This kind of conservatism (revealed by Paul in several texts and demonstrated by Peter in Acts 10) can hinder or even be counterproductive to the work of the gospel. The third goal was to increase the understanding of Legacy Church's congregation regarding the intersection between Christian freedom and the spread of the gospel. Christian freedom.”1 He approaches this question from the point of view of the diet of the Corinthians.
In verse 7 we come to the heart of the matter, as Paul deals with those who have a weak conscience. This brings us to the second difficult question in the text: Paul implies that the final salvation of the weaker brother is in doubt (v. 11). 55 This is a profound point, because Paul both argues for the end of the law, but also.
There are, however, some basic considerations in applying the principles of Christian liberty to the spreading of the gospel. However, these are clear points for evangelism and the manifestation of the spirit of Christian freedom for the Christian evangelist. For the Christian evangelist, one of the greatest tools in his spiritual toolbox is the balance of knowledge, patience, and love.
Such an arrogant attitude is the opposite of the gospel grace revealed in this chapter - namely self-sacrifice.
Christian Liberty Survey
Sermon Series
This goal was considered successfully met when a minimum of 90 percent of all rubric assessment indicators met or exceeded the adequacy level. Additionally, there were many comments from Heritage Church members that this topic was very helpful to them personally and transformative to our church's spiritual understanding. During the sermon series, five Legacy leaders completed the "Christian Freedom Sermon Series Assessment Tool." Each individual completed one sermon rubric for a total of fifty rubrics.
Because the full data set would be too long, we note the cumulative averages from each individual. The sermon series rubric rated each sermon on a four-point scale: 1=Insufficient, 2=Requires Attention, 3=Sufficient, and 4=Exemplary. There were eight questions per rubric for a total of 400 marks given over the course of the sermon series.
Intersection of Christian Liberty and Gospel Outreach
So a careful explanation of the organic, theological connections between Christian freedom and evangelism was crucial to the success of this sermon series. This goal was measured by a post-survey, which was used to determine the change in understanding of Christian liberty among the Legacy Church congregation.3 The goal was considered successful when the dependent samples t-test a positive, statistically significant difference in the pre- and post-survey scores. Due to the nature of these questions, they are not included in the following synopsis.
Question 8 said: "I fully understand how Christian freedom affects the outreach of the gospel of the Heritage Church." The mean pre-test response was 4.619, and the mean post-test response was 5.619.
Outreach Ministry Plan
The first and greatest strength of the project was the fact that it derives directly from Scripture. More narrowly, the careful exposition of the text in question (1 Cor. 8-10) has revealed the evangelical center of Christian freedom and has revolutionized the thinking of our church regarding the gospel and Christian freedom. Another strength of the project was that this kind of preaching, teaching and vision is very attractive to sincere Christians in our community who are looking for a church home.
At the time, there were approximately forty to fifty regular Sunday worship service attendees (not adjusted for COVID-19). However, God has seen fit to bless our ministry numerically despite the decline, and we now have regular attendance of 60-70 people on Sunday mornings, with more joining all the time. Another strength of the project was that the renewed gospel emphasis in our church has produced significant gospel fruit in unexpected ways, apart from the Indian Hindu community.
In the midst of this project, God led me to start a new ministry to help children. Although these children are not necessarily Indian Hindus, they are the fruit of the gospel. But in the short term, we have already started to see clear fruits in other areas thanks to our revamp.
Most prominently, I switched to churches in the middle of my Doctor of Ministry program (and partially as a result of my doctoral program). Another weakness of the project was that the congregation at Legacy Church had not previously received this kind of regular expository preaching (as mentioned above). It is my belief that exegetical preaching is the best way to present the scriptures because it allows us to enter most thoroughly into the minds of the human and divine authors.
A third weakness of the project was that the ten-week sermon series was scheduled for the late summer and early fall of 2022, when many people in the church were traveling on vacation. Such a barrier is always present, but seems to worsen in late summer and early fall. The fourth weakness of the project was the fact that it did not immediately bear fruit.
Would Do Differently
Paul's explanation of Christian freedom was aimed at groups of people both inside and outside the church. By the end of the series, congregation members will fully understand the biblical concepts of Christian freedom. Christian freedom.” Paul specifically addresses this issue from the point of view of the dietary habits of the Corinthians.
And this is our conclusion: the great concern of the Christian is to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ to the best of his ability for the glory of God. Verse 6—Paul lists a third area of freedom: not to take a secular job, but to devote all your time to the work of the ministry. But Paul now shifts his emphasis from the responsibility of lay Christians to the sacrifice of God's man.
In Paul's thinking and lifestyle, nothing was as important as the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel. Verse 23 – Paul concludes by saying once more that his great and glorious purpose is the effectiveness of the gospel message. In our text today we consider Paul's very genuine humility and single-minded focus on the advancement of the gospel.
Verse 24—At the end of the verse, Paul speaks to the prize available to the winner. He'll get to that in a minute, but that's not the focus of the word. The cup of the Lord's Supper represents our share in the sacrificial blessings of Christ.
Verse 23 – Paul now returns to the main subject of the text, which is Christian liberty in relation to idolatry. He again refers to the offense of conscience in relation to the Gospel. A mature Christian has every right to explain his freedom, but determined not to exercise it for the sake of the gospel.
These last three areas are specifically in contrast with the teaching of the Old Testament and deliberately so. In the matter of Christian liberty the two great concerns are the glory of God and the advancement of the Gospel.
