Transformation - Pt. 3

2 Corinthians 4:5–18 “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

We have been discussing transformation - what we give our attention to slowly shapes what we become.

Today, my message considers the relationship between our transformation (that is ongoing) and our Christian Witness and what can hinder it.

When we look historically, from the earliest centuries of Christianity, we find that transformation was essential to Christian Witness. New believers were instructed and trained in doctrine (sometimes for years) before they were baptized because following Jesus carried real consequences. After baptism (publicly declaring your faith), they could lose their possessions, homes, social standing, relationships, and even their lives. (They called this catechism)

Jesus of course warned them:

Matthew 24:9 “9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

Yet their believing loyalty to only Jesus, despite the great cost, this transformation was a powerful witness to the world.

Christian Witness

Obviously a major theme after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension: Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

It is important to recognize that there is no such thing as not witnessing. Everyone at every moment is witnessing. We are all walking billboards that witness to what it is we truly believe and think. What we give our attention to. Because what we give our attention to shapes who we become.

Because Christians are witnessing all the time, the question is, “what are our lives witnessing to?”

3 Aspects of Witnessing:

Life refers to the fact that Christians are the message. 2 Corinthians 3:3 “3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

The way they live their lives declares whom they love and on whom they depend.

What we love and trust - we will serve.

Which is why idolatry is so destructive. When we love and depend on things other than God, we make them idols and we make them our master.

But if we truly live our lives that demonstrate our deep love for Christ and our neighbor, we witness to an alternative way of living - and it is attractive.

Question for reflection, does your life portray a love for Jesus and others?

Deed refers to the fact that the Christian faith, is an active faith (not a passive faith), it is engaged with the world (not sitting isolated in the dark) and partnering with God in the flourishing of others.

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 “11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

These are purposeful actions that are motived by our trust in God.

Both what we do and how we do it, declare in whom and what we place our faith in.

Word refers to the need to say what the gospel story is and to invite others to make it their story.

Mental models - the stories we tell ourselves that help us make sense of who we are, why we are here, and where we belong.

Our Christian witness announces a different story. In many ways, we witness as story tellers. Sharing the story of God’s love that produces hope and belonging.

But there is something else that can keep us from living this story and Christian witness:

Fear of Death

The fear of death has enormous implications for how we live.

It can cause us to cling to security and control. Control health, circumstances, the future, finances because these things make us feel less vulnerable.

It can cause us to avoid risk because preserving safety becomes more important than God’s calling.

I can lead to accumulating possessions because they provide us with an illusion of stability.

It can keep us from living a generous life because fear will keep me from relinquishing that which brings me comfort.

Living a distracted life, avoiding questions about death, meaning, and eternity.

It is a fear of loss - not just my own fear of dying, but those close to me. The fear of losing a loved one, a spouse, child, parent, friend.

This fear of death is more than simply the feeling of anxiety however. The author of Hebrews calls it slavery.

Hebrews 2:14–15 “14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

Which means that this fear of death is not just telling me about how I will die someday, it is a master that tells me how to live today!

It tells me to protect myself, preserve my life, get more, don’t take risks, don’t give too much away, don’t sacrifice or take the hard road, don’t lose what i have.

Thus the fear of death - as a master - will inhibit my true Lord from ruling and directing my life.

Ultimately it keeps us from truly living.

What if this life is all there is?

Paul understood this question.

1 Corinthians 15:31–32 “31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.””

If we look at death as a dead end then it makes this present life the primary place and only place for our happiness, fulfillment, and self-gratification.

Paul understands this very well. Indeed he himself admits that, if he is wrong about God’s promise of life beyond death, he, his team, and his converts are “of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19 NRSV), since they will have neglected the pleasures and comforts of this life to follow Jesus in favor of a life that is to come.

The author of the Wisdom of Solomon, an earlier Jewish text describes this mentality well.

Our lives are short and painful... When our lives are over, it will be just as if we had never been.… Come then! Let’s enjoy all the good things of life now. Let’s drink our fill of expensive wines and enjoy fine perfumes... Let’s make sure that no meadow is left untouched by our high-spirited fun. Let’s leave evidence everywhere that we made the most of this life, because this life is all we have.”

But notice then where this type of thinking leads to...

Let’s take advantage of the day laborer who does what’s right. Let’s not be afraid to abuse the widow. Let’s show that we couldn’t care less for the gray hair of our elders. May strength be our only law and determine what’s right, for it’s clear to us that what is weak is worthless. (Wis 2:1–2, 6–11 CEB)

And the astute reader will recognize the progression of : The finality of death leads to scarcity (short life) - to consumption and self gratification - to self preservation and grabbing power - to exploiting other humans.

In other words, if this life is all there is then: get everything you can while you can, YOLO, so what if you hurt others, protect everything you have, don’t give anything away.

And look at the direction of this transformation that ends with: power over others to satisfy myself at the expense of those who are weaker.

Free from the fear of death

No account of this gospel story that we are invited into would be complete without emphasizing Jesus’s victory over death and our final transformation

Philippians 3:20–21 “20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

1 Corinthians 15:54“54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory…

The good news is not just that the one who trusts in Jesus is free to become a new person in Christ; it is also that this new person he or she is becoming will live forever.

Just as the fear of death tells me how to live now. Jesus’s victory over death and my freedom from that slavery also tells me how to live now!

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Paul could invest everything he had into God’s calling because he believed that nothing surrendered to Christ is ever ultimately lost!

That is what this freedom gives us:

Fear says: life is short, so take.

Resurrection says: Life cannot be ultimately taken from you, so give.

Fear says: protect yourself

Resurrection says: lay down your life

Fear says: Get while you can

Resurrection says: you are receiving an inheritance that cannot be taken from you.

Fear says: the strong survive at the expense of the weak

Resurrection says: The greatest becomes the servant of all.

What does your life witness to?

Because what we give attention to slowly shapes who we are becoming. And our lives and our deeds, and our words tell a story about what we actually believe.

What would your life look like if you genuinely believed that had been defeated?

What step of faith might you stop avoiding because it feels risky?

What have you been holding on to for security that you might give away?

The more we try to secure this temporary life, the less free we will be to give ourselves fully to the life of God’s Kingdom.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Let us fix our eyes on the resurrection, we do not have to be afraid of loss, our labor is not in vain and perhaps the greatest witness we can be to this world is a life that demonstrates that we genuinely believe that death has been defeated.