4G LTE

So why in the world am I bringing up 4G LTE?  This isn't a blog about technology so what am I up to?  Well, this past March my wife and I went to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Louisville, KY and we were introduced to a way of presenting the gospel that was called the Four G's.  Each G stands for a different part of the gospel and we found it to be a compelling way to share the gospel and I'll get into that a little later in this post.  Those that know me know that I am a geek.  I love technology and so when I heard the Four G's I immediately chuckled to myself and thought of the 4G LTE but promptly got over it and simply began using the Four G's to present the gospel at my concerts.

The first G stands for Good.  In Genesis chapter 1 God says that his creation is good at the end of each day and at the end of the sixth and final day He says it is very good (verse 31).  God created everything good, very good in fact.  That was His original plan, that we would be good and He still handcrafts every single human being on the planet innately good.

Unfortunately, thanks to our first parents, that goodness was spoiled.  When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they brought the Guilt of sin upon the human race.  Why the whole race?  Because at the time they WERE the entire human race.  That sin nature, which here we call the zombie inside, means that every person born is guilty before God of sin and therefore must pay the price for that sin.  What is that price?  Death.

God in His infinite mercy doesn't wish for anyone to perish.  After all, He created the human race to be in relationship with him eternally.  So God, seeing that our guilt would bring us death and eternal separation from Him put into motion a plan whereby we might experience His Grace, His unmerited favor.  Because God is just He couldn't simply overlook our sin, the penalty for our transgressions had to be paid in full and no human being was ever going to be able to pay that price because none would be capable of living up to God's perfect standard.  That is why God came down himself in the person of Jesus to live among us.  He was subject to all the hardships and heartaches we are and yet was still able to live a sinless life, even in the midst of being falsely accused, tortured and ultimately killed by the most brutal and shameful means ever devised by man, crucifixion.  That was the plan all along.  One perfect man redeeming the entire human race, just as one man had condemned the entire human race to a life of hardship and suffering.

But just because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins God still wanted us to love Him for who He is, He still wanted us to choose Him.  That means that while the free gift of salvation is available to everyone and anyone each individual must, as Romans 10:9-10 tells us, Believe in his heart and confess with is mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead then they shall be saved. Yeah, I paraphrased that but you get the point, it's up to each of us individually to choose to believe in and follow Christ.  By choosing to follow Him we will begin living our life in such a way as to please Him.  In other words we will live as He directs us out of a sense of Gratitude for what He has done for us.  Romans 12:1 says that we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.  This is our spiritual act of worship.

So the 4G's are Good, Guilt, Grace and Gratitude but what about the LTE.  Well, that stands for Living Transformationally Everyday.  As we've discussed here numerous times, while we are new creatures in Christ there still lurks within us the zombie inside, that part of us which still wishes to live in darkness and attempts to drag us back from our relationship with God.  By Living Transformationall Everyday it reminds us that we are in a constant struggle to live as God has commanded us to live.  Until we arrive in Heaven we will have to fight against the zombie inside.  Therefore we must be in constant, active relationship with God everyday, seeking to become more like Christ so that we won't slide back into the darkness which He rescued us from.

4G LTE, the way we are meant to live.