It's been a little bit since I last posted, but we'll pretty much just pick up where we left off last time.
We're in the middle of studying Jude 20-25. Like I said in the previous post, this is one of my favorite passages regarding evangelism. In this post, we'll be taking a look at verse 22.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference.
At this point, we will be discussing one of the most critical truths in regard to evangelism: compassion. I say it is critical because you cannot do without it and be effective in witnessing. If your motive isn't love for God and compassion for the lost, you're doing it wrong. Why? Because we are to emulate our Lord in everything we do (Eph. 5:1-2). Notice that God didn't send His Son to earth because of theology. Christ didn't go to the cross because He was forced to. He came for the sake of His love toward us and His pity toward our condition (Rom. 5:6-8). Looking at God's love doesn't serve to downplay or deemphasize His holiness and wrath against sin. However, love and compassion are integral parts of God's nature that cannot be ignored.
So why do we as witnesses show compassion? We touched on the first one briefly. It is simply this: we have and show compassion towards others in imitation of Christ. Several times throughout the gospel accounts, the Bible specifically highlights Christ's compassion toward those with whom He was dealing. A few of these are Mark 1:40, Matt. 9:35-36, and Luke 7:13. We are to show compassion simply because Christ did.
The second reason we are to show compassion is closely tied to the first. Compassion is to play a major role in our lives once we recognize how Christ viewed the lost. This is seeing people through the eyes of God. In the previous point, we see that Christ had compassion. Now, we go a little deeper and see why Christ had compassion. In Matt. 9, Christ had compassion because the people were scattered and without a shepherd. Is. 53 says that we all like sheep have gone astray. Heb. 2:14-15 says that we were under the power of death. When Christ sees someone who is lost, His wrath is stoked by their sin, but His love is activated by their pitiful condition. This is the way we are to view the unsaved: as lost. This love of Christ is one of the major factors that is to drive our witness (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Lastly, we are to have compassion for the lost because we know the whole story. God, in His foreknowledge, has revealed to us the destiny of unbelievers. If they do not accept the gift of eternal life through Christ alone, God will not spare them. Once they die, the time for mercy is over. They have rejected the Son of God who gave Himself as their sacrifice. They have rejected the God who sent His one and only Son. God will call into account every thought, word, and action, and they will pay for every one. Read the account of Christ on the cross. Look at His agony in Gethsemane, His cry of "Why have You forsaken me?" That wasn't because of the nails. That wasn't because of the crown of thorns. It was because of our sin. God placed all our sin, past and present, and poured out every drop of His wrath against Christ. Every curse ever put on sinful man's head was heaped on Christ. And here is where the lost come in. If they reject Christ's sacrifice, they will suffer God's wrath for their own sin because they have not come under the blood of the Lamb. They will spend an eternity in Hell receiving the same justice that was placed on Christ. This is the plight and destiny of the lost. Even a casual perusal of the doctrine of Hell should be more than enough to make our hearts ache for those who do not know Christ. And this compassion should drive us to tell them.
As a final thought, the last phrase in verse 22 of Jude is "making a difference." Compassion makes a difference. People can disagree with every word you say, but if you demonstrate genuine compassion, they will most likely walk away with a respect for you that God can use to reach them later down the road. Also, if we honestly witness to someone with compassion as our motivation, that is a heart whose service God can bless.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Your Heart Before Your Service
If you have your Bible, I would encourage you to turn to the book of Jude. Jude is one of the books you would probably turn to if your pastor told you to memorize an entire book of the Bible. Why? The entire book is shorter than many chapters in the Bible. If you are like me, it probably took you about five minutes to figure out where in the world Jude was because it takes up one side of a page in your 1500 page Bible.
Despite its small size, Jude contains a huge amount of truth; truth that includes one of my favorite passages on evangelism. Look toward the end of the book (it's not far). We will look at verses 20-25.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
This is a very short passage of Scripture. Most of you are probably thinking you could read through that in the time it takes for you to sneeze. Nevertheless, over the next couple of weeks, we are going to look at this passage and the truths it contains. You'll see that even these six short lines have huge practical application for the witness.
Right now, we will start with verse 20-21; what it means and how it applies to the witness. There are four main exhortations in these two verses, and all of them lead up to the same point. We see an exhortation to build our up our faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep ourselves in the love of God, and look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In application to the witness, this all leads to one conclusion: we are unable to witness effectively in and of ourselves. We must be prepared.
Let's take a look at each of these individual principles.
For starters, we are called to build up our faith. Taking the other statements and the rest of the Word into account, we cannot neglect time in the Bible. If we are to be effective witnesses, we must pour time into increasing our knowledge of God, seeking His face, and preparing our hearts to be used of Him. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from the Word of God. We need to spend time in the Word so that we are able to recognize opportunities as God provides them, and so that we are able to communicate His truth clearly when the time comes.
Second, we see the need to spend time in prayer in and with the Holy Spirit.. Romans 8:26 inseparably links the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to our prayer. The Bible is how God speaks to us; prayer is how we communicate back. John 14:13-14 reads,
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (emphasis mine)
These words were spoken by our Lord. He teaches that if we pray for opportunities to glorify the Father, God will honor those prayers. Not only does prayer open doors for evangelism, the two-way communication of reading the Word and prayer is how we stay attuned to the heart of God.
Thirdly, we are given an exhortation to keep ourselves in the love of God. Where do we see the love of God most. I would submit that we see the greatest display of God's love on the cross. Romans 5:8 says,
8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. If we are to be effective as believers in all areas of life, not just evangelism, we must constantly look to the cross. It is to be the focal point of our lives. Even in the very deep, "theological" books of the New Testament, the authors constantly return to the cross. It is the beginning, heart, and end of everything we do and are. We must constantly return to the cross and be reminded of the love of God so that we can show that love to others. We will look at that a little more in the next post.
Lastly, we are to be looking ahead for the coming of our Lord. We are not of this world. Our Lord is not of this world (John 17:14). When this world sets its face against us, our hope is in the return of our Lord. When trials and tribulations come, our hope is in the return of our Lord. We did not trust Christ for the sole purpose of a better life on earth; our hope is in the return of our Lord. (1 Thess. 4:13-18) We live, not in light of this earh, but in light of eternity with our Lord, glorifying His name (2 Cor. 5).
I know this has been a long post, but I hope that it has been benficial in some way. If nothing else, remember that we cannot expect or even hope to be effective witnesses without being fully attuned to the will and way of the One we serve.
Despite its small size, Jude contains a huge amount of truth; truth that includes one of my favorite passages on evangelism. Look toward the end of the book (it's not far). We will look at verses 20-25.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
24 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
This is a very short passage of Scripture. Most of you are probably thinking you could read through that in the time it takes for you to sneeze. Nevertheless, over the next couple of weeks, we are going to look at this passage and the truths it contains. You'll see that even these six short lines have huge practical application for the witness.
Right now, we will start with verse 20-21; what it means and how it applies to the witness. There are four main exhortations in these two verses, and all of them lead up to the same point. We see an exhortation to build our up our faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep ourselves in the love of God, and look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In application to the witness, this all leads to one conclusion: we are unable to witness effectively in and of ourselves. We must be prepared.
Let's take a look at each of these individual principles.
For starters, we are called to build up our faith. Taking the other statements and the rest of the Word into account, we cannot neglect time in the Bible. If we are to be effective witnesses, we must pour time into increasing our knowledge of God, seeking His face, and preparing our hearts to be used of Him. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from the Word of God. We need to spend time in the Word so that we are able to recognize opportunities as God provides them, and so that we are able to communicate His truth clearly when the time comes.
Second, we see the need to spend time in prayer in and with the Holy Spirit.. Romans 8:26 inseparably links the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to our prayer. The Bible is how God speaks to us; prayer is how we communicate back. John 14:13-14 reads,
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (emphasis mine)
These words were spoken by our Lord. He teaches that if we pray for opportunities to glorify the Father, God will honor those prayers. Not only does prayer open doors for evangelism, the two-way communication of reading the Word and prayer is how we stay attuned to the heart of God.
Thirdly, we are given an exhortation to keep ourselves in the love of God. Where do we see the love of God most. I would submit that we see the greatest display of God's love on the cross. Romans 5:8 says,
8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. If we are to be effective as believers in all areas of life, not just evangelism, we must constantly look to the cross. It is to be the focal point of our lives. Even in the very deep, "theological" books of the New Testament, the authors constantly return to the cross. It is the beginning, heart, and end of everything we do and are. We must constantly return to the cross and be reminded of the love of God so that we can show that love to others. We will look at that a little more in the next post.
Lastly, we are to be looking ahead for the coming of our Lord. We are not of this world. Our Lord is not of this world (John 17:14). When this world sets its face against us, our hope is in the return of our Lord. When trials and tribulations come, our hope is in the return of our Lord. We did not trust Christ for the sole purpose of a better life on earth; our hope is in the return of our Lord. (1 Thess. 4:13-18) We live, not in light of this earh, but in light of eternity with our Lord, glorifying His name (2 Cor. 5).
I know this has been a long post, but I hope that it has been benficial in some way. If nothing else, remember that we cannot expect or even hope to be effective witnesses without being fully attuned to the will and way of the One we serve.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
My Banner Will Be Clear
I ran across something the other day that was both a challenge and an encouragement to me. I hope it does the same for you.
The following letter was found in the study of a young pastor in Zimbabwe, not long after he was martyred for the cause of Christ.
have to be first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His
presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.
My face is set, my gait fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my
companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought compromised,
detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or decayed. I will not flinch in the face of
sacrifices, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or
meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached
up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach
till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no
problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear."
The passion of this young man effectively puts the apathy of many Christians in our nation to shame. He said that "the die has been cast." He recognized that, when he made the decision to follow Christ, he cast in his lot with the King of Kings. He obviously felt a desire to serve God, but we also see that he felt himself to be under an obligation to serve God.
Look what this young pastor says at the end. "And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear." This young man made an on-purpose effort to be clearly identified with Christ. In Hebrews 11, we find what is known by many as the Hall of Faith. In verse 13, we read,
"13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (italics mine)"
These heroes of the faith did not keep their faith hidden. They didn't "hide their candle under a bushel." They were not afraid to be identified with the One they served. Verse 13 says that they confessed the fact that they were not of this world. Verse 14 says that they declared plainly their pilgrimage to the place to which God was calling them.
I hope and pray that my standard, my affiliation, will be as clear.
The following letter was found in the study of a young pastor in Zimbabwe, not long after he was martyred for the cause of Christ.
"I'm part of the fellowship of the
unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit's power. The die has been cast. I have stepped
over the line, The decision has been made- I am a disciple of His. I won’t look
back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes
sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight
walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap
giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no
longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don’thave to be first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His
presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.
My face is set, my gait fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my
companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought compromised,
detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or decayed. I will not flinch in the face of
sacrifices, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or
meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached
up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach
till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no
problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear."
The passion of this young man effectively puts the apathy of many Christians in our nation to shame. He said that "the die has been cast." He recognized that, when he made the decision to follow Christ, he cast in his lot with the King of Kings. He obviously felt a desire to serve God, but we also see that he felt himself to be under an obligation to serve God.
Look what this young pastor says at the end. "And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear." This young man made an on-purpose effort to be clearly identified with Christ. In Hebrews 11, we find what is known by many as the Hall of Faith. In verse 13, we read,
"13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (italics mine)"
These heroes of the faith did not keep their faith hidden. They didn't "hide their candle under a bushel." They were not afraid to be identified with the One they served. Verse 13 says that they confessed the fact that they were not of this world. Verse 14 says that they declared plainly their pilgrimage to the place to which God was calling them.
I hope and pray that my standard, my affiliation, will be as clear.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Never Cease
I just thought I would write a quick post and share something with you. Today is an awesome day for me, because it was exactly two years ago that I came to Christ. I was sitting in my Explorer at 0100 in the parking lot of a hotel the day before we were about to move to this base, and I committed my life to my Lord.
As I was thinking about this, I realized how powerful it truly was to look back on my salvation. I felt almost re-energized as I replayed my conversion experience, what Christ saved me from, and everything God did over the course of my life to bring me to Him.
That said, I have found that we never outgrow the gospel. We should never cease to be amazed by it. I was listening to a sermon last night about what it took to purchase our salvation, and I was thoroughly blown away. It doesn't get old! The only reason God could show me mercy was because He showed Christ none. And His only Son! Think about that. One Christ suffered for a few hours on the cross to purchase redemption for all of mankind; past, present, and future. How could this be? Simply because He is worth more than all of us put together. Yet God saw fit to make "Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Tell me that's not incredible.
Think back to when you were saved. Think about where you would be had Christ not gave Himself for you. And never cease to be amazed.
As I was thinking about this, I realized how powerful it truly was to look back on my salvation. I felt almost re-energized as I replayed my conversion experience, what Christ saved me from, and everything God did over the course of my life to bring me to Him.
That said, I have found that we never outgrow the gospel. We should never cease to be amazed by it. I was listening to a sermon last night about what it took to purchase our salvation, and I was thoroughly blown away. It doesn't get old! The only reason God could show me mercy was because He showed Christ none. And His only Son! Think about that. One Christ suffered for a few hours on the cross to purchase redemption for all of mankind; past, present, and future. How could this be? Simply because He is worth more than all of us put together. Yet God saw fit to make "Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Tell me that's not incredible.
Think back to when you were saved. Think about where you would be had Christ not gave Himself for you. And never cease to be amazed.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
His Job...Not Ours
I just wanted take a moment a quickly share something that happened to me the other day. I was meeting up with some people and two of my friends showed up with a guy I had never me before. One of my friends was debating with him creation vs. evolution, and we all kind of got in on it. It got to the point where he wasn't really able to answer questions about how life could begin without design, foundations for morals, and things like that, but he would not budge from his position. For starters please pray for this young man. As a side note, I was reminded something that is easy to forget. There are many different organizations mobilized to help equip believers to defend their faith scientifically, logically, philosophically, etc. These organizations are great and are doing a great work, but at the end of the day, we cannot win someone to Christ by our arguments alone. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, no amount of scientific evidence will win someone to Christ. Many scriptures indivisibly link the Holy Spirit to the process of salvation. A few of these are 1 Cor. 6:11; John 3:5; Tit. 3:5; and John 16:7-8. The conviction of the Holy Spirit brings the "godly sorrow [that] worketh repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10). I just thought I would share that with you.
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