How to Live the Bible — More Than Words

This is the one-hundred-sixty-eighth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3

It wasn’t all just words. At the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4) and read from the Isaiah scroll. He read about the One who would come and “preach good news to the poor,” “proclaim freedom for the prisoners,” and “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” which was the fulfillment of the year of Jubilee. In the quiet air of that modest hall, the words of Jesus at first impressed the people. But when he predicted that he would not be accepted as the Expected One here in his hometown, the people rejected the proclamation and turned on him.

It wasn’t all just words.

Many years later one of Jesus’ closest disciples, John, wrote a letter as an older man to followers of Jesus past and present: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

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This we proclaim. First, Jesus made the proclamation, then his disciples did, and so on to this day. John went out on a limb by saying that the Jesus he heard with his ears, touched with his hands, and saw with his eyes was the Son of God and Word of Life. But by the time John wrote his epistle, there already were thousands of followers of Jesus in Israel, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The proclamation was being fulfilled.

We live 20 centuries after these events. We know that faith in Christ has spread around the world to hundreds of millions of people. But each person needs to ask him or herself: “Have I accepted the proclamation of Christ? Do I really believe his coming has made everything different? And am I ready to proclaim him wherever I can, however I can?”

APPLICATION

If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then make your proclamation today: at work (let only positive words come out of your mouth), at the gym (invite someone to church), or at school (pray at lunchtime). By your words and actions, others will know you are a follower of Jesus Christ. If you have not yet made this proclamation, reflect on what you can do to make this real in your life.

[See previous – The Power of Proclamation]
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Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz) trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s teaching pastor. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel’s many books include Spiritual Leadership Today: Having Deep Influence in Every Walk of Life (Zondervan, 2016). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.

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