Sharing is Caring The Gospel! This is the message of good news about how we as sinful people are made right with the Holy Righteous Judge. We who are now in Christ are under no condemnation (Romans 8:1). This amazing God has loved us even while we were His hateful enemies (Romans 5:6-11). And this good news is the power that brings salvation to us and others (Romans 1:16). This is truly the best news! The extent of the need for this good news extends as far as the depravity of sin in our culture and the infection of sin in our hearts. What I mean is that everyone is a sinner so everyone needs the gospel. Every culture is influenced and infiltrated by sin so every culture and society needs the gospel. Evangelism is the telling or sharing of the gospel. If we have received the gospel then we must share it with others. And every Christian has what is needed to share the gospel! First, every Christian has knowledge of the gospel sufficient to save. If you do not have knowledge of the gospel then you are not a Christian. Simply tell others what you have believed. Second, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and working in us so that we are emboldened and empowered to tell others about Jesus. Third, we have a command and conviction to spread the good news about Jesus and His love. This is truly a mandate to tell every creature about the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). Excitement The Gospel is amazing and exciting news. We even sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” However, excitement is not the secret sauce to evangelism. Certainly, we do not want to present the gospel in an apathetic or melancholy way, but we also do not need manufactured excitement. We do not need to wait only for those days when we are experiencing a spiritual high to tell others about Jesus. Instead, what we need is diligence to keep sharing the gospel on all days and in all circumstances. As matter of fact from a human perspective it may be more meaningful to share the gospel when others can see it bringing us through the hard days. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be excited and emotionally affected by the gospel, certainly we should, but we must share the gospel diligently at all times. Expectation Once, when in college, a friend and I went out to do some street evangelism. I remember us distinctly thinking that if we didn’t really expect someone to be ‘saved’ then it wouldn’t happen. So we prayed and asked God to save someone and went out. I guess we didn’t expect it enough because we were at least temporarily unsuccessful. However, I don’t think that expectation is what is needed for fruitful evangelism. Rather what is necessary to fruitful ministry is always faithfulness. Faithfulness to trust that our sovereign God will accomplish His purpose and will use His word as He wills (Isaiah 55:6-11). Exhortation Our evangelism must involve real exhortation. Exhortation is communication emphatically urging someone to do something. Of course, only God can transform the heart, but we ought to be urging, even with tears, that people would come to Jesus and enter into God’s kingdom through humble submission and obedient trust in Christ as Lord. In speaking about the ministry of proclaiming this reconciliation with God to people, the Apostle Paul says that because we know the fear of the Lord we also must seek to persuade people. If we deliver the message of the gospel mechanically or halfheartedly then this displays two deep problems. First, it seems that we don’t care much or at all about the eternal destinies of these people. Whether those we speak to about the gospel are our friends and family or acquaintances and strangers, believers should be motivated by the real peril they are in and the genuine hope that the gospel provides. As Charles Spurgeon once famously stated: “If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” – Charles Spurgeon However, even more importantly, a lack of this kind of exertion in evangelism that brother Spurgeon refers to also demonstrates that we are not rightly viewing God’s awesomeness. We are deficient in our understanding of the fear, reverence and awe which is rightly due to the Creator, Sustainer and Holy Judge of the universe. This cascades into an even worse problem because we miss the amazing nature of the grace that the gospel represents. We miss the depth of the endless love that the gospel presents. And we miss the glorious goodness and mercy that the gospel purely reveals. So let us who have believed this good news be zealous to share it anywhere, anytime, and with anyone that we can!
0 Comments
I Know I think we often hear that we need to love the local church and we know that is right but, how do I practically love the local church? The truth is that the New Testament is full of practical advice on this important subject. But before we dive into those things let me point out some things this doesn’t mean. If you think loving the local church means just becoming complacent and apathetic because that seems like what everyone else is doing, that is not loving the local church. If you think loving the local church means learning to endure loneliness and boredom with a smile, that is not loving the local church. If you think that loving the local church means you have to love the building or the schedule or the style, none of that is what loving the local church means. Loving the local church means committing to love a group of believers and be there for them in all circumstances. Loving the local church will take time, toil and tears. But please understand this one thing, loving the local church is worth it because Jesus loves it. As I said the New Testament is full of practical instruction about loving one another in the local church. I hope that this post will spark your interest and you will search out and find more examples in the Bible. Hospitality The Bible in both the Old and New Testaments is full of examples of gracious and honorable hospitality. Oftentimes this is extended to strangers or traveling teachers. But in the New Testament we are given specific instructions to show hospitality and be hospitable (Romans 12:13). Now you maybe think what does that mean? I promised you practical advice. So invite people over for a meal. It doesn’t have to be fancy just get together. You could also choose to have a cookout or sit around a campfire or play cards. Every time you get together does not have to be a Bible study. I would expect that more often than not these times would have a spiritual and Biblical component because you are spiritual and biblical people but the point is to get together the way you naturally do with friends and family. Help Each Other If we are in a local church we should be helping each other. This can mean helping fix a waterline, move furniture, build a deck. Our church family is who we should be calling when we need a hand. This means that we are also on call when everyone else needs a hand. Literally I mean that if your car breaks down you should be thinking who in our church lives the closest to me right now. Do you need encouragement, advice, counsel that’s what we are here for as brothers and sisters in the local church. We can fix meals for each other or give somebody a ride. We need to be looking for practical needs that we can meet. We also need close enough relationships that we will ask for help when we need it. Pray We need to pray for each other. Now you may think that you already know this and do this. But I mean that we as individual persons in the local church should be seeking to regularly pray for all the members of our local church. This will help us to notice when they have been gone. It will also help us to stay attuned to what is happening in their lives. Most important as we are praying for each other our hearts are knit together (Colossians 2:1-3) and God is pleased with that kind of unity (Psalm 133). Orthodoxy Let me start by saying I am not claiming or arguing that Jesus had a wife when He dwelt on the earth. Those myths and heresies have abounded as people have diluted the pure gospel of the Kingdom of God. We must be people of the book, devoted to believing what is found in the text of scripture, not the vain imaginations and silly speculations of men. I think that our human tendency to look for patterns and find connections, sometimes, leads us to conclude things about the kingdom and the church that were not true in the time of Christ and are not true now. We must be committed to the Apostle’s doctrine and to sound (healthy) doctrine that builds on the firm foundation of the Prophets and Apostles with the Lord Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone of all our faith and practice (Ephesians 2:19-22). Reality Our culture has a real problem. We are bombarded on all sides with enticements and images and ads that just are not real. The white washing of everything makes it almost impossible for the real world to compete. Magazines and movies build a portrayal of beauty that real life people cannot attain because it’s more airbrush and camera filters than real life. Our lives are curated across social media where no one can feel the biting mosquitoes or smell the body odor. We turn fun activities into impossible to capture perfection. And because we are filled with these expectations nothing ever seems good enough for us. The local church has fallen victim to this kind of thinking as well. As we have become an even more consumer driven society and everyone sees what is wrong with the church. I will be the first to agree that our churches are not perfect but I think that we sometimes judge the church too harshly because we are imagining a group or entity that Jesus never intended to build. Consider that Jesus’ church would be engaged in a fight. When Jesus talked about building His church He specifically pointed out that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Jesus knew they and us would be imperfect and face challenges. He even gave direct instructions to us about how to deal with sin among the saints, even to the point of removing a person from the gathered body (Matthew 18:15-20). The Apostle Paul also regularly wrote to the churches because there were problems that must be addressed in local churches. Remember most of Paul’s letters were written with local churches in mind. Even those circular letters meant to be passed on to other churches were instructions for each individual church. Bad Mouthing As I said, our churches are not perfect and we must strive to be as biblical in our practices as possible, even when that means doing things that are hard and uncomfortable. Our local churches are frail and flawed and in some ways maybe even failing but she must not be abandoned! Did you notice that I referred to the church as ‘she’? That’s because the church is Jesus’ bride! When we talk about the problems and needs of local churches maybe we should do so with some reverence because that is Christ’s bride you are talking about. Jesus loves the church! Jesus loves local, faithful churches! Jesus gave Himself in life and in death for His wife (the local church). Paul then tells us that Jesus did this to present her to Himself “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-28).” This means that while we may see imperfections in the church’s current state, just as we are not perfect individually, Jesus will bring us as believers and His bride as a whole to this holy estate in His time and purposes. So I encourage us to transform our criticism into caring and get busy loving the local church. Jesus loves the church and if anyone does not love the local church then they don’t really love Jesus. Defining the Church This week’s blog will start a three week series on the nature and function of the local church, considering some of the things in last week’s anniversary post more deeply. Please read and consider these posts and your relationship with your local church! When you think about the church what comes to mind? Do you think about the building? Maybe the image of the church you or some family members attended as a child comes into your mind. But this really isn’t what the Bible means by church. Church is not a place or a building. The church is literally the gathering of Christ’s people. A local church is the gathered body of Christ people in a local area. The Bible defines certain things that are necessary for a gathering of people, even Christian people, to be a genuine expression of the church. I would add that if a gathering of Christians is not an expression of the local church then it isn’t an expression of the greater universal church either. To be one of these churches means being in a covenant relationship with other Christians. This covenant relationship cannot be simply understood or unspoken, because it comes with both responsibility and accountability that requires commitment and communication (1 Corinthians 12). These kinds of parameters are important because we most need one another in the moments when the subjective aspects of our relationship are strained. It is in these moments that the objective covenant commitments bind us together in the love of Christ. The Church also must have Elders (Pastors). Jesus did not leave His sheep abandoned to the elements and wolves. He calls undershepherds who are to provide for the well being of His flock through teaching and instruction in the sound (healthy) doctrine of the Bible. It is wonderful and appropriate for us to study together the word of God. But in the regular gathering of the local church the Pastors must teach not just facilitate a discussion. This teaching finds it’s authority in its fidelity to the Scriptures. Pastors also have a responsibility to defend sound doctrine and rebuke those who would contradict God’s word (Titus 1:9). The sheep must be protected from false teaching and false teachers and this is the undershepherd’s job. If the sheep are simply left to shepherd one another they will be eventually scattered and devoured! If the Church is the gathering of Christian covenanted together with Elders (pastors) then the church must also have connection. You do not go to church rather you must gather with the church. This means knowing each other and caring for each other. This means that we have to do the hard work of getting into real conversations and forming genuine relationships. This starts with showing up and staying. I don’t just mean to the “service” either. I mean to be a part of the church you need to be meeting in smaller groups (Sunday School, Prayer meeting, home Bible study). I believe every believer needs the main gathering and the more intimate fellowship. To miss out on either one robs both the individual believer and the church body as a whole. Christians need the local Church! It seems like a simple statement but in a world where so many people have been convinced that they can love Jesus without loving the church this is a point we must make! Do you have a local Bible teaching church? Praise the Lord! Get committed and connected! If you don’t have one, find one! This is priority one for following Christ well. |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
|