06/12/2017 - HOW TO LIVE AMONG THE GENTILES

• 
• 
• 
• 

Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2.12

It is important to learn how to live among people, especially those who still do not know our God. Jesus ordered that we should preach the Gospel to every creature. Logically, this includes those who do not have the same habits that we do, and therefore many times we despise them. They normally do and speak things that we don’t like, but we must prepare ourselves to gain them to Christ.

Many people who have never heard of God’s Word, whether they consider themselves Christians or not, practice things that are condemned by the Scriptures. However, this does not mean that we should avoid them. As we minister to them, we must be watchful not to let ourselves be carried away by their excuses for their sinful attitudes. We cannot assimilate their philosophy, nor adopt the practices that the Lord condemns, so that we are not reproved by the Father.

We must be prepared for what they will speak of us. Since they may come from non-Christian backgrounds, they might find us strange for not having the same social practices as they do. According to the Holy Scriptures, we must be pure, because then, we will serve as examples to those who don’t know the limits established by the Creator. If we live according to the biblical pattern, we will both please God and show these people the truth.

The romans mocked our brothers in the past because they were monotheists. For those in Rome, the gods in the roman pantheon had to be worshipped. In the same way, since we do not live in dissolution, adultery, drunkenness, drugs, or immoral and dishonest practices, we are considered as abnormal people by many unbelievers. However, in fact, they are the ones who are abnormal with their attitudes.

It is very sad when some saved people have the same attitudes as the lost. A bad example from a “saved” person will make unbelievers think that it is right to do what the Word of God condemns. Since we are the salt of the earth, we have a life pattern that is greater and better than theirs. We must not follow their culture, but with love and patience, lead them to live according to the Scriptures.

Just as the 12 disciples and the 70 others would go from town to town, village to village, speaking about Jesus, we must do the same. They used the divine power to heal the sick, rebuke the demons, and announce that the Son of God would come to visit them, and that greater works would happen. They prepared people to glorify the Lord in the day of His visitation.

We must go to the lost so that God may visit them. However, we must be aware that among the lost, there will also be people that will be used by the Most High. The world needs to see in us the same that was seen in Jesus, in order to glorify God!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares