus.
In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Paul to the Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament
In Paul's letter to the church at Galatia he spells out the divisions which too many people place upon the world around us. Jews and Greeks, males and females. While the Lord obviously created man in His image, we are also created by Him male or female {Genesis 1:27}. I realize that this might anger the gender neutral crowd, but the Lords word is true. The point is, these divisions which man uses to separate the world around him have nothing to do with the truth of the gospel of Christ. As Paul tells us, "You are all one on Christ Jesus" {Paul to the Galatians 3:28}. The traditional mainstream church theology is one of our separation from God. This was the lie spoken to Adam and Eve in the garden by the deceiver {Genesis 3:4-7}. As His creation, God has always been a part of us. Yet the basis of the gospel of Christ that I now share is that of our life in Him. The apostle John speaks to this union as well {Johns Account 14:20}. Contrary to the teachings of the church, which stress our own efforts to gain the acceptance of the Lord, I speak to the truth that we have always been loved and accepted by our heavenly Father {Johns Account 3:16-17}. There are many people who have been surprised by the truth of Christ when I have spoken it to them. But it is my prayer that this planted seed would grow and flourish in Him. I might not stand on a street corner and proclaim the sacrifice of the Savior, but in my own way I speak to Him who will save the world.
~Scott~
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