"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying
I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the
world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
(John 18:37 NIV)
This is one of the most defining statements Jesus ever made. Jesus knew where He came from, why he was here, and where he was going. Whenever Jesus spoke, He spoke the truth. His word is truth. Immediately upon hearing this from Jesus, Pilate asked, “What is truth?” The world is still asking the same question.
Today many in the world are suffering from what I call “Truth Deprivation’. This “truth deprivation” is not due to an unavailability of resources; not because the truth is elusive or unavailable. But much the same as there are people who are starving in certain places from hunger not because there is necessarily a lack of food, but their starving is due to a lack of distribution of food by corrupt and oppressive governments, likewise, many suffer in our society from truth deprivation because in this ‘age of reason’, many have become unreasonable in their suppression of the truth. What an irony it is that this is an age starving for truth in the midst of an unprecedented availability of information. Political correctness within the halls of academia along with most of the mass media has become the new bastion of a fascist suppression of the truth. However, the truth is out there!
God has birthed us into His kingdom for “such a time as this”. In these last days Christians need to have a better understanding of their purpose. That purpose is much the same as the one who was born in that stable so long ago. No, He Alone is The Savior. Only through His blood and Resurrected life can people find salvation and enter into the Kingdom.
However, like Him, we have been birthed to testify and to bear witness to the truth. Like Him, Christians are people who have been, “born of the Spirit” (Jn.3:3-7). That Spirit is, “…the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father…” (Jn.15:26)
Jesus, as a human being was conceived through the Holy Spirit. So it is with
all who are “born again”, (John 3:5-7 NIV) Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to
flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my
saying, 'You must be born again.' Nobody is born a Christian. Christian’s are born through the Holy Spirit, by
the will of God. “[for]… as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13 NKJV).
Furthermore, God’s purpose for you goes far beyond the forgiveness of
sin, (as incredibly important as that is!) Each one of us is called to a
specific purpose. God’s free gift of salvation is meant to be more than a free
ride to heaven!
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10 NKJV) {He}…gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:14 NKJV)
Now, I’ve said all that to bring us to what I see as a primary purpose for every Christian viz. we are called to, “walk out the truth”, in order to “manifest” the truth to the world around us.
(2 Cor 4:2) “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.”
(Eph 3:9-10) “(in order)…to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,…”
It is God’s intended purpose that you as a member of the body of Christ would make known His wisdom through the daily display of truth. This manifestation of the truth in this world is a major reason why the church exists today. Jesus taught us to pray…“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mat 6:10) Heaven is already under the alignment of King Jesus and that is the reason he wants us to use heaven as our frame of reference. We are to bring heaven’s truth, down into this earth! If we don’t have that as our goal, our preaching, message, and our very lives will be aimless. A free translation of Proverbs 29:18 reads: “Where there is no ongoing, progressive revelation of the will of God, people wander aimlessly, without direction until they die.”
I look around me and I see many Christians who seem to have no clear goal or vision in their life. They live as though God forgave them of their sins just so they could sit in church week after week, die, and then go to heaven! They seem to exist direction-less and aimless living on a treadmill of mediocrity. Yet, Jesus, through the gospel has given us the most compelling, most exciting vision and goal to live for!
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” Often referred to as, “The great commission”, this is the foundation of Kingdom purpose in the earth. Some think this is just a call for those “special Christians”, evangelists, missionaries, and church leaders. No, each and every one of us has a purpose to fulfill in the great commission, it is a church-wide mandate. Every one who is “born of the Spirit” is mandated to be a true and faithful witness! The great commission is about establishing the government of God in people’s lives through bearing witness to the truth.
We as Christians must be actively involved in the work of transforming society by and through the means of the gospel. What else could the great commission mean? If this isn’t meant to be societal transformation through Spiritual regeneration then I don’t know what is. The gospel should effect every stratum of life and society: law, government, history, education, science, economics, logic, and philosophy.
Don’t misunderstand me here. Our purpose isn’t to merely moralize society, but it is to bring to earth through the gospel the kingdom & government of God! God’s rule is to extend to everything. From our bank accounts, to our business dealings, to our educational curriculum, to our social justice issues, to our environmental concerns, to our political choices in the voting booth - everything must reflect that God’s righteous rule extends to all of life! Jesus and His church are to have, and some day ultimately will have, dominion over the earth!
“…And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Rev 11:15)
God’s purpose’s for this world will come to pass! Do you have a personal vision? Vision is a reflection of what God wants to accomplish through you to build His kingdom.
Do you have a personal sense of a God-given purpose? We often speak of a personal God and a personal savior – however, though He is a personal God, and there are personal consequences in either accepting or rejecting the gospel. Yet, at the same time, Christianity was never meant to be a personal religion that one was to, “keep to himself”! Though the new birth is a personal relationship with Almighty God, it is not at all meant to be a personal religion! By courageously living out the truth, the first century church turned their world upside down! Unfortunately, twenty-first century Christians have fearfully bought into the lies of men like Robert Ingersoll, and Thomas Dewey & others, that “religion” must be kept out of the public arena. Nevertheless, as theologian Abraham Kuyper so succinctly stated: “Our call is this; that in spite of worldly opposition, God’s holy ordinances shall be established again in the home, in the School and in the state for the good of the people; to carve as it were into the conscience of the nation the ordinances of the Lord, to which the Bible and creation bear witness, until the nation pays homage again to God.” If the new birth is a real experience in your life it will manifest itself in the public arena and forums of society. If it does not – How can it be real, by any biblical definition?
Jesus knew where He came from, why he was here, and where he was going. I believe if we as Christians clearly understood these same things, our lives would be different, our families would be different, our churches would be different and finally our society would be different.