PRIVATE FAITH??

Has anyone ever said to you, "My faith is between me and God." They do not think there is any need to share their faith, even with their own family. This breaks my heart. There are wives and children in homes where the God ordained spiritual leader does not think he needs to share his faith. Where God is only mentioned in a cursory prayer before the dinner meal. Where does this idea of private faith come from? This surely is not from God or His word. If your faith is a private thing, it is not a Jesus thing.

In Romans 3:25, the Word of God says this: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his Blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Lets start with the meaning of set forth: to put upon display, nothing hidden. Jesus whole life was on display for the world to see. His birth, ministry of preaching, teaching, healing and miracles, arrest, crucifixion, resurrection. Every bit of Jesus life was lived in public for us to learn from. For us to imitate or follow Jesus. We saw Jesus heal and preach and teach and feed, and what are we doing?

More likely than not, someone brought you to the Lord. Someone took the time to tell you about Jesus and lead you to God's saving grace. Because they heard and were obedient to the word, you are now saved and can go to others. Aren't you glad they heard the Lord and obeyed? Ezekiel 33:1-11 says pretty much, if we know and don't go, there will be blood on our hands. Read it for yourself. Not our pastor's hands or the other guys hands, but our hands, each of our hands individually. We are, each of us who profess to believe in Jesus, who profess to be "saved" individually, each of us is commanded to go and warn the people.

Read the scripture with the Spirit of the Lord, that you may understand and be filled. That the word fill you and pour out of you to others.

"And He said unto them, These are the words which i spake unto you, while i was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." Luke 24:44-48

Then they waited for the the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost to come upon them. They were filled with the Holy Ghost and were witnesses to all the world. (Acts1:8) We are called to the same ministry as they.. to seek and save that which was lost, to teach our children, to teach in the home, to witness wherever we are.

i believe when we are saved, we are all commissioned to Go. To tell all the world the Gospel message of salvation. i believe that all persons afforded the divine grace of God and who have grabbed onto Jesus for life have got to go. We have to read the Word daily, fill up and pour out unto others. We have got to be light (Ephesians 5:8, Matthew 5:14) and salt (Matthew 5:13), we have got to be Jesus hands and feet (Romans 10:15, Ephesians 6:15) in this lost, dark and dying world.

Husbands/fathers must teach their wives and children (as Jesus taught so many) how to grow in the Lord and to stand in Him in all life's situations. A father must prepare his children to be salt and light, Jesus hands and feet in the world. How can we do this if we keep our faith to ourselves? What if every one of the people Jesus touched with healing, teaching and miracles did not tell anyone? What if the Apostles just said, "Forget it, Jesus is dead, lets go fishing." Where would the world be? Where would we be? Would there be any world left?

In Ephesians 5:21-32, we read about us. Yes, us. We are the brides of Christ, male or female, we are Christs brides, the wives, the church. In heaven there will be no giving in marriage, only Christ's faithful, the church. But on this earth we have the power of the Holy Ghost and the Word of God to guide our way, to show us what Jesus wants us to do and say and be. Who we are in Him. We need to follow Him, be imitators of Him. It does not matter where we are, who we are, how old we are, at every stage and moment in this life, we need to be followers of Jesus. It is the only way to God, the only way to eternal life, and Jesus said to go and make disciples of all men. To seek and to save that which was lost. We cannot keep our faith to ourselves and think we are going to heaven. We just can't .

GET INTO GOD'S WORD AND GOD'S WORD WILL GET INTO YOU...AMEN