SPEAKING OF FAITH (45 OF 52)
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
This content is part of a series.
Speaking of Faith (45 of 52)
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Growing up on the mission field in an evangelical enclave, talking about one's faith was not only natural, it was touted as the essential priority for all who would follow Jesus. It was the object of many training opportunities, the focus of so many missionary efforts, and upheld as heroic in Bible studies, mission training, discipleship groups, and worship services. It was not quite the end-all-be-all of Christian faith, but it came pretty close. Perhaps the more important question regarding our faith has more to do with who outside the church is talking about our faith and what are they saying?
Scattered throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is the notion that the nations would one day come asking about Yahweh. The Gentiles were supposed to see something in Israel and its worship of Yahweh that made them come seeking. The times we see that happening are few and far between, with the visit of the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia) and Naaman who was cured of his leprosy being the only instances of note. There were other occasions where people like Rahab, Ruth, and the widow of Zarephath made reference to Yahweh's supremacy, but the prophetic hope that the nations would seek out Yahweh due to Israel's faithfulness was not realized in these isolated instances.
Only in the New Testament do we begin seeing instances of this prophetic tradition being fulfilled with Peter's witness to Cornelius and Paul's ministry. Even so, it remained much more hope than fulfillment. It is a call and challenge that the believing community might live according to a much higher ethic which would cause the world beyond itself to question and seek out what made the community of the faithful stand out from all the rest.
Indeed, Acts points out a couple of instances from the early history of the church in which those outside the fellowship came knocking. They sought answers from believers ...
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Growing up on the mission field in an evangelical enclave, talking about one's faith was not only natural, it was touted as the essential priority for all who would follow Jesus. It was the object of many training opportunities, the focus of so many missionary efforts, and upheld as heroic in Bible studies, mission training, discipleship groups, and worship services. It was not quite the end-all-be-all of Christian faith, but it came pretty close. Perhaps the more important question regarding our faith has more to do with who outside the church is talking about our faith and what are they saying?
Scattered throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is the notion that the nations would one day come asking about Yahweh. The Gentiles were supposed to see something in Israel and its worship of Yahweh that made them come seeking. The times we see that happening are few and far between, with the visit of the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia) and Naaman who was cured of his leprosy being the only instances of note. There were other occasions where people like Rahab, Ruth, and the widow of Zarephath made reference to Yahweh's supremacy, but the prophetic hope that the nations would seek out Yahweh due to Israel's faithfulness was not realized in these isolated instances.
Only in the New Testament do we begin seeing instances of this prophetic tradition being fulfilled with Peter's witness to Cornelius and Paul's ministry. Even so, it remained much more hope than fulfillment. It is a call and challenge that the believing community might live according to a much higher ethic which would cause the world beyond itself to question and seek out what made the community of the faithful stand out from all the rest.
Indeed, Acts points out a couple of instances from the early history of the church in which those outside the fellowship came knocking. They sought answers from believers ...
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