The world is changing and today we clearly see the landscape of Christianity transitioning from the Global North to the Global South. Majority world counties in latin America, Africa and Asia that have been the recipient of missionary work all these years are now becoming the center of Christianity. What does this mean for those living in the United States and what part will we have in helping reach others beyond our borders?

In her book Let Me Be a Woman, Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.” With that in mind, stories about women who faithfully served the Lord make me want to dig a little deeper into what we can learn from their example! How can these women’s stories help us be “a different kind of woman”? With that focus, the last time I read through Acts, I especially noticed the few verses the Bible gives us about Priscilla, and found myself challenged by her! Let me share some of what I learned about this woman who consistently served God!

1. All men are equal and are equally guilty before our creator. 

Understand that you’re guilty of breaking God’s Law and what that means for you. The Bible says we’re all sinners (Romans 3:10,23), and that sin can be defined by breaking His commandments (1John3:4). It’s not about which sins you’ve committed, because you may be saying that you haven’t done anything THAT bad to deserve a punishment as severe as hell. The key point is with who you’ve offended. The consequence for sin is death and an eternity in hell because we’re guilty of offending and breaking God’s law. (2 Thessalonians 1:8)

2. All men are powerless to save themselves

Realize that there’s nothing that you can do in your own power to save yourself. The Bible repeatedly says that our good works are not good enough to bring peace between you and God. (Romans 3:28 ; 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-9 ; Titus 3:5) Because you’re already guilty before God, there’s absolutely nothing you can do in your own strength to change your position. (John 3:16,18) The issue is not about reforming your actions, it’s about admitting your guilt and changing your heart with what you believe. (Isa.64:6; Jeremiah 17:9)

3. All men must repent

Turn from anything you previously were trusting in and believe in Christ’s sacrifice. Repentance is when you admit that what you were trusting in was wrong and then to change the object of your faith. (2Peter3:9) For many, countless people trust in their own goodness for their salvation. The general idea is that if your good works outweigh your bad at the judgment, you’ll be fine. As we’ve already seen in the Bible, this won’t work because no one is good enough. If you’re currently trusting in such good works, your church, your baptism or good morales, then these are the things you need to “turn from” in order for you to fully put your faith in Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 17:30). Being a good person is a great thing but if that was what God wanted for salvation then why did Jesus die on the cross? (Galatians 2:21)

4. All men must accept Jesus Christ

Accept that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin. As we’ve seen, there was an offense against God, a conviction and then lastly a sentence from the great Judge, Himself. Even though our sin is enough to condemn us to hell, Jesus took our place and died as a substitute for our transgressions (Isa.53:5). By trusting in what Jesus did, we’re accepting our guilt, our sin and our inability to change our outcome. We’re admitting that we have no power to save ourselves and that we’re simply not good enough. Jesus died for you and He’s the only one that can offer forgiveness for your offense against God (Rom.5:19; 10:9,10,13)