This book takes a serious look at the Judgment Seat of Christ and
world evangelization. When the North American church can only afford
½ of 1% from its vast church wealth for frontier missions (reaching
the estimated 2.2 billion people who have never once
heard the gospel of Jesus Christ), then we have a major decision to
make. We must either reevaluate our traditional business-as-usual
missionary programs or brace ourselves for a great disappointment at
the judgment seat of Christ.
© Copyright 1997
A Word From the Author
Do you ever feel that
perhaps something is missing in your Christian experience? Do you
perceive that your spiritual life is going nowhere, and as the
months turn to years you're still running in place, with no sense of
real accomplishment? Have you longed for a change, something higher,
purer and nobler than merely surviving as a Christian? If so, then I
have good news for you! God has been preparing you for the great
adventure! It is a journey through the spirit world, seen only
through the eyes of faith, and as a faithful follower of Jesus
Christ you can enter and take the spoil for our great King. The
spoil--the souls of billions of Adam's fallen race. The obstacles
are insurmountable, the enemy powerful, but "We are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us." (Rom. 8:37) Such is the life
of a world Christian (disciple).
Chapter I
Say What?
Why a book on the
judgment seat of Christ and world evangelization? While these two
subjects may seem worlds apart and destined for two different books,
my purpose in writing this one book is to show the two subjects to
be directly related. I will prove from the scripture that with the
empowerment of prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship and worship
the church's highest form of glorifying her Lord is the simple and
singular business of world evangelization and that every Christian
will be judged accordingly. I believe I can prove from God's word
that world evangelization is the church's primary responsibility
while on this earth and that all other aspects of the Christian life
(bible study, prayer, fellowship, worship and general holy living)
all bringing glory to God in themselves are the essential tools
needed to accomplish this otherwise impossible task. Once this is
established, I will show you how as an average North American
Christian you can send the gospel to the ends of the earth from the
security of your own home, and literally win multitudes to Christ by
the most cost efficient and effective Christian ministries
available. Once you truly grasp this, you will never be the same,
but first let me share how God has brought me to this point and how
this book was conceived.
Submitting to the Lordship of Christ
I have had a hunger for
the knowledge of, and a desire to see, world evangelization since
the time in my Christian life when I truly made Jesus Lord. I have
read everything I could get my hands on regarding the subject and I
never felt it received the priority God gives it. Disciples are to
make disciples and this means winning the lost to Christ and then
equipping them to be able to do the same. I have never bought into
the theory that the church exists for the church (like birds
regurgitating down each other's throats), "You feed me and I'll feed
you and let's all be happy while the billions of souls Christ died
for and commissioned us to reach go to Hell." How any Christian can
read the scripture and live at ease with this lifestyle is beyond
me. The God of the Bible has certainly given us a blueprint on the
type of lifestyle we should follow in order to live righteous lives,
but the highest compliment we could pay to the Lord is taking our
then-anointed lives and as Christ did, spend them for the pardon of
the world by whatever gift or gifts we have been given. We were
saved to be a witness for Christ. That is what Christian
means--Christ like. Christ left us here to carry on His work, and
what work is that? Reaching our world with the redemptive plan
Christ lived and died and rose again to accomplish. We were born
(again) to reproduce.
I was saved at the age of
ten and knew I was saved, but it was not until ten years later after
truly making Jesus Lord of my life that I began to sense the
responsibility and privilege laid on the shoulders of the church of
Jesus Christ to get the gospel to every living soul. I had such a
hunger for the word of God that I would spend all my spare time in
it. Soon I could not keep it to myself. I had to share it, and the
more I shared it the more I had to study it to answer questions, and
the more I prayed that Christ would be pleased to use me to give
others the joy of this salvation. I brought what few people would
come with me to church to hear this amazing gospel, but soon learned
that non-Christians have no more desire to come to church than
Christians do to go to some cultic or voodoo service.
Christ Invites the Church to Come to the World
Soon I discovered that
Christ never asked the world to come to the church, but rather the
church to go to the world, preach the gospel, and then when people
become converted they will want to come to church to share in this
common bond of Christ. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Gal.
4:6. The lost individual (non-Christian) has no inclination to come
to church. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor 2:14.
The unconverted mind has
no hunger for spiritual things and it is only when they come under
the sound of the gospel (the death, burial and resurrection of
Christ) (I Cor 15:1-4.) that God draws to Himself in salvation those
who believe. ("For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe." I Cor 1:21.) Christ went where the
people were, commanded his disciples to go where the people were,
and told them to train their disciples (us through the scripture) to
go to the world. These truths all sank deep into my soul. I saw that
every Christian had a vital part in winning the lost to Christ. This
was exciting. I was involved in the greatest adventure and most
important work in the universe, and I began to share this
responsibility and privilege with other Christians. What I did not
realize at the time was that what had made me so eager to share
Christ was the fact that Jesus had truly become Lord of my life and
I was unashamed to testify of Him. When we Christians have known,
unconfessed sin in our lives our guilt will not allow us to speak of
Him. I covered most of my city with an opportunity to receive
Christ, going door to door. (I would color each street red on a map
of my city as I covered them, signifying the blood was made
available). God blessed me with such a joy and power for His purpose
that I could hardly contain myself. Then I started to have Bible
studies and to train others to do the same. Soon I was going to
nearby cities and towns.
Questions About the Whole Church Reaching the Whole World
Then it dawned on me as I
would read repeatedly how God loved the world, Christ died
for the world, the Holy Spirit came to reprove the world,
and we (the church) were to get the gospel to all the world,
that it was a job much bigger than I, or my church, or my
denomination could do. I began to consume all the information I
could find on world evangelization. While thrilled to see what God
was doing in some parts of the world, I was still puzzled at how
many denominations would consider a town in Spain or Peru
unevangelized even if there were six or eight other Christian
evangelical churches in that town, but not of their denomination. So
rather than sending a missionary to one of the tens of thousands of
other towns in that particular country where there was no
evangelical witness, many times there would be one more church in
that one town.
It also puzzled me that
many times national Christians were considered secondary citizens of
Heaven, and in spite of the fact that there were millions of them
(however untrained), trainable, selfless, and on fire to share the
gospel with their people. They were not considered for evangelizing
many times. Obviously, we needed North American missionaries in
areas where there were no national Christians, but once nationals
were converted, they already knew the language, were accustomed to
the culture and food, and were not outsiders. More important to us
North American Christians as wise stewards of God's money, they
would have been much cheaper to support than additional North
American missionaries who, after schooling, language school and
moving expenses many times returned home because they could not
adapt to the culture. For the North American missionary who did
stay, depending on the country and ministry, anywhere up to a
hundred nationals could have been trained and used for the same
money and would have been much better qualified because of their
background. These nationals could also take the gospel to all the
other tribes and ethnic groups in their countries (in their own
language) by means of literature, cassettes, film and radios.
We North American
Christians have been blessed, but we are spoiled. These nationals
need very little compared to our excess, and many of them will (and
do) gladly lay down their lives for the gospel's sake. They only
need the tools and training to reach the people they love with the
salvation message. The church could increase the laborers 10, 50 or
100-fold depending on the country.
Another thing that
baffled me was how many Christian leaders, however unintentionally,
somehow gave the impression that this exciting privilege of world
evangelization was the full-time missionary's job, and we ordinary
saints had little to do with it. No wonder the Christian life seems
so dull to the average pew warmer. We go to church and try to stay
out of trouble. Ho hum! I knew from the scripture that the early
church directly and indirectly (all) became involved in world
evangelization. It was a family business.
North American Prayer and Technology + National
Christian Manpower = Nations Harvested
God brought into my life
ministries that were systematically reaching whole countries, town
by town, with the gospel, discipling new converts and starting local
assemblies like the early church. The emphasis was on people, not
mega-million-dollar cathedrals like some ministries. These
ministries were using nationals to reach nationals, and the results
were phenomenal. These ministries joined hands across the waters,
linking the North American spiritual and material wealth with the
Army of millions of national Christians worldwide who were many
times our superior when it came to dedication, faith and spiritual
courage. They needed our prayers, training and tools, and we needed
their manpower. This was a true picture of the one body of Christ
having many members but one purpose ("For as the body is one, and
hath many members and all members of that one body, being many, are
one body: so also is Christ." I Cor 12:12.)
Just as vital as the
nationals (who were turning their countries upside down) were the
praying North American Christians whom God had given the financial
means to co-labor in evangelizing the world. I will give more
details about these ministries in Chapter 5. I still find my highest
calling in supporting these ministries with my prayers and financial
support. I have found them to be the most efficient, reputable and
effective ministries out there.
My Perspective on Missions
My perspective on
missionary work has come without prejudice on behalf of any one
missionary agency or denomination, but only as God has created in me
an insatiable hunger for a working knowledge of His will for His
church upon the earth. I am not a leader nor an employee of any
missionary agency. My view on missions has come from over 20 years
of God's leading me into the most profitable means of fulfilling His
will on our planet (giving every individual in our world an
opportunity to know and glorify our Savior through His blood
sacrifice), and He has been consistent in this calling on my
life. Through my faithfulness and unfaithfulness, God has remained
true. As an ordinary American Christian with a regular job, I have
studied various missionary ministries of men like Ralph Winter,
Billy Graham, John Haggai, Paul Freed, Dick Eastman, Jim Montgomery
and Bill Bright. I have served on the foreign mission field, and I
have come to the conclusion that America needs to reevaluate its
role in world missions. United efforts, multi-media exposure and
nationals--I believe this is what God has prepared us for.
It's Not Us Versus Them
I am not saying that we
should drop all our North American missionaries. However, what I am
saying is that if we are even aware that our God expects us to get
the gospel out to every living soul, we had better consider
all of our options and begin putting them into place. With all due
respect, if we are depending solely on our North American
missionaries to accomplish world evangelism, the future of billions
of unreached people looks very bleak. Our missionaries are doing a
great job, but they can only be in one place at a time, and the task
of reaching every soul on our planet with the gospel is more than
these dedicated men and women can accomplish with their limited
manpower. We in North America are doing more than our share in going
to the nations, but there are just too few of us in light of the
ever-increasing population of our world. In fact, our missionaries
cannot even openly witness in countries holding the majority of the
population of our world. We as the church of Jesus Christ have got
to combine our efforts, multiply our outreach, and carefully look at
our most effective options, if we are ever going to reach every
person with the gospel. With approximately 6 billion souls on Planet
Earth today, we need to go far beyond individual missionaries to
mass coverage of whole countries. The Apostle Paul said the same
thing when he said, "I am made all things to all men, that by all
means I might win some." Paul used all means available in his
time to get the gospel to his generation. He used the Roman roads,
ship, nationals, literature, and if Paul were living today, he would
be using all means available to our generation.
Jesus Christ Wants You
My prayer is that God
will use this book to inform, equip, inspire and unite His church
for the very real possibility of completing the task of world
evangelism within our generation. After all these years of absorbing
information on world evangelism, I cannot contain it any longer. The
scripture verses and examples from the Bible have almost come to me
faster than I could write, and here it is. I hope you will see the
joy set before you from these lessons from God's word on your
personal, vital role as an ordinary Christian in telling our
world about our great Savior and what He has done for you, because
as great as what He did on the cross was, your world will never know
unless you tell them. We (the church) need every prayer and every
gift if we are going to evangelize our world, even by the most
cost-efficient and effective means. God has blessed us in America,
and why do you think that is? To build our own kingdoms on earth
(houses, cars, land, etc.)? No! To try and force nonbelievers in
this country to believe? No!! God has not blessed us to build great
cathedrals, or denominations (towers of Babel), but to work together
with the rest of his body around the world to share Christ's
sacrifice with those who have never heard, as one member of the body
of Christ supplies the other. "From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in
love." Eph. 4:16.)
Christ's Primary Concern
So back to the original
question. Why a book on the judgment seat of Christ and world
evangelization? Because I personally believe that if the redemption
of Adam's fallen race was Christ's top priority in glorifying His
father during His earthly ministry, and if it is Christ's top
priority that we glorify the Father by being a witness of what he
did at Calvary to our world, then this will be Christ's primary
concern at the Bema judgment. It is my contention that once we the
church become one, as Christ and the Father are one, in our efforts
to redeem mankind to God through Christ we will shortly thereafter
have evangelized the world. ("Neither pray I for these alone, but
for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou
has sent me." John 17:20-21.)
Chapter II
Is Christ Your Fire Escape?
Will all Christians enjoy
the same benefits and blessings throughout eternity? If so, then
what is the Judgment Seat of Christ all about? Why does the Bible
mention rewards and loss of rewards concerning this judgment for
Christians, and what justice is there for Christians who have been
faithful over those who have refused to take up their cross and
follow Christ? According to scripture, every one of us will stand
before Christ as blood-bought saints and give an account of how we
spent our Christian lives while on this earth. We can face this now
and make the necessary changes, or one day look into the eyes of
perfect love and suffer the immense shame and loss of our
disobedience. One look into the face of omnipotence and there will
be no excuses, only overwhelming sorrow that we have failed our God
and Savior, who gave His all for us. We will see our selfish lives
in the light of His supreme sacrifice for us and His last command to
us before His departure, "Go ye therefore into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15). He did the hard
part. We were only to share the story and God will not wink at our
disobedience and disservice. We seem to be of the opinion that it
does not matter to God whether we serve Him or not, as long as we
are saved. We look at what we are saved from, but what are we saved
to? We are saved from the penalty of sin (Hell), but we are saved to
serve God. So, who are we thinking of here? Is Christ simply a fire
escape to us?
No One Judgment For All
Much of the general
public holds to a view of one judgment where all of humanity
will someday stand before God and be judged by their deeds to
determine their eternal destiny. However, this teaching portrays
salvation by works and is totally contrary to scripture. If the
Bible is crystal clear on anything, it is the
doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ's substitutionary death,
burial and resurrection for eternal salvation.
The Judgment of Unbelievers
The Judgment Seat of
Christ for the believer is not to be confused with
the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers. There will be an
accounting at the Great White Throne Judgment for those who have
refused Christ (Rev. 20:11, 12, 15) or whatever knowledge they had
(Rom 1:18-20, Rom 2:14-16, Gal 3:24-25). "And I saw a great white
throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire." (Rev.
20:11, 12, 15) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the
truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them; for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Rom. 1:18-20). "For when
the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: which do show the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another; in the day when
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my
gospel." (Rom 2:14-16). It is very obvious from these verses that
the individual who dies outside of Christ will be judged, and
justly, but there will also be a Judgment Seat of Christ where
Christians will give an account of their service since salvation.
The Judgment For Christian Service
We as Christians may not
all be overly interested in every intricate aspect of Christianity
(history, prophecy, archeology, administration, etc.), but one thing
we must all face is that inevitable reckoning day when we will give
an account of how we carried out the Father's business while on this
earth. The apostle Paul referred to this event as "The Judgment Seat
of Christ." "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God, which is at
Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia." (II Cor. 1:1) "For
we (Paul speaking to Christians) must all appear before the Judgment
Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his
body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or
bad." (II Cor 5:10).
The Overall Lifestyle Of the Truly Converted
Will Be To Please God
In my humble opinion I
have serious doubts about any professing Christian who says, "Well,
I'm saved and that's all that matters to me. I can live as I please
and still go to Heaven." When I read the scripture I see that
salvation is by grace and grace alone. "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." (Eph. 2:8.9). "Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we
might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of
the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified"
(Gal 2:16) "Oh foolish Galations, who hath bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been
evidently sent forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn
of you, received you the spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit,
are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Gal 3:1-3) "That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Roman 10:9, 10,
13). These are just a few of the many, many verses that show God's
salvation to be totally and exclusively by grace (God's remedy at
Christ's expense), and not by our works.
I also read in God's word
that when God saves someone the result is a changed life. "For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren." (Romans 8:29). "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new." (II Cor 5:17). "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is
dead, being alone." (James 2:17).
When salvation occurs,
the believer's standing before God, and his attitude,
change; however, this does not mean that there will never be sin in
the life of the believer. "And I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes
in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat, for hitherto
ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are
yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and
divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (I Cor 3:1-3). "For
I (Paul) know that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good
thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which
is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not: but the
evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a
law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I
delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Oh
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the
mind I myself serve the law of God; but the with the flesh the law
of sin." (Rom 7:18-25). "For if we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." (I John 1:9).
The individual who has
truly repented and received the blood sacrifice of Christ for
remission of sin is totally and forever pardoned, and, although the
old sin nature remains and the individual may succumb to it from
time to time, their overall goal and lifestyle will be to please
Christ. So, if your highest ambition is not to please the Lord, then
this book is not for you. I have written this book for Christians
who are willing to go the extra mile as Christ did and whose deepest
yearning is to one day hear, "Well done" from God.
Degrees of Punishment and Reward
God is just! "Shall not
the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25). Just as the lost
will suffer according to their deeds, we who have received the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins will receive our just
reward for service or the loss thereof. Common sense tells us
that at the Great White Throne Judgment for the lost, Adolph Hitler
will be punished harder than a proud religious man who lived a
pretty good moral life but refused Christ. "He did it his way." But
let's look at the scriptures. Jesus said in Matt. 10:15, 11:22, Mark
6:11 and Luke 10:12-14 that it will be more tolerable (bearable,
easier) in the day of judgment for one group of individuals than for
another. "Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the
land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that
city." (Matt.10:15) "But I say unto you, that it shall be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you."
(Matt. 11:22). "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you,
when you depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a
testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for
that city." (Mark 6:11). "But I say unto you, that it shall be more
tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Woe unto thee,
Chorizan, woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a
great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it
shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for
you." (Luke 10:12-14)
There will be degrees of
reward in Heaven just as there will be degrees of punishment in
Hell. That is why at the Great White Throne Judgment for the lost,
the lost will be judged according to their works (Rev. 20:11-15),
and that's why at the Judgment Seat of Christ some Christians will
be saved, yet so as by fire (I Cor. 3:11-15). The unbelievers'
judgment is to determine the degree of punishment they will suffer
for their sin. Their salvation is not an issue here. That was
determined before they left this life. Please note these verses
again: (Rev. 20:11-15). The Christian's judgment is not about
punishment for sin. The Christian had accepted Christ's punishment
for his or her sin while on this earth and now their service is
judged (I Cor. 3:11-15). Christians who made keeping up with the
Jones' their priority on this earth will not have the blessings
other Christians have for eternity, who have been faithful disciples
of Christ.
As Christians God has not
dealt with us according to our sin--true (Psa 103:10), and Christ
became sin for us--true (II Cor.5:21), but God has a system of
rewards and loss of rewards for us, and this will not be a small
thing, but of utmost importance when we stand in His presence for
judgment of our service. We Christians will not escape the Judgment
Seat of Christ.
In Luke 19:11-27, when
declaring that the Kingdom of God would not appear immediately,
Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as a nobleman entrusting his
servants with his business and expecting them to bring him profit in
his absence. Then after returning as King, those who were faithful
were rewarded, and the slothful servant suffered loss. Our King
(Jesus) has left us with His business (the redemption of Adam's
fallen race) and expects us to win others for His kingdom. (Matt.
28:19-20).
God's system of rewards
and penalty also applies in this life. Jesus said that he who gives
up his own life's desires and ambitions for the sake of Christ will
find the life or purpose he was created and redeemed for, and the
person who puts his own selfish goals ahead of Christ's will for his
life will lose the meaning and true joy of life ("For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for
my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." (Mark 8:35) God
created us and saved us for a purpose, and when we are not
fulfilling that purpose we have no life but a mere existence. Jesus
also told us that if we would put His salvation and His
righteousness first in our lives He would provide all of our
needs. ("Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedeth
them. Are ye not much better than they? But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and these things shall be
added unto you." (Matt. 6:26, 33.) The opposite also applies to the
disobedient Christian. God will correct His children by
whatever means necessary, even death (Heb. 12:5-8; I Cor. 5:1-5).
God Did Not Overlook Old Testament Heroes' Sins
God has in every
dispensation rewarded obedience and punished disobedience, and we
the church of Jesus Christ will also be rewarded or suffer loss
according to our faithfulness after salvation. God punished Adam and
Eve for their disobedience and cast them out of the garden. Adam
would earn his keep by the sweat of his brow, and Eve would suffer
in childbearing (Gen. 3), but this was only a fraction of the pain
to come. One act of disobedience, and all of mankind and creation
was cursed with sin and it's woes--pain, sorrow, death, and Hell (I
Cor. 15:21-22), and we think our lives are our own, Christian. Every
life, however (seemingly) insignificant, affects others by its
actions or lack thereof. God's man Noah was obedient when he built
the ark, and the lives of Noah and his family were spared during the
flood (Gen. 6:1-8:22). Later, in a drunken stupor, Noah's nakedness
caused a curse to fall on the lineage of one of his sons
(Gen.9). Moses, God's deliverer for Israel, was used of God beyond
measure, yet when he became angry and smote the rock in the
wilderness (Num. 20:1-13), that rock being a type of Christ (I Cor.
10:1-4), he was refused entrance into the Promised Land. King David,
a man whom God himself described as a man after his own heart (Acts
13:21-22) was anointed and blessed as a young man, and was a young
man when he killed Goliath (I Sam. 17). God chose David to be King
of Israel (I Sam. 16), and Christ himself will one day grace the
throne of David with his presence (Luke 1:30-33), but even David was
chastened after his adultery and murder by the death of several of
his children (II Sam. 11, 12, 13 and 18) and the rape of his
daughter by his own son (II Sam. 13). Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses,
David, and all other heroes of the Old Testament dispensation were
rewarded for their obedience and punished for their disobedience,
and we Christians of the church age are no better than they. We too
will reap the fruit of our labor since our salvation or suffer the
loss of rewards for lack of service.
God Will Not Overlook the Church's Lack of Service
Christ went to great
difficulty to redeem us and He expects dividends. He expects
returns. He expects us to work under His direction (it's in the
word) to get the gospel to the rest of Adam's fallen race. God did
not wink at Adam and Eve's sin, and He will not wink at our
disservice. Again, we may say, "Well, Christ took our judgment on
the cross." That's true--for our sin, but we Christians will be
judged by Christ for our faithfulness or slothfulness as disciples
since our salvation. Please consider these verses again and keep
in mind Paul is writing to Christians here, not the lost. "Unto
the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Jesus Christ, called to be saints, with all that in
every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs
and ours: (I Cor 1:2). "For other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall
be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet
so as by fire" (I Cor. 3:11-15)
Our Debt of Love
Our loving Lord not only
forgave us our sin debt (Col. 2:13), sealed us with His Spirit (Eph.
4:30), reserved a place for us in Heaven (I Pet. 1:1-5), and ever
liveth to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25); now He wants to
reward us for serving Him. It seems very selfish to me that we would
not serve Him for what He has already done for us, but He wants to
reward us beyond that for our service. What a gracious, loving Lord
we serve.
Chapter III
The Great Commission or the Great Omission
Is the great commission
just one of hundreds of commands our Lord expects us to obey or is
it the end result of an earthly life filled with prayer, the word,
fellowship, worship and general holy living? As Christ's earthly
life and walk as the perfect second Adam made Him the only worthy
sacrifice for the sin of mankind, so our lives filled with the
things of God make us worthy and empowered to make His sacrifice
known to our generation. To those who would say world evangelization
was given exclusively to the immediate disciples of Christ there in
the first century just before His ascension, I am reminded that
Jesus said in the great commission, "Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even to the
end of the world. Amen" (Matt. 28:19,20)
Discipleship
When Jesus said to His
immediate disciples, "teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you," this would have included His
last command--now "go ye therefore. . . " Jesus also said, "Lo, I am
with you alway, even unto the end of the world (age)" (Matt. 28:20)
and we are still in the same age, the church age. So the first
disciples were to pass on the mantle of world evangelization to
their disciples, and each generation was to train their disciples to
do the same until here we are in the 21st century. Today, through
radio, printed page, cassette, film and national Christians, we
North American disciples of the twenty first century can go
to any country or every country of our world with our prayers and
finances. With mass media we can reach more people for Christ in one
day than Paul did in his lifetime, and we can accomplish this from
the luxury and security of our North American homes. God has
given us the opportunity to build eternity from a bed of roses. In
John 20:21-23, Jesus tells His disciples, "Peace be unto you: as my
Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this,
He breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them: and
whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." This tells me that
as Jesus gave His life a sacrifice that the world might be saved, so
we through our spiritual inheritance of discipleship are to give our
lives for that same objective, that the world might be saved through
the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus came to save the lost, "For the son
of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke
19:10). Notice here Jesus seeks the lost and we, too, are to go
where the lost are. Jesus speaking to the disciples in John 20:21-23
gave them the responsibility to carry on His work after his
departure. They had the power to preach the gospel and those who
believed were forgiven, those who did not remained unforgiven. Some
will say, "Oh, no. Not all Christians are called to preach." Well,
not all Christians are given the gift of evangelism, or
pastor-teacher, or apostleship as the twelve were, but discipleship
is for all Christians and preaching simply means proclaiming, and
the message is simple. The gospel does not include all the Bible
doctrines of the scripture, but it is in fact the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ, and certainly requires no scholarship to
share. Look at I Corinthians 15:1-4, "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." The gospel is the death, burial,
and resurrection of Christ and all disciples are to get the message
to their generation.
Why Are We Here?
When we consider the fact
that we were forgiven and given eternal life on the merits of
Christ's sacrifice at Calvary, then we must ask the question, "Why
did He leave us here on earth? Certainly we were left here to
glorify God in our earthly state, but in heaven we will glorify Him
in a perfect sinless way. We can fellowship with Him now, but in
heaven we will have an unbroken, perfect fellowship without the
flesh and sin. We can pray now, but then we will talk face to
face. We can study the scripture now, but then we will know as we
are known (I Cor. 13:12). We can enjoy Christian fellowship now, but
then we will have a perfect sinless fellowship. The only thing we
can do now while on this earth as Christians that will be
everlastingly too late to do once we are on the other side is to
evangelize the world for whom Christ died and commissioned us to
reach. It is also true that we will not be able to glorify God in
heaven as we do now when we overcome sin in this flesh, but of what
value are our holy lives if we don't use them for His will on the
earth as His disciples making disciples of all nations. We will
continue all other aspects of the Christian life in heaven but in a
perfect way; however, we will not have the privilege of bringing
souls to Christ then who will forever add to the throng of
worshippers around His throne. This is what He died for--the
redemption of mankind. Yes, we glorify God in these earthen vessels
when we submit to give ourselves as Christ did for the salvation of
the world, ". . . as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you"
(John. 20:21).
Christ Died for Us That We Might Live for Him
Christ paid the sin debt
for the world and He commanded us to reach our world with the plan
of salvation. He spent His life unto death for world
evangelization. Can we not spend our lives in service for the
salvation of the world? We will not convert the world and God knows
that, but He made a way through the cross for all to come and we are
to evangelize the whole world. Evangelization is our
responsibility. Evangelizing simply means giving everyone a clear
presentation of forgiveness and eternal life through the shed blood
of Christ and an opportunity to respond to it. Evangelizing does not
mean trying to force non-Christians who do understand the gospel and
refuse it, as is the case with much of America. A majority of our
efforts are spent on evangelized but unconverted people while
billions have never once had a chance to respond to the
gospel. Conversion, on the other hand, is God's and the individual's
responsibility. Conversion is when God pricks the heart of the
unsaved individual through the gospel (death, burial and
resurrection of Christ) and shows them their sin, God's holiness and
judgment, and their need to repent and receive forgiveness through
the sacrifice of Christ for their sin. The other part of conversion
is when the individual makes the choice to accept God's provision
for his sin. There has been much debate over the sovereignty of God
and the free will of man. In my opinion, they are both essential and
referred to in scripture, but the main issue here as far as I'm
concerned is not how God's salvation works but how we disciples work
toward evangelizing every nation, tribe, and tongue, because without
us sharing the gospel (evangelizing) there can be no salvation. God
in His sovereignty has given us (His church) one plan of salvation
and there is one "name under heaven whereby we must be saved" (Acts
4:12) and we have the free will to obey Him or disobey Him.
God's Will for Us
Jesus spoke of occupying
till He comes (Luke 19:13). Doing what? Jesus, in John 9:4, spoke of
working while it is day for the night cometh when no man can
work. What work was He speaking of? I think most would agree that as
the word Christian implies, we who name the name of Christ
are to be as much like Christ as possible, and as Christ was about
His Father's business even as a child, we are to be about our
Father's business. In Philippians 2:5-8 Paul writes to the church
and states that we as Christians are to have the same mindset
Christ had when He made Himself of no reputation, became a servant,
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto the death of the
cross. Now why did Christ do all of the above? Certainly not for His
health, but for the redemption of mankind. Again Paul says this is
to be our mindset (passion, goal, objective and
motivation--the redemption of mankind!). "Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross." (Phil.2:5-8) In John 4:34, Jesus said His meat was to do the
will of Him that sent Him and finish His work. So if Jesus came to
do the will of the Father and as the Father had sent Him, He sends
us (John 20:21), then what is the will of the Father for us? Well,
what was God's will for Jesus? To give His body a sacrifice for the
world. "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no
pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said,
Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou
wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by
the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He
taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the
which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:5-10). In the garden, Christ
prayed before His arrest and crucifixion that the cup of this
sacrifice would pass from Him, but then replied, "Thy will
be done."(Matt. 26:39-46). In II Peter 3:9, we see that God is
not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance and knowledge of the truth, "The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9). And
how does God will for these perishing of II Pet. 3:9 to come
to the knowledge of the truth? In Romans 10:14-15, Paul talks about
the beautiful feet of those who preach the gospel and says the lost
cannot know Christ without a preacher, "How then shall they call on
him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!"
(Rom. 10:14-15). See--someone says, "God doesn't expect me to get
the gospel out, that's the preacher's job" (meaning the evangelist
or pastor); however, these same feet and this same gospel of peace
are described in Ephesians 6:15, "And your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace," (Eph. 6:15). Now, if you will
back up to Ephesians 6:10, you will see this whole armor of
God is for the brethren (Christians in general, not just
pastors and evangelists). "Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might," (Eph. 6:10). Then all the
armor is listed for the Christian fight for souls, including the
gospel footwear (Eph. 6:10-18). We are the preachers (proclaimers)
the perishing of Romans 10:13-15 cannot hear the gospel
without. Everything Christ did was important but Jesus' earthly work
was incomplete until He cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30). "After
this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the
scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a
vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and
put it upon Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his
head, and gave up the ghost" (John 19:28-30). He paid the sin debt
for mankind and verified it with His resurrection. May I suggest as
the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, that our work is incomplete
until we obey our commander in chief's last command before his
departure--evangelizing the world. If we are disciples or followers
of Christ, then that means we should have His priority while on this
earth, and his priority was fulfilling all scripture (as the perfect
prophesied sacrificial lamb of God) and providing salvation for all
who would come. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
. ." in Matthew 11:29. This yoke speaks of us resting in Christ and
letting Him do the work--but what work? Also, when we learn of
Christ, what do we see? We see the God man who spent Himself in life
and death for the reconciling of man and God. This yoke also speaks
of us and Christ yoked together for a common work, purpose, or
job. So, if we are yoked together with Christ, resting in Him,
learning of Him and His purpose, and let Him do the leading, what
work do you think we will be doing and what priority do you think we
will have? If we are yoked with Jesus, what do you think our highest
goal will be? To glorify the Father--true, and if we are yoked
together with Jesus, how will we look at the world--as a place to
settle in and build our own kingdom, or will we see the world as
Jesus saw it when He said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come
to seek and to save that which was lost." So if God's will for
Jesus was to prepare Him a sacrifice that the world might be saved
(Heb. 10:5-10) and we are to glorify God by being like Christ (Phil.
2:5-8), then this sheds a whole new light on Romans 12:1,2, "I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of
God." If we present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice,
we will find the perfect will of God for our lives (God's will
is that none should perish--II Pet. 3:9.). Again God's perfect
will for Christ was a holy life and sacrificial death that the
world might be saved so the perfect will of God for our lives will
be a sacrificial holy life that can be used of God to redeem the
world to God through Christ. This does not suggest that we all
go to the foreign mission field, but by whatever gift or gifts we
have been given, we should see to it that all nations hear the good
news. Obviously, God hasn't called all of us to go as evangelists to
the world. "If the whole body were an eye, where were the
hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? (I Cor.
12:17).
Christ's Love is Contagious
Matthew 3:11,12 speaks of
Christ's coming after John the Baptist, and His purpose--gathering
souls to Himself and burning those who refuse Him. Then Jesus' first
message in Matthew 4:17 is evangelistic. "Repent for the kingdom of
heaven is near," --speaking of Himself. Heaven is as near or far
from an individual as Jesus is. The individual who possesses Jesus
possesses heaven. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew and
declares that if they would follow Him, He would make them fishers
of men, "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men." He doesn't say He will make them theologians,
though He would teach them scripture and later inspire Peter to
write scripture. He doesn't say He will make prayer warriors of
them, though He would teach them to pray. He doesn't even say He
will use them to encourage the brethren, though He would later say
to Peter, "If you love me feed my sheep" (John 21:17). Christ
doesn't even mention all the miracles they would later perform, but
our Savior's purpose in calling these men was to make them fishers
of men. Soul winners! Jesus taught the law and the commandments to
show that none could be saved by them (Gal. 3:24,25 and Romans
3:19,20). Jesus would preach and perform miracles and the end
results would be people believing on Him. Look at the times in His
earthly ministry people believed on Him. Look at how many times in
His earthly ministry the Scripture records people not believing on
Him. This was the bottom line. "For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him
should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). In Matthew
7:21, Jesus says only those who do the will of God will enter
heaven. Later he would say in response to what works must we do that
we might work the works of God or the will of God? Believe on Him
whom God hath sent (John 6:28-29), "Then said they unto him, What
shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and
said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent". The gospel of John begins in Chapter 1:7 describing
John the Baptist as telling people to believe on Jesus, "The same
came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men
through him might believe." In John 1:35-45, John introduces two of
his disciples to Jesus, then one of them (Andrew) introduced Peter
to Jesus. Then Philip met the Lord and introduced Nathaniel to
Christ. There seems to be a pattern here, doesn't there?
Imitating Christ--The Highest Form of Glorifying God
The supreme purpose of
man is to glorify God, not evangelize the world, but how do we
glorify God? It's as simple as obedience and submission to
Him. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father"
(John 14:9), and "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John
14:15), and all the commandments are summed up in these two, "Love
the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind and your
neighbor as yourself" (Mat. 22:37-40). So, if we love God with all
of our being, we are going to make His priorities ours. Because of
God's great love, He has given His Son's life to redeem mankind and
throughout eternity we will not glory in our accomplishments, (our
prayer life, knowledge of the word, or verbal worship), but in His
redeeming love. If the redemption of mankind is God's priority and
we glorify God by submitting to His will, then what should our
priority be--the redemption of mankind. The second part of
glorifying God is loving our neighbor as ourselves. I think we often
respond to this like the lawyer of Luke 10:25-29 when he said, "And
who is my neighbor?" We think that perhaps this only includes people
on either side of our dwellings. Well, first of all Jesus showed the
lawyer that any one in need is our neighbor, and today with our mass
media we know of the billions of people around our world who need
Christ. Also, if we love them as we love ourselves, then we will go
to any length to see to it that they, like ourselves, have every
opportunity to know Christ's forgiveness, because the only
alternative is Hell. This alternative is a harsh reality;
nevertheless, if we believe the Bible, a reality (Psalms 9:17, Luke
12:4-5, and Luke 16:22-24). So what could be our highest calling in
glorifying our God? Following His heartbeat--world evangelization.
Using Prayer to Glorify God
I realize any time
someone makes a statement like the one I have just made, someone
else will respond, "What about prayer? Isn't it true that when we
are confessing , petitioning, praising, and worshiping God, we are
glorifying God?" Of course, but we can pray until we are blue in the
face, and if we don't then leave the presence of God with our then
spirit filled lives and allow ourselves to be used of God to
accomplish His purpose on the Earth, what good it is? Words are
cheap! We can tell God how great He is and how much we love Him and
should, but God wants us to show Him how great He is by testifying
of Him. God wants us to show Him how much we love Him by showing Him
off to our world (John 14:15). In Psalms 51:13, the writer says once
we pray and confess our sin, then we can be used of God to convert
the lost, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners
shall be converted unto thee." Prayer is a vital part of the
Christian life. It equips us for God's work. When we the church are
prayed up and clean, then we can do what we have been called to
do--reach our world for Christ. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus said
pray--"Our Father which art in heaven." First of all is Jesus our
Savior and hence God our Father. "Hallowed be thy name." Here is our
verbal worship and when we truly love and adore Him, we want to
elevate His name (Jesus) among the nations. We want as many people
as possible in heaven forever hallowing His name. "Thy Kingdom
come." Obviously we are here on this Earth to build His Kingdom with
people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. "Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven." Here we see that as our Lord receives all
the preeminence in heaven, so our desire on earth is to see His will
accomplished here, and how can our world give Him preeminence if
they don't even know Him and His mighty works. "Give us this day our
daily bread." While on this earth ministering for our Lord we can
depend on Him to "supply all our needs according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19). "And forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors". Again in Psalms 51:13, the writer says until
we confess our sins we cannot convert the lost and we cannot be
forgiven until we forgive others (Mat. 6:14-15). "Lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil." Our temptation as we become
weary in well-doing (Gal. 6:9) is to back off from our spiritual
disciplines, and the results are that we become unfit for the
Master's use (II Timothy 2:20-21). In I Corinthians 9:20-27, Paul
mentions this and he talks about being all things to all men that he
might win some, "And unto the Jews I became a Jew, that I might gain
the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I
might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without
law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the
law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the
weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I
do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with
you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now
they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that
beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway." Paul here talks about running in the
race for souls that he might win the prize (reward, crown). Paul
talks about disciplining himself spiritually so that he might be
found worthy of the Lord to win the lost, and we are to follow Paul
as he followed Christ (I Cor. 10:32-11:1), "Give none offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved. Be ye followers of
me even as I also am of Christ." It's possible for us to become
useless to God while on this earth if we become undisciplined
(become lax in prayer, Bible study, worship, and Christian
fellowship) and we can become castaways (I Cor 9:27). This is not
speaking of salvation, but use for service (I Pet 1:3-9 and II Pet
1:5-9). "For thine is the kingdom and power and glory for
ever. Amen." Here only God can enable us to be all that we can be
for His service, and only He deserves the credit for the results.
Using the Word to Bring God Glory
Another critical element
of the Christian life is the word (Bible). ". . . thou hast
magnified (honored) thy word above all thy name." (Psalms
138:2). But what have we been given the word for? First of all, the
word contains the gospel which we (the church) are to be getting out
to the ends of the earth--the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John. Then the New Testament is full of references to the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ and the rest is directly related
to and because of the gospel. Even the Old Testament has the blood
line of Christ running through it and is full of the pictures and
types of the coming Messiah. Then the word is given for our
sanctification. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word," (Eph.
5:25-26). The word keeps us clean, but this is a means to an
end. Notice once we are sanctified, then we are meet for the
master's use and work. "But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and
some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge
himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified,
and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto
every good work" (II Tim. 2:20-21). The word is given to us as the
sword of the spirit (Eph. 6:17). In the armor described in Ephesians
6, for all Christians the word is the only other piece of
advancement equipment besides the gospel footwear. As Jesus used the
word to fend off Satan before His earthly ministry, so we too have
this sword of the spirit. The word Paul describes in II Timothy
3:16-17, as being profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and
instruction for the man of God is the same word the evangelists and
pastor-teachers of Ephesians 4:11-12 use for the perfecting of the
saints for their work of the ministry, "And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." What else would
they use to equip the church for the ministry--their opinion? Of
course not! Again, if prayer, the word, fellowship and worship were
an end in themselves on this earth, then we would be better off in
heaven now where we could do all of the above in a perfect way.
Christ spent time in prayer with His Father, knew the scriptures
from a child and lived a holy life to empower Him to work the works
of Him that sent Him, so we too are to follow the same example.
Since The Fall, God's Priority Has Been Consistent
From the beginning God's
priority has been a desire to fellowship with mankind, and since the
fall of man in the Garden of Eden His purpose has been the redeeming
of fallen man back to Himself. Right away He promised that the seed
of Adam (the second Adam--Christ) would defeat Satan (Gen. 3:14-15)
and once again mankind could love and fellowship with God. In Noah's
day when the sin of man brought the judgment of God, before God sent
the flood, He sent a preacher (Noah) to warn the people and He
provided a safe haven for all who would enter (The ark) (II Peter
2:5). Noah's day was not unlike ours (Luke 17:26-27). God is using
His church to call out a people to Himself and all who enter God's
safe haven (Christ) will be spared the judgment to come. As all who
entered the door of the ark were saved, so it is with all who flee
the wrath of God through Jesus (the door) (John 10:7-9). So these
Old Testament types of Christ sound far fetched to you? Jesus said,
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). The Old
Testament scriptures were given for an example for us. (I Cor 10:11
and II Peter 2:4-6). God had all the nations in mind when He told
Abraham thou shalt be a father of many nations (Gen. 17:4) and all
the nations shall be blessed in thee (Gen. 18:18). Israel was God's
chosen people but God said in Isaiah 45:22, "Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth. . . "
God's Followers Are Just As Vital to His Work As His Leaders
Gentile people in the Old
Testament learned of the God of Israel not just because of leaders
like Joshua, Moses, David or Solomon but also by the gallantry,
faithfulness and testimony of the everyday run of the mill children
of Israel. God has always had His leaders to orchestrate His work,
but without all the followers the victories would never have been
won. God uses His people period. The correlation between the Old
Testament followers of Jehovah and the New Testament church of Jesus
Christ is much closer than we often recognize. Old Testament
believers look forward to Christ's sacrifice like we look back to
it. The shedding of the blood of bulls and goats was a covering
until the lamb of God came (Heb. 10:1-10 and John 1:29), but at any
rate God used Moses and the children of Israel to shake the
world in their day just as He wants to use the whole church
today. Sure the children of Israel moaned and groaned at times and
God had to deal with their sins, but when they were faithful God
used them to carry out the plans He had given His leaders.
Today the whole church
has the instruction of God in His completed cannon of scripture and
we are to follow our leaders as they follow the word of God. We (the
whole church) are to function as a whole body made up of many
members having many gifts and functions, but for one common
purpose--the salvation of God's creational crown of
glory--mankind. Certain leaders today have been given gifts of
motivation and direction, but they cannot evangelize the world
without our prayers and gifts. Read Ephesians 4:11-12. Apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastor-teachers, etc., were given by God to
the church to equip the church for the work of the ministry. So what
is the work of the ministry? Ministry means service, and all of our
service is to be as unto the Lord, and what service could we be
doing for our Lord? Again, knowing Christ's priority to be the souls
of man, it is no surprise that in II Corinthians 5:18,19 Paul
describes this ministry as one of reconciliation. In Corinthians
5:18,19. Paul talks about a ministry of reconciliation, "All things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of
reconciliation." Reconciliation means bringing two together and the
tool used for this ministry is the word of reconciliation (the
gospel). This is the same gospel of peace Paul talks about all
Christians shodding their feet with in Ephesians 6:15. So as
pastor-teachers, evangelists, etc., equip the church to reconcile
people to God through Christ and as new converts come into the fold,
it strengthens the church all the more. "For the edifying of the
body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12). There is nothing like a new
convert with their new-found faith and fervor to encourage us older
believers who sometimes have forgotten where we came from. It's a
shame that most new converts have to backslide to fellowship with
the average church, but what a joy it is to be around a new
Christian. They are trusting enough to believe God will do just what
He says He will do and they want to tell the world about
Christ. This should tell us something about the natural God-given
instinct to witness each one of us has after our conversion and that
it is only after much coldness that the new convert becomes
disinterested in evangelism. Our commission is crystal clear! Teach
the nations, preach the gospel to every creature, repentance and
remission of sins be preached in His name among the nations,
Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosoever
sins ye retain they are retained (Mat. 28:18, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47
and John 20:23). We have been taught to observe all things
whatsoever Jesus taught the first disciples and Christ is with us
till the end of the church age (Mat. 28:19-20), "Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen."
God's Priority Should Be the Church's Priority
In Luke 10, Jesus sent 70
disciples into the cities to tell of Himself and asked them to pray
that others would go. When they returned excited about the miracles
they had performed in Christ's name, Jesus pointed out that eternal
salvation was more important. Again we see God's priority. God's
priority has not changed!. Christians, our primary business here is
souls for Christ. He did die for them, didn't He? And for those of
you who believe Christ died only for the elect, then find the
elect. In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus talked about leaving the ninety and
nine to find the one lost sheep. Verse 7 says God's priority is the
lost, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons,
which need no repentance" (Luke 15:7). Jesus talked about the joy
over finding the one lost coin in Luke 15:8-10) Christ talked about
the word (seed) being sown in people's hearts. Jesus was consumed
with getting the word to people. God doesn't call all of us
Christians to go to the unevangelized areas of the world, but He
does call all of us to see to it that the gospel gets to these
areas. We have all the tools we need to reach our world with the
gospel, but are we using them? We have prayer but do we ever pray
for the lost billions Christ died for and asked us to reach?
"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the
labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that
he would send forth labourers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2), and if
we American Christians get our priorities straight we certainly have
the financial means to reach the unevangelized regions beyond. We
are to be co-laborers together with our brothers and sisters
world-wide to reconcile the nations to God. "So then neither is he
that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that
giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are
one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own
labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's
husbandry, ye are God's building" (I Cor. 3:7-9). Most of us
Christians are so self-consumed that we can't focus on God and
others. The life of a true disciple is one of those paradoxes that
occurs when we lose our lives in God and others and find
ourselves. We find the contentment we were created and saved to
enjoy. When we are totally emersed in God and His plan for mankind,
we take our emphasis off our own stumblings and failures and press
on to perfection for the sake of others. "He that findeth his life
shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find
it" (Matt. 10:39). Once we have evangelized every individual on
planet Earth, and have given everyone an opportunity to accept or
reject the gospel, then Christ's bride will be complete, and the
church's work on Earth will be done--thus the end of the age (the
church age) (Matt.28:20). "Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. Amen."
Did the Early Church Leave
The Great Commission to the Apostles?
Thus far I have given
scripture after scripture showing the church's highest calling while
on this Earth, and that being world evangelization, but there is
much more, so bear with me. In Acts 8:1-4, we see that Saul (later
Paul) scattered the church at Jerusalem abroad, and they (the
church) went everywhere preaching the word. "And Saul was consenting
unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution
against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria,
except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial,
and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of
the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women
committed them to
prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where
preaching the word." Therefore, they (the church, not just the
apostles) that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the
word (gospel). As stated earlier, part of the armor Paul describes
as a vital part of the victorious Christian life to the church
at Ephesus in Ephesians 6:10-15 was, "Your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace." "Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace." In I Thessalonians
1:1 and 5-8, Paul speaking to the church says he didn't even need to
preach to the people there at Thessalonica because the Christians
there had preached (proclaimed) the gospel everywhere. "Paul, and
Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be
unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ"
(1:1). "For our gospel came not unto you in the word only, but also
in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know
what manner of men we are among you for your sake. And ye became
followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much
affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were ensamples to
all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out
the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in
every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need
not to speak any thing" (1:5-8). The gospel is simply the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ. Jude to the saints sanctified and
preserved in Jesus Christ says to have compassion on the world and
others save with fear pulling them out of the fire hating the
sin. "And of some having compassion, making a difference: And others
save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the
garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 22,23). Read Philippians
1:12-18. Here Paul writes to the Philippian church from prison and
declares that his imprisonment had furthered the gospel. He writes "many
of the brethren". Did you catch that?--brethren, not
apostles, evangelists, or pastors. Many of the brethren had become
bold by Paul's imprisonment to "speak the word" without fear. Some
preached Christ out of envy and strife, and others out of
sincerity. Regardless, Paul was thrilled that the gospel was
preached by the brethren. "But I would ye should understand,
brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in
Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And
many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are
much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach
Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one
preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add
affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set
for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding every way,
whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein
do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice" (Phil. 1:12-18).
Running the Race With Paul
In I Corinthians 9:19-27,
Paul talks about winning the lost world to Christ (v. 19-23) and
compares it to running a race (v. 24-27). He says we run this
race of presenting the gospel to the lost for a prize from our Lord
someday (v. 25). This race was not just for Paul but for all
Christians. "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made
myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the
Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are
under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are
under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being
not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might
gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I
might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might
by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I
might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run
in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may
obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in
all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I,
not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body and bring
it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway," (I Cor 9:19-27). In Chapters
10 and 11, Paul goes into the spiritual disciplines needed to enable
them to win this race for souls. He repeats this again in I
Corinthians 10:33 and just in case his readers think this race was
only for Paul, in the next verse (I Cor 11:1) Paul admonishes them
to follow him in this race for the souls of men as Paul followed
Christ. Paul emphasizes this again in Hebrews 12:1-2 with the "let
us" of world evangelization, "Let us lay aside every
weight and sin" etc., and "Let us run with patience the race
that is set before us." "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us," (Heb 12:1). In the
next verse, Hebrews 12:2, Paul talks about Christ's endurance on the
cross for the redemption of mankind as our
example. Souls! Souls! Souls!!! "Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God," (Heb 12:2). Back in I Corinthians 9:25,
Paul talks about an incorruptible crown we can win from Christ for
winning this race. "And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible," (I Cor 9:25). The value of winning
the lost is described in Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of righteousness
is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Paul mentions
this again in I Thessalonians 2:19-20, "For what is our hope, or
joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and
joy." Daniel 12:3 talks again about the wisdom and eternal reward of
turning our generation to God. "And they that be wise shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many
to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever," (Dan 12:3). It
almost seems as though the great commission is pretty important to
God, doesn't it?
Other Crowns
The crown mentioned in
Revelation 2:10 is a martyr's crown. Martyrs for Christ are not
secret Christians but a witness for their Lord unto death. In II
Timothy 4:8, Paul mentions a crown of rejoicing for all of us who
love Christ's appearing. It only stands to reason that Christians
who are faithful stewards of the Lord's business will be glad and
proud to see Him at His appearance for they will hear, "Well done."
We who are slothful servants will suffer loss and, knowing this,
will be ashamed (not rejoicing) at His appearance. In I Pet 5:2-4,
pastors will receive a crown of glory for equipping the church of
God for the work of the ministry. Compare this with Ephesians
4:11-12, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teacher; for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ." This same ministry is mentioned in II Corinthians
5:18-19, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." Again
remembering that this ministry for every Christian in Ephesians
4:11-12 is part of a spiritual cycle. The pastor feeds the flock,
the flock witnesses to the fact of God's reconciliation through
Christ, and the new converts come into the fellowship which
encourages and edifies the church all the more. By our words and
deeds we Christians are to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to our
world.
All Rewards Point Back to the Cross
In Matt. 10:41-42 when
receiving a prophet's or righteous man's or disciple's reward for
showing these godly persons kindness, one has to realize that as we
aid these individuals we are furthering the gospel. A prophet will
be presenting the gospel as the only escape from God's judgment. The
righteous man and disciple will be faithful executors of God's
business (world evangelization). A cup of water, lodging or
financial support make us partners in their labor and reward. Look
again at Chapter V and share in today's harvest. When we help God-annointed
ministries win souls world-wide, we are accounted as going into all
the world. In Luke 6:22-23 there is a reward for being persecuted
for Christ's sake, but consider the fact that one would not be
persecuted for being a Christian unless the one being persecuted was
making it known that he or she was a Christian (witnessing - by word
or deed). Luke 6:35 says there will be a reward for being good to
our enemies, but our enemies are enemies of the cross and what
better witness for Christ could we give them than exchanging good
for evil? In Matthew 19:29 there is a reward for leaving houses,
land, loved ones, etc., but again, what would one be leaving these
things for? Christ and the gospel. All rewards point back to the
cross!
Greater Works Than Jesus?
What was Jesus talking
about when He said we (Christians) would do greater works than He
did. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall
he do; because I go unto my Father," (John 14:12). Greater works
than Jesus did? That's what Jesus said. What does this mean? Well,
obviously the disciples did many marvelous works and miracles, but
greater than Jesus? Let's look at the disciples' miracles. Well,
they did raise some from the dead, but when Christ rose from the
dead, the scripture says many bodies of the saints arose, "And the
graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept
arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went
into the holy city, and appeared unto many," (Matt. 27:52-53). What
about all the other miracles the disciples did? John wrote in John
20:30-31 and 21:25 that Jesus did many other miracles which were not
even written in the bible and that the earth could not contain all
the books if they were written, "And many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name," (John 20:30-31). " And there are also many other
things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every
one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written. Amen" (John 21:25). This may sound
strange at first, but when we realize that Christ was not limited to
time and dimension, He could have revealed an eternity of His
miracles and works, from the creation and before, from the present
through the future, and He could have done so in a moment's time. He
is God, remember. So, back to the original question-what works can
we do that are greater than Christ's? In John 6:28, Jesus says in
answer to what works must we do that we might work the works of God,
"This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath
sent." Jesus also said to his disciples not to rejoice over the
miracles they were able to perform, but that they were saved,
"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means
hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are
subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written
in heaven," (Luke 10:19-20). The eternal redemption of man was the
work Christ came to accomplish. The miracles and works were only a
vindication of His Messiahship. Christ provided eternal salvation
for all and some believed on Him during His earthly ministry, but
for the most part He has given this privilege of bringing people to
salvation through His gospel to us. Jesus was despised and rejected
by His own, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not," (Isaiah 53:3). Even His
own disciples doubted and later forsook Him, but on the day of
Pentecost He used them to bring 3,000 people to God. Throughout the
ministries of the first disciples, multitudes were brought into the
household of salvation. These are the works greater than
Christ's. When I first saw this I thought this sounds like
blasphemy, but then I realized that Christ did the hard part. He
paid for mankind's sin. He experienced the wrath of God for all, and
then in His love He has shared this great privilege of redemption
with us His church. Christ will receive the preeminence throughout
eternity for paying the sin debt of all who will come, but then no
one can come to Him unless we (the church) tell them. He has
ordained it so. Today in our generation we have the opportunity and
means to bring more souls to God than the first disciples did. No
one but Christ could have made salvation possible, but He has
ordained that we (not Himself) share that gospel that saves. On the
day of Pentecost, about 3,000 came to Christ. Today, approximately
90,000 are being converted a day. Angels would have jumped at this
opportunity to bring men to God, and we consider it a bother. It
takes time and money away from our own agendas.
The Power of His Resurrection
In Philippians 3:10, Paul
wrote about wanting to know Christ, the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10). What did he mean
here? When Paul wrote of wanting to get to know Christ, he already
knew Him as Saviour (II Tim. 1:12). Paul was wanting to get to know
more about Christ and more of Christ. The next question is what
would Paul do with this knowledge and for what purpose was he
pursuing it? Paul was pressing toward the same mark all of us
disciples (learners, students, pupils, followers, imitators) are to
aim for--following Christ's example. This is what Christian
means--Christ-like, and again as we imitate Christ's example while
He was on this earth, we realize that the one event that affirmed
everything He did was His resurrection, "That I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection." The resurrection was Christ's means to
an end--the redemption of mankind. By Christ's resurrection, His
sinless life and vicarious death were made legitimate on behalf of
the sinner before God. So, too, when we as disciples of Christ
(following Paul as he followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1)) get to know
more and more about Christ, the more we see the need to imitate His
total dependence on the resurrection power of God to accomplish the
Father's purpose on this earth. As we see how by Christ's
resurrection all might be redeemed to God, then our priority will be
to partake of this resurrection power to bring our generation to
God. How do we do that? The power of His resurrection is in
essence the gospel (the death, burial and resurrection of
Christ). The same power that raised Jesus from the dead raises the
sinner to spiritual life from the dead by faith in that same gospel
(I Cor. 1:18 and 21 and Eph. 2:1 and 5-6). As Christ died and rose
that the world might be saved, so we who have experienced the
transforming resurrection power of salvation can now resurrect
others through the power of the gospel (the power of His
resurrection).
In
Philippians 3:10 we
also read, "And the fellowship of His sufferings." As we are
faithful in Christ's battle for the souls of men, our enemy (Satan)
is going to try to hinder us. So, as we really get to know Christ,
His resurrection power surges through our beings to bring mankind to
God, and as we do this we should be willing, if necessary, to suffer
(as Christ did) for the sake of others, hence "and the fellowship of
His sufferings." All this can only be accomplished as we die to
ourselves, "being made conformable to His death." Again look at
Philippians 3:10, "That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death."
Christ Died for the World
The Church is to Tell the World
In Acts 1:8, Jesus said
He would send the Holy Ghost after His departure to make the
transfer of responsibility of the redemption of the world from
Himself to His church. Jesus had paid the sin debt and now the same
Holy Spirit that came upon Him at His baptism for His earthly work
was passed on to the church. Christ was empowered to be the lamb of
God for the sins of the world, and we the church witnesses of that
fact. "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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth." Look at Acts 2 to see the entrance of God's spirit upon
His people and the beginning of the church age. Today we receive the
Holy Spirit at salvation (Ephesians 1:12-14 and Romans 8:9), and our
orders haven't changed.
Let Your Light Shine
Let me close this chapter
by giving a very simple biblical illustration. Jesus said in John
9:5 that He was the light of the world while He was here, "As long
as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." So what happened
to the light that illuminates the way to God after his
departure? Christian friends, we are to reflect that light of
Christ. Christian means Christ-like, or an example of Christ. A
disciple is an imitator of his master and one who gives his life for
the same purpose his master has. In II Corinthians 4:3-4, Paul talks
about his ministry and gospel as light shining to the lost that they
might be saved, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that
are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Again, in
Acts 13:47, Paul says Christ set him to be a light to the ends of
the Earth, "For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set
thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for
salvation unto the ends of the earth." Remember in I Cor 11:1 where
we talked about Paul inviting all Christians to follow his example
of getting the gospel to the world? Well, here again we (everyday,
average, run-of-the-mill Christians) are to be lights to our
world. Look at Matthew 5:14-16: "Ye are the light of the world. A
city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven." Jesus said in John 9:5, "As long as I am
in the world, I am the light of the world;" Paul said in Eph 5:8,
"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:
walk as children of light;" Rom 13:12, "The night is far spent, the
day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and
let us put on the armour of light;" and again in I Thessalonians
5:5, Paul says, "Ye are all the children of light, and the children
of the day: we are not of the night, nor of the darkness." God wants
his people to reflect the light of Christ (the true light) to the
world by whatever gift or gifts they may have. We are to reflect
Christ, and what was Christ? A sacrifice for the sin of
mankind. This is our business! This is our calling and purpose! Are
you a gospel light or are you hiding your light under a bushel?
It should be obvious now
that every one of us as believers are responsible and accountable
for world evangelization. The next chapter will deal with some of
the reasons we aren't pursuing our calling.
Chapter IV
So Near Yet So Far Away
If world evangelization
is the ultimate praise gift from the church to Christ and if filling
heaven with saints from every people, tribe, nation, and tongue, who
will glorify Christ for ever is the highest form of glorifying God
while on this Earth, then why do the New Testament writers not dwell
on it even more than the many, many passages referred to in the
preceding chapter? I believe Peter, Paul, James, John, and Jude all
spent so much time in their letters dwelling on holy living, a faith
life, praying always, studying the scriptures, and an unblemished
relationship between the saints, and the saints and their God
because without these things we the church can't even get along long
enough to plan our strategy. Without the love of God ruling our
lives we certainly aren't going to be willing to give our lives in
service for the souls of people who hate our God and us. Again David
in Psalms 51:12,13 said sinners won't be won to God until God's
people are grounded in their own salvation, "Restore unto me the joy
of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I
teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto
thee." Only when we fall in line with New Testament teaching can we
be the answer to Christ's prayer when He prayed "Neither pray I for
these, alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may
believe that thou has sent me." (John 17:20-21). God the father and
Jesus the Son were one in accomplishing an earthly redemption plan
for mankind--the cross and empty tomb. So, too, once we (the body of
Christ) become one in our goal to get the gospel to every living
person on Earth, the task becomes much simpler and
smaller. According to the U. S. Center for World Missions in
Pasadena, California, there are 600 evangelical congregations
world-wide for each people group who has never heard the gospel. If
"the church" increased its giving to world missions by 1/3 of 1%
(details in Chapter V), it would finance the job, but we would
rather squabble over a pre or post-tribulation rapture, or who the
antichrist might be. Meanwhile we consider our Christian duty to
stay out of trouble and go to church--for what? Christ never
intended for His church to merely survive until we get to
heaven. This Satanic attitude is going to produce a lot of
Christians at the judgment seat of Christ who will have nothing to
show for a lifetime of grace and who will suffer eternal loss (I Cor
3:15).
Reasons We Aren't Pursuing God's Priority
Doubting the Credibility of the Bible
Sometimes when I consider
how obvious it is from God's word that His whole church should be
involved in sharing the greatest sacrifice of love ever made
(Christ) with the object of that love (mankind), I wonder if we
really believe the credibility of the scriptures. After all, here in
the 20th century our world goes to no end to discredit the Bible in
the minds of believers and spiritual seekers. Satan is the God of
this world and according to James Dobson (Focus on the Family radio
broadcast) the majority of our higher learning institutes so weaken
the faith of most uninformed Christians or Christian-influenced
students that they leave the church never to return. This attack on
the word of God goes on at every level of our society, from the
public schools, to the arts, to the streets. Some whole political
systems have put the destruction of the word of God near the top of
their agendas (communism). To convince oneself that the Bible is
untrustworthy soothes the conscience of the sinner who doesn't want
to think about the consequences of his or her sin. So it stands to
reason that if we Christians have doubts about the scripture then we
aren't going to put our full weight on its message. There are many
proofs that this book we Christians call God's word has to be just
that. Archeology, prophesy, historical accuracy, detailed scrutiny
of the resurrection, the lives of the apostles, the early church,
and other writings of the time, even comparing our copy of the
scriptures to the early hand written copies all vouch for its
supernatural origin, but it is not my purpose to dwell on this
here. This would require many other books and there are presently
many other books on these subjects. I would recommend some of Josh
McDowell's books or tapes such as Evidence that Demands a Verdict
or Evidence for Your Faith-Practical Apologetics, but I will
give one quick little boost to your faith here (general concepts and
illustrations from Evidence for Your Faith) in hopes that you
will pursue these studies further if this happens to be a problem
for you. Once our faith is strengthened, then we can carry on the
work of the Lord. This is why you will read throughout this book
that world evangelism is not a spiritual cure-all for the Christian,
but the end result of a life of faith, holiness, and
obedience. First of all, is it wrong to question the validity of the
scripture? Well, this is in fact the first thing we must establish
in our Christian faith, because all else rises and falls on the
Bible. It is true that only a fool would ignore it if it is God's
word, but if this book is not God's message to mankind then we
Christians have no grounds to stand on.
First of all we weren't
there to see the creation or resurrection, so our faith is built on
what this book we call the Bible says happened. Can we depend on
it? Absolutely!. Our Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years
by over 40 different authors, most of whom never knew each other or
even met each other. These writers lived at different times in
history, within different cultures, spoke different languages
(Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic), lived on different continents (Africa,
Asia, and Europe), and had varying occupations (Moses was a prime
minister, Amos was a herdsman, Matthew was a tax collector, Peter a
fisherman, Joshua a military leader, Luke a doctor, etc.) and yet
all sixty-six books of our Bible agree as one. One theme--Christ the
redeemer of mankind and no contradictions on intricate prophesies,
doctrine, or its source (the word of the Lord came unto me, thus
saith the Lord, etc.) If you were to take just two individuals of
the same culture, time period, language, occupation and country and
put them in two separate rooms and say write some new
religious book, do you think their books would agree? Of course
not!. Yet this is exactly what happened in the case of the Bible,
but with many, many more variables. Why? Because God orchestrated
our Bible. We have over 14,000 old hand-written manuscripts of the
New Testament alone and they agree with our Bible today. And what
about the writers of our New Testament? Did they all get together
and make up some new religion? When you consider the fact that
Christ's disciples left Him, denied Him, and even returned to their
old occupations, disillusioned and in hiding for fear of losing
their own lives, you begin to realize that they weren't looking for
His resurrection. They thought it was all over! Then if you compare
the bold, joyful, uncompromising lives of the disciples who, after
that first Easter morning, were imprisoned, beaten, tortured and
died martyrs' deaths, you begin to realize that nothing short of the
resurrection would have brought about such a change. People have
died in ignorance for a lie before, but if the disciples did not see
the resurrected Christ and weren't convinced beyond a shadow of a
doubt by talking to Him and touching Him, then they suffered and
died for nothing. If the disciples did not see the resurrected
Christ, then they would have perpetrated a false religion that would
produce the same senseless suffering they endured down through the
ages and did so knowingly. If you've ever heard the expression that
says "Some people would rather climb a tree backwards and tell a lie
than stand on the ground and tell the truth", then you know this
certainly applies to those who hold to the theory that the disciples
invented the resurrection. No, what the disciples spent their lives
for, suffered for and died for was our risen Christ, and the Old and
New Testament writers had nothing to gain by making up some new
religion. Look at the suffering of the Old Testament writers for
their faith. They were ridiculed, persecuted, and did the most
insane things if for a known lie. Look at all Moses gave up and look
at all the self-inflicted suffering the children of Israel brought
on themselves if for a lie. I don't think so. What your Bible says
you can bet your life on and that's exactly what God wants
from us--our body's living sacrifices unto God that He might
show us His perfect will.
Reasons We Aren't Pursuing God's Priority
Doubting Our Salvation
In I Cor. 3, Paul
addresses carnal (baby, immature, young) Christians and tells them
they are not spiritual Christians ready for the deep, higher things
of God. I contend that most of Paul's letters were addressed to such
Christians who were not ready to become involved in world
evangelization, but were struggling with their own salvation. This
is why Paul's writings so often and strongly emphasize the readers'
and hearers' own secure salvation being exclusively and wholly in
the shed blood of Christ. It's pretty hard to get Christians
involved in sharing their faith with the world, whether by means of
going, or praying and financing the gospel, when they are unsure of
their own salvation. Paul's audience is no different than the
Christian community today. In spite of the completed cannon of
scripture, its easy access, and abundance here in America, many
Christians are unfamiliar with its contents and unsure of their own
salvation, and until this is settled we can go no further as
individual Christians.
If you aren't sure of
your own salvation, then let's settle this here and now. If you
are sure of your own salvation, then skip over this
section. Psalms 51:5 says we were born sinners, "Behold, I was
shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." We have
inherited our sin nature from Adam, therefore it's not what we do
that condemns us but what we are. We are sinners. We can't change
what we are because sinning is our nature. We try to teach our
children to do right. We don't need to teach them to lie or
steal or be selfish. It's inbred in them. The little girl who's not
satisfied with her piece of candy pushes her smaller brother down
and eats his candy also, and then with chocolate all over her face
denies the obvious truth. Now, who taught her to do this? Again,
it's inbred. Some people are obviously worse than others but to get
to heaven one has to be perfect. That certainly eliminates me and
everyone else who is honest. The Bible says "For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Because we are
sinners, there is a price to pay. Romans 6:23 states that the wages
or payment for sin is death, "For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The
Bible speaks of two deaths. One is physical and the other
spiritual. One is on earth, the other in the lake of fire, where one
never dies but is ever dying, but the good news is the second part
of Romans 6:23, "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." First of all, a gift can't be earned--it's
free! Eternal life is through Jesus Christ and what does that
mean. In John 3:16, the Bible says God gave His Son Jesus on the
cross to pay that second death (penalty) for our sin, and when we
come by faith to accept the payment Christ made for all our sin, we
are debt free to God. This is what is meant by whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Believing does
not mean believing the fact of His resurrection. Read James 2:19,
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble." Satan knows what Jesus did on the cross
and in the tomb and why, but Satan's fate is sealed. He will be
damned forever in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Believing means
trusting. If I come into your home and you ask me to have a seat in
an old chair, I may comment, "I'm afraid it won't hold me." You
assure me that it will and I reply, "Oh, I believe you", but I
continue standing. If I truly believed the chair would hold me, I
would sit in it (place my faith in it). Now how do we do this with
Christ? Rom 10:9-10 says you prove your belief in Christ for eternal
life when you call on Him in prayer and ask Him to be your Lord
(master), believing (trusting and accepting) His death, burial and
resurrection for payment for your sin. "That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation" (Rom 10:9-10). To make this
clearer, look at John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." This is speaking
of Jesus. Now, back up to verses 11 and 12. "He came unto his own,
and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name." You see, believing on Christ means receiving Him as
your Savior from sin. Jesus came to Israel but they refused
Him. Now, as many as receive Him have this free gift of eternal
life. Look at Rev 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me." Jesus speaks to us today through
His word. This is Him knocking at the door of your soul. You have
heard the gospel (death, burial and resurrection) which was
accomplished on your behalf. So, if you believe you have sinned
against God and Jesus paid for your sin on the cross and rose again
the third day to verify it, and if you receive that payment for your
sin according to God's word you have eternal life. "For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," (Rom
10:13). Here is a simple prayer to pray, "God, I know I have sinned
against you, I am sorry and I now, the best I know how, turn from my
sin to you. I accept the payment Christ your son made on the cross
for my sin. Lord Jesus come into my life and forgive me. I thank you
that I now have eternal life because I have obeyed the gospel
and you cannot lie. Help me now to follow you in believers'
baptism. I will talk to you daily by prayer. I ask that you speak to
me daily through your word (John and Romans are good
starters). Direct me to a church that teaches your word and help me
to be a testimony of your great love to the world. Amen!" If you
have done this and meant it, you are saved (born again, forgiven,
have eternal life). You are a Christian and now if you have any
doubts, I would suggest writing down what you have just done, sign
your name to it and date it. Let God's word be the mirror you look
into to see if you are saved. These verses will reassure you in the
decision you have just made (John 3:16, Acts 8:37-39, Acts 16:29-31,
Rom 3:21-26, Rom 5:9, Gal 2:16, Eph 1:6-7, Eph 2:8-9, Phil 1:6, Col
1:12-14, Col 1:21-22, Tit 3:5, Heb 9:12 and I John 4:9-11). If you
have accepted Christ, you will start to notice some changes, a love
for the word, a common bond with Christians, and a deep sorrow when
you fail God (confess it and move on). It will also be natural for
you to want everyone else to experience this great salvation (don't
lose this).
Reasons We Aren't Pursuing God's Priority
Unconfessed Sin
Another problem that
hinders us from getting the gospel out is unconfessed sin. Paul to
the church at Corinth wrote that many were weak and sickly and some
had died because of their taking the Lord's supper with unconfessed
sin (I Cor 11:26-32). Much of the church today is also fighting just
to survive and not pressing forward in the battle for the souls of
men. It only makes sense that no Christian in his right mind is
going to tell others about Christ if he has sin in his own life
because he knows he will be made a laughing stock. It's also true
that when we get out of fellowship with the Lord we very soon revert
back to our own selfish motives and have little concern for others
period, much less people we have never met, saved or not. Even if we
continue to attend church in a backslidden frame of mind we are
often too busy fighting each other and other denominations to fight
as a unit for the lost. With sin in the camp, the church very
quickly turns inward rather than outward to the world, and very soon
we are fighting over the real issues, you know, the color of the new
carpet or who gets to sing the solo. Then if we can't stir up a
fight amongst ourselves, we turn on our brothers and sisters of
other denominations. Again, you know, the Baptists are too dull, the
Charismatics too emotional, the Lutherans too formal, etc.,
etc. Paul admonishes the Corinthian church to put love (charity in
the King James Bible means love) above all minor
differences. (Cor.13). Once we learn that and become one, we can get
on with the family business--the world Christ died for.
As I am writing this, I
can hear someone say, "Oh no, I'm not participating in any
free-for-all, believe-anything, ecumenical movement that will one
day become the one world religious system under the
anti-Christ." Wait a minute! Please! I am not talking about
participating in any such activity (and this religious system is
already in place and at work in our world). This church of the
anti-Christ will be an apostate church (a religious system which has
departed from the faith and true God). Look at I Corinthians 12:3-7,
"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the
Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal." Because we may differ with another brother or denomination
on minor issues does not mean they are apostate. Look again at I
Corinthians 12:3, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." I am
talking about the whole body of Christ (those who believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ for remission of sins, and who love and serve Him)
working together on the foundations of the faith (the trinity,
virgin birth, bodily resurrection, inspiration of the scripture,
forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ's shed blood, a literal
heaven and hell, the literal return of Christ, and the church's duty
to share Christ with our world). We should major on the major and
minor on the minor. Certainly every word in the Bible is important,
but you tell me . . . is a belief in a pre-tribulation rapture,
post-tribulation rapture, or any rapture as vital to Adam's race as
salvation through the merits of Christ? We (the whole church) can
come together around the fundamentals of the faith, letting the love
of God, the love of one another, and the unevangelized world for
which Christ died, motivate us to give everyone in our generation at
least one chance to respond to the gospel. No one individual, church
or denomination can accomplish this alone. In I Corinthians 13, Paul
talks about love as being the prominent gift we should seek as
Christians, and as God out of love gave His Son for the lost, so we
as followers of Christ out of love should give Christ to our world.
Reasons We Aren't Pursuing God's Priority
Spiritual Immaturity
The writer of the book of
Hebrews points out to these Jewish believers that they were not
ready for the meat of the word. "For when for the time ye ought to
be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the
first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have
need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk
is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But
strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who
by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil. Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment," (Heb
5:12-6:2). Again the New Testament writers were trying to establish
these young churches in their own faith, then these churches could
disciple others. After all, Christ trained His own disciples before
leaving and sending them out on the great commission. Sometimes I
think we forget that these baby churches did not have the complete
cannon of scripture, nor a complete understanding of their position
in Christ as we do today. I believe this is why the New Testament
writers spent most of their time on the basics of the Christian
life. Every Christian is called to be a disciple of Christ, and what
does that mean? A disciple is a student or pupil who imitates his
master or teacher, and again when we imitate Christ we
will discipline ourselves as He did in order that we might pursue
His priority--the salvation of Adam's fallen race.
Now the question arises,
how can I as an individual Christian be a witness for my Lord to the
ends of the world? I'm glad you asked that question! The next
chapter addresses this very issue.
Chapter V
Opportunity Knocks
As we have passed the
year 2000 and the dawn of a new millennium, how responsible will we
Christians be for reaching our generation with the gospel? The
apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and David Livingston would have given
anything to have had the opportunities we have today, and yet God in
His sovereignty has laid this privilege in our laps. The saints of
generations past who gave up everything to share the gospel with
those who had never heard will have great eternal rewards for their
faithfulness, but they saw extremely limited results in terms of
world impact.
Evangelize the World From the Comfort of Your Own Home
Today from the comfort of
our own homes we North American Christians can literally blanket our
world with the gospel and yet this seems to be too much of a
sacrifice for us. God has made it so easy! It's almost as if we have
a home shopping club for world evangelization at our disposal. With
our prayers and finances we can choose any country and ministry (or
all countries and many ministries). The problem is, many of us
cannot imagine why anyone would spend time praying for, much less
giving their money for something they cannot eat, wear, drive, live
in, or be entertained by. With satellite, film, radio, mass printing
and almost instant, easy access, world travel, we have no excuse.
Gospel Radio
By means of radio we can
penetrate any social, religious, or political barrier to share
Christ, and we can do it almost instantly. We do not have to wait
years for missionaries to be educated, raise money, learn languages
and adapt to new climates and cultures, if possible, while millions
die without Christ. In many closed countries like the Moslem
countries and other nations hostile to the gospel, we have no option
as effective for mass evangelism. There is something about nationals
hearing nationals speak the gospel in their own language that speeds
up the thrust factor. Imagine some foreigner coming to your door
with some strange new religion. There are 1200 million radios
world-wide (Operation World. 1993 Edition). Most of our world
could have access to the gospel by radio if we had the funds. The
potential here is phenomenal, and unlike North America, radio with
its easy access is the media of choice throughout most of our
world. The potential of over 13 major evangelical international
broadcasters is extraordinary. Of the 210 languages spoken by one
million people or more, gospel radio is now broadcasting in 175
(Mission Frontiers. Nov-Dec 1996. "God's Symphony Of Effort"), and
again unlike North America, most of the populace of our world use
radio as their chief source of media. With the right resources radio
could cover our world with the gospel.
The Jesus Film Project
The JESUS film (a film
on the life of Christ taken directly from the gospel of Luke) has
been translated into more than 1,000 languages (including most
languages spoken by one million people or more) The JESUS Film
Project diligently continues translating this film into the
remaining world's languages. The majority of the population of our
world live in countries that are closed to the traditional North
American missionary for open evangelism. If you total the population
of China, India and the closed Moslem countries alone, you have
about 2-1/2 billion people that we cannot reach by traditional
means. Then add in all the great host of other nations closed to us
and it becomes very apparent that if we are going to reach our world
for Christ, we must use other means. The JESUS film has been shown
by national Christians and television broadcasts to more than 5
billion people so far in 236 countries with 200 million professions
of faith. Again, the proper finances could make short work of the
process..).
Christian Literature
Christian literature has
been called the paper missionary that keeps on giving. One $.25
gospel booklet can be passed around to an entire village or read
years later when rediscovered. Over half of all Christians attribute
literature at least in part to their conversion.
Every Home for Christ has
used national Christians to deliver 2 billion gospel booklets to
homes in over 200 countries. 28 million decision cards have been
received (God only knows how many people did not have the postage to
send their decision in), and Bible correspondence courses
follow. For the illiterate of our world, EHC works with Gospel
Recordings in providing the gospel on cassettes. The results are
that every home reached has an opportunity to know Christ. There is
one reason why this ministry is not working at full capacity. Once
again, it is a lack of interest among Christians God has blessed
with the financial ability to help. All of this and so much more
that God is doing in our world today make us North American
Christians with our spiritual and financial wealth the most
responsible generation of Christians ever. (Luke 12:48). We
especially in America will have no excuse why we spent our lives
worrying about how to keep
ourselves entertained rather than carrying on our Father's business
of world evangelization. Those of us who are not wealthy by American
standards are not responsible for our wealthy brothers and sisters
who could give $10,000 or $1 million toward world evangelism, but we
are responsible for the $5, $20, or $50 we could send
monthly..).
What in the World is God Doing?
No generation has had the
technological capabilities to put the gospel out there as we do, and
compared to Christians in the rest of our world, we are living like
kings and queens. God has surely blessed America, and He will surely
require an accounting of how we Christians used the gifts He has
given us. What is God telling us by closing off most of the
population of our world to our North American missionaries and then
raising up millions of Christian workers worldwide who are willing
to pay whatever price necessary to win their countries to
Christ? What is God telling us here in America who have been given
so much spiritually and materially when we cannot go to most of the
people of our world ourselves, but see national Christians in almost
every country who can and who do try but do not have the means to
reach the masses?
In my opinion, it is very
obvious that God is now shifting us from depending almost
exclusively on our traditional means of missionary work (North
American missionaries), to now training the hundreds of millions of
converts our missionaries have made worldwide to accompany us in
reaching the remaining unevangelized people groups. Why would I say
that? Consider the following: These national Christians are already
there, used to the climate and food, and are basically from the same
ethnic background (eliminating much of the trust factor.) They can
be trained at a fraction of the cost of education, developing
support, language school, moving expenses, monthly support and
furlough expenses of additional American missionaries who cannot
even get into most countries to evangelize and who many times do not
stay where the doors are open. Again, these national Christians are
not spoiled to our extravagant lifestyles and require very little to
carry on the work of the ministry. So, if God is using national
Christians to reach their own countrymen, but they do not have the
means necessary to reach the masses (approximately 6 billion people
today), and if we American Christians have the spiritual know-how,
technology and freedom to primarily make money, why does it not
stand to reason that we need to labor together with our brothers and
sisters worldwide by our prayers and money to accomplish our
Father's business--world evangelization?.).
Do Some Christian Investigating
It is not a sin to
take inventory of our prayer and financial investments; however,
praying and giving for the sake of convenience and tradition is. Do
some research. Compare your mission budget and its effectiveness
(not food and clothing, or hospitals and schools, but souls won and
discipled) to what nationals are doing when given the tools to
evangelize and the cost of using them. As good stewards of what God
has given us, this is the route to go. Why can't we swallow our
pride and aid our Christian family around the world in the Lord's
work and share the bounty of God's rich reward for world
evangelization? Why do we keep sending more of our missionaries to
the same areas where there are national Christians who can do the
work? On the average, an American missionary who stays on the
foreign field with his family for life costs about $1 million. For
this same amount of money the workers could have been increased 10,
50 or 100 fold (depending on the country) using nationals. When so
many Christians in Africa, South America, Asia and the Middle East
are suffering persecution and death for trying to get the gospel to
their countrymen and lack only the tools to accomplish the work, and
we in America who have no price to pay for our Christianity have so
much, how can we not help them?
God is using many
Christians here in North America to finance these national-oriented
ministries. There will be great reward in Heaven for those faithful
at praying and giving to enable ministries to win these millions of
people Christ died for, and there will be loss of reward for those
who refuse to lift a finger, or pray, or financially support God's
soul winners, and eternity is a long time to suffer loss. (I Cor.
3:7-15).).
Choosing Ministries to Support
When choosing a ministry
to support, one of the first considerations should be: is the
ministry legitimate? Get references from men of God or other
ministries you know and trust. Do they have a good record? Are they
accountable financially to anyone like ECFA (Evangelical Council for
Financial Accountability) or other similar checks and balances
ministries (EFMA - Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies), or
is there some other form of financial accountability? Some
ministries ask the Internal Revenue Service to do an audit on them
every year as proof to their supporters of financial integrity. Then
there is the matter of doctrine. Get a doctrinal statement from the
ministry. Are they scripturally sound (do they believe in the
Trinity, virgin birth, bodily resurrection of Christ, salvation
through Christ's atonement, the inspiration of the scripture, Heaven
and Hell, the literal return of Christ, etc.) or are they a cult (a
false religion whose final authority is not God's word rightly
divided, but some man's opinion)? Also, is God's hand on the
ministry? Would your prayers and money be a waste of time and
stewardship with them? The bottom line--is God using them to win
souls and disciple them to do the same, and is this ministry the
most effective and cost efficient work you can be involved in?
This is what being a wise
steward is all about. We are accountable to God as to how we use our
prayers and money. The following is a letter which I have sent to
pastors across America. Please note that the effectiveness of
these national oriented ministries over sending additional North
American missionaries to areas where national Christians presently
exist is my own conclusion and not the statements of these
ministries. The comparisons I have made are for the benefit of
evaluating our stewardship. God is using a host of ways and means to
build His church, including the vital role of our North American
missionaries. My purpose, however, is to expose the North American
church to what I believe is an often neglected, misunderstood, and
much more effective means of fulfilling the great commission. The
ministries I am about to recommend should be a vital part of every
church's budget, and can even greatly enhance the work of our North
American missionaries in the countries they are presently working
in. Consider supporting one or several of these ministries with your
prayers and finances. Although this list is by no means extensive,
several ministries which I have found to meet all the above criteria
are as follows:
Dear Pastor:
Greetings in the name of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I know as a pastor you are called
to prayer, fasting, and the study of God's word in order to feed
your flock and have little time to make studies such as I am going
to present you. Therefore, as a fellow servant of Christ I am
exercising my calling to study and inform the church as to our
degree of success and failure in completing the one job our Savior
commanded us to do until His return--evangelizing and discipling
all the nations (Greek = "ethre; or peoples") of the world.
The good news is, because
of the sacrifice of many faithful senders and goers down through the
years there are over 150,000 missionaries in the world
today. Approximately 3,000 new churches are planted every week and
over 90,000 people receive Christ daily; however, looking ahead to
the task before us, more than 90% of these missionaries are working
where the church has already been planted. Less than 10% of these
missionaries are working among the 8,000 unreached people groups
where there is no witnessing church. 48,000 of these people die each
day without Christ.
Can we do it? What do we
have to work with? What are the obstacles? According to God's word,
there will be people in Heaven from every nation, tribe and tongue,
but will you and I be privileged to be a part of the generation that
completes the task? What do we have to work with? There are 100
million evangelical young people in the world today. Only 20,000 are
needed to reach the unreached. Christians worldwide earn $2.5
trillion in disposable income. We give $8 billion to missions--1/3
of 1%. 20,000 missionaries would cost $300 million more. There are 6
million great commission congregations worldwide. That's 600
congregations for each unreached people group. So what are the
obstacles? First of all, we must get organized. Who are these
peoples and where are they? I will give you an address where you can
get a list of these unadopted people groups to pray over and
consider reaching in some way. Secondly, we must realize that the
majority of the population of our world live in countries where
North American missionaries are no longer allowed to evangelize. I
will give you some information on several missionary organizations
which are using other means of reaching these people (very
effectively and cost-efficiently I might add). Thirdly, we must
determine who our Lord really is, our denomination or Jesus
Christ. Do we give to missionary work simply because it is of our
denomination, not even questioning the returns (souls) for our Lord,
or are we investing our talents as a wise steward in the most
profitable work for our Lord? If you will write or call, the
following Christian missionary organizations will send you any
information, including doctrine, financial accountability, and
results of the ministry. (I'm sure many churches from your
denomination are currently supporting these ministries.)
Pastor, I hope this
information will be of value to you and your church as you endeavor
to proclaim His majesty among all the earth. God so loved the
world...Christ died for the world...the Holy Spirit
came to reprove the world...and we are to go into all the
world.
Conforming to the image
of Christ equals (=) giving one's life that the world might be
saved.
Every Home for Christ
World Literature Crusade
P.O. Box 35930
Colorado Springs, CO 80935-9945
(Ph: 719 260-8888)
EHC has used national
Christians to hand deliver more than 2 billion gospel booklets to
homes in over 200 nations, yielding a harvest of more than 28
million decision cards received, and more than 32 million Bible
correspondence courses handled. Through EHC the gospel is now
available to 95% of the population of the world. EHC has reached
every home in 82 nations and are currently in the process of
reaching every home in 110 nations, with a goal of many more in the
next 36 months. On the average, for every $11 spent, one response is
received. Many well-known Western evangelists spend $200 to $300 per
response in crusades. EHC also has ministries to the blind,
prisoners, seamen, hospital patients, and those who are
illiterate. In cities, towns and villages where there are no
Christians, EHC volunteers to go in and distribute the gospel. More
than 44,000 "baby" churches (known as Christ groups) have been
started as a result of these volunteers laying down their lives for
the gospel. These national Christians need very little, and consider
it a privilege to share Christ with others who have not heard.
Haggai Institute
P.O. Box 13
Atlanta, GA 30370
Ph: (770) 449-8869
HI works in 166
countries. They train proven Christian military, political,
religious, business and medical leaders, etc., etc. in the how of
evangelizing their own people and passing their training on to other
Christians. So far, HI has trained over 44,000 national leaders in
146 countries who each try to train at least 100 others to train 100
others to train 100 others, etc. These 44,000 have passed on their
evangelism methods to over 4 million others. An American career
missionary and family costs $1,000,000 plus for their years of
service. Expenses include language training, education, monthly
support, airplane tickets to and from fields every 4 years or so for
updates in churches, moving expenses, special projects etc. They
must be educated, learn a foreign language, adjust to a new culture,
food and climate, and are usually mistrusted as outsiders. These
national Christian leaders know the language, know the people, are
used to the climate, food and culture, and are known and trusted by
their people. Most of the world's population is closed to American
missionaries. Leaders have even been trained from Arab-Moslem
countries and now China. These national evangelists are turning
their countries upside down, and for what it would cost to support
one American missionary for life who cannot enter most of these
countries, you could train 30, 50 or 100 (depending on the exchange
rate of the country) national missionaries who are first of all
screened and proven leaders, secondly much better qualified because
of their background, and thirdly, once they return home they are
self-supporting. HI will send detailed statistics if you wish.
Trans World Radio
P.O. Box 8700
Cary, NC 27512-8700
Ph: (919) 460-3700
TWR is broadcasting to
160 countries by radio in their own language and are working on the
remaining languages. Radio has and is playing a major role in world
evangelism. Here in America very few of us listen to foreign radio,
but in other countries radio is the only media option for the
masses. TWR has had an impact on the Communist and Arab countries
that no other method has. Think of it, the gospel is available to
160 countries of the world, and every year hundreds and hundreds of
thousands of letters are received from all over the world telling of
salvation, churches being started, and lives changed. By radio, TWR
is evangelizing, training Christians, and training pastors and
evangelists, and no country's religious or political system can stop
radio waves as they do our missionaries. You can specify any country
in which TWR is working to which you wish your money to go. TWR will
send detailed statistics if you wish.
The JESUS Film Project
P.O. Box 628222
Orlando, FL 32862-8222
Ph: (407) 826-2400
The JESUS Film Project
has made a film of the life of Christ using Jewish actors, filmed in
Israel, and taken directly from the gospel of Luke. The film has
been shown to over 5 billion people so far in 236 countries with 200
million professions of faith. They are then grounded in the faith
and churches are started. This film is shown in over 1000 languages
with a goal of translation into all languages of the world.. Dollar
for dollar, this is the most profitable soul winning ministry I have
come across in my 20 plus years of research. If you know of a more
productive ministry, I would like to be a part of it.
Dawn Ministries
7899 Lexington Drive, Suite 200-B
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Ph: (719) 548-7460
Dawn ministries train top
Christian leaders in a country to organize and plant a church in
every community in that country. No American missionaries are needed
and the results are as follows: In 1989 they estimated they would need to plant 7 million
churches for every community in our world to have a
church. Today it is down to 3.5 million.
U.S. Center for World Missions
1605 Elizabeth Street
Pasadena, CA 91104
Ph: (626) 797-1111
U.S. Center for World
Missions has a list of unadopted people groups. Most of page 1 of
this letter came from them. If you can do nothing else, please write
or call for this list to pray over.
Again, God bless you and your
church, and thank you for your time.
You Are the Missing Ingredient in World Evangelism - Go For It!
God has provided the
sacrifice of His dear Son for all the world and all the world
(though perhaps ignorant of the fact) waits. Many, many ministries
are attempting to reach these billions by the many means God has
given us in our day. The main ingredient missing in world missions
today is the multitude of God's average, everyday Christians to pray
down the political and religious barriers over the nations and give
financially to enable workers to reach the masses. ("Finally,
brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free
course, and be glorified, even as it is with you." II Thess.
3:1. "So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that
watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth
and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own
reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together
with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." I Cor.
3:7-9.).
In The Midst Of Many Good Works, Don't Lose Focus
Let me say something here
that may at first sound cruel, but Christ never gave the church the
primary command to build hospitals, educate, or even feed the
poor. As a witness of God's love and as a springboard for evangelism
we should be doing all of the above, but our primary business
while on this earth is evangelism and discipleship. It seems
extremely cruel to me to minister only to people's temporal
needs and leave their eternal souls to perish. Out of God's love and
human compassion, how can we not minister to the poor, afflicted and
the hungry? This we ought to do, but it is very disheartening to
hear of "Christian missions" in other countries who educate, feed
and/or medically treat hurting people, yet have no evangelistic
outreach among the people. Theirs is simply a social
gospel! Traditional one-on-one evangelism may be restricted in some
of these areas, but for whatever reason, Christians back home in
America send their prayers and hard earned money often supposing
that the gospel of Jesus is being shared, when in fact this is not
always the case. We as wise stewards of God's money (and it's all
God's money) are responsible to find out what our tithes and
offerings are going for, and as commendable as these other
ministries are in and of themselves, they do not solve the larger,
eternal, core issue of sin. This is why Christ came. If these
ministries are an open door for evangelism then fine, but if these
"missionaries" cannot or will not proclaim the gospel in these
countries, then in addition to these ministries we need to find some
means of evangelizing the people, and there are other options (refer
back to Chapter V). Wait a minute, someone says. Did not Christ heal
the sick and feed the hungry? Yes, as proof of His claim to be the
Messiah, and out of compassion, but Christ knew that these temporary
solutions were only Band-Aids on the larger issue--the
cancer of the soul--sin (John 6:24-29). Christ Himself said He came
to seek and save that which was lost, and later, when He sent His
apostles with the same mission, signs and wonders verified their
apostleship, and the results were conversions. We too, as the church
of Jesus Christ today, are to reflect our Lord's compassion in
meeting the physical needs of hurting people, but always
concentrating on the deeper issues of the soul. Perhaps about now,
Matthew 25:31-46 comes to mind. In these verses Christ refers to a
future time where the nations will stand before Him to be
judged, and those nations who have fed the hungry, taken in
the stranger, clothed the naked, etc., etc. will inherit the kingdom
of God, while the nations who have neglected these people
will be cast into everlasting fire. Someone will say here that not
only are these ministries of human compassion the church's
preeminent mission, but also of such importance as to merit eternal
salvation. If at first glance these verses of scripture seem to
teach salvation by works, then a closer look and a
scripture-with-scripture comparison will reveal the contrary. First
of all, look back at the section on salvation in Chapter 4, noting
all the verses dealing with salvation through Christ's merit and not
our own. These are just a few of the many, many verses describing
Christ's substitutionary death for our remission of sin. If we could
enter Heaven by these good deeds referred to in Matthew 25, then why
did Christ come and die? These righteous nations are
not justified by their actions, but their actions testify to the
fact of their faith. Secondly, the wicked nations mentioned
are being judged by their treatment of Christ's
brethren. Remember, there will be degrees of punishment in Hell
based on the losts' works because they have refused Christ. Now,
whether these brethren are Christians or the Jewish people is a
matter of debate. Either way, you don't cross God's people! I
personally am of the opinion that since Christ is here talking to
His "Jewish brethren" (no Gentile church yet), that this judgment is
a consummation of the promise made to Abraham, the father of Israel
(Gen. 12:1-3), and that these brethren in question are, in
fact, Jewish. At any rate, the Bible never refers to a general
"brotherhood of man." These "brethren" are not the huddled masses of
humanity. There are two families of people on the earth, God's and
Satan's. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:3 that we were by nature
(birth) the children of wrath, and Jesus referred to those not born
of God as "of your father the devil." (John 8:42-45). So, when whole
ministries, based on Matthew 25 are meeting only the temporal
needs of the masses (not the brethren), they are not adhering to
the true interpretation of this verse nor the great commission.
Our (the church's) mission is defined in Matthew 28: 19
and 20. If you still have doubts about this, read chapter 3 again.
Christ First - The Rest Will Come Naturally
At this point let me
reiterate that world evangelization is not a spiritual cure-all for
the Christian. First and foremost our first love must be the Lord,
not His work, but I am of the opinion that when we are head over
heels in love with the Lord we will naturally love the things He
loves, and He did die for the world. Conforming to the image of
Christ equals (=) giving one's life (in service) that the world
might be saved. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren." (Rom. 8:29)
Chapter VI
Does God Love America More Than Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, The Middle East or The Islands?
We know that God is no
respecter of persons ("Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a
truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34),
and we know that God is not willing that any should perish ("The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." II Pet.
3:9). Yet America being only 5% of the population of the world has
approximately 24% of the evangelical congregations of the world,
according to Operation World (1993 edition). We have more
gospel opportunity in America (books, tapes, film, radio,
television, Christians, billboards, computers, etc.) than most other
countries combined, and with this in mind, consider the
following. According to Bill Bright, of Campus Crusade for Christ (How
You Can Experience the Aventure Of Giving. p. 58), 95% of North
America's vast church budget stays in North America, 1/2% goes to
frontier missions (those who have never heard the gospel), and
4-1/2% goes to established foreign missions. If God loves the world,
who do we love? Ourselves? Again, "To whom much is given, much is
required" (Lk 12:48), and American Christians have certainly been
blessed above measure financially and spiritually.
Seeing the Real Picture
For the most part we
American Christians are a generous people. Usually if we see a need
we will help, but I am not so sure we always see God's bigger
picture. Example: Say our church budget designates 15% to
missions. This sounds pretty good until we break this 15% down by
country, evangelized or unevangelized, evangelism or other
ministries (hospitals, orphanages, schools, food and clothing for
the poor, etc.); then it becomes pretty discouraging. If 8-1/2%
stays here in our great evangelized nation, and if 6-1/2% goes to
areas of other nations where the gospel is presently available, then
in actuality only 1/2 of 1% goes to new unevangelized frontier
areas. What makes matters worse is when we realize that most of the
unevangelized people we want to reach are in countries closed to the
traditional means of missions we presently support. Our Lord never
asked us to perfect every area of society in our city or country
before evangelizing the rest of the world. The kingdoms of this
world will become the kingdoms of our God at His return ("And the
seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven,
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." Rev.
11:15). I totally understand why world missions is so dull to us
many times. I think the American support team is often so downplayed
that we feel we have no vital interest in it.
You Are As Vital to World Evangelism as
Any North American Missionary
If you get nothing else
out of this book, my prayer is that I can communicate to you that as
an ordinary (as we would term it) praying, tithing Christian, your
part in world evangelism is just as important as the individual on
the foreign field winning souls and discipling them. Did you hear
me? You are personally winning the lost to Christ around the
world when you pray for and support others with your money. They
could not be doing God's work there without your faithfulness here
to God's purpose for your life as an equally important member of the
body of Christ. Did not Paul say that the less seemly members
of the body of Christ have more abundant honor bestowed on
them? ("And those members of the body, which we think to be less
honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our
uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness." I Cor. 12:23). If God
had wanted you to go, He would have called you to go, but He has
called you to send, and without your prayers and giving through the
course of your life, multitudes would never have
been saved. Therefore, use your prayers and money wisely in the most
effective works for your Lord.
You Can Win More to Christ Worldwide From Your Home
Than Any One North American Missionary in Any One Foreign City
The way I see it, your
ministry here goes further than any one worker in any one foreign
area of the world. You see, he is limited to that one area unless he
is also praying for and supporting others around the world. You,
however, by picking several of the most effective ministries,
praying for and supporting them, are winning people to Christ in all
the nations for which you designate your gifts. You live in the
richest nation on the earth with the greatest technology in history,
and all of it can be used to preach the gospel. You have film,
cassettes, literature, radio and a host of other means. So, brothers
and sisters, go for it! Don't let Satan tell you that your purpose
is to simply go to church and stay out of trouble. You do need to do
these things, but for a higher purpose than merely warming
pews. There is no age factor here, no talent factor, and no health
factor, just an obedience factor. So please realize that your
life is not an insignificant one, and again in the span of your
lifetime through the most cost efficient and effective ministries
you can win thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions
(depending on your faith and material means). God has called you to
live in American and be among the most spiritually blessed and
wealthiest people on the earth, so use your God given calling for
His purpose and we know what that calling is, don't we? Let's say it
together--world evangelization.
Invest in Eternity
We truly do live in the
most exciting time in church history. According to the U.S. Center
for World Missions, 90,000 people a day are coming to Christ
worldwide, and 3500 new churches are being started a day. So what's
the difference in all of this for the average Christian? We have the
greatest opportunity of any Christians in history to literally
evangelize the world in our generation, and this is not some
temporal accomplishment that will fade with time. These souls we win
for Christ will stand forever as our tribute to Him and we will
receive eternal rewards for simply being involved in the most
exciting and important work ever accomplished. Talk about
fulfillment! What greater sense of accomplishment could there be
than winning eternal souls for our eternal God and Savior,
Jesus Christ, and eternal rewards for the privilege! Please
look again at the ministries mentioned in Chapter V and ask the Lord
what He would have you do concerning His divine will, your eternal
reward, and the fate of billions of precious souls living today in
your generation!
Chapter VII
Whose Kingdom Are You Building?
While Christ's church is
to be populating Heaven from among the masses on earth, and while we
are to be turning people from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of
God's dear son, much of Christ's church are hiding their talents in
the earth (investing themselves in this world system). Our God has
promised to provide all of our needs as we are busy about His work,
but the temptation here in America is to shift our effort from our
needs for His purpose to our wants for our purpose. When we spend
all our efforts on our houses, our cars, our land, our clothes, our
vacation homes, etc (and it is all God's), then in reality, we have
ceased (if we ever started) from building His kingdom of souls to
building our kingdom of possessions and we have ceased from
glorifying Him and are spending our lives trying to make ourselves
look good. We are either building His kingdom or ours. "No man can
serve two masters." (Matt.6:24) We are either involved in His work
or we are not. Again, going to church and staying out of trouble is
not the extent of His work.
A Divine Sense of Purpose Now And Eternal Reward Then
While our calling is to
war for the souls of men, the biggest battle we often face is how we
are going to be entertained next, and we have done it all. In light
of the multitude of martyrs and sacrificing saints down through the
years who have given their lives in service and themselves in death
for the cause of Christ, guess who will receive the eternal rewards
mentioned in I Corinthians 3, and guess who will have nothing
(suffer loss) for all eternity? You would think as intelligent as we
are, we would see that investing all our time and energy in
gathering earthly things to ourselves and then shortly thereafter
leaving it all behind we would begin to wonder if it's worth all the
effort. Then when we consider that our faithfulness to His cause,
for this short while, will reap eternal dividends, never to tarnish,
rust or fade, why do we not pour ourselves into His work? Well, some
will say, "As long as I get to Heaven, that's all that matters to
me." I don't think so! Suffering loss means suffering loss,
and Christians who have not been about the Father's business will
not receive the reward of the faithful. I have to wonder what
this will do to Christians who have spent their entire lives trying
to keep up with the Jones', only to have the most coveted prizes in
Heaven elude them. I don't know the answer to this, but I do know
that there will be those who will suffer loss at the Judgment Seat
of Christ and this loss will be forever.
So what exactly is this
loss? It is a loss of the rewards these disobedient servants could
have received. Maybe a better question would be, what are the
rewards faithful Christians will receive in I Corinthians
3:11-15? Well, I know for a fact that the streets of gold, the gates
of pearl, and the overall magnificence of Heaven will not be what
makes Heaven (compare our earth's six-day creation to Heaven's
almost 2,000 year preparation so far) (Gen. Ch. 1 and Ch. 2; John
14:2-3). Jesus will be what makes Heaven! Have you ever met someone
with so much charisma that you stood in awe of them? You enjoyed
their presence so much you wanted to stay around them. If not, then
we all can certainly appreciate the company of someone we deeply
love. When we see Jesus in all of His splendor and glory, just to be
near Him will be Heaven, and I suspect that in Heaven perhaps the
greatest reward we could receive will be in service close to
Him. Tell me what greater reward there could be than being near
Jesus, the God-man, who gave Himself for us and has borne so long
with us.
Throughout this book I
have dovetailed The Judgment Seat of Christ and World
Evangelization because I am convinced from the scripture that
when we Christians stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ we will
be judged by what we did with His supreme sacrifice (Did we receive
it and hide it, or did we receive it and share it to bring Him an
increase of souls?) Christ will not necessarily be so concerned
about how many hours we prayed as what we prayed for. Were all of
our prayers fox hole prayers? Were all our prayers spent on our
agendas to the exclusion of His? We pray for better jobs, but what
do we do with the extra money when we get it? Do we use at least
part of it to further His kingdom or all of it for ours? We pray for
good health, but do we use any of our energies on behalf of the
billions who Christ died for and commanded us to reach? Do we pray
for God to bless our local church spiritually and materially and
then when He does, keep His blessings within the confines of our
church? How much time have we spent praying that we might be
effective in reaching our world with the gospel? Have we spent time
trying to pray down the strongholds of Satan over spiritually
blinded countries that Christian ministries might win the lost
there? (For $1 you can receive a World Prayer Map, including
countries, leaders and Christian ministries. See Chapter V for the
address of Every Home for Christ). I am also convinced from the
scripture that when we stand before Christ He will not be concerned
so much with how much scripture we memorized as with how much of it
we applied to our lives to make us holy, obedient, anointed servants
for His cause.
If You Know God's Love, Then Show God's Love
In I Corinthians Chapter
13 Paul describes love as being the preeminent force the church
should pursue regardless of our individual gifts. And what is
love? God is love. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is
love." (I John 4:8) And what is the proof of God's love? "For God so
loved" that he gave. And what did God give to prove His
love? He gave His only Son, and what is the object of God's
love? "For God so loved the world (mankind)." "For God so loved the
world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).
If we then as one body
(the church) are governed by the love of God, then what will be our
purpose? To give. To give what? God's only Son. To give God's only
Son to whom? The world (mankind). Do you want to glorify your
Christ? Then see to it that your priority on earth is His.
Consider the Parallel Between Christ's Mission On Earth and Ours
Christ died a
sacrificial death that the world might be saved. "This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." (I Tim
1:15) "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our
savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus; who gave himself a
ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (I Tim 2:3-6)
We are to die to sin
and present our bodies a living sacrifice that the world might be
saved. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect will of God." (Rom 12:1,2) When we as Christians present our
bodies as living sacrifices to God, we become selfless and we begin
to develop a concept of God's all-consuming love and of God's
perfect will (that none should perish). (II Pet. 3:9) Now, look at
John 13:35. As we sacrificially love one another as Christians, the
result will be our working together to reach all men. "By this shall
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
(John 13:35)
There is no way around
the fact that we (the church) are to be evangelizing our generation,
and we will be judged accordingly. So if our individual level of
living in eternity will be determined by our earthly obedience to
getting the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to our world, then let
us take courage in the fact that we are not our own, but the
responsibility of Jesus Christ the Lord, who would not have asked us
to do something He knew we could not do. Let us look afresh at our
Savior's last words to His church before his departure and
understand what we His church) will be responsible for at the
Judgment Seat of Christ. "And he said unto them, go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) "Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt. 28:19-20.
My prayer is that the
information contained in this book will be of encouragement to you
(the average North American Christian ) as you realize how through
the course of your lifetime you could win tens of thousands,
hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions to Christ from the comfort
of your own home. The greatest harvest of souls in all of church
history is occurring now (approximately 90,000 people a day
are coming to Christ), and you can be a vital part of it.
When we consider the fact
that we were forgiven and given eternal life on the merits of
Christ's sacrifice at Calvary, then we must ask the question, "Why
did He leave us here on earth." Certainly we were left here to
glorify God in our earthly state, but in heaven we will glorify Him
in a perfect sinless way. We can fellowship with Him now, but in
heaven we will have an unbroken, perfect fellowship without the
flesh and sin. We can pray now, but then we will talk face to
face. We can study the scripture now, but then we will know as we
are known (I Cor. 13:12). We can enjoy Christian fellowship now, but
then we will have a perfect sinless fellowship. The only thing we
can do now while on this earth as Christians that will be
everlastingly too late to do once we are on the other side is to
evangelize the world for whom Christ died and commissioned us to
reach.
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