It’s been said that the gospel is offensive enough without our adding to it. We should make every effort to assure that if someone is offended, it is an issue which needs to be worked out between them and God. It should not be due to our own lack of willingness to get out of the way.

I don’t remember the movie, just this one scene. Some crazy general had put together an unbeatable army. With bags of confidence they were being transported, in clandestine fashion, via big silver oil trucks through the snow. A demonstration of their force was about to be unleashed.
Turns out the snow was over ice; thin ice hiding a deep lake. They never made it to the field of battle. The trucks, and the indomitable, well-trained soldiers inside, crashed through the glassy, frozen veneer to repose insignificantly on the bottom of a nameless body of water. The power was never delivered.
We are often reminded of the power of God in that great flagship passage which ignited the Reformation.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16, 17).
The gospel is the “power of God.” In this gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed.” Of course, all of this assumes that it is actually delivered. Later Paul will write that “faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:16b). The apostle will appeal to the very poetic words of Isaiah and Nahum that we might appreciate “How beautiful are the feet” (Romans 10:15) of those who bring this message. Again, this beauty and power assumes the truck makes it to the battlefield—the battlefield for the souls of men and women.
What is the thin ice on which the beautiful feet might unwittingly slip (or crash through)? As we rumble down the road of evangelism, are we reformed Christians aware of attributes in our own personalities which might unnecessarily impede a listening ear, losing a redemptive opportunity or potential convert?
At times I do enjoy the poetic tones of the King James Version. Other times those 1611 words just don’t fit well into the 21st century vernacular. The word peculiar comes to mind. In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter tells Christians they are a “peculiar people.” Some of us in the Reformed community run with that. We understand peculiar to mean odd or strange when it actually meant to be owned by someone-in Peter’s meaning, owned by God. Have you noticed the reformed community has become peculiar by the new definition over the old?
Who knows what it would have felt like to sit in a pub with Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, Bullinger or Calvin? I’m guessing in many ways they may have fit right in. These reformers, who carved out western civilization as we know it, had the ears of the people-all kinds of people. So whatever oddities or peculiarities they possessed, it didn’t unnecessarily disenfranchise them. It didn’t unnecessarily remove them from their culture. The operative word here being unnecessarily. No doubt they had run-ins with their culture as Jesus clearly taught good Christians would. But it was a result of the message, not the personalities of the ones delivering it (with the possible exception of Luther).

If you find yourself struggling with contentment and gratitude, you can be sure that some desire, want, lust, or idol has taken over functional control of your heart. You will need to focus your attention on what is ruling your heart. Whatever the desire is in you that you determine you cannot live without, that desire is both robbing you of your contentment and hurting you spiritually.

If you are like me, often I like simple ways to determine how things are going. For instance, don’t you love vehicles that do not simply tell you a tire is low, but instead, identify the tire and how much air is in it? Wow! The first time I had a car that could tell me the pressure in each tire, I felt like I had hit the jackpot. Why? Because it was a diagnostic that was helpful. The indicator light clued me in to a problem and the digital screen explained it. In a similar way, in your walk with the Lord, there are a few key indicators of how you are doing, and today we consider one such indicator. Gratitude is a key indicator of your spiritual health.
The Bible Teaches Three Important Reasons to be Grateful
First, We Should be Grateful Because it is the Will of God for Each of Us.
Look how the Apostle Paul describes it: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:16-18). He emphasizes in everything to give thanks. Not only here, but Paul mentions it in other key texts as well. When explaining the results of walking in the Spirit, he writes: “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20). Here, instead of referencing in everything, the Apostle Paul describes it always for all things. As a follower of Jesus Christ, then, gratitude holds a high place in our lives. Being grateful is both the will of God and evidence of walking in the Spirit. To the extent we are not grateful, to that same extent we will not be in the will of God or not walking in the Spirit.
Second, Jesus Gives us the Power to be Content, Which is Directly Connected to Gratitude.
The Apostle Paul again helps us think through this issue. He writes:
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:11-13)

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Do not be consumed with your own interests but make it your practice to keep Christ first by putting the needs of others ahead of your own. Be grateful for what you have rather than bemoaning what you don’t. In this way, we set ourselves apart and are witnesses to the power of God in our lives.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.—Philippians 2:3-4
I encourage you to stop and reread these verses a second time. Do you feel the same conviction I do? After urging the church to be “in full accord and of one mind” (verse 2), Paul unveiled the most likely culprits that derail such harmony in a congregation. One might think he would warn against poor theology, as dangerous as that is, or perhaps wrong motives. To be sure, Scripture does warn against such corruption. But, in these verses, Paul intended to uncover the dangers of “selfish ambition” and “conceit.” Desired by the enemy, these self-serving behaviors take root in the heart of countless church leaders and members, destroying unity and hindering kingdom work.
Do Nothing from Selfish Ambition…
When we speak, act, or respond with selfishness, we knowingly fail to walk in the way of wisdom. In fact, James 3:14 addresses this head-on. James cautions, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” Acting with selfish ambition may be a bigger problem than we realize. This way of thinking is condemned as not only abandoning godliness but embracing evil.
You may be quick to assume this warning does not apply to you because, after all, you are in church each Sunday. You serve in the church, help lead the church, and read your Bible each day. Do not become complacent! You must proceed with caution. This same Greek word (translated here as selfish ambition) was used by Paul once before in chapter one. In verse 17, he described the motivation of other men who were preaching out of selfish ambition. These preachers who knew God’s Word, read it, and preached it, were guilty of this very sin, which is often translated as rivalry.
When it comes to ministry, Paul’s words of caution must not be taken lightly. He spoke from personal experience. He had been the recipient of the damage that selfish ambition creates. Yet, though there may be the risk that people would engage in Kingdom work not for the sake of magnifying the name of Christ, but for the purpose of promoting themselves, we must never see another Christ-glorifying believer as our “rival.” To protect ourselves from surrendering to the temptation of greedy aspirations, we must make a daily choice to place ourselves under the leadership of God. Let it be said of us that we did “nothing from selfish ambition,” rather that we credit Christ for any and all fruitful harvest as a result of our labor.
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