In the Old Testament the Lord uses the beauty of the narrative story to display His great mercy toward sinful man in accounts of redemption and rescue. Indeed, the gospel is foreshadowed in many ways and all the aspects of the gospel of our Lord Jesus are illustrated in the prophecies and the narrative stories of the Old Testament. (Hebrews 1:1) One of the aspects of the gospel that is displayed in narrative story is the theme of God’s impending judgment against sin and the rescue of a chosen few who enter a place of refuge. To be specific, in Genesis 6-7 in the account of the Flood and in Genesis 19 in the account of the destruction of Sodom, there is a discernable pattern to these narratives:

• The LORD has determined to judge a people because of their sin;
• The LORD warns His chosen ones of the coming judgment (He warns directly in the case of Noah and He warns through His messengers in the case of Lot in Sodom);
• His chosen ones flee from the place of wickedness destined for judgment and enter the place of refuge where they are safe from the judgment;
• The LORD’s judgment destroys all those who do not enter the place of refuge.

I believe that if you will read carefully and thoughtfully through these two accounts in Genesis, then you will see this pattern manifested. Not only will you see this pattern in both stories, but you will also see many details that are embedded in these narratives that further illustrate and foreshadow the gospel of Christ.

Is this pattern an accident or is it coincidental that these stories follow this framework? Of course it is not accidental or coincidental! These stories are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and are part of the word of God. In fact, these narratives are given to the reader to serve as a warning of the reality which confronts us. You see, there is a third “narrative” that follows this same pattern. “What narrative is that?” you ask. It turns out that the gospel declares to us that we are in a world that the Lord has determined to destroy because of our sin and rebellion, and we now await His judgment. But the Lord is gracious and compassionate, and He has sent His people out into the world to warn as many people as they can of the coming judgment and destruction. (Acts 1:8; 16:31; John 3:16, 36) The Lord has sent His people out into the world as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) and His messengers to warn people of the coming judgment and to urge people to enter the only place of refuge from God’s wrath and judgment, and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who flee to Christ for refuge will be saved from the coming wrath of God, but all those who do not enter the place of refuge will perish. And this includes you and me.

I am going to spend a couple of blogs going over the narrative account in Genesis 19 and show how the Bible presents this pattern of coming judgment and divine rescue and try to highlight the details which are written into this account that so clearly and strongly pictures the gospel of our Lord Jesus in His Incarnation. I hope you enjoy it.

SDG       rmb       2/7/2018

Recently I spent a number of weeks studying 2 Timothy in anticipation of teaching an overview of the book to an equipping class at our church. Being very familiar with this letter from Paul after many, many readings and after much meditation, I was pleasantly surprised to find several passages that caught my attention and made me dig a little deeper. I will devote several blogs to these studies and meditations.

In the second chapter of 2 Timothy, Paul issues a number of exhortations that are fitting for all those who have been intentionally set apart for the proclamation and ministry of the gospel, and verses 3 and 4 introduce us to the analogy of a soldier. 3) “Endure hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4) No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” Here in 2:4 is a verse that is to be applied and obeyed, but to be obeyed the verse must be understood. The purpose of this blog is to study this verse in order to understand, apply and obey the verse.

In order to better understand the verse, we need to answer some important questions. Since this verse is explicitly addressed to “soldiers in active service,” one question we need to answer is, “Are all believers ‘soldiers in active service’ as this verse describes them?” In one sense, the answer is ‘yes,’ since we are all involved in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-17, for example) and we all wrestle against the world, the flesh and the devil. So we could honestly say that al believers are soldiers. I would say, however, that not all believers are ‘soldiers in active service’ as described by this verse. I think that Paul’s intent here is to bring home to Timothy the exclusive commitment that is made by the man for whom the proclamation of the gospel and for whom service to Christ and to His church is the primary work of his life. “The soldier in active service” is the man who has been set apart to labor for the Lord as his dominant life’s work. This soldier identifies himself as the Lord’s bond-servant and accepts that he will not have the luxury to get off this path and enjoy the civilian life. As we shall see, there are applications for all believers from this verse, but this verse is intended to exhort full-time pastors and teachers, those who have turned off the civilian path and taken the steeper trail.

Next, we should consider what it means to become “entangled” in the affairs of everyday life, focusing on the word “entangled.” (Note: The NASB translates the Greek as “entangled,” but the word could also be translated as “involved in” or “mixed up in.”) There is a danger for a soldier in battle if he cannot get his sword out from its sheath and get it ready to do its work. If the sword becomes entangled in the soldier’s cloak or gets caught up in some article of clothing, then the soldier’s life is at risk. Rather, the soldier in active service knows that it is a matter of life and death to have all his weapons at the ready and so he pares his life down to the bare essentials, to the things that will allow him to brandish his sword and to vanquish the enemy in battle and do what his commanding officer calls on him to do. So the soldier guards against any kind of entanglement.

We should also consider what is meant by “the affairs of everyday life.” If life in Paul’s day was complicated enough to entangle the soldier in the affairs of everyday life, certainly the affairs of our life pose a much greater danger. The “affairs of everyday life,” then, are all the good things that can divert our time and money away from the best things, away from the things that most directly glorify God and that more intentionally carry us down the path of greater sanctification. But the “affairs of everyday life” also include all the distractions and temptations that the world, the flesh and the devil throw at the believer to make sure that they are not useful to the Master and to ruin their effectiveness for the gospel. To repeat, our modern life is full of both “good distractions” and not-so-good entanglements that can reduce our ability to please our commanding officer. The challenge with these “affairs of everyday life,” then, for the “soldier in active service” and for the ordinary believer is to see these potential entanglements and to avoid their effects.

APPLICATION FOR “THE SOLDIER IN ACTIVE SERVICE”:

As I have understood this verse, it serves as an admonition to the “soldier in active service,” the one who has been set apart for the work of the gospel to be very careful in how they relate to and become involved in the affairs of “everyday life.” Being a gospel servant who has been set apart for the work of the Kingdom comes with rigor and sacrifice. Just as the life of a soldier is designed and crafted to maximize their effectiveness in battle and to carry out the commander’s orders with precision, so the soldier set apart for the gospel must design and craft their life to include those things that please the Master but excludes those things that waste time and money and energy in vain pursuits. Because of the greater demands of the greater commitment, some things that would be completely okay even for an ordinary believer may entangle the gospel soldier. More time will be spent in study of the Word and in ministry to others and in service and proclamation to those who have not yet believed in Christ, and this will mean that leisure time will be rare. Because of being set apart, the call to “make the most of the time” (Ephesians 5:16) must be taken more seriously and what falls under the heading of “make the most” is more rigorous. The priorities of life must be narrowly focused and most time must be spent on those priorities.

The challenge will be with the “affairs of everyday life.” Each one must work this out with fear and trembling, but decisions will be made in light of the priority of the work of the gospel and glory of the Kingdom. Decisions about entertainment and housing; choices affecting the children and the parents; what to do about cars and how much to spend on furniture and cell phones and clothing; when to take vacations (Do you take vacations?) and where to go on vacations and how long to stay; and countless other aspects of everyday life will come under scrutiny. This is complicated and lifelong, but I believe that this is what Paul is saying to “the soldier in active service.” Again, it is a life of rigor and sacrifice, of spending and being expended for others (2 Cor. 12:15). To have the privilege of serving as a gospel soldier comes with the expense of giving up everything for Christ and of living a life intentionally focused on pleasing the Master. This is part of what Paul means when he says to endure hardship.

APPLICATION FOR THE ‘ORDINARY BELIEVER’:

While I think that Paul was giving his exhortation in 2:4 to those who, like Timothy, had made a commitment to the gospel ministry, I think that the principles expressed here apply to all believers. That is, all believers need to recognize the potential dangers of becoming entangled in the affairs of everyday life. The challenge of not being distracted from the mission and of not being neutralized as a witness for Christ is a very real challenge for all believers, although the sacrifices are not as severe and the lines are not necessarily drawn as sharply or in the same places as they would be for the gospel soldier. What this means is that every believer must be diligent to avoid those things that would weigh them down (Hebrews 12:1) and would render them less useful to the Kingdom. Taking on too much expense can make it impossible for you to give as the Lord would have you give (2 Cor. 9:6-7; Ephesians 4:28). Making lifestyle choices that give you things that the world values can hurt your witness and can burden you with things that are not valued in heaven. It is up to each believer to make these decisions and bring these before the Lord, but the principle is clear. Live a simple life and be extravagant to the Lord and to other people and think about how you can make your life more useful to the Master and more effective for Kingdom service. In so doing, consciously make choices that will leave you with undistracted devotion to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:35; 2 Corinthians 11:3).

SDG       rmb       2/3/2018

Recently I spent a number of weeks studying 2 Timothy in anticipation of teaching an overview of the book to an equipping class at our church. Being very familiar with this letter from Paul after many, many readings and after much meditation, I was pleasantly surprised to find several passages that caught my attention and made me dig a little deeper. I will devote several blogs to these studies and meditations.

This meditation will be more a theological study and here we are focusing on the doctrine of election that is prevalent in many of Paul’s epistles and is expressed here implicitly in 2 Timothy 2:9-10, where Paul says, “I suffer hardship for the gospel even to imprisonment as a criminal . . . For this reason I endure all (these) things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” In other words, Paul was willing to endure any God-given hardship in order to preach the gospel to those who were chosen (eklektos), so that they would obtain salvation and spend eternity in glory in heaven.

THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION STATED

Briefly stated, the doctrine of election says that God, according to His own purpose and for His own glory, has, before the foundation of the world, chosen particular individuals for eternal salvation. Those God has chosen, and only those God has chosen, will certainly be saved and will certainly come to faith in Jesus and repentance from sin. God’s election of these individuals in eternity past is not conditioned on any action of these individuals or of any merit in them whatsoever but is conditioned only upon God’s free choice and His divine decree. While this election is a perfectly free choice of God, he has nevertheless ordained means whereby those people who are elect will come to faith in Christ and to repentance toward sin. The primary means for the salvation of the elect is the proclamation of the gospel.

It needs to be observed that Paul introduces no new doctrinal teaching in 2 Timothy, but this epistle is full of teaching and exhortation that flows from previous teaching in Paul’s other letters. Since election is a frequent theme of Paul’s letters, so 2 Timothy has election as an underlying theme. Thus election or “the chosen” is what we are studying here in 2 Timothy 2.

OBSERVATIONS

Careful observation of 2 Timothy 2:9-10 will reveal that the following doctrines are taught here in these verses:

• Because the world opposes Christ, preaching the gospel may result in stiff and often venomous resistance, including real hardship and suffering (“I endure all things”);
• There is a time in the life of the elect/chosen when they have not obtained salvation. (Note that Paul preaches the gospel so that the elect may obtain Obviously, they do not yet have what Paul is hoping they will obtain.)
• Salvation is not universal but is obtained only by the elect. This is obvious from the fact that the elect is a smaller group than the whole of mankind. Paul endures, not for everyone, but “for the sake of those who are elect.” Since there is a group that is elect, there is also a group that is not.
• Paul’s labor and perseverance in the gospel are maintained so that those whom God has chosen for salvation will hear the gospel and be saved. While Paul does not know, when he proclaims the gospel, which specific people in his hearing are elect, he knows without a doubt that God has chosen some people for salvation and that, by proclaiming the gospel, God may allow some of the elect to obtain salvation.
• All those who obtain salvation in Christ Jesus also receive eternal glory and will forever be in eternal glory. Therefore, when someone obtains salvation, they are at that moment guaranteed to be in eternal glory forever.
• Preaching the gospel is the primary means for allowing the elect to obtain salvation.

APPLICATION

The main application of this doctrine of election is to embolden our evangelism. We can be bold because we can be confident that God has chosen some people for salvation and that those people will be drawn by the gospel preached. Our proclamation is not in vain, for we know that there are some who will hear and believe. Therefore, we present Christ and Him crucified as the only means of salvation for sinners and as the only possible rescue from the wrath of God and we do so boldly and faithfully until all the elect have been called to faith.

SDG       rmb       1/27/2018

Recently I spent a number of weeks studying 2 Timothy in anticipation of teaching an overview of the book to an equipping class at our church. Being very familiar with this letter from Paul after many, many readings and after much meditation, I was pleasantly surprised to find several passages that caught my attention and made me dig a little deeper. I will devote several blogs to these studies and meditations.

In this writing I want to consider a major theme of 2 Timothy that appears over and over again in this epistle; namely, the theme of suffering for the gospel. Paul exhorts Timothy that he is to “join with me in suffering for the gospel” and in several places Paul urges him to “suffer hardship.” Perhaps the most jarring of the apostle’s exhortations in this regard is the one that comes in chapter 3, verse 12: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” It is apparent that Paul fully expected Timothy to suffer greatly as he discharged his gospel ministry and he wants to prepare Timothy for the rigors of suffering and persecution. “Forewarned is forearmed,” so to speak. And so Paul pulls no punches as he declares to Timothy the very real perils of this most glorious of labors.

Of course, this is nothing new for the reader of the New Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had made it clear that His followers would be hated in this world even as He had been hated and rejected by this world. The book of Acts is full of the hardships, opposition and martyrdom that was experienced by the early disciples and there is no reason to think that persecution and suffering will diminish in this fallen and pagan world. As the world is proceeding from bad to worse, so the persecutions of believers will become more intense as this evil age unravels.

But what I wanted to consider is the huge disparity in the suffering that one part of the Body of Christ endures when compared to another part of the Body. Indeed, all believers will not be called to suffer the same hardships nor will they be persecuted in the same way or with the same intensity. Some will be called on to suffer greatly for the gospel and to endure withering persecutions for their faith in Jesus, while others will be called to a life of relatively light suffering, of easily bearable persecutions and of relatively pleasant circumstances. The church in India or China or Nigeria or Sudan suffers greatly while the church in America enjoys freedom and lives relatively free from any real persecution. I cannot understand why this is (Psalm 131), but the Lord knows and He is the one who ordains all these things and determines who will suffer and die for the gospel and who will believe with ease.

But all believers have made the same commitment to Jesus Christ. All believers have declared that there is no hardship and there is no persecution, indeed there is no circumstance that can arise in the life of a believer that will stop them from following Jesus. This is what it means to be a Christian, an unconditional commitment to Jesus. Our Savior has conquered death for us (“abolished death . . .” 2 Timothy1:10) and our task is to follow Him to the end NO MATTER THE PATH. Wherever He leads, we will follow, regardless and no matter. We will persevere to the end.

“It is the one who endures to the end who will be saved.” Matthew 10:22

SDG       rmb       1/24/2018

Recently I spent a number of weeks studying 2 Timothy in anticipation of teaching an overview of the book to an equipping class at our church. Being very familiar with this letter from Paul after many, many readings and after much meditation, I was pleasantly surprised to find several passages that caught my attention and made me dig a little deeper. I will devote several blogs to these studies and meditations.

“I have fought the good fight; I have finished the couerse; I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Here we have what could be an appropriate epitaph for Paul, a summary of his life and ministry. In this blog I want to focus on the phrase, “I have finished the course.” Paul is getting ready to enter eternity, to lay aside his earthly tent and to go home to be with the Lord forever. In this process of preparing to leave earth for heaven, he assesses what he accomplished and how well he ran. In his evaluation and reflection, he declares that he has finished the race.

Now what does Paul mean by this expression and what exactly does he have in mind? What has distinguished his life from that of anyone else who has come to the place of dying? Don’t we all eventually finish our races and then enter eternity? What is significant about Paul and his departure?

If what Paul means by “I finished the course” is simply that he has arrived at the graveside (so to speak) and now it is time for him to die, then there would have been no significance to his statement at. We all eventually reach the end and cross the finish, so why does Paul express a satisfaction in a life lived to the full and lived to the end?

Paul means much more by this expression, “I have finished the course” than simply saying he has crossed the finish line like everyone else. Paul is talking about a life of accomplishment in the most important of all earthly endeavors. the spread of the gospel. His efforts have “resulted in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed . . . so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum he has fully preached the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:18-19) A huge swath of humanity has heard and responded to the gospel of salvation because of Paul’s life. He has labored “so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24) The Lord Jesus Himself has given Paul his assignment and as a steward of the gospel, Paul had labored with all his might to be faithful to that divine calling. Now the finish line is in sight. Soon his labors will cease and heaven will be his reward. Soon all opportunity for fruitful labor (Phil. 1:22) will be past and he will know his Savior’s rest.

So by “I have finished the course,” Paul means “I have completed the course the Lord laid out for me and all my work is done. I have accomplished what the Lord gave me to do. My duties are all fully discharged and my assignments are all turned in. I can already hear the Master saying to me, ‘Well done!’ “

The first application from this passage is that Paul gives us an example of how to finish well. Paul is not content with an earthly retirement and a few years of leisure before entering eternity. Rather Paul is determined to press toward the prize with all his might as long as he has breath and to breast the tape at full speed. Surely every believer should be seeking to be useful until their final breath and should run hard until the end.

I believe the second application here is that, since we do not know when our last breath will come, we should always be striving to finish our work, to accomplish our assignment and to be ready to go home. Do not waste time, but use your time to be more useful to the Kingdom and to Christ and seek to make a greater and greater impact for the Lord, so that, regardless of when you are called home, you will leave a thirty-fold, sixty-fold, hundred-fold fruit for those who follow.

Then you can joyously say with Paul, “I have finished the course.”

SDG       rmb       1/23/2018

In thinking about the religion of Catholicism, it occurred to me that all religion feeds pride or shame, depending on which side of the teeter-totter a person sits. Some people are prone to shame, and so a religion will bury them in deeper shame by showing them how they fail to keep their religious duties and how they are inherently covered with shame. Other people are more prone to the sin of pride and so use the religion to justify their feelings of superiority.

And this is in keeping with the design of religion. For it must be acknowledged that religions are designed by Satan to use the fallen flesh to destroy people and to trap them in a performance cycle that fuels the sin of pride – “I am better than you because I am more religious than you” – or that crushes with the misery of shame – “I am worthless because my religion tells me I am worthless.”

So there are those who are filled with pride and there are those that are filled with shame, but there is a third group that is probably the majority group, that bounces between shame and pride depending upon their circumstances and on who is around them; for it must be acknowledged that pride is most often puffed up shame. Pride is often a defense mechanism for feelings of shame and inferiority. Pride is very often a disguise, a costume worn by those who feel deeply flawed in their brokenness.

So what is the antidote? How can a broken human being trapped in a religious cage ever break free from shame and pride?

Can you hear the promises and the proclamations of Scripture?

“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

“It is for freedom that Christ set you free.” Galatians 5:1

“Surely I am Your servant . . . You have loosed my bonds.” Psalm 116:16

Christ is the answer! Christ is the One who removes sin and shame and death. Christ is the Savior. Christ is the liberator. The shackles are broken in Christ!

Confess your sin to the Lord (Psalm 32:5; 1 John 1:9) and acknowledge your iniquity and your guilt and your shame. Cry out to the Lord and ask for His mercy (Luke 18:9-14) and He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7) and remove your sin and guilt and shame. The act of confession demolishes your pride, for you are acknowledging your sin and accepting your condemnation. But crying out to the Lord removes your guilt and your shame, for the Lord will forgive all those who trust in Jesus Christ and who call to Him for His mercy and grace.  It is against the Lord that you have sinned (Psalm 51:4) and so it is from the Lord you must receive forgiveness. It is sin that has brought your shame (Genesis 3:7, 8 – Adam and Eve make fig leaves for themselves to hide the shame of their nakedness and they hide from the Lord to escape His judging gaze), and the only way to remove the shame is to remove the sin. It is sin that has separated you from the Lord (Isaiah 59:1-2) and you can only be reconciled to the Lord if your sin is removed.

And the only way that sin can ever be removed is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith in the Lord, your sins will be removed from you as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and your sins the Lord will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

Religion will give you an endless cycle of works and will lead to shame or pride, but will never set you free; but faith in Christ crushes arrogant pride and replaces it with humility and relieves the burden of shame and replaces it with adoption into God’s family as an heir with Christ. Religion, whether Catholicism or Hinduism or Islam or Judaism or another one, dooms you to shame and pride, but Christ brings you joy and peace and hope.

Therefore, confess and cry out to the Lord and repent of your sin. Come to Christ.

SDG       rmb       1/8/2018

There was a time before I came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ when sin was my complete master. Not only was I a slave to behaviors and attitudes which ruined my life and my relationships with others, but I was also under the wrath of God and was condemned because of my sins and transgressions. But in the miracle of conversion and in the hearing and accepting of the gospel of Christ, I was delivered from my slavery to sin and was forgiven because of the death of Christ on the cross. By faith I was made new and the condemnation and the judgment which had crushed me under their hellish weight were removed. I was reconciled to God and knew peace with Him.

After my conversion, it came as somewhat of a surprise to me to realize that my sins had not disappeared upon my profession of faith in Christ. In fact, now that the Holy Spirit was resident inside me, I often felt the sting of conviction (John 16:9), realizing that there were many sins which still indwelt me. It was evident that the habits and the misbehaviors of my unsaved past did not vanish like a mist once Christ had become my King (Romans 7:14-25). But slowly I began to experience the beauty of sanctification, which is that process of growing in practical holiness that comes through conviction and confession and repentance and that proves that my conversion is real and that my salvation is genuine. Slowly, step-by-step I am walking more and more like Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).

But the point I want to make is this: My relationship to sin has been dramatically changed. Before my conversion, sin was my master, in that it controlled my thoughts, words and behavior, and sin was my death, because my sin condemned me before God. Now, however, Christ has paid the penalty for my sins and He has broken sin’s mastery over my life and set me free (John 8:36). Sin’s terrifying penalty has been removed because God’s wrath for my sin has been satisfied in Christ. Now the sins that used to be so enjoyable to me when I was an unbeliever are the very sins that I hate.

But also in my walk with Christ, sin has taken on a new role. Sin is now that which distracts me from wholly pursuing the things of Christ. My sin now burdens me and it hinders me from accomplishing all that I would like to accomplish for the Lord. I am seeing that my sins are truly those things that act as spiritual and relational weights in my life and it is those things that so easily entangle me and prevent me from running my race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1). The Holy Spirit now convicts me of the sin of judging other people, which is an immense relational weight and which hinders me from loving others and from having compassion on them and hinders me from reaching out to an unbeliever so that I can be their friend and share Christ with them. Sins of coveting what others have and of comparing myself with others create great burdens that poison relationships and that form stumbling blocks in my service to others and to Christ. Instead of serving others and encouraging others and speaking the truth to others, I am preoccupied with my own status and my own little world. These are examples of how sin acts as a burden, as a weight, as something that entangles and inhibits our service to Christ and blurs the brilliance of His glory in our lives.

So be alert so that you can lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles, and so that you can run free with Christ and be unhindered in your usefulness to Him.

SDG        rmb        12/15/2017

Recently I had written about the need to be ready for evangelistic opportunities (1 Peter 3:15) by PREPARING in advance. The idea is to rehearse and practice and envision situations where you will speak of Jesus or guide a conversation in a spiritual direction in the hopes of reaching a topic that touches on the gospel. Intentionally prepare to be a witness for Jesus.

One of the critical tactics for the ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20) and the spiritual fisherman (Matt. 4:19) is to continually be making new contacts and then cultivating those contacts into real relationships. That means that there is a spiritual discipline in making contacts.

Now why would the believer want to continually develop new contacts? The disciple of Jesus develops new contacts because of the end that they have in view. The end and the goal is to win as many as possible to Christ (1 Cor. 9:19-23), and it is more likely that an unbeliever will repent and believe after a deep conversation with a friend they know and trust. And you become a trusted friend by spending time with another person. But you only get to spend time with someone after you make contact with them and pursue a relationship with them.

Think about your life and your lifestyle and think about where you can establish contacts within your daily schedule. Or think about people you could contact if you changed or expanded your daily or weekly schedule a little. To be a good fisherman, we have to go where the fish are or where the fish might be. Just so we want to make contacts where there

We need to continually make contacts for several reasons. Only a relatively small percentage of your contacts will turn into friendships. Other contacts will never get beyond an introduction. Others will abruptly stop when they find out you are a Christian. Remember that the sower who went out to sow scattered a lot of seed (Matthew 13 – The parable of the sower) and yet only a small percentage of the seed actually bore fruit. Likewise, not all of our “sowing” of contacts will become followers of Jesus. Some people will move away or will otherwise move out of your field of influence. Some people will be your friend, but will never express faith in Christ. Some will come to faith in Christ and will no longer need your evangelism.

The believer would be wise to continually develop new contacts because we have no idea who will come to faith. In Ecclesiastes 11:2, the Preacher says, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.” Basically, he is saying that the wise man will diversify to increase his odds. Just so, the disciple of Jesus would be well advised to have many contacts.

Having many contacts gives the disciple a lot of practice in both learning how to deepen a relationship (from contact to friendship), but also gives a lot of practice with sharing the gospel in multiple different contexts. “When do a press in?” “When do I let comments or errors go by without comment?” Many contacts gives the opportunity to try many approaches in leading someone to Christ.

Actively cultivate contacts with unbelievers with an eye toward evangelism. Building contacts will provide you with people to bring to outreach events. Having many contacts gives you someone to invite to an evangelistic event at your church. Who do you invite if you are starting an evangelistic study of the book of Mark in your home? Well, you would invite the people with whom you have contact and/or with whom you have grown the relationship to a fairly deep level. So the disciple is continually seeking to bring the fish into the boat.

How are you actively cultivating contacts who can become worshippers of Jesus? Make contacts, develop the contacts and be active in sharing your faith in Christ Jesus. This is a key discipleship skill.

SDG       rmb       12/5/2017

 

The apostle Peter exhorts all believers to always be ready to make a defense (1 Peter 3:15). Our Lord tells us that the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say when we are brought before kings (Matthew 10:19-20). Surely that message should be clear and powerful, and the messenger should be ready to proclaim. In that same passage, the Lord Jesus tells us that if we shrink back and deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father in heaven (10:33). The author of Hebrews reminds us that true disciples of Jesus are not those who shrink back to destruction, but are those who have faith (Hebrews 10:39). Finally, in Colossians 4:6 Paul tells us to season our speech with salt and to respond with wisdom to each person.

What is the point of my referring to all these passages? I believe all these verses and many more make clear a New Testament theme, and that is that the disciple of Jesus should always be ready to be a witness for the Lord, so that he or she does not miss an opportunity to talk about the Lord Jesus, to proclaim the gospel and to declare the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

To be ready requires that we be intentional about our preparation for witnessing. Being intentional means thinking about evangelism and envisioning yourself in conversations that are going to lead to the gospel. While I cannot control what the other person will say, I can completely control what I will say. What questions can I ask or where can I lead the conversation so that we head toward Jesus Christ and/or the gospel? Think about those questions! Plan conversation-starters that are likely to open up the conversation and cut a path toward the cross.

We are to be ready to be His witnesses.

If I am going into a social situation where there are likely to be many unbelievers, I will see this event as a fishing trip (Matthew 4:19). I am walking into this event with my hook already baited and my net ready to be thrown. As any good fisherman would do, I fully intend to throw out the line and to make several casts, and I do not intend to come away empty. Thus the company Holiday Party is, for the believer, a fishing trip. Plan out the people you will talk to and even plan the conversations you will have with them. Tell about the life of Jesus and about His glory and greatness. Relate your personal testimony. Carefully explain the gospel. Ask questions about life and its meaning. All of these are ways that you can prepare and be ready.

Each encounter and each event will increase your skill as a fisherman, but we are to go to each event prepared to respond as an ambassador and as a witness of Jesus.

Be ready to share Christ. Be alert to any open door that the Lord provides and go through that door with boldness. Prepare to tell of the hope in Christ. Be ready to tell of the death of Christ. Warn that Jesus is coming back to judge the earth.

Be intentional and be ready!

SDG       rmb       12/4/2017

 

In the second half of Romans 7, Paul takes us through the misery of the believer’s battle with ongoing sin and the challenge of being a regenerate person in a body of flesh. With the birth of the new man, the flesh has become our adversary, and resisting the flesh can make us feel wretched. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) This battle begs the question, “Who will win? Will the flesh be the ultimate victor? Will I succumb to the flesh and fall forever under condemnation?”

To this series of questions Paul has one triumphal cry: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Whereas before, the condemnation had been universal, bringing doom to Jew and Gentile alike (1:18-3:20), now “in Christ Jesus” there is no condemnation. This is the genius of the gospel, that because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, those who were justly condemned by the Law are now declared not guilty and the penalty of eternal death that they richly deserved has been entirely and forever removed.

There is now no condemnation! God, who alone has the authority to condemn the sinner, has been propitiated. The death penalty required by sin has been lawfully paid by a sanctioned and sinless substitute and, because the Law has been fully satisfied, the guilty one is allowed to go free.

Hallelujah! Now there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus!

SDG       rmb       11/29/2017