Tuesday, November 12, 2019
How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. 2 John 4-6
Of the truths I’ve learned in the last 4
decades preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is one central reality that sounds
oxymoronic;
in proclaiming
God’s message nothing you will say will be new
in
proclaiming God’s message, everything you say is new.
While that sounds contradictory everything
is in the details; they are both true statements and complement each other.
Nothing you say will be new
The Gospel of Jesus is decidedly simple to
grasp, as it is the story of the good news that humanity was in bondage to our
slavish addiction to sin. Jesus came to
be with us in Bethlehem, lived a sinless life to die in our place, atoning for
everyone’s sins.
But death could not hold Jesus in the grave
as Easter morning attests. He ascended
to heaven to be reunited with His Father and is coming again to judge the
living and the dead. This is the Gospel,
He came, He loved, He died, He is Risen and coming again!
It is the old, old story,
and when you proclaim it, no matter how eloquently, or differently than your
peers or the previous generation, or the next generation, it will still be that
same story. Methods and modes may
change; the Gospel is immutable.
Everything you say will be new
This second statement is a little more
intricate. With each occurrence of the
spoken word there is a new experience of that which is spoken for both the speaker
and hearer. A wise teacher I had once
told me the Word of God is thrice-inspired; it was inspired
by God when written,[2]
as well as a personal inspiration for the speaker, and a soul-searching,
inspiration for those who hear.
We might add a fourth to say that God’s Holy
Spirit is active in the work accomplished with the Word:
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12
In a simple analogy we say you can never
step in the same stream twice. As the
water moves, it is always a new place in which you walk. In the same way, God’s Word is always “cutting
edge” and never “old news”. When God’s Word
is brought to bear on the oldest of problems, or that which seems to be new,
things happen.
Whether a preacher in context of a worship service, or simply a friend
sharing the Good News with another friend, strap on your seatbelt, put your
tray tables in the upward position, and get ready for the ride. His old words are new every day!
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[2] 2 Timothy
3:16
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