TOGETHER: Jesus’ agenda still the answer today

Posted: 8/03/07

TOGETHER:
Jesus’ agenda still the answer today

When you go to church on Sunday morning, do you expect to hear from Jesus as to how he sees the world and what he plans to do about it?

On a Sabbath morning long ago, Jesus showed up for church in his hometown. The elders handed him the scroll, and he rolled it out to the place where Isaiah was celebrating Jubilee, rehearsing with his hearers, “that the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations” (61:11). “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them” (61:8).

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

But Jesus honed in on the opening lines, boldly applying them to himself, and revealed to those who eagerly listened how he understood himself and what he knew he had come to do.

Let’s take time to hear again: “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

What is required of us is that we hold all this together as Jesus did. We are to preach the gospel so people can be saved, and we are to live the gospel because we have been saved. We are to love God with all our life, and we are to love our neighbor as though we are loving ourselves. It is not just about being saved from hell and going to heaven when we die; it is also about living life his way.

What we often do is tell the good news, ask God to bring about a conversion harvest, and trust that as people follow Jesus they will learn to care about people they don’t care about now. We don’t want to scare them away, so we fail to mention that if you really get saved, you can’t be the way you have been, because even though God loves you enough to begin with you where you are, he loves you too much to let you stay the way you are.

And it is not just about the sins that must fall away in your personal behavior; it is about how we will treat other people with respect and fairness, not willing to be party to oppression and prejudice, committed to loving the children and serving the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, stranger, sick and prisoner (Matthew 25:40).

We are talking about the true meaning of the gospel.

And this is why all who believe that the world needs to hear Baptists say this out loud will want to be in Atlanta Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2008, for the meeting of 20,000 Baptists from 40 Baptists bodies across North America. It is called the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant.

We need to gather to gain strength and to be inspired for pursuing a “Jesus agenda.” Make your travel plans. And if you can’t attend, please pray for those of us who do. This world still needs what Jesus has to offer, and he’s called us to share it.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.