Ensign, News of the Church, ‘Apostle Offers Counsel about Social Media,’ January 2015; “Beginning at this place on this day, I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and
truth, messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy, and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood,” Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said during an address at Education Week at Brigham Young University on August 19, 2014…
We should not exaggerate, embellish, or pretend to be someone, or something we are not. Our content should be trustworthy and constructive… Our messages should seek to edify and uplift, rather than to argue, debate, condemn, or belittle.” – David A. Bednar
1 Corinthians 1:2; “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”
Galatians 2:20; “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
How very sad.
Why do their apostles need to remind people not to lie when they share the gospel? Our two scriptures today are great definitions for the meaning of Christian. They’re concise and vivid.
Did you notice what was missing in this man’s admonition? There’s no message of Christ Jesus or Him crucified. His message was pointing inward, not outward, which in turn, points away from the Lord.
Unfortunately, when I was Mormon I had never read what Paul said in Galatians and I’m not so sure I would’ve mimicked his words ‘crucified with Christ’. As a Mormon, I would’ve thought that was too graphic.
On the other end of the spectrum is Oswald Chambers’ devotional for May 5th. Notice in his admonition the gospel message is about Jesus’ death and not our feelings. We shouldn’t be worried whether or not the gospel message is uplifting or that it will boost the egos of mankind.
My Utmost for His Highest, May 5 –
“The Christian worker must never forget that salvation is God’s thought, not man’s; therefore it is an unfathomable abyss. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is only a gateway by which salvation comes into our conscious life. Never preach the experience, preach the great thought of God behind. When we preach we are not proclaiming how man can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out, it is the sign of God’s love. Never sympathize with a soul who finds it difficult to get to God, God is not to blame. It is not for us to find out the reason why it is difficult, but so to present the truth of God that the Spirit of God will show what is wrong. The great sterling test in preaching is that it brings everyone to judgment. The Spirit of God locates each one to himself.
If Jesus ever gave us a command He could not enable us to fulfil, He would be a liar; and if we make our inability a barrier to obedience, it means we are telling God there is something He has not taken into account. Every element of self-reliance must be slain by the power of God. Complete weakness and dependence will always be the occasion for the Spirit of God to manifest His power.” – Oswald Chambers [emphasis mine]
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