As Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene continues in its
fifty-first year of ministry, we who worship here are called to be a representation
of God’s holiness in the city.
In Sunday’s sermon we were reminded that there
are many churches in our city. As our pastor noted, there are some areas in the
Bronx where you can pass by three churches on the same block! In spite of these many churches in the Bronx, though, we still can walk through our
neighborhoods and see that there is a dearth of people that
concern themselves with living a life of holiness.
Sadly, some of the people who eschew holiness claim to be
Christians. And perhaps the greatest indictment of Christendom is that we have kept a tradition of service while failing to heed the word of the Lord. In fact, it is the
indictment that Jesus Himself will address. We see it explained by our Lord in
Matthew chapter 7:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will
enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name
perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Therefore everyone
who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise
man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods
came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it
did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these
words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who
built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His
teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and
not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:21-29, New American Standard Bible)
If the litmus test of kingdom fitness is not signs and
wonders, but rather obedience to God (“he who does the will of My Father who is
in heaven”), then let us pray for the will of God to be made manifest in us. This
is God, our King, who has instructed us to care for widows, orphans, the
poor, and the strangers within our gates. This is God, who has instructed us
to be holy because He is holy. This is God, who has instructed us to love
one another, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who
despitefully use us (see Matthew 5:44). This is the only true God, whose words will never pass
away.
So, a question for today: are you an authentic representative of the kingdom
of God?
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