Scripture: Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Observation: Christianity has an interesting relationship with the concepts of “insider” and “outsider.”
Human beings grow up in families and communities and generally have a bias towards the familiar, which creates and sustains some sort of insider/outsider dynamic—sometimes bad, sometimes benign. It is true both that we can and have overcome this bias in myriad ways and that it remains a fact about the human story.
In the Old Testament, we find that God has always had a “permeable membrane” approach, if you will, to the insider/outsider dynamic. God has a covenant people, it is true. God covenants with Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, etc.), but that covenant relationship functions less like “these are my favorites and the rest of you are out of luck” and more like God’s “base of operation” from which He works toward reconciling all humanity to Himself. Throughout the story of Israel, we see outsiders welcomed into God’s covenant people through faith.
That’s one of the remarkable features of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Just track the women in the genealogy and see how it provides a summary of God’s grace that transforms outsiders into insiders and provides a preview of the ministry and mission of Jesus, who welcomed the outsiders in His earthly ministry and died for insider and outsider alike on the cross.
Why all this lead-up about human nature, OT history, and covenant theology?
When we come to Paul’s directive here, he’s not talking about foreign relations but missional opportunity—proclaiming Christ. Paul is deeply interested in people coming to faith in Christ, which involves outsiders becoming insiders, in congruence with God’s mission throughout the whole of scripture. The Church, like Israel in the OT, is God’s “base of operation.” The Church is God’s covenant people, defined not by insider/outsider things like race, nationality, sex, class, status, economics, and the like, but by a deep commitment to Christ, sharing an ardent desire not to keep this relationship with God to ourselves.
As the English theologian and archbishop William Temple said, “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.”
Paul doesn’t want outsiders to stay that way. He wants everyone to become an insider. And he knows who can do that: Christ.
Application:
What opportunities do you have to “act toward outsiders” in a way that might proclaim or display God’s grace in Christ?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me see people the way you do—not as insiders or outsiders, but all as potential insiders through Jesus. Help me act accordingly. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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I really am thankful that I'm in a position where I can "act toward outsiders" every day. I try to show excitement for holiness every day. Just like we learned in bible study, we are ALL made in His image, so we are ALL good or born as "insiders". But, we do make human mistakes and bad choices. I really believe that we have to work hard at emulating compassion, grace, and love to all to show people that we can bask in that redeeming sun (even in sad times).
What opportunities do you have to “act toward outsiders” in a way that might proclaim or display God’s grace in Christ?
Exactly what we are trying to encourage in our church! To engage with people new to our congregation; to welcome, to encourage and let them know we are happy to see them in our sanctuary and want them to join us in worship and to come back!
Your “observation” answered questions I have had concerning God’s covenant people and we “outsiders”......thanks! Now I get it!