Month: April 2021

“All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him.”    Hebrews 4:13

God knows all things that are, have been, and will be. There are no secrets from Him. Those things that we have kept from all others are not kept from Him. This is (and should be) both convicting and comforting. Convicting because our lives are an open book and “all our iniquities are set before Him” and comforting because those same sins He sees are paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. How wonderful it is to know that He sees all we have done and will do, yet covers those sins with Christ’s blood.

John Newton, the ex-slave trader and writer of Amazing Grace, once said that there were two things about Christianity that stood out to him. He said, “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”  What wonderful words.  That we are sinners is convicting, that Christ is a great Savior is comforting. Newton summarized the gospel in that one short sentence.  It is a wonder that God can see the deepest, darkest parts of our lives, but yet still loves us and reaches out with a hand of mercy.  However, we need to be cautious that we don’t allow God’s great comfort to blind us to conviction. We can’t continue in great sin comfortably just because God is the Great Forgiver.  It is true that God is merciful, but He is also just.  A just God cannot ignore sin, so we must not wave the comfort card every time we feel conviction in our hearts.  A shallow apology that follows sin and precedes the same sin is not the right response to conviction.

If we believe that God sees all things and that He sent Christ to atone for our sins it should affect the way we walk.  If we don’t live lives that show comfort and conviction, we should do one of two things. First, We should check our hearts to see if we have truly accepted the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. In other words, we need to ask if we have stepped from death to life by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, we need to do so, “for today is the appointed time.”  If we continue in sin without concern, we might have to ask ourselves if the One who convicts (the Holy Spirit) dwells in us. If He does, He will not allow us to be involved in constant sin without repercussions.  We certainly tend to evaluate others in that way.  “How could that person be a Christian?” is a phrase that is often heard about someone who is living contrary to the Word.  If we abridge God’s Word constantly and consistently, we should examine ourselves at least to the same degree that we examine others.

On the other hand, if we have made a heartfelt decision for Christ, but still lead a unconvicted, uncomforted life, we need to bring our lives into alignment with Christ. If we don’t, we might still have eternal life, but we will not have a peaceful life and will have to face the natural consequences
of our actions. Those who accept Christ and think they can live like the devil do not understand the wonderful eminence of God. God accompanies us, seeing, hearing, and knowing all we do. If we drag Him into sinful places, sinful acts, and sinful speech, it would seem as though we don’t believe He is the omniscient, omnipresent God.   But He is. In Jeremiah 23:24 God asks us, “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?”  The answers are no and yes, in that order.  When we walk through our day we should walk as though God is with us; because He is.

A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. Afterwards, one of the other pros asked what it was like playing with that elite group. The pro said with disgust, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!” With that he headed for the practice tee. After the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, his friend asked, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?” The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, “No, he didn’t even mention religion.” Billy Graham had said nothing about religion, yet the pro felt an overwhelming guilt.  This man felt conviction, not because of what Billy Graham said, but because of what the golfer felt in his own heart.

If we have the Holy Spirit, He will convict us of our sin and comfort us in our need.   A thermometer that indicates a fever is not a problem in itself, it is the indicator of a problem.  Conviction, like guilt, is a symptom of something that needs to be dealt with.  We should not ignore it.  Jesus said He would leave us with a comforter and He did. If the indwelling Holy Spirit convicts, and we confess,  show contrition, then He will comfort.  This sad cycle is a necessary one if we are to mature.  This is how God can “Create in (us) a clean heart and renew a right spirit within (us).”  (Psalm 51:10) Don’t fear conviction, but don’t fail to act on it or comfort will not follow.  Be comforted today.

Part 2 (if you have not yet read part 1 below, you might want to do so first)

Secondly, our greatest motivation for giving the gospel should be love.  It will taint our message if we are motivated by anything other than love.  We should not give the gospel so we can check that off our daily list or so we can put another notch in our belt or so we can report to others our great successes.  We need to look at others the way that God sees them- spiritually emaciated and needing sustanance.  Paul writes, in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”  If we love others and see a need we should be want to fill it.  If the need is the gospel, the want should be urgent.

Thirdly we need to be honest, even if we are asked something we do not know.  Our message does not have to be one of perfection because our message is about the One Who is Perfect.   The substance is more important than the delivery.  A signpost might be old and ragged or bright and new.  It doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it gives a truthful direction.  The same goes with us.  If we point true, we will have more success than if we look good but point wrong.  If we don’t have an answer, we are better saying that we don’t. rather than making something up.  Trying to fool people makes us fools and few fools can positively affect other peoples’ lives in a positive way.  Paul reminds us that the message of truth is what seals us in the spirit, so it does us no good to be anything but honest.  “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13)

Fourthly, we need to be humble.  In Proverbs we see that humility will result in success and pride results in defeat.  When giving the gospel, we must set aside pride.  “A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23 ) As much as we like to think it, we do not have a handle on everything.  One of the main reasons we should be patient with the foolish or angry or prideful or doubting is because we have, sometime during our lives, been those same people.  We should  empathize with those who are not saved because we were once not saved.   We need not talk down to people because any heights we have reached are because of Christ, not our own intellect or efforts.  When we think we are superior to others, they will sense it and be incensed.   Everyone we talk to about Jesus can teach us something, so every encounter should be a positive one- even if it seems not to be. If we look at who we are, who they are, and who God is, we will do the right things, for the right reasons, at the right time.

Finally, it is very important for us to be respectful.  Some people feel that evangelizing is yelling, pointing fingers, or holding up condemning signs.  Even John the Baptist, as fiery as he was, spoke to those who came to him.  He was tough on his listeners, but he did not accost them.  He told the truth.  Truthfully, however, we are not John the Baptist.  His approach was unique and in our case it might be if we tone it down, our words can be heard better.  Too many evangelizers are so obnoxious that the people they turn off may not tune into the message for a long, long time, if ever.

The Good News is too important to the world for us to keep it to ourselves.  But we can never forget the key to evangelism which can be summarized in one word-  Jesus.   If we tell people who He is, in humility with love, others will want to become His.  Although presenting Jesus is our greatest duty, it is also our greatest privilege.  We cannot neglect it or deflect it.   We just need to point to Jesus and He will take it from there.

I read once about some miners who found a great vein of gold.  They promised not to tell a soul and went into town to get more supplies.  By the time they returned their camp was overrun with miners.  One of the men asked one of the invaders whohad squealed.  “No one,” he said.”  Your faces showed it!”  That should be us.  We have discovered a richness more precious than gold and our faces should show it.  Our steps should reflect it.  Our voices reveal it.  When we can reveal Christ without any words at all it is the first step in helping others to find the rich vein that now belongs to us.

Part 1

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16a)

We are not all evangelists, but we can all evangelize.  Evangelism has gotten its share of negative press, especially in recent years.  Opposition to Christianity has gotten more and more vehement, and as a consequence, those who openly profess Christ are more openly ridiculed.  As a matter of self-preservation in an unforgiving society, more and more Christians lie low in spiritual foxholes, popping out when only friendlies are approaching.  We may not all be evangelists, but we are all witnesses and ambassadors.  We have an obligation to walk in the Word daily and be quick to share the Word when our actions provoke others to ask about the Word.

I recently read an article that outlined many of the mistakes that gospel-givers make in the world today.  If we can avoid these stumbles, we will find ourselves in a better position to present the gospel when the opportunity occurs.  It is easy for us to become offensive to others and even easier to be defensive, but the true key is that we be responsive.  We need to lead a life that says the words we cannot say until the time is right.  Our gospel-giving actions can start immediately after meeting someone, the words may need to wait- but not too long. Peter tells us to, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (  1 Peter 2:12)

Evangelism should not be a hammer that hurts, scares, or shames someone into belief.  On the other hand, evangelism should not bribe, manipulate, or trick someone into belief.   Bad evangelism is worse than no evangelism.  Well over half of hard-core atheists purport to have had a close relationship with the church earlier in their lives.  The meaning of the word “close” is up for interpretation, but for argument sake, let’s take it at face value.  If many atheists have spiritual backgrounds, what went wrong along the way?  There can be a lot of different reasons, as many there are “apostates,” but we need only to be concerned with reasons that we might be guilty of ourselves.

I do not appreciate the ministry of the Jehovah Witnesses that come to my door.  I truly believe they are propagating a false message.  I also do not enjoy their approach.  I am uncomfortable with them (even though I do converse with them) because they preconceive my “wrongness” and it is apparent from their very first words.  They are not excited about their faith and seem more excited about my faithlessness.  In all honesty, they are not especially concerned about my relationship with God, but my relationship with their religion.  If I show excitement about my faith and relationship with God, they are disappointed and vamoose pretty quickly.  I think I should avoid treating others in the ways that I see JWs treating me.  I think they miss the point of what John was saying about John the Baptist (and us) when it comes to evangelism.  Jesus should be the key.    “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.”  (John 1:6-8)

Here are a few things I think would be good for us to do that our tie-clad door-to-door friends are not doing.  First of all, our delivery should not make God secondary to anything.  We don’t want to promote our church, our denomination, ourselves, or even our pet doctrines.  We are not salesmen whose smooth words promote themselves more than the product. It needs to be all about Jesus.  It doesn’t even need to be about every theological question regarding Christ.  We don’t need to bring up the deep questions that even mature Christians disagree on or sideline arguments that play no role in salvation.  We need to focus on the person of Christ.  It is Him and Him alone that salvation lies…we should try not to get sidetracked on issues that are for another time.  Jesus is for now, those will be for later.

Part 2 next week

“They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Psalm 53:3

A few years ago we had a terrible, terrible tragedy in Roseburg.  Murders don’t happen very often in our town, but when they do, it is more often than not, a family dispute or someone passing through murdering someone passing through.  The details of the crime were utterly horrendous.  Lori, a 37 year-old mother of four  worked the graveyard shift in our local fast-stop.  By all accounts, she and her husband were both working hard to make ends meet and to provide a good home for the kids who ranged from ages 11 to 17.   A 27 year-old man who lived  near the fast-stop went into the store, stabbed the woman and then bludgeoned her with a hammer.  The police recognized him from video footage, went to the house and arrested him.  He only told them a couple of things.  One, he did not know Lori, but he hated her anyway, and two, he said he stopped beating her so he would have enough energy to walk home.  He didn’t even take anything- it was killing for killing’s sake.

He had no other ulterior motives.  There wasn’t some kind of jealousy or drug deal.  It was just a thoughtless, heartless act of evil.  How do these kind of things happen?   How can people who purport to belong to the human race be capable of such cruelty?   How is that some even use god as their excuse for wearing bombs and blowing up innocent women and children, or flying planes into buildings killing thousands, or beheading innocent journalists and videotaping it for the world to see?  Everyone has his own theory/excuse.  Some talk about culture and economics and religion, and others talk about mitigating circumstances, misunderstandings, and miscommunication, but there is only one real answer and it is found in Psalm 53:3: “They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” 

We can look at this verse and say that not all people are corrupt.  After all, it is only a small percentage of our population who can do the cruelest of acts without blinking.  But it is not because we are good and they are not.  It is because we are restrained and they are not.  Some people are restrained by law, some by fear, some by logic and some by society, but the only true restrainer is the Holy Spirit.   Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17,  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”  Our natural hearts are dark and we will, if given the choice, too often pick the darker way of doing things.    Solomon tells us in Proverbs 12:10 that  “A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.” The man who killed Lori had abandoned any semblance of rightness by joining the forces of evil.

There was a line in the movie “The Giver” that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  “When man has a choice, he always chooses wrong.”  There is much truth to that statement.   We can say that murder is cruel, reprehensible, and unbelievably  disturbing, but unfortunately we cannot say it is inhuman.  We have seen too many humans do too many horrible acts to classify the acts as inhuman any longer.  They are acts that humans are capable of doing if they have no reason not to.   Someone once said, “imagine the worse thing a person can do, and make it ten times worse, and you can be assured that someone, somewhere, is probably doing it.”

We look at others who do such cruelty and think, how did they get there?  One day at a time, I would say.  They allowed more and more evil to creep into their lives.  They rejected God more and embraced goodness less.  They took our natural inclinations and moved them to a place where few will go, but they are just an extension of our own hearts.   How did they get there?  The same way we would if took the restraints off and lived as our evil hearts could.   I am not giving us excuses for our evil behavior.  Satan, the world, and our flesh constantly war against the “hope which lies within us,” but we still have a choice which influence we decide to heed.   But by God’s grace we could be committing acts that would seem horrific to the civilized world. Remember, even though we are being tempted by Satan, the world, and our own fleshly lusts, we cannot use that for an excuse because ultimately we still have choice.  On the other hand, if we deny the influences around us and erroneously believe that none of our choices are swayed by the three afore mentioned influences we will go along like the “unsinkable” Titanic, and we will sink.

We all need the strength of the Holy Spirit to experience righteousness.  In Proverbs there is a verse that I feel can be extrapolated  to encompass even more things than the verse calls for.  I put my additions in parentheses.  “He who oppresses the poor (weak, lonely, dependent) taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy (weak, lonely, dependent) honors Him.”  Proverbs 14:31  We must not taunt our maker because He is not one to be taunted.  Not only do we need to armor up everyday, but we need to unsheathe our sword and fight against the forces that would see us give in.   If not,  we might look into the mirror and see the person we have always despised staring back.  The only way to avoid seeing that image stare back at us is to stay close to our Lord.  If we can no longer restrain ourselves than we must retrain ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We must follow the one who did all things right, so that we might not do all things wrong.   To steal a line from Uncle Sam,  God is looking for a few good men (and women).  We have more than our share of cruel, selfish, and unfeeling people out there. The world could  sure use some loving, obedient, spirit-filled Christians to offset the mess this world is in.