Framing the Frontier

This past Sunday, in the small church that I attended, I sang some familiar songs, prayed with others for our governmental leaders, took the Lord's Supper and listened to a sermon. What I ‘heard’ had to do with the ‘frontiers’ even though the minister never spoke that word.  A frontier is that area or a place where the known meets the unknown as an undeveloped territory, an unknown civilization…etc. So how does this apply to one as a Christian?

The first frontier is personal. It is the territory where the truth of one’s spiritual condition comes under the light of God. Conviction and repentance of sin, confession of faith, and acceptance or rejection of God's truth and Jesus as Savior occur in this hidden place. This is the frontier of being born again into the life of being a son or daughter of God by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). There is nothing wishy-washy about this frontier. Jesus said that one is either ‘with him or against him’ (Matthew 12:30). There can be no moving on to the second frontier until this one has been conquered. 

The second frontier exists within the church, which is the “body” of believers (Ephesians 5:23) with Christ as its "head" (Colossians 1:18).  Once one is a born again believer, one becomes a member of the body. The church has two parts to its frontier. There is the part that faces inward and is about helping its members grow and mature in Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). The other frontier is what faces outward, the work the church does in the world to advance the kingdom of God. The church in addressing these frontiers fulfills both what Christ prayed for (John 17:20-23) and the great commission (Mark 16:15).

The third frontier is spiritual as well. This is the frontline that all Christians face. These are the cultural phenomena and trends of the day that are counter to the principles and truths of God and therefore are the weapons of the adversary. The issues may be initially controversial but soon are woven into the fabric of society and made manifest as the new norm. Anyone questioning or challenging them are seen as being politically incorrect and unsympathetic to the plight of the current campaign of misaligned truths and its subjects. Such issues are ever present and seem to erupt with regularity and despite their oft nebulous qualities and chameleon behavior they are concrete and have an immutable presence that leaves one feeling forced upon. In this context it is worth recalling Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

To put it in terms I heard Sunday, ‘anything that removes God from the planet or results in a blurring of the lines and brings into question what has long been understood and known to be true’ qualifies as a frontier for the Christian. There is no returning to the world of yesteryear and we should not question if a mistake has been made concerning the time and place are now living in, rather they were preordained by God (Acts 17:22-31). The question is will we rise to the challenges of the time and be willing to go the frontline of the frontier?