Protected: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
July 21, 2008 | Comments Off
Protected: Jonah & Daniel
July 21, 2008 | Comments Off
Protected: Judges & Ruth
July 20, 2008 | Comments Off
Reading the Word with Profit
July 17, 2008 | Comments Off
Every believer should know intrinsically the importance of reading the Bible. But many times Christians really struggle reading the Word with profit. Sadly, reading Scripture can become a fruitless exercise that leaves many believers actually feeling worse about themselves and their relationship with God rather than better. It is important to realize and to remember that the goal of reading Scripture is to encounter God. It is through Scripture that we are to come to know experientially and personally the living God of the universe. So the most pressing question that we should seek to answer when we open up Scripture is, What does this teach me about God? So how does this work? Let me explain:
This morning I read my daily Psalm, chapter 15:
“O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
Psalm 15 challenged me to holiness. I thought carefully about how I talked about others. I thought about promises that I made. I thought about how I viewed money. But as I viewed this text from the question, What does this teach me about God?, I was reminded that God is holy. That is why He requires that I be holy. And that is why I must listen to this text with attentive ears. It was a solemn time for me reflecting upon the holiness of God.
Then I went to another of my Psalms-of-the day, chapter 75:
“We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. 2 “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. 3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah 4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn; 5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.’” 6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. 9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.”
Now my mind was already tuned to seek out the character of God. I was excited to explore more of what Scripture would reveal to me about God. And in Psalm 75 it was easy and plain to see what God was revealing: He is absolutely sovereign! Even though the pillars of the earth – economically, socially, politically – seem to be tottering, God alone is able to keep them steady! The pillars of our life often totter, but God’s omnipotent rule steadies the mind. As another Psalm says, “Therefore we will not fear; though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea…” (Psalm 46:2). Reminded of the sovereignty of God specifically over the wicked, I too was ready with the Psalmist to sing praises to the God of Jacob!
The pursuit of this question, What does this teach me about God?, should really frame and undergird our reading of Scripture. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Ultimately, every promise in Scripture, every warning, every instruction, every hope, every truth, and every grace is rooted in the character of the Triune God!
Witnessing: Every Believer Called and Equipped
July 12, 2008 | Comments Off
I was reading through Don Whitney’s chapter on evangelism again the other day in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. I was reminded of Peter’s words to the church, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…” 1 Peter 2:9
You might wonder…”What does that passage have to do with witnessing or evangelism?” Don points out that most people who are familiar with this passage “do not have a clue how the rest of it goes.” 1 Peter 2:9 goes on to say that the privileges that are mentioned in the first half of this verse are ours, Christians, “that [we] may declare the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
Don says; “We normally think of this verse as establishing the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. But it is equally appropriate to say that it also exhorts us to a kind of prophethood of all believers.” God expects each of us, every believer, to “declare the praises” of Jesus Christ.
This truth is so important for us, the church, to understand because the misunderstanding prevails that the responsibility of witnessing falls only on those who have the gift of evangelism. In this regard, many appeal to Ephesians 4:11: “it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” But this passage, like 1 Peter, goes on to explain why these gifts are given; “for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry,…”
Don explains;
While it is true that God gifts some for ministry as evangelists, He calls all believers to be His witnesses. Just as each Christian, regardless of spiritual gift or ministry, is to love others, so each believer is to evangelize whether or not his or her gift is that of evangelist.
I think that at this point most believers are, understandably, struck with fear…”If it is true that we are all called to be witnesses…what do I do?” “I don’t know what to say!” “I do not feel equipped!”
In his book, Don makes the point that, as believers, we are all equipped to evangelize:
Why don’t we witness more actively? Some say it’s primarily because many Christians aren’t adequately trained to share their faith. There is some truth to this. There are worthwhile advantages to going through some guided thinking about the specifics of sharing the gospel. But when we think about the blind man Jesus healed in John 9:25 it should become evident that we cannot attribute our failure to witness to a lack of training. Though he had been a believer in Jesus only for a few minutes and obviously had no evangelism training at all, he was willing to tell other what Jesus had done for him (“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”). Moreover, any Christian who has heard biblical preaching, participated in Bible studies, and has read the Scriptures and Christian literature for any time at all should have at least enough understanding of the basic message of Christianity to share it with someone else. Surely if we have understood the gospel well enough ourselves to be converted, we should know it well enough (even if as yet we know nothing else about the faith) to tell someone else how to be converted.
An exercise that I have found helpful is to sit down and thoughtfully write out your own testimony…reflecting on the biblical truths about God and about Christ and about yourself that were instrumental as God was drawing you to Himself. This will help you to better articulate these truths when sharing with others.
Even after many years of evangelizing in many different contexts, I still know that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach when I approach a stranger to share the gospel. Even Paul asked the church to pray for boldness for him in declaring the gospel. But witnessing does not necessitate walking up to a complete stranger to evangelize. The greatest and often most fruitful context for evangelism is usually among those who know you…people who you regularly spend time around; your neighbors, your co-workers; family members; merchants and shop-keepers – people who have the benefit of seeing your life…on a regular basis…witnessing the light of Christ in you. But remember, it is not enough for people only to see your life – they must also hear the Word of the gospel; “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 We should be intentional about putting ourselves in the regular path of unbelievers to develop familiarity, praying that the Lord would open a door for the Gospel and disciplining ourselves to tell them about Christ.
God has called us and equipped us to share the Good News of Christ. It is not easy. It is a discipline for sure. But if you have ever shared the Gospel with anyone, you know Don Whitney’s words to be true; “Only the sheer rapture of being lost in the worship of God is as exhilarating and intoxicating as telling someone about Jesus Christ.”
Paul said; “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” May we, God’s people, be disciplined in the regular sharing of the gospel with those whom God has sovereignly placed in our paths and in so doing may we know the exhilaration and blessings that uniquely flow out of being witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And remember, the results of your evangelism are not the measure of your success (the fruit that is born from it is up to the Lord). Simply being faithful to share the gospel is successful evangelism!
