I just thought I would briefly share a quote with you that I found this morning by Charles Spurgeon (my personal favorite preacher).
“Let eloquence be flung to the dogs rather than souls be lost. What we want is to win souls. They are not won by flowery speeches.”
First Corinthians 2:1-5 says,
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
From experience, I can safely say that when we as Christians get motivated or inspired to witness, the automatic thought is "Hey, I oughta learn how to witness better." What Paul is saying and Spurgeon is seconding is that we don't need more knowledge or training courses; we need action. The model we see in the book of Acts is that evangelism was a natural outflow of what God was doing in the believers' lives. So, if you are one of the people like me and you want to memorize all of the "right answers" to those difficult questions that unbelievers ask before you witness, this is for you. God has already given you everything necessary to effectively witness: power, knowledge, and support straight from the throne room of the Almighty. God's truth doesn't need eloquent and polished speech to enhance it. Do we need to be constantly in the Word as our source of truth? Yes. Do we need to be prayed up? Absolutely. Should we have an idea of what we are going to say? Probably wise. That said, we (I say "we" because this is something I struggle with) will never be effective evangelists if we are constantly in preparation and never in practice. There needs to be a balance. I hate to say this, but no matter how many books you read and how many times you rehearse your delivery in front of the mirror, you won't get it right every time. Nevertheless, we serve a God who is capable of using us despite our shortcomings. The application is simple and direct: get out and do it.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Elevators and Evangelists
Today, we'll be moving ahead in our study of Jude 20-25. This'll be a little shorter than some of the other posts in this particular study, but hey, I hear short is the new long.
Jude 23 says,
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire...
Suppose you're walking in the middle of New York City and you happen to see a construction team working on a new skyscraper. You and a hundred of your closest friends stop to watch. The main frame of the building is up, and the workers are putting the touches on the elevator shaft. They start to test the lift and send the elevator from the top floor to the bottom floor. As the elevator is sliding down toward the bottom, you look down and see two little children playing right where the elevator will land. What will you do? Chances are good that you are going to push your way through the crowd and sprint for the children. The only thing on your mind when you see those two children is to pull them out of there.
Same idea.
We've spent some time looking at the passages about Hell and God's wrath, so I won't rehash all that here. Let me just say this and leave it there. There are a lot of people that we come in contact with on a daily basis that are playing right under the elevator, so to speak. When we see lost men, women, and children playing around and living each day in danger of God's judgment, we should experience some of the same type of fear as described above. Jude uses a similar analogy of pulling someone away from a fire.
So all of that said, my challenge to you today is to pray that God will allow you to see people as souls in danger of destruction. I guarantee that's all the motivation you'll need.
Not only does this passage describe one of the things we should feel about the lost, but it tells us that people can be pulled out of the fire. There is hope, and we have to rest in that. So let this verse both challenge and encourage you.
Jude 23 says,
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire...
Suppose you're walking in the middle of New York City and you happen to see a construction team working on a new skyscraper. You and a hundred of your closest friends stop to watch. The main frame of the building is up, and the workers are putting the touches on the elevator shaft. They start to test the lift and send the elevator from the top floor to the bottom floor. As the elevator is sliding down toward the bottom, you look down and see two little children playing right where the elevator will land. What will you do? Chances are good that you are going to push your way through the crowd and sprint for the children. The only thing on your mind when you see those two children is to pull them out of there.
Same idea.
We've spent some time looking at the passages about Hell and God's wrath, so I won't rehash all that here. Let me just say this and leave it there. There are a lot of people that we come in contact with on a daily basis that are playing right under the elevator, so to speak. When we see lost men, women, and children playing around and living each day in danger of God's judgment, we should experience some of the same type of fear as described above. Jude uses a similar analogy of pulling someone away from a fire.
So all of that said, my challenge to you today is to pray that God will allow you to see people as souls in danger of destruction. I guarantee that's all the motivation you'll need.
Not only does this passage describe one of the things we should feel about the lost, but it tells us that people can be pulled out of the fire. There is hope, and we have to rest in that. So let this verse both challenge and encourage you.
Friday, January 4, 2013
The Ram of God
I just want to take a brief respite from our study in Jude and share with you something I came across recently in my Bible study. If you have your Bible, turn to Genesis 22. This is a fairly familiar account in the Old Testament that is often used as a picture of Christ's sacrifice. Long story short, God comes to Abraham and tells him to go atop a mountain and sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham obeys and sets off the next morning for the mountain. Abraham and Isaac go on alone, they build the altar, and Isaac is laid upon it with the wood. Abraham readies his knife and prepares to sacrifice his only son, the son that God had so long promised him. Just before Abraham kills his son, a voice speaks out from heaven, staying his hand. Paraphrasing, God commends Abraham's faith, and that He had seen that Abraham was unwilling to hold anything back from Him.
Again, it is a fairly familiar story and has great implications as a picture of Christ; however, I think that this account can reveal more about the heart of God than we often see. Look at who commands Abraham to sacrifice his Son. It's God. No surprise there. The person of the Trinity that is also termed God that Father makes this command, but look at verses 11-13, when the voice calls out from Heaven. In verse 12, the voice says that Abraham had not witheld his son from "me," so we see that this is God speaking, but look at the proper noun in verse 11. It says that the angel of the LORD is speaking. A while back, I wrote a post entitled "The Way" looking at something in the Old Testament called a theophany. I would recommend your going back to that post to get a little more detail on this particular truth, but, simply put, the angel of the LORD is the preincarnate Christ. Do you see the symbolism. God the Father demands the sacrifice, and the Son saves the victim, and in verse 13, provides a substitutionary ram. Thousands of years later, God the Father still demands that His holiness and wrath be appeased, but in His love, God sends another Ram to be offered up in the stead of the transgressors, and once again, it is the Son who provides this substitute.
Again, it is a fairly familiar story and has great implications as a picture of Christ; however, I think that this account can reveal more about the heart of God than we often see. Look at who commands Abraham to sacrifice his Son. It's God. No surprise there. The person of the Trinity that is also termed God that Father makes this command, but look at verses 11-13, when the voice calls out from Heaven. In verse 12, the voice says that Abraham had not witheld his son from "me," so we see that this is God speaking, but look at the proper noun in verse 11. It says that the angel of the LORD is speaking. A while back, I wrote a post entitled "The Way" looking at something in the Old Testament called a theophany. I would recommend your going back to that post to get a little more detail on this particular truth, but, simply put, the angel of the LORD is the preincarnate Christ. Do you see the symbolism. God the Father demands the sacrifice, and the Son saves the victim, and in verse 13, provides a substitutionary ram. Thousands of years later, God the Father still demands that His holiness and wrath be appeased, but in His love, God sends another Ram to be offered up in the stead of the transgressors, and once again, it is the Son who provides this substitute.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Of Some Have Compassion...
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.
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.
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.
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