God bless you in the remarkable name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which all men can be saved.
I’m sure you’ve seen by now that holding forth the gospel is an adventure in walking by the spirit. In following the life of Jesus in the gospels we see anything but a routine or stagnant example of repetition. No two people are the same so why should we think that any two opportunities to speak for God would be.
Although the truth of the gospel never changes, the way that the good news is presented is likely to differ depending on the people with whom we share it. That requires walking by the spirit. We want to be sensitive to how the Spirit leads us and pay attention to the person’s heart. Jesus Christ didn’t present Himself the same way to everyone, and the way we introduce people to him may differ vastly.
When reading the Gospels, we find that Jesus interacted with various people in monumentally different ways. Jesus challenged the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 to change the way he lived. In Luke 6:47-49 he warned people of the danger of hearing and not doing. He rebuked the Pharisees and scribes in Mark 7:1-13. To the man born blind in John 9 he showed compassion and mercy. With the lawyer in Luke 10:25-37 he asked questions and told a parable. He responded differently to different people under different conditions. That is what Jude exhorts us to do.
Jude 21-23:
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Paul kept himself in the love of God and made a difference. He became all things to all men that he might save some (I Corinthians 9:22). In Romans Paul reminds us that the goodness, kindness or gentleness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). In other places, he says things like, “Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (II Corinthians 5:11).
So, although the message of the gospel is always the same, how Christ is presented may differ from person to person. We must be willing to adapt to different situations as God leads us. This adventure of walking by the spirit is certainly thrilling and rewarding
I Corinthians 1:24:
To those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Jesus has both power and wisdom. He displayed His power in the miracles He performed, and the Jewish people were impressed by miracles, signs, and wonders and sought them as proof of God’s presence. He demonstrated His wisdom in the words He spoke, and the Greeks were fascinated with knowledge, wisdom and understanding and sought them as evidence of God at work (I Corinthians 1:22-24).
The pursuit of the Jew was emotional, that of the Greek was intellectual. Jesus was able to satisfy the need of both, and he is still able. Only Jesus can truly satisfy anyone from any background. He is the desire of all nations (Haggai 2:7). Jesus is the power of God for those who need might as a point of contact. Jesus is the wisdom of God for those who need reason as a point of contact.
We can win people by operating the power of God, and we can win them by using the wisdom of God. Walking by the spirit and sensitivity to people can help us make the right adjustment to win each individual. Jesus so lovingly walked by the spirit that people were impressed with His wisdom and power (Matthew 13:54 & Mark 6:2). Let’s walk like Jesus did and use all the power and wisdom at our disposal to reach a needy world.