Daily Fountain Devotional 7 July 2020 for Anglican
Topic: Contradicting the Gospel
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TEXT: Acts 13:44-52 (NKJV)
44. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
46. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
47. “For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48. Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
49. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.
50. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
51. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
52. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
STUDY: It is noteworthy that the next Sabbath, after Paul spoke, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God, but some Jews, out of envy, started contradicting the things spoken by Paul. They opposed the things he said and began blaspheming. It’s easy to see how what they were doing was inimical to the gospel; their actions were harming the cause of Christ. This had the potential of turning away would-be disciples, those who probably would have been saved.
While this was regrettable, it is a reminder that some could be involved in thissame thing today. The gospel cannot be contradicted only in words, but can be contradicted by the lifestyle of those who profess Christ. Once our actions do not match the principles of the gospel, we are, in truth, contradicting the gospel. It is not uncommon to hear someone complain about a believer by saying “and he says he’s a Christian!” Such statements easily suggest that the person being spoken about is in some way behaving contrary to the spirit of the gospel and this has the capacity of driving away, or at least, discouraging others who otherwise may have chosen to follow the Lord. If you’re already known as a believer, then it is important you ensure your actions match your profession of faith. Lies, cheating, fornication, quarrelsomeness, irritability, etc., are all capable of contradicting the gospel. Choose to have nothing to do with such.
DAILY QUOTE: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.— 1 John 4:10-12
PRAYER: May my life, O Lord, not contradict the gospel.
Daily Fountain Devotional 7 July 2020 – The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as “over 18 million”, out of a total Nigerian population of over 200 million.
