The issue with sharing our faith

Even though I am not yet twenty, I have come to understand that little words in our culture have big implications. Even in Christian circles little words can reveal our hearts. If one was asked what these words meant, after careful consideration, a somewhat Biblical meaning may be arrived at, but I do not believe that prodding should be necessary to discover the meaning of words in our Christian subculture. The word that I’m talking about today is “sharing.” There is not anything intrinsically wrong with the phrases:

“I shared my faith with someone the other day.”

“I want to share the gospel with a friend of mine.”

. . .

But I think that danger arises if we adopt a mindset of “sharing” rather than “proclaiming.” Conversationalism has become a major push in our current culture. The Christian evangelical model of today is somewhat like a show and tell. Something like this:

Evangelist: Hi, I am Evangelist. I’m just going around sharing my beliefs with people. What do you believe?

Evangelee: I believe . . . (some unbiblical doctrine)

Evangelist: Well, that’s interesting. Here’s what I believe.

Let me defend my point for a moment. My point is not that asking questions and listening should not be a part of proclaiming the gospel. My point is not that the Evangelist should dominate the speaking part of Evangelism. My point IS that the evangelist MUST speak with the authority given to him by Christ Jesus. “Here’s what I believe.” IS NOT AUTHORITATIVE. What does the bible say about evangelism? I suppose that is the most important aspect of it. I do not mean to be overly critical, but I do wish for Christians today to adopt a evangelical mindset that is Biblical. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And in Mark 16:

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. “

First observation, it is commanded that we are to evangelize. I think this is very clear from the passage. Second, Christ says “all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me.” I do not believe that this is merely an assertion of his authority on the disciples. In saying this He essentially states “Everything that I have said is true, and ALL of my commands are authoritative.” The reason that the disciples could speak authoritatively was not because they had any authority in and of themselves, but the spoke the gospel of Christ. Christ has been given all authority, therefore His gospel is authoritative. We must ¨proclaim” our faith and not merely “share” it. We must “proclaim” our faith and not merely have a conversation about it.

There IS reasoning in proclaiming the gospel. We are to be “sly as serpents and innocent as doves.” So we must pray that the Spirit would teach us to use the authoritative scripture that applies to the specific situation of the on to whom we are proclaiming it to.

There IS listening in proclaiming the gospel. Finding out what someone believes is important to help us to use the Word of God to knock out wrong beliefs from under their feet, that God willing that would learn to believe the truth about God and in Him find supreme satisfaction.

So, what’s the essential difference between sharing and proclaiming. One is authoritative by its very nature. One might protest and ask how an unbelieving soul would come to believe if we do not slowly and gently reason with him and only using light scriptural support? It is the work of the Spirit through the Word of God that saves. Not human reason. When the pure gospel is proclaimed, God’s elect hear it and believe. Christ said it himself in John 10:

“I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

The sheep hear the Words of Christ. He is the Shepard, not us. Let us proclaim His words. His sheep will hear our voice if our voices utter Christ’s Word.

God Bless

Don’t Linger!

I was reading some more in Holiness today.  JC Ryle points out the sad case of Lot’s lingering.  His is an example of what it is like to be in the world and not of it, but have no salt or light.  I found today’s reading in Holiness especially encouraging, because it directly applied to the last verses that I read in 2 Corinthians today.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Lot was not an ambassador.  He had perhaps had the son of God become sin for Him, but Lot did not let this show in his life.  He chose the land closer to the immoral Sodom, because it was more fruitful (in the worldly sense).  He lived in the city of Sodom, but seemingly had no influence on the city (or over his family).  He was seduced by his daughters.  Lot’s salvation and his actions are hard for me to rationalize, but if the Spirit through the Bible has declared Lot righteous (2 Peter 2:7) then he most assuredly was saved.  In the same passage it states that Lot was “oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.”  This tells me that the influence of this world drug lot down to a point where he could not shine for Christ as he was called.  If we let ourselves get surrounded by the world we will find ourselves in the same position.  We have a high calling as believers and it is evident from the case of Lot that we can come quite short of that calling while still being justified.  Once justified, always justified.  This says nothing about our sanctification.  Here is our call:

2 Peter 1:10

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will  never stumble.

Romans 12:1

I beseech your therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Galatians 5:25

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

And an exhortation from JC Ryle:

 If you are a lingerer, you must just go to Christ at once and be cured.  You must use the old remedy; you must bathe in the old fountain.  You must turn again to Christ and be healed.  The way to do a thing is to do it.  Do this at once!

God Bless!

Only walk in a manner worthy

“Only walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ . . . standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Philippians 1:27

I was convicted while reading this passage the other day.  To  truly walk in a manner worthy of the gospel is a feat that is incomprehensible in the flesh.  Indeed, even with the Spirit of God within us, we will not be sanctified to the point of completion until we see our Saviour face to face.  The entire discourse following this statement builds on it.  The Christian life that Paul lays out in this passage seems to be built on four principles (2:1).

1.  Consolation of love
2. Fellowship of the Spirit
3. Affection
4. Compassion

Now, the third and forth point may be referring to a similar idea, but I chose to list them separately.  It is interesting to note the similarities and differences between these four and the four that build on the former.  These four are those which will make Paul’s joy “complete.”  They are as follows (2:2).

1. Being of the same mind.
2. Maintaining the same love
3. United in spirit
4. Intent on one purpose

So what is the difference?  The first may to some extent may be done alone.  There is a love that comforts those in need.  There is a fellowship with the Spirit on a personal level.  There can perhaps be an affection and compassion that act similar to love.  But there is something more with the second set.  Walking in a manner worthy does not imply walking only on a personal level, but striving together with the entire body of Christ.  To love someone because you are the one actively displaying that love for all to see is not true love.  True love is a love that strives to form a bond with brethren and work for the good of others as a body and not only as individuals.  Fellowship with the spirit of God is important to our lives.  We could not live without it, but without a deep fellowship and union with the spirits of all in the body, we are not walking in a manner worthy.  If we are not intent on one purpose (the gospel, 1:27) we are not walking in a manner worthy.  Chapter 2:3-4 sums up the preceding two verses:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

May that truly be our lot in life!

Paul continues through chapter 2:18 on this theme and the attitude of Christ in 2:5-12 is indeed something that we should strive for.  Many more observations could be made in this passage, but I think the reader may observe them himself.

God Bless.

Friends of the World and with God?

In the past week I have been reading Holiness by J.C. Ryle.  It is an excellent read and I expect a book review will come around shortly, but today I would like to focus on a point that J.C. Ryle brought out about Growth.  Growth towards the image of God is naturally growth away from the things of this world.  We also cannot keep for ourselves a constant friendship with the world.  We must constantly be growing in the companionship of those who have been made well by Christ’s blood, if we are ever to be Christ’s messengers to the sick.  J.C. Ryle made a very good point about the company we keep as believers:

“Disease is infectious, but health is not.”

I have heard many illustrations on the influence of bad company on the believer, but none struck me so soundly as this.  J.C. Ryle hit the nail right on the head.  Our sinful nature will not be completely vanquished until we see the face of our Saviour.  Thus the company of evil men gives strength to our sinful nature and makes it harder to grow in sanctification. Our spirit of righteousness cannot draw out the “spirit’s of righteousness” in others, because unbelievers do not possess this second nature.  They have one nature alone: a sin nature.  The influence that the world has on believers detached from the church come through many means: friends, television, and the internet all contribute to fuel our inward corruption.  The Bible is most assuredly not silent on this issue.

” Evil communications corrupt good manners.”  1 Corinthians 15:33

” The friendship of the world is enmity with God.” James 4:4

Naturally, we cannot remove ourselves from the world.  It is impossible to both share the truth of the gospel while keeping a life that does not come in contact with sin.  Jesus ate with the sinners and tax collectors.  Naturally, He, unlike us CANNOT be influenced by the sin nature of his companions, for the same reason that sinful companions CANNOT be made healthy by our presence.  Jesus has only a righteous spirit and no sin nature that drives him (not to say that He was not tempted in the flesh, but it was His very nature to resist that temptation).  It is important for us to find a balance of spending time in the world, but not befriending it.  And most importantly we must rest in Christ and benefit from the fellowship of His church.  To be friends of the world and of God is impossible.  I pray to God that neither you, dear reader, if you be covered by His blood, nor I will find ourselves in a situation where our allegiance is questioned.

Prayer for Rain

Georgians Pray for Rain … Literally

This was the headline in an abcnews article today.  It’s a somewhat interesting story.  If you would like to read it click the link below.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3857886

I think that it is a sad commentary on human nature that we would so forsake God when we are blessed and entreat Him to aid us when we are in need.  In the case of Georgia, there’s a drought, so a state prayer vigil for rain will be going on soon on the steps of the capital.  The governor will be participating.  Of course this has elicited many complaints from those who believe that prayer is not powerful, because they believe that God does not exist or does not care.  Although, I don’t think that God works for those who only come to Him when they need rain, I hope that those who are protesting the riot will have a downpour dumped on their heads.  I’m sure they would find some scientific explanation for it though . . .