Bible Study

October 2003

Becoming an On-Mission Christian: Continual Adjustment
By Shane Tucker

Pop Quiz time!

This question goes all the way back to last month’s Bible Study.

Question: What do you call a Christian who is participating with God to accomplish His purposes in this world?

Answer: ON MISSION.

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

There are two issues we need to recognize about being on mission Christians:
(1) God has a MISSION He wants to accomplish in this world.
(2) We can be ON that MISSION.

Do you want to be a Christian who is on mission with God? Do you want to be one of those believers who finds fulfillment by living the life that God intended doing the things that God desires?

If you so, then I am praying for you this month. If you know other students with the same desire, I encourage you to get together with them and discuss the stuff you read here.

For the next few months, we’ll be looking at important characteristics involved in Becoming an ON MISSION Christian.

Quick Review

Last month, we looked at the first characteristic of being an on mission Christian: Spiritual Awakening.* The point was that we are asleep to God’s mission, unless He awakens us. Our responsibility is to seek Him and to obey Him, and He will awaken our hearts to our responsibility.

Let’s continue our exploration of what it takes to be an on mission Christian.

Continual Life Adjustments

Becoming an on mission Christian requires that we continually adjust our lives to remove barriers that keep people from hearing the gospel.

It seems like all students do is make adjustments in their lives. You make adjustments for an instructor. You probably feel like you need to do things this way for this teacher and that way for that teacher. You may have a roommate. You adjust your life for your roommate, some more than others, perhaps. You make life adjustments in your spending habits because of ever-changing financial situations. Students know adjustments!

But, have you ever considered making adjustments in your life for the sake of communicating the good news of Jesus Christ?

There are often barriers to people hearing the gospel. (Not an earth-shattering discovery!) We find this out when we try to witness to people. We get excited about sharing the sensational story of our Lord and our hearers don’t seem very excited at all.

Why is that? There may be something in their lives that makes them think that way. They could be reacting to what someone did or said to them long before we ever met them. They could be oppressed by the lies of the enemy and choosing to buy into those lies instead of hearing the truth that you are faithfully passing on to them.

But. . .

(There’s always a but.)

It could be YOU.

Ouch.

It could be ME.

Ughh.

It could be US.

Yowsers.

WE could be the reason they don’t listen. We could be in the way of their finding the Way. The truth about our behavior could hinder them from being grasped by the Truth. Our lives could be preventing them from experiencing the Life.

Have you ever considered that one major barrier to people hearing the gospel could be you?

Paul understood that he could stand in the way of others accepting the truth of the gospel. Sometimes it’s our sin. In that case, we need to confess our sin and make restitution, if necessary.

Sometimes it’s how our lives measure up to the hearer’s misconceptions about how things ought to be. In that case, Paul has something insightful to say:

Though I myself am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessing.
— Romans 9:19-23

Read it again, please. Don’t waste time reading the following uninspired stuff, if you don’t re-read the preceding passage from God’s Word.

Paul became like one of “them.” Sounds a lot like Jesus, huh? Jesus became one of us. He put on our type of flesh in order to rescue us from death and hell. Paul was just following the lead of his Master. Maybe we should, too.

Let’s connect with those around us in real relational ways as we seek to connect them to the most important relationship ever.

Let’s make continual adjustments in our lives to remove barrier of the gospel.

Identify the barrier. Remove it.

Sin? Eliminate it.

Stereotype? Overcome it.

Cultural gap? Bridge it.

Be on mission with God. He desires to make Himself known to the people around you. Be the clearest communicator of His Good News as you can. Make every adjustment necessary to do it.

*The study book, My Purpose, His Plan, has greatly influenced the ideas, the organization, and the wording for the Bible studies for August through December. Thanks to the North American Mission Board for granting permission to borrow the wonderful ideas in the book. There is a companion video to the study. My suggestions: Get this book! Get the video! Put a group together and enjoy! See www.namb.net for more information.

Shane Tucker is the pastor of Santa Rosa Shores Baptist Church in Gulf Breeze, FL.