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Consider this my friends who awake unto righteousness and sin not:
In Jesus' time and up to the time of John writing Revelation some 90 years later, only three ways existed for any Scripture to reach the ears of the world: 1) immediate recipients of the letters, 2) received copies of the letters, and/or 3) heard it through oral tradition. Now consider further that any one recipient possibly received that one and only one letter in his/her lifetime. Given the length of some of the letters (ie. Romans and Corinthians), it is further possible that any one recipient through the most common method of oral tradition probably received only some portion of that letter.
This may seem staggering to some folks today in this world of internet, Tweet, blogging, and the former mass media of printed material. We may tend to think that the Word of God is instantly available to anyone in the world. Sadly, this is not true for many reasons. But just as in Jesus' time, so it is today in many parts of the world. Ancient, slow, limited communication.
Suppose you were around in Jesus' time or even now in some remote place where there are no Bibles, no computers, no cell phones. Imagine right now you are stranded there for some interminable amount of time. What of God's Word will you have with you? How did it get there? Why?
Why so little?
What kind of relationship do you really have with God? Are you One with Him as Jesus prayed for you? Suppose you have just that one fragment of God's Word. Maybe you got it from a tract that contained a few verses. And that's it for the rest of your life. Would you starve to death spiritually?
Or would you thrive because you have a living, loving, passionate, free, and holy relationship with God? Could you love Him just as much without a Bible? I have a missionary friend in China who knows many people there who love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind without a shred of Scripture to lay personal claim to. How is this possible?
God says in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." That gospel is clearly spelled out in I Corinthians 15:1-4, "1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
That is the power of God. It saves men from sin. It brings the rightful glory and worship back to God and God alone.
Can you love Him and worship Him passionately with never another bit of the Bible passing your way? The gospel of Jesus Christ has thrived for two-thousand years despite the devil's best efforts to destroy the Word of God. He may be able to destroy the books but He cannot destroy our Lord Jesus because He claimed once for all men, for all sin, for all time, "It is finished." Death has no more power over Him or His adopted brothers and sisters. Sin has no more dominion over us. We are an holy kingdom of priests, saved from sin to worship and serve our living and true God in the beauty of holiness, spirit, and truth.
That truth is the Word of God. And whatever bit of it you have, hide it in your heart so that you sin not against Him. That Word is not just a book. It is the living Lord Jesus Himself, living in you, because He loved you and gave Himself for you. Jesus alone must be sufficient for you to be witnesses unto Him by any means possible.
Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Friday, May 29, 2009
Opportunities
Turn to ACTS chapter 2 and look with me at all the reasons why the Church started during the worst possible time.
Verse 1: Just fifty days had passed since the crucifixion of Jesus. Jerusalem was still incensed with the episode and were in no way sympathetic to Jesus or His disciples.
Verse 5: The crowd was made up of devout Jews who were of no mind or intention to change their religious views.
Verse 13: Many thought that Peter and the disciples were drunk. They openly mocked them. This was an hostile crowd. You know what an hostile crowd is like right? Angry, shouting, pushing, skirmishing.
Verse 17: Peter starts to proselitize. He starts preaching the prophets. How often have you spoken the truth to someone and they accuse you of "preaching"? Well, what else are we supposed to do? It is by the foolishness of preaching that the gospel is proclaimed.
Furthermore, it is by the foolishness of preaching in the face of conditions that most other people (dare say, Christians) would say, "This just isn't the right opportunity to share the gospel." More often, you probably hear it said this way during a nice quiet prayer meeting, "I'm going to see such and such a person. They are very negative to the things of the Lord. But I just feel so burdened to witness to them. Please pray that God will give me the right opportunity."
Now suppose that Peter and the disciples felt that way on the day of Pentecost. If anyone had the right to assess the situation as a bad opportunity (read no opportunity at all) it would have been them. They could have just retreated back to the upper room and prayed about it. But they realized something that most of us are not willing to believe.
We don't wait for opportunities. We are the opportunity.
Verse 1: Just fifty days had passed since the crucifixion of Jesus. Jerusalem was still incensed with the episode and were in no way sympathetic to Jesus or His disciples.
Verse 5: The crowd was made up of devout Jews who were of no mind or intention to change their religious views.
Verse 13: Many thought that Peter and the disciples were drunk. They openly mocked them. This was an hostile crowd. You know what an hostile crowd is like right? Angry, shouting, pushing, skirmishing.
Verse 17: Peter starts to proselitize. He starts preaching the prophets. How often have you spoken the truth to someone and they accuse you of "preaching"? Well, what else are we supposed to do? It is by the foolishness of preaching that the gospel is proclaimed.
Furthermore, it is by the foolishness of preaching in the face of conditions that most other people (dare say, Christians) would say, "This just isn't the right opportunity to share the gospel." More often, you probably hear it said this way during a nice quiet prayer meeting, "I'm going to see such and such a person. They are very negative to the things of the Lord. But I just feel so burdened to witness to them. Please pray that God will give me the right opportunity."
Now suppose that Peter and the disciples felt that way on the day of Pentecost. If anyone had the right to assess the situation as a bad opportunity (read no opportunity at all) it would have been them. They could have just retreated back to the upper room and prayed about it. But they realized something that most of us are not willing to believe.
We don't wait for opportunities. We are the opportunity.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Simple Gospel
This past Sunday wrapped up our annual week-long Missionary Conference. Typically the way this works is the missionary speaks to the congregation; the congregation provides new or continued prayer and financial support, and; the missionary goes back to the field. The missionary's message is usually along the lines of, "This is what I did in the field; these were the results, and; please continue to support me."
Missionaries, those who are called, are all called to the same purpose. Jesus gave that call in Acts 1:6-8, "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Quite simply, we have received power of the Holy Ghost to be witnesses everywhere. Witnesses to what? The gospel. That is given to us simply in I Corinthians 15:1-6, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
From these few passages just shared I want to focus on two bits that perhaps you wonder why I included. For instance, what does Acts 1:6-7 have to do with the call and what does I Corinthians 15:6 have to do with the Gospel? I'm glad you asked.
First I will tell you what I personally have to do with this. God has called me to minister to the Church, to call them to "awake unto righteousness and sin not" and to be ready at all times for the Lord's coming for His Bride (us). When I hear missionaries or other witnesses speak anything other than the simple truth of the gospel, I fear for them and the unsaved listeners. No other words will God use than His own in the salvation of a sinner. No other words will He use than His own to wake up a sleeping Christian to repentence.
God is telling us in Acts 1:6-7 that the kingdom is coming. Therefore we have a job to do to be used of Him to usher it in. God tells us in I Corinthians 15:6 what happens to us when we don't do this work according to His Word and commandment. Quite simply, when we don't proclaim the gospel in it's pure simplicity, we fall asleep.
This is quite on purpose. God does not want His Word compromised, added to, taken away from, or changed in any way. It is HIS Word. And so mercifully He puts some to sleep that they continue not in this sin. God desires that they be awake and bold in the Word.
The missionaries I heard just on Sunday spoke of things that are not the Gospel. They are fleshy things like quotes of our culture, personal experiences, feelings about God, "Christian-ese", words that are not bold, and do not speak the name of our Lord Jesus Christ nor His exclusive role as Savior. Rather, they speak of experiences, blessings, and numbers. I am really not so concerned with what they said however. My wife thought I was getting too deep into it. I said, "No, I am trying to stay simple. All I was listening for was the simple Gospel and the bold proclamation of the name of Jesus and the power of such." It's not what they said, it's what they didn't say.
I have prayed many years for the remnant. I will pray no more for them (slight detour here for a moment).
The "remnant" as I find it in Scripture applies strictly to Israel. My use of the word up until now was incorrectly applied to the Church, the wheat of God's kindom. So from now on, I will simply refer to the Church as the Church. I will pray for them. I will pray also for the remnant. (Now back to the post.)
My prayer for the Church is to intercede on their behalf when God brings before me such situations as this past Sunday. This ministry of intercession is well described by Oswald Chambers in today's "My Utmost for His Highest":
"HEEDFULNESS V. HYPOCRISY IN OURSELVES
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him Life for them that sin not unto death." 1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf. The revelation is made to us not through the acuteness of our minds, but by the direct penetration of the Spirit of God, and if we are not heedful of the source of the revelation, we will become criticizing centres and forget that God says - ". . . he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." Take care lest you play the hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right before you worship God yourself.
One of the subtlest burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them, and as we intercede on His line, God says He will give us "life for them that sin not unto death." It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede.
Is Jesus Christ seeing of the travail of His soul in us? He cannot unless we are so identified with Himself that we are roused up to get His view about the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so whole-heartedly that Jesus Christ will be abundantly satisfied with us as intercessors."
The sin of which I speak is not unto death for God desires these to wake up and sin not. He has called them to be witnesses. Rather than focus on their words alone, I shall focus on the need of God for them. Get right with God and He shall pull the Word from them and it shall be pure.
You see my friends by my own admission that I was guilty of the same thing, so I must be no hypocrite, but rather an intercessor. We must all watch with certain tongues, for God says in Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." This power can only be His own Word.
Missionaries, those who are called, are all called to the same purpose. Jesus gave that call in Acts 1:6-8, "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Quite simply, we have received power of the Holy Ghost to be witnesses everywhere. Witnesses to what? The gospel. That is given to us simply in I Corinthians 15:1-6, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
From these few passages just shared I want to focus on two bits that perhaps you wonder why I included. For instance, what does Acts 1:6-7 have to do with the call and what does I Corinthians 15:6 have to do with the Gospel? I'm glad you asked.
First I will tell you what I personally have to do with this. God has called me to minister to the Church, to call them to "awake unto righteousness and sin not" and to be ready at all times for the Lord's coming for His Bride (us). When I hear missionaries or other witnesses speak anything other than the simple truth of the gospel, I fear for them and the unsaved listeners. No other words will God use than His own in the salvation of a sinner. No other words will He use than His own to wake up a sleeping Christian to repentence.
God is telling us in Acts 1:6-7 that the kingdom is coming. Therefore we have a job to do to be used of Him to usher it in. God tells us in I Corinthians 15:6 what happens to us when we don't do this work according to His Word and commandment. Quite simply, when we don't proclaim the gospel in it's pure simplicity, we fall asleep.
This is quite on purpose. God does not want His Word compromised, added to, taken away from, or changed in any way. It is HIS Word. And so mercifully He puts some to sleep that they continue not in this sin. God desires that they be awake and bold in the Word.
The missionaries I heard just on Sunday spoke of things that are not the Gospel. They are fleshy things like quotes of our culture, personal experiences, feelings about God, "Christian-ese", words that are not bold, and do not speak the name of our Lord Jesus Christ nor His exclusive role as Savior. Rather, they speak of experiences, blessings, and numbers. I am really not so concerned with what they said however. My wife thought I was getting too deep into it. I said, "No, I am trying to stay simple. All I was listening for was the simple Gospel and the bold proclamation of the name of Jesus and the power of such." It's not what they said, it's what they didn't say.
I have prayed many years for the remnant. I will pray no more for them (slight detour here for a moment).
The "remnant" as I find it in Scripture applies strictly to Israel. My use of the word up until now was incorrectly applied to the Church, the wheat of God's kindom. So from now on, I will simply refer to the Church as the Church. I will pray for them. I will pray also for the remnant. (Now back to the post.)
My prayer for the Church is to intercede on their behalf when God brings before me such situations as this past Sunday. This ministry of intercession is well described by Oswald Chambers in today's "My Utmost for His Highest":
"HEEDFULNESS V. HYPOCRISY IN OURSELVES
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him Life for them that sin not unto death." 1 John 5:16
If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf. The revelation is made to us not through the acuteness of our minds, but by the direct penetration of the Spirit of God, and if we are not heedful of the source of the revelation, we will become criticizing centres and forget that God says - ". . . he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death." Take care lest you play the hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right before you worship God yourself.
One of the subtlest burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them, and as we intercede on His line, God says He will give us "life for them that sin not unto death." It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede.
Is Jesus Christ seeing of the travail of His soul in us? He cannot unless we are so identified with Himself that we are roused up to get His view about the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so whole-heartedly that Jesus Christ will be abundantly satisfied with us as intercessors."
The sin of which I speak is not unto death for God desires these to wake up and sin not. He has called them to be witnesses. Rather than focus on their words alone, I shall focus on the need of God for them. Get right with God and He shall pull the Word from them and it shall be pure.
You see my friends by my own admission that I was guilty of the same thing, so I must be no hypocrite, but rather an intercessor. We must all watch with certain tongues, for God says in Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." This power can only be His own Word.
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Gospel
My youngest son takes things very literally. He has Asperger's Syndrome. So this weekend he wanted to know what the Gospel was. I gave him the literal answer. Here it is for you too, just as a refreshing drink from a cold spring.
God clearly states the entire Gospel in I Corinthians 15:1-6, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
There are three main points to the Gospel and they are:
1) Christ died for our sins
2) He was buried
3) He rose again the third day
There is one all-encompassing reality that God repeats twice in these verses, "...according to the Scriptures...." Just in case you thought you could find salvation any place else, God says, "No," it is found right here in the Bible.
He warns us further about this in Galatians 1:6-9, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
Simply stated, there are no other gospels but this one given in the Word of God.
Some people complain that declaring only one way to heaven is narrow-minded. To the contrary, it should be welcomed for its simplicity. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This is the offensive saying, yet I persuade you that it is instead the widest door ever presented to mankind for it is clearly marked, has remained open for all for over two-thousand years, and has no conditions attached to it for entry. All the guesswork is gone for no human requirement predicates it. This is made known to us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
This question of works is critical to the unsaved for they always ask, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer is, nothing. Salvation is not of human works. Why not? Why can't man choose his own way to heaven? Why only through Jesus?
God says the first reason is boasting (read human pride). If salvation were of man, even a tiny bit of it, man by nature would boast (take credit for it). God says He will not share His glory and He will not have any other gods before Him. That's the first Commandment.
Another reason that I suggest to you is for the sake of simplicity. If there were indeed many ways to heaven, how would you know which one was right? How would you know with absolute certainty? How would you know to the point that you would stake your very life upon it (and perhaps the lives of your friends and family as well)?
Many years ago a friend of mine, a Jehovah's Witness, enjoyed a period of dialogue with me on this and many subjects of Christianity. But then came the day, as it does with all Jehovah's Witnesses, when their elders command them to make their choice between joining the Society and forsaking all (contact, discussion with, attendance) other forms of "Christianity". I knew this day would come as it does for all those initiated into the Society. I begged him with one last question.
"Are you willing to take this step, knowing full well from both your scriptures and mine (even their version of the Bible has this truth in it), that hell is real and that without Jesus Christ as your Savior you are guaranteed this eternal damnation?"
You see, the Society does not believe in hell and eternal punishment for sin. So my friend thought he had nothing to lose. But I asked him again, "Are you sure? What if I am right? You lose everything!" Sadly, at the time, he was not persuaded by the Gospel. He believed another gospel, and as God said in Galatians 1:9, both the preacher and the believer of that false gospel are accursed.
To the remnant I say as Paul did in II Corinthians 11:2-4, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
God clearly states the entire Gospel in I Corinthians 15:1-6, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
There are three main points to the Gospel and they are:
1) Christ died for our sins
2) He was buried
3) He rose again the third day
There is one all-encompassing reality that God repeats twice in these verses, "...according to the Scriptures...." Just in case you thought you could find salvation any place else, God says, "No," it is found right here in the Bible.
He warns us further about this in Galatians 1:6-9, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
Simply stated, there are no other gospels but this one given in the Word of God.
Some people complain that declaring only one way to heaven is narrow-minded. To the contrary, it should be welcomed for its simplicity. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." This is the offensive saying, yet I persuade you that it is instead the widest door ever presented to mankind for it is clearly marked, has remained open for all for over two-thousand years, and has no conditions attached to it for entry. All the guesswork is gone for no human requirement predicates it. This is made known to us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
This question of works is critical to the unsaved for they always ask, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer is, nothing. Salvation is not of human works. Why not? Why can't man choose his own way to heaven? Why only through Jesus?
God says the first reason is boasting (read human pride). If salvation were of man, even a tiny bit of it, man by nature would boast (take credit for it). God says He will not share His glory and He will not have any other gods before Him. That's the first Commandment.
Another reason that I suggest to you is for the sake of simplicity. If there were indeed many ways to heaven, how would you know which one was right? How would you know with absolute certainty? How would you know to the point that you would stake your very life upon it (and perhaps the lives of your friends and family as well)?
Many years ago a friend of mine, a Jehovah's Witness, enjoyed a period of dialogue with me on this and many subjects of Christianity. But then came the day, as it does with all Jehovah's Witnesses, when their elders command them to make their choice between joining the Society and forsaking all (contact, discussion with, attendance) other forms of "Christianity". I knew this day would come as it does for all those initiated into the Society. I begged him with one last question.
"Are you willing to take this step, knowing full well from both your scriptures and mine (even their version of the Bible has this truth in it), that hell is real and that without Jesus Christ as your Savior you are guaranteed this eternal damnation?"
You see, the Society does not believe in hell and eternal punishment for sin. So my friend thought he had nothing to lose. But I asked him again, "Are you sure? What if I am right? You lose everything!" Sadly, at the time, he was not persuaded by the Gospel. He believed another gospel, and as God said in Galatians 1:9, both the preacher and the believer of that false gospel are accursed.
To the remnant I say as Paul did in II Corinthians 11:2-4, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
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