Matthew 22:16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.”

It is interesting that Jesus’ enemies, while trying to set Him up for a trick question, gave an accurate description of His style of ministry. This should be an accurate description of any minister of the Gospel, but sadly, I don’t think it is. As Paul lamented, there are those who twist the Gospel and try to make it a money machine (1 Timothy 6:5) or operate under other false motives (Philippians 1:15-18). Every minister needs to be personally true, that is, honest, and teach the way of God according to the Truth of God. As important as that is, the next area is where even more people fall short, and that is in being swayed by who people are in human society, and by how they respond. It is sad to go to Christian meetings and see the adulation that is given to some people, while others are ignored. It is even sadder to see some who act as though such adulation were their due! A minister of the Gospel should be able to express God’s love equally to the wealthy and the poor, to the powerful and the powerless. I often think how things might be different if, for example, some Christian physically close to the Beatles had expressed the Gospel clearly to them. However, once they became famous, they were deemed “out of reach.” There have been some shining examples of people who shared the Gospel with heads of state and the like, but such stories stand out because they are so rare. A true minister of the Gospel needs to see everyone around them as someone in need of the salvation that Jesus died to provide, and have the courage to share the news of that salvation with them.

I have acquired a reputation for treating the high and the low equally, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily share the Gospel with them, and that’s a problem. Treating people equally isn’t something to be proud of if I fail to communicate Christ to them! The Lord has given me favor and standing in Omura over the past 30 years, and I need to make use of that in obedience to His Spirit to communicate the Gospel. As it is, I tend to wait for people to come to church before I express the Gospel to them. That’s certainly not how they operated in the 1st Century! I need to seek the Lord for opportunities to share the Gospel in all settings, so that as many as possible may receive it and be saved.

Father, thank You for those who do receive Your Gospel. Thank You for the two who will be baptized this morning. I pray not only for their full re-birth, but also for their full acceptance into the family here. I ask for clear guidance in teaching and training them, and I pray that each member of this body would be active in that process. As they do so, sharing what they have been taught, may they grow actively themselves, so that we will indeed be the children and disciples that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!