My Writings. My Thoughts.
The Selfless & the Selfish
// February 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
When it comes to preachers of the gospel of Christ, there are two main types. As you probably guessed from the title, these two types are the selfless and the selfish. I draw these classifications from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he characterizes these two groups. No, we aren’t talking about heretics , we are talking about people who actually preach the true Gospel. Paul begins by telling us how his imprisonment has served to advance the Gospel and how it has caused many to be more bold in their proclamation of it. This group of emboldened preachers is comprised by the selfless and the selfish. One would think the most shocking thing about these groups is that the selfish preachers would still preach the true Gospel. Although this is somewhat mystifying, there is something far more shocking about this situation! Although I’m eager to “spill the beans” in LARGE BOLD letters all over this virtual page, you will have to continue reading. Let’s examine the two groups as Paul describes them.
Paul writes that “some preach Christ… from good will” and he continues... “the latter do it out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel”. This group of preachers is characterized by love and good will and they know something… They know that the apostle Paul has “been put here for the defense of the gospel”. They are supportive of Paul in his imprisonment, they love him and they preach the gospel from pure motives. They seek to glorify Christ instead of themselves. Contrary to the selfish preachers these preachers are not ashamed of Paul and his imprisonment. They are confident in the sovereignty of God and know that Paul has been placed there for the defense of the gospel.
Paul also tells us that “some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry“. The word used for envy here occurs 9 times in the New Testament. It is featured in several lists of evil qualities that characterize the unredeemed life. Envy is a work of the flesh and contrary to the characteristics featured in other lists which contain the fruits of the spirit. This is an attitude of jealousy. These preachers were envious of Paul’s apostleship, giftedness, and success. Paul continues… “the former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.” Paul has already been afflicted physically, what more could these preachers hope to do to him? He was a prisoner in Rome at the time and yet they sought to afflict Paul further. They were using the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a tool to lift themselves up and lower the apostle Paul in the eyes of men. They sought to afflict Paul emotionally and spiritually. We can only imagine the things they must have said. “Paul has sinned grievously and the Lord is punishing him for it.” or “This so-called apostle lacks the faith to be freed from his bonds.” These men were determined to undermine Paul’s authority and lift up themselves as they were driven by their selfish ambitions.
As we look at these two groups of preachers, we are drawn to one and repulsed by the other. We can become frustrated when we think of these men seeking to afflict Paul in his imprisonment. We can be overtaken with anger as we see these men, and others in our own time, using the gospel as a stepping stone in their quest for self exhalation. If we have not been in a similar situation we can surely imagine the emotional affliction this situation would cause if it happened to us. Which is why Paul’s response is so SHOCKING! At first glance your eyes may quickly breeze over the words Paul wrote next, but don’t let them, let it sink in. Paul writes “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” In light of the selfish preachers seeking to afflict him, Paul rejoices that the gospel is going forth, whether by selfless or selfish means. This does not mean that we rejoice in heresy, for we know Paul’s response in his letter to the Galatians. But in regards to the preaching of the true gospel, whether preached from false motives or pure motives, we with Paul should rejoice.
No Co T-Shirt Designs
// August 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
These are promotional t-shirts I designed for No Compromise Radio.
The End of Men? A Hard Look at the Future
// August 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
What does it mean for large sectors of our society to become virtual matriarchies? How do we prepare the church to deal with such a world while maintaining biblical models of manhood and womanhood? …The real issue here is not the end of men, but the disappearance of manhood.
Click here to read Dr. Al Mohler’s response to Hanna Rosin’s article
What has it cost you?
// August 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
It Will Cost You Everything from I'll Be Honest on Vimeo.
What does it cost you to follow Christ? Everything. Steve Lawson preaches on Luke 14 on the Cost of Discipleship. The sad reality is that many people are just part of a crowd, many are in the crowd of those who listen to Piper, Washer, Conway, MacArthur, yet they themselves have not truly submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Search yourself out this very day… have you come to saving faith? Or do you just wish you had the reality of Christ that you see others have? Don’t be part of the wrong crowd.
www.illbehonest.com
www.resolved.org
Steve Lawson is a pastor of:
www.cfbcmobile.org
Applied Machine Technology
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
I designed this website for a machine shop in Warren, RI. They were looking to redesign their old website which lacked consistency and usability into a website with a consistent theme which runs throughout. A simple website design with the goal of showcasing the products, workshop, and provide information about the company.
Check out the website @ www.Amtus.cc
Logo Design – Code Genesys
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
These are Logo Designs for a company in Massachusetts called Code Genesys, LLC. They are a software development company. There are two versions here, the standalone image and the image with text.
Cornerstone – Bethlehem Bible Church
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
Building upon an earlier an earlier website design for Bethlehem Bible Church, I added a custom theme for their Cornerstone youth ministry. With a cool grunge feel and hand drawn icons this design has been well received.
Esco Productions
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
Juan Marrio Escobar is a Christian music producer who wanted a first website to showcase His work. He was looking for a design that has an urban/hip-hop feel and a site that will grow as he adds material. He currently has two projects underway: Sovereign Election – A sermon jam series on God’s sovereignty in salvation and an album titled “TULIP” explaining the doctrines of grace (or 5 points of Calvinism). He is currently a student at The New England Institute of Art in Brookline, Mass.
We designed a Joomla CMS template which captured the style Juan was looking for. He is now able to manage content on his website and His site will grow as he does. The website will allow him to easily post multimedia content throughout the site which is something a producer absolutely needs. It is great to work with Christians artists like Juan Escobar who want to give all the glory to our Lord and preach the Gospel through their music instead of conforming to the culture.
Check out the live site @ www.EscoProductions.com
Bethlehem Bible Church
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
This is another Joomla website designed for a Church in West Boylston, MA. The old Bethlehem Bible Church website was custom built with no database and required hours of regular maintenance. As the church grew and added ministries, the work load became overwhelming for one person to maintain. The website style was also outdated visually and Bethlehem Bible Church described their desire for the future look and feel as “dark and artsy”.
We were able to implement a CMS system that exceeded their expectation and met their immediate needs as well as provided scalability for the future. The sermon archive is now sortable by verse, speaker, date, and title and fully searchable. We were able to capture their design style of “dark and artsy” which has had a tremendous response with great feedback. They are now looking to add more ministries, church directories, newsletters, forums, and photo galleries to their website. We are proud to say that we have met all of their current and future needs and many others with minimal effort and virtually no disruption to their website.
Check out their website @ www.BBCChurch.org
No Compromise Radio
// August 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Portfolio
No Compromise Radio is a ministry based at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Mass. No Compromise Radio is a radio show which airs from 760AM WVNE Worcester, MA. I designed this website for the Joomla engine and integrated their daily podcast, google calendar, facebook, and twitter feeds into the design.
Check out the website @ www.NoCompromiseRadio.com
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