Are the lost worthy to serve?
Taking a step back, we should define the words worthy and righteous.
Merriam Webster defines them this way;
Worthy: Having value
Righteous: Morally right/good
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines them this way;
Worthiness: Acceptableness for some benefit
Righteous: That which is upright
This time, we want to talk about whether or not the lost is worthy to serve. Romans 5:10 says that we were enemies to God before salvation. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me”.
Does God then reject those that are lost, as not being worthy to serve Him? Let’s explore a couple people in the Bible and get an answer to that.
1. Saul - In Acts Chapter 9, we find that Saul was a persecutor of Christians. On the Damascus road, in verse 4, Jesus asks, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me”? In verse 5, Jesus said, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”. Saul, then, asked Jesus what He wanted him to do (service). Jesus told him to go into the city and he’ll be told what to do.
God changed Saul’s heart and priorities, and Saul decided to follow Jesus in service to Him. Saul was made righteous and worthy, when he accepted Jesus.
Did Jesus determine Saul worthy before he was saved? Were the pricks that Jesus was talking about, the Holy Spirit convicting Saul of his sin? Did Jesus choose Saul to service before he was saved, and then bring him to salvation, so that he could be worthy to serve?
2. Samaritan woman at the well – When Jesus left Judea, in John 4:1-30, to avoid conflict, on His way to Galilee, He “needed” to go through Samaria. Jacob’s well was there and Jesus was tired and thirsty. He sat on the well, and while sitting there, a woman of Samaria of mixed race, Jew and Samaritan, came to draw water.
Jesus asked her to give Him water. She reminded Him that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus told her that if she knew about the gift of God and who He is, she would have asked Him to give her living water. The story goes on to tell that Jesus was aware of her previous five husbands and, that the man that she has now, she isn’t married to. She accepted the truth, that Jesus is the Messias, the Christ. She immediately went into the city and told the men that Jesus told her all that she had ever done and all that she had learned. The men left the city and went to Jesus, and many of the Samaritans believed on Him for the sayings of this woman. This was her service to Jesus.
Did Jesus determine the Samaritan woman worthy for service before she was saved? Did Jesus choose her to serve Him before she was saved, then bring her to salvation so that she could serve, being made righteous and worthy, through salvation? These are questions I’ll leave you to ponder and study the scriptures, with prayer, to determine the answers for yourself.
Next time, we’ll discuss some of the women of the Bible and how their lives, then, parallel to our lives today.
JALG
Taking a step back, we should define the words worthy and righteous.
Merriam Webster defines them this way;
Worthy: Having value
Righteous: Morally right/good
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines them this way;
Worthiness: Acceptableness for some benefit
Righteous: That which is upright
This time, we want to talk about whether or not the lost is worthy to serve. Romans 5:10 says that we were enemies to God before salvation. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me”.
Does God then reject those that are lost, as not being worthy to serve Him? Let’s explore a couple people in the Bible and get an answer to that.
1. Saul - In Acts Chapter 9, we find that Saul was a persecutor of Christians. On the Damascus road, in verse 4, Jesus asks, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me”? In verse 5, Jesus said, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”. Saul, then, asked Jesus what He wanted him to do (service). Jesus told him to go into the city and he’ll be told what to do.
God changed Saul’s heart and priorities, and Saul decided to follow Jesus in service to Him. Saul was made righteous and worthy, when he accepted Jesus.
Did Jesus determine Saul worthy before he was saved? Were the pricks that Jesus was talking about, the Holy Spirit convicting Saul of his sin? Did Jesus choose Saul to service before he was saved, and then bring him to salvation, so that he could be worthy to serve?
2. Samaritan woman at the well – When Jesus left Judea, in John 4:1-30, to avoid conflict, on His way to Galilee, He “needed” to go through Samaria. Jacob’s well was there and Jesus was tired and thirsty. He sat on the well, and while sitting there, a woman of Samaria of mixed race, Jew and Samaritan, came to draw water.
Jesus asked her to give Him water. She reminded Him that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus told her that if she knew about the gift of God and who He is, she would have asked Him to give her living water. The story goes on to tell that Jesus was aware of her previous five husbands and, that the man that she has now, she isn’t married to. She accepted the truth, that Jesus is the Messias, the Christ. She immediately went into the city and told the men that Jesus told her all that she had ever done and all that she had learned. The men left the city and went to Jesus, and many of the Samaritans believed on Him for the sayings of this woman. This was her service to Jesus.
Did Jesus determine the Samaritan woman worthy for service before she was saved? Did Jesus choose her to serve Him before she was saved, then bring her to salvation so that she could serve, being made righteous and worthy, through salvation? These are questions I’ll leave you to ponder and study the scriptures, with prayer, to determine the answers for yourself.
Next time, we’ll discuss some of the women of the Bible and how their lives, then, parallel to our lives today.
JALG