Love God
Love God
Idolatry is the basis of all sin; it happens when we elevate anything over God. It can be seen in greed, anger, lust, and pride. Idolatry is a reason for many of the hardships that Israel encountered in the Old Testament and because of idolatry manifesting itself in pride, Satan was cast down from heaven. It is easy to see that nothing should ever come before God. All things in ministry should be done as a response to God and for his glory.
Part of loving God is loving what he has done through the gospel. The gospel is not a prayer, not doctrine, and not just a way to get to heaven; it is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Saving lost people is one of the ways the Gospel has power, but it also has power for Christians. We can do nothing by our selves. Christianity is not about getting saved, then pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps to overcome sin, then attaching a holy sounding pithy statement to it to make our work sound spiritual. This never works, for we can do nothing good apart from the power of the gospel through the working of the Holy Spirit. All we can do apart from the gospel is reject our only source of hope and cry out “crucify him.”
Nothing is more important that God. Church growth, ministries, building funds, and the local church are all subordinate to God. He created them and he sustains them. God is ultimately sovereign for everything that happens in ministry, but we still have a responsibility to work hard at it, especially when it comes to loving others.
