1 Corinthians 14: 20 Do not
be like children in your thinking, my friends; be children so far as evil is
concerned, but be grown up in your thinking. 21 In
the Scriptures it is written,
“By means of
people speaking strange languages
I will speak to my people, says the Lord.
I will speak through lips of foreigners,
but even then my people will not listen to me.”
22 So then, the gift of speaking in strange tongues is proof for
unbelievers, not for believers, while the gift of proclaiming God's message is
proof for believers, not for unbelievers.
23 If, then, the whole church meets together and everyone starts
speaking in strange tongues—and if some ordinary people or unbelievers come in,
won't they say that you are all crazy? 24 But if
everyone is proclaiming God's message when some unbelievers or ordinary people
come in, they will be convinced of their sin by what they hear. They will be
judged by all they hear, 25 their secret thoughts
will be brought into the open, and they will bow down and worship God,
confessing, “Truly God is here among you!”
============
Walking into a
church, I noticed everyone was dressed nicely, the place was neat and clean and
everyone had a smile on their face. It felt weird, almost like a group of
aliens from another planet had taken over. They spoke to each other in Bible
verses that I was unfamiliar with and made me stand up and introduce myself, as
if I wasn’t already uncomfortable enough.
- I felt like I was on the outside of the group.
- I felt like I was not “clean” enough for this group.
- I felt like I was more of a burden than a willing participant so I left and never came back.
Paul concludes
addressing the use of speaking in tongues. He mentions this gift is valuable,
but can be disruptive to those who are not believers. He tries to explain the
purpose of saying anything needs to be for GOD.
My Observations
- GOD wants me to share my testimony which includes my sins.
- GOD wants me to be free to share how I am forgiven for all my sins.
- GOD wants me to want others to be free to see JESUS as the solution, versus HIM being the problem.
Making JESUS the
problem is usually not done on purpose. I mean, well-meaning people, who may
have gone through a lot, try to explain that JESUS is the answer to every problem,
and HE is. But sometimes this group can forget they are “still” sinners who
need guidance by the HOLY SPIRIT daily.
GOD wants me to see people
different. It is not “us” who are believers versus “them” who are unbelievers.
It is “us” who are all sinners. No one sin is greater than another and anyone
who confesses their sins and believes that JESUS is the one and only forgiver,
will be saved eternally. I am convinced I am a sinner, judged by my wrongs and
open to saying JESUS forgave me for my past, current and future sins.
Challenge
- How do you think salvation should be spoken to someone you know who may not believe in JESUS?
- If you attend church regularly, what do you notice about testimonies?
- Will you take baby steps in telling people about your deepest sins so they will be willing to turn their life to JESUS today?
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