Greg Waybright
February 4, 2003
9:30 am
Message Summary
In his message, Greg Waybright showed what is a holy response to a divided, unjust and violent world. He focused upon what the body of Christ should look and act like in the world, since we are called to be holy.
Using Romans 12 as his text, Waybright showed two principles and a mandate with which Christians are to live. The first principle was taken from verses 1-2 where Paul urges believers to commit their bodies (their lives) back to God. This is in light of the fact that we are all sinful and have been shown mercy in the person of Christ. The response to this, as Waybright said is that, “we should be wholly devoted to a Holy God.”
Waybright pointed out three words that should characterize our lives in light of God’s gift of salvation to us. They are gratitude, humility, and compassion. We should be grateful for what God has done, humble because it was our sins that required Christ’s death, and compassionate in that there are many who do not know Christ.
The second principle that Waybright drew was from verses 3-16. These verses show what a loving community should look like. Waybright said that we can’t talk about and preach a message of peace unless we model peace in our communities. The parallel was clear—we need to show and model love and peace to one another in the body of Christ.
Waybright closed by showing a mandate from verses 17-21. The mandate is that we are to be peacemakers in this world. We are to be peacemakers in our sensitivity towards others and our willingness to forgive. We are also to be peacemakers in that we need to point people to the forgiveness offered in Christ
Student Response
Waybright said “Our mission in this divided, unjust and violent world is to show the people a better way. Our lives and words should point people to Christ.” Waybright’s words about the body of Christ loving each other were very penetrating. I often fall short of loving others as much as I should. Waybright pointed out that our love for one another only helps to validate our message to a watching world. This love, gratitude and compassion should only be a natural response to what God has done for us. This was a message that all Christians need to be reminded of.
—Tyce Jensen, Senior, Communications/Print Media major