Not just professional clergy.
Not a building.
The Called are members of the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Believers who have surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and trust Him for their Salvation.
When I was growing up in the confusion of a mainstream church, I thought being “called” was reserved for someone who decided to go to become an ordained minister.
What being called by God really means is simply being saved. People can be called to ministry but this can cast a shadow of ignorance on the body of believers at large when being saved or called means a definite course highlighted by a transformed life, turning away from sin, made possible by the Holy Spirit regardless of ones pursuit of becoming clergy. Being called to Christ is a miraculous event that every true believer experiences.
God calls each believer to be saved. Becoming a professional clergyman is simply a different way of serving God. God’s transformation of believers begins with being saved, not only by faith, but the faith of God imparted to a sinful, unrighteous, and unholy person, so that no man may boast.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” – John 3:5-8.
Just like how you participated in your own birth, you really had nothing to contribute. Like the dry bones spewed across the valley floor as in Ezekiel 37, dead men, dead in sins, have no capability in their Resurrection which is an act of Almighty God.
Unfortunately, the emphasis of a calling related to professional clergy often has the effect of disempowering the average layperson such that he does not take his relationship with the living God as personally and as seriously as he ought, nor his or her role as a follower of Christ in their family roles as seriously as they ought to.
Parents, men especially, need to be prepared and armed with the Word of God and knowledgeable about the Gospel. In accordance with the Great Commission, the spreading of the Gospel and the rearing of children in the faith is expected to be a critical part of the walk of any follower of Christ.
The Gospel, which proclaims the “Good News” glorifies God and His love and the redeeming sacrifice and the Resurrection of the Son of God, there is no other authority in heaven or on earth which a man shall find eternal salvation and reconciliation with a Holy, Righteous and Just God. Being Called is becoming dedicated to life in greater alignment to the Gospel, in effect, gravitating towards a Gospel-centered life.
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel from the late Pastor John MacArthur, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
All quoted excerpts have footnotes removed, usually from Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), sometimes from New International Version (NIV), on rare occasion the Amplified Bible (AMP).
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