The Kingdom of God Devotional Guide - Monday, January 17

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:9-15

Review: We are beginning to see large numbers of Christians and Christian organizations practicing kingdom justice and engaged in compassion-based ministries. Unfortunately, many of these Christians and Christians organizations at the same time are turning their backs on sharing the Gospel verbally. Many are also showing disdain for any suggestion that we should be seeking the "conversion" of those to whom we minister through the verbal proclamation of truth. They contend that we only should be concerned about "showing the love of Christ."

This disdain for the verbal proclamation of the Gospel isn't new. It hearkens back to the late 1800's and early 1900's when theological liberalism crept into the Church. Professing Christians became concerned for the physical and material needs of people; but, meanwhile, they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. They rejected such bedrock truths as the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection of Jesus. What they ended up with was just a caricature of true Christianity wedded with social liberalism, all in the name of bringing God's Kingdom to the earth.

In the years that followed, among more "fundamental"/evangelical Christians, the pendulum began to swing to the other extreme. The practice of kingdom justice and compassion ministries took a back seat (way in the back) to the priority of "winning people to Christ."

Nowadays, the pendulum has swung back yet again, which accounts for the emphasis so many are giving to practicing kingdom justice and acts of compassion. Unfortunately, the swing from one extreme to the other has led some to diminish the priority of verbal proclamation.

There is significant danger associated with ministering according to one extreme or the other. When people show compassion for others without sharing the Gospel message, the soul's greatest need, reconciliation with God through faith in Christ, goes unmet. Temporal physical needs are resolved, while even more desperate eternal needs go wanting. On the other hand, when the Gospel message is proclaimed by people who show no concern for the desperate physical needs of others, once again, souls remain lost. The Church's message loses authenticity and power. Christians become vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy, similar to those laid against the priest and the Pharisee in the parable of the Good Samaritan. So by either extreme the Kingdom of Christ suffers.

Romans 10:15 underscores the priority of making verbal proclamation of the Gospel as we practice kingdom justice and engage in compassion ministries. We don't want lost people simply to be well-fed and clothed and then cast into the lake of fire someday. Our aim should be to show true compassion to them in its fullest, sharing all the resources at our disposal to meet their needs, physical and spiritual, which includes the resource of the message of eternal salvation through faith in our Lord.

Reflection Questions: As you examine your own life, is there an imbalance between your practices of kingdom justice and your proclamations of the Gospel? In other words, are you practicing kingdom justice and compassion without any verbal sharing of the Gospel message? Or have you been sharing the message without any acts of compassion and kindness? What steps might you take to correct the imbalance? Select an issue related to the need for compassion and kingdom justice. What would a balanced ministry on the issue look like?