In our text passage, the phrase “them that are without” refers to lost sinners. They do not understand the things of God, that is, the truth about spiritual things (1st Corinthians 2:14-16). The greatest way that we can walk in wisdom is to share the Gospel with the lost.
Last night I had the privilege to share the Gospel with one of my neighbours. I use a passive method to share the Gospel, where I don't put the other person under any pressure. I don't make them uncomfortable or put them on the spot to make a decision. All they need to do is listen to me, the way it should be I humbly think.
In fact, if you read Acts chapter 10, you'll see that the Apostle Peter never put Cornelius on the spot to get saved. Peter simply told Cornelius and his friends the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. Acts 10:43-44, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.”
Galatians 3:2 helps shed some light upon the meaning of this passage, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” When a person trusts Christ as their personal Savior, the Holy Spirit of God forever comes in to indwell (to live inside) that individual (Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:24). Cornelius and his friends were indwelt with the Holy Spirit because they BELIEVED the the Gospel truth which Peter preached unto them, and they were saved. The beautiful phrase “the hearing of faith” simply means that we get saved when we BELIEVE the Gospel that we hear preached unto us (cf. Hebrews 4:1-2).
Regardless of what the conversation is about, I can easily lead into a Gospel presentation by simply mentioning how good our God is, and that opens the door to share the Gospel. When I witness to someone, I'll say something like the following words:
We're living in very interesting times. The news is getting crazier every day. I am so glad that I know I'm going to Heaven when I die. The Bible teaches that it is very easy to go to Heaven. We don't have to go to church. We don't have to get water baptized. We don't have to keep the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. All we need to do is BELIEVE that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, and that He was buried, and then three days later He physically resurrected from the dead. Those three things comprise the Gospel. Jesus DIED, He was BURIED, and He physically RESURRECTED from the dead three days later. That is the Gospel, which in the Bible means, GOOD NEWS. Anybody who comes to God as a guilty sinner and puts their trust (reliance) in that GOOD NEWS of Jesus crucified, buried and risen is instantly and forever born-again, a child of God.
Without asking them a single question, I have just presented the Gospel, giving them instructions how to obtain eternal life. I don't ask them if they believe what I told them, because that is their own personal decision, which is none of my business. I have provided all the facts that they need to know in order to get to Heaven, all they have to do is BELIEVE IT!
And also to mention, I am fairly good at sizing up people. I already knew my neighbor's temperament from speaking with him previously over the past year. If I just met someone, I might not be as bold to start preaching the Gospel to them. In such a case I will use wisdom and discernment to decide if it is the proper time to witness to them. For example: My doctor is a very intelligent and educated woman. I felt in my heart that because she is busy, and I only met with her for a medical appointment, she very likely wouldn't agree if I asked her for some time to share my faith with her.
So, what I did instead was to kindly ask her if I could share my faith with her, by giving her a book. I assured her that I would never ask if she read the book, nor ask what she thinks about the book. I didn't want her to feel pressured, awkward or uncomfortable. She kindly agreed and I gave her the book. I gave her a new hard copy of Michael P. Bowen's helpful book, “I NEVER KNEW YOU” (here's a free .pdf version) which explains what is and is not the Gospel in detail. I use this method of witnessing to people whom I think won't give me the time to share the Gospel. This way they can read the truth of God's simple plan of salvation in the quietness of their home or office, without feeling any pressure or awkwardness.
After I finished sharing the Gospel with my neighbour, he said to me that he is a Christian. I don't know if I led him to Christ, or if he was already saved, and I didn't ask him. I was just overjoyed to hear him say that he is a Christian, after he quietly listened to me share the Gospel with him for about 10 minutes. This is how I witness to most people.
Now, most Christians who share the Gospel have been wrongly trained to buttonhole people, asking them if they will trust Christ, so that they can brag at church (or Bible college) how many people they led to Christ. I want no part of that boasting. What saith the Scripture?
1st Corinthians 3:5-5, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 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.”
It doesn't matter whether you plant a seed, or have the blessed privilege to lead someone to Christ, only God can save a sinner. God rewards us individually according to our OWN LABORS. So, it doesn't matter who plants the seed, or who actually has the opportunity to lead a lost sinner to receive the new birth, our part is solely to preach the Gospel to the unsaved, so that God can save them by faith. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.
When I was a young Christian, I was taught to put people on the spot, by asking them if they know for sure they are going to Heaven. I am not against using such a tactic, but now that I am 57 years old, I prefer a more subtle approach that doesn't make others feel awkward and pressured. I think we should be considerate and ethical. I realize that Hell is real and burns forever with fire, and there is great cause to win the lost to Christ. However, we should respect the feelings of others, and not attempt to bully them to get saved. God Himself won't force Himself on lost sinners to get saved, so neither should we.
I also humbly think that the reason why most saints won't share the Gospel, is because they have been wrongly taught by ambitious pastors to put people on the spot, to buttonhole them, and not take no for an answers. No doubt such harsh tactics have worked in a small percentage of cases in the past, but I humbly think in the majority of cases it caused the listener to harden their heart and close their mind to the truth. You cannot bully people to come to Christ.
Furthermore, forcing people to walk down a church aisle to learn how to get to Heaven is a bad practice. It is unbiblical and unnecessary for someone to be saved. The truth dear reader is that a lost sinner can be saved right in their pew, without being required to stand up or walk down an aisle to find out how to get to Heaven. Every preacher should tell the congregation how to be saved right in their pew. The sad reason why preachers don't is because they want folks to come forward, so they can shamefully boast about how many souls they got saved. I have seen this done all my life in Baptist churches... “Looky here, looky here what we did!”
Shame on any pastor who fails to preach the Gospel to the crowd.
Beware Of Pensacola Christian College And Their Corrupt Uncompassionate 'Campus Church'
In 2021, I attended the convocation exercise at Pensacola Christian College (PCC). This is the official first service of each new school semester, when all the students return, and new students arrive. Thousands of student's families are present for this special occasion. I am guessing, because I don't know the size of the giant auditorium at PCC's Campus Church, but I'd say there must have been at least 12,000 people present in attendance. Pastor Kurt Skelly from Virginia preached. In my humble opinion he sounded arrogant and puffed up in pride that night when he preached.
During the invitation, Pastor Skelly invited anyone who didn't know they were saved to WALK DOWN THE AISLE TO THE FRONT (which feels like a city block in distance from the back of the auditorium), to learn how to go to Heaven. I felt sick to my stomach when he said that, because I realized the LOST OPPORTUNITY he wasted to preach the saving Gospel to several thousand people. No doubt there were hundreds (if not thousands) of lost family members present that evening. SHAME on PCC's incompetent pastors, and Pastor Kurt Skelly for horribly dropping the ball.
PCC has since wickedly banned my in writing from attending Campus Church, because their ungodly leadership and pastors couldn't care less about people or truth, they just love more money. PCC rakes in upwards of $200,000,000. PCC is a religious cult, who preach the Devil's lie of Lordship Salvation. They banned me because I exposed their institution's ungodly lackidaical attitude toward heresy and false prophets. Their senior pastor, Jeff Redlin, is a spoiled rich snob, getting paid a disgusting 6-digit annual salary. They are cocky, arrogant and woefully lacking in love and compassion at PCC, which I speak to their utter shame.
One of the sore evils in the United States today is that large corporations and mega religious institutions receive so much money and support from 99% of their customers (supporters), that they can throw the 1% of hurting people under the bus with impunity. I have seen this all my entire life, especially in recent decades. People just don't care anymore about their neighbour. It is a deadly spiritual disease that has infected American society as a whole. It is also happening in Europe, Australia, Canada and other first world places. It is part of our sinful human nature to succumb to success, to let it destroy our good character, spirit and morals. Where adversity has destroyed one man, prosperity has ruined one hundred. PCC's success has gone to their heads, corrupting their institution. “Ichabod” (meaning, “the glory of the Lord is departed”) is written over the doors at PCC and their rotten Campus Church.
Mature Christians Go Soulwinning
Soulwinning is the dearest thing to the great caring heart of God. Many Bible students misunderstand the parable in Mark 4:1-9 and Luke 8:11-15 of The Sower And The Seeds. Evangelist Ray Comfort is one such FALSE PROPHET, who interprets this parable to mean turning away from your sinful behavior to prove that you're saved. I found this excellent meme this week with a truthful quote from Evangelist George Muller (1805-1898)...
The parable of The Sower And The Seeds is about SOULWINNING, not SALVATION. Ray Comfort corrupts the Scripture, making this parable about true and false converts, which is wrong. The purpose of this parable is to challenge God's saints to mature in the Lord to bear fruit as soulwinners. Luke 8:11 identifies the “seed” as God's Word.
There are FOUR groups:
- THE UNSAVED MAN (Luke 8:12) - This first group didn't get saved, because the Devil snatched away the seed of God's Word (vs. 11) to prevent the new birth from happening.
- THE UNGROUNDED CHRISTIAN (Luke 8:13) - The second group did get saved, because the seed germinated and began to grow, but because of shallow roots they were uprooted and never matured to win souls.
- THE CHOKED CHRISTIAN (Luke 8:14) - I humbly think most Christians fit into this group. We know they got saved because the seed germinated and began to grow, but they became choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world, never maturing to preach the Gospel to win souls.
- THE MATURE CHRISTIAN (Luke 8:15) - This group are saved and serving Christ faithfully as soulwinners. The Bible says they have a good and honest heart (because the indwelling Holy Spirit renewed their mind with the inspired Word of God). They have matured in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. They win souls to Christ with the saving power of the Gospel of free grace.
Ironically, most soulwinning is done by baby converts who haven't been saved for more than a few years. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) said that some of the worst Christians do the most for God, and he was sadly right. It is easy to share the Gospel, but the hard part is getting out of the self life. I once heard Dr. Hyles say in a sermon that if he could tell his people one truth next to the plan of salvation, it would be to: “GET OUT OF THE SELF LIFE!” We are all selfish by nature as human beings, we cannot help it. But if we will choose to walk in the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us permanently as God's redeemed children (Romans 8:9; 1st Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:24), then Jesus will live through us (Galatians 2:20). This is the “fruit” of the blessed Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).
I encourage you dear reader, if you are a born-again child of God, to share the Gospel with the people in your life, and those whose paths you come across daily. To some, you and I are “the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8b). You may be the only Jesus that someone will ever know, and their eternal fate is in your hands friend.
Thank you for reading my blog. God bless you and have a good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment