Dormant No More
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Lukewarm "Christian"?
I recently listened to a sermon by Francis Chan that was really interesting but also a little scary to think about. He preached about how so many in the Church today are lukewarm. It's easy to see that without being "judgemental". You can see it by their lack of fruits. They come to Church on Sunday, participate in corporate worship, pray, and often drop their tithe off in the plate. But then Monday - Saturday they are doing their own thing. Whatever pleases them. Gossip, fornication, drunkenness, and an overall void of anything Christ-like. Yet they have been justified in their sin by the false doctrines they are being taught. In an interview, Francis was asked, "do you really think God is going to spit lukewarm Christians from His mouth"? His reply was that he does not think there is such a person as a lukewarm Christian. If they are lukewarm, than how can they be truly saved? Different opinions exist on this question, but if we take away all the man made doctrines, and look at the Word of God in context, he may in fact be right. What do you think? I think if you are lukewarm, you better examine yourself. Don't worry about whether you have been saved or not. Repent and believe in Christ. If you are truly saved by God, you will be a different person. We will know it by your fruits.
Friday, August 13, 2010
What’s wrong with Christians today?
What’s wrong with Christians today?
In a recent study, it was found that only 2% of Christians share their faith with others. But of those 2%, how many Christians are doing it effectively? Or should I say Biblically. Since only 2% of Christians are sharing their faith, that tells us a couple things. Either Christians are being disobedient to the last command Jesus gave to the disciples while on earth, or the majority of the people who call themselves Christians are false converts. Or perhaps it’s a combination of both. The following blog was written by someone who is a Christian and his way of “evangelizing” is very similar to methods I have used, and similar to the methods that most people that I know use, if they do use any at all. Please read and see if his old methods are similar to yours. The peaceful, non-confrontational one on one, quiet witnessing approach. Here is the blog, but make sure you come back to read the rest of my thoughts.
http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/under-cover-christian.html
I know many Christians who become offended by any method that involves use of the words Hell, Fire, Condemned, Judged, Repent, Blood, and others. “These words are too harsh for non-Christians and will only turn them away”, they say. We have to “lure” them in with love and compassion, and grace and giving, that just overflows their soul. “This is how Jesus did it”, they say. Is this always how Jesus did it? Let’s take a look at the story of the rich young ruler found in Mark 10:17-27, and then a little commentary from frontlinemin.org.
17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 "You know the commandments, 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.' "
20 And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up."
21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"
24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?"
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
Commentary from frontlinemin.org: Jesus would have failed personal evangelism class in most Bible colleges and seminaries. Our text describes a young man who looked like the hottest evangelistic prospect the Lord had encountered. He was ripe. He was eager. There was no way he would get away without receiving eternal life.
But he did. Instead of getting him to make a decision, in a sense Jesus chased him off. He failed to draw the net. He failed to sign the young man up. Should we allow our ideas of evangelism to indict Jesus? Or might we need to allow His example to critique contemporary evangelism? Christ's confrontation of this young man gives us much-needed insight into reaching the lost.
The rich young ruler was, humanly speaking, an ideal prospect for conversion. He was young, had prominence (a ruler), was wealthy (v. 22), was moral, was enthusiastic for spiritual things ("came running"), was bold (out on the road, v. 17), he was respectful (knelt before Him, v. 17). On top of all this he was begging to know how to be saved!
Wouldn't any evangelist just love to open his Bible and show him the plan of salvation? The rich young ruler would make a fine trophy to the soul-winner. He was just ripe for today's decisional methods of evangelism.
But Jesus had the nerve to rebuke him, discuss the ten commandments with him, demand immense sacrifice, and then let him get away. What was He thinking?!
Jesus had two motives for the way he handled the rich young ruler: (1) love for the lost, v.21; (2) even greater love for God, v.18.
Preaching the Character of God, v. 18.
Jesus demonstrated His love for God by correcting the young ruler's incidental greeting of calling Him "good." The young ruler didn't know he was talking to God incarnate. He just thought He was a great teacher. Jesus took the opportunity to say in effect, "The goodness of any creature (which is what you take me to be) is not worthy to be named or taken notice of. It is God alone who is originally and essentially good."
Jesus wanted to exalt the unique and infinite goodness and holiness of God in the eyes of the young ruler. Jesus redirected the young man's attention to God and His glory rather than man and his need. Jesus showed His love for the young ruler by redirecting him to God.
Likewise, our witnessing today ought to be primarily concerned with glorifying God. Having a love for lost sinners is essential to the Christian walk. But even more important is our love for God and our desire to honor Him first in all we do.
_________________________________________________________________________
Okay, back to me now…. Can you imagine someone running to you and asking with that type of enthusiasm, “What shall I do to inherit the Kingdom”? Man we would love that. We would tell them to say the sinners’ prayer with us, and confess they are a sinner and receive the free gift of Jesus, and then we would pronounce them as a brother in Christ. What if a police officer came to you and said, “hey you need to confess that you ran that stop light to a judge and then he will let you take a course to get out of this $5000 ticket, and then it won’t affect your insurance.” You would say, well, I didn’t run a stop light. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do I need to confess it to a judge. But if you were pulled over, and a police officer said, you may not realize it, but you just ran that stop light back there. It was in a school zone, and you could have killed young children with your carelessness. What you did was very dangerous. I’m going to have to fine you with a $5000 ticket because of your failure to obey the law”. It would make more sense for him to offer to have you appear before a judge and admit your mistake and be granted a free, one time pass to take a class and have the fine withdrawn, and prevent that from being on your insurance. You would appreciate the gift, because you realized you were in the wrong and that you broke the law. It is the same with evangelizing. You have to preach the law to the proud, and give grace to the humble. That is what Jesus did. I’m not saying you have to stand on a street corner and preach hell fire to people. I’m just saying that they need to know that they have sinned against God and there is a penalty for that. Until they realize that, they cannot be saved. There are numerous bible verses which condemn the sinner just as there are numerous verses that offer grace to the sinner. I think we need to use the two together. But don’t tell me that the best way to witness is to just live your own life in a “Christian” way and let others see that. It sounds good on paper, but it’s not working. The reason is that the perception of Christianity in America today is that we are not much different than the world. So what if you go to Church on Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday. If you are not proclaiming the gospel boldly the rest of the week, you are not being effective. I once heard a man say, I always try to just say something using God’s name. Like God Bless you. Or this is a beautiful day the Lord made. That is great and all, but how many times has that lead someone to Christ? I think those are great ways to turn from the conversation into an opportunity to share the Gospel. But if you just say God Bless you and that’s it, you think that makes you different from the world? Many people say God Bless you. Even the lost. Christians, we have to be different. Not just different than the lost. We have to be different from all the professing “Christians” who are just going through the motions and not living a life for Jesus. If you go to work and all you talk about is American Idol, and Dancing with the Starts, and Football, then do you think the lost will believe you are any different than them? I’m not saying those things are bad. I just believe many Christians spend time doing things and talking about things, that can easily cause them to break the 2nd Commandment. Thou shall have no other gods before me. If you spend more time watching TV, or surfing the web, or doing your hobbies, than you do talking to God or reading His Word, do you not think you may have some idols before Him? Think about it. How much time do you spend praying and growing closer to God, being sanctified? How much time do you spend in acts of service to help the poor, the elderly, the lost, the unborn? How much time do you spend learning how to share our faith in a Biblical and effective way? Charles Spurgeon said, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that!” Sure everyone “wishes” others would be saved, but what are you doing to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost? Jesus said, “Go”. He didn’t say wait comfortably inside the walls of your church building for others to come to you. He said go get them and bring them to the house of the Lord.
Another concern I have had lately is that Christians will witness other Christians doing the work that we should all be doing, yet they don’t stop to encourage them. Most of the time, if there is someone with a Bible in their hand, preaching the word of God, with a soft loving voice, we still don’t approach them and encourage them. We turn our eyes the other way and walk on by. We get embarrassed by what they are doing, because we have been taught that those people are crazy. I am so guilty of this myself. I realize sometimes you see someone doing something that you don’t agree with. But if you see a guy or girl holding a sign proclaiming biblical truths, or hear someone preaching in the streets, or on the sidewalk, don’t ignore them like they are homeless people. Encourage them, and be encouraged by them.
Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
I know what I have said here is my own point of view and it sounds as though I am condemning Christians. I am actually speaking to myself in this as well. I have not been living like I believe. When are we going to let our theology become our biography? (Flip Benham). You are living out your biography right now. In 10 years or 20 years, what will your biography look like? Will it have lots of stories of American Idol and Football and the Bachelorette, and family get togethers, and parties, etc. Or will it be about how you were sold out for Jesus and tried to share Him with everyone you met, in hopes of just bringing Him Glory! It’s not for our own glorification, but for God’s Glory. I know we are not saved by “works” but if you are truly saved, your life should be filled with them. Mine has not been, and that is why I am making changes in my life and also why I am writing this.
I welcome comments. I am very immature when it comes to Bible knowledge. If any of my thoughts are not in line with the Word, I welcome that feedback. I am learning as I go.
In a recent study, it was found that only 2% of Christians share their faith with others. But of those 2%, how many Christians are doing it effectively? Or should I say Biblically. Since only 2% of Christians are sharing their faith, that tells us a couple things. Either Christians are being disobedient to the last command Jesus gave to the disciples while on earth, or the majority of the people who call themselves Christians are false converts. Or perhaps it’s a combination of both. The following blog was written by someone who is a Christian and his way of “evangelizing” is very similar to methods I have used, and similar to the methods that most people that I know use, if they do use any at all. Please read and see if his old methods are similar to yours. The peaceful, non-confrontational one on one, quiet witnessing approach. Here is the blog, but make sure you come back to read the rest of my thoughts.
http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/under-cover-christian.html
I know many Christians who become offended by any method that involves use of the words Hell, Fire, Condemned, Judged, Repent, Blood, and others. “These words are too harsh for non-Christians and will only turn them away”, they say. We have to “lure” them in with love and compassion, and grace and giving, that just overflows their soul. “This is how Jesus did it”, they say. Is this always how Jesus did it? Let’s take a look at the story of the rich young ruler found in Mark 10:17-27, and then a little commentary from frontlinemin.org.
17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
19 "You know the commandments, 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.' "
20 And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up."
21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
22 But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"
24 The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26 They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?"
27 Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
Commentary from frontlinemin.org: Jesus would have failed personal evangelism class in most Bible colleges and seminaries. Our text describes a young man who looked like the hottest evangelistic prospect the Lord had encountered. He was ripe. He was eager. There was no way he would get away without receiving eternal life.
But he did. Instead of getting him to make a decision, in a sense Jesus chased him off. He failed to draw the net. He failed to sign the young man up. Should we allow our ideas of evangelism to indict Jesus? Or might we need to allow His example to critique contemporary evangelism? Christ's confrontation of this young man gives us much-needed insight into reaching the lost.
The rich young ruler was, humanly speaking, an ideal prospect for conversion. He was young, had prominence (a ruler), was wealthy (v. 22), was moral, was enthusiastic for spiritual things ("came running"), was bold (out on the road, v. 17), he was respectful (knelt before Him, v. 17). On top of all this he was begging to know how to be saved!
Wouldn't any evangelist just love to open his Bible and show him the plan of salvation? The rich young ruler would make a fine trophy to the soul-winner. He was just ripe for today's decisional methods of evangelism.
But Jesus had the nerve to rebuke him, discuss the ten commandments with him, demand immense sacrifice, and then let him get away. What was He thinking?!
Jesus had two motives for the way he handled the rich young ruler: (1) love for the lost, v.21; (2) even greater love for God, v.18.
Preaching the Character of God, v. 18.
Jesus demonstrated His love for God by correcting the young ruler's incidental greeting of calling Him "good." The young ruler didn't know he was talking to God incarnate. He just thought He was a great teacher. Jesus took the opportunity to say in effect, "The goodness of any creature (which is what you take me to be) is not worthy to be named or taken notice of. It is God alone who is originally and essentially good."
Jesus wanted to exalt the unique and infinite goodness and holiness of God in the eyes of the young ruler. Jesus redirected the young man's attention to God and His glory rather than man and his need. Jesus showed His love for the young ruler by redirecting him to God.
Likewise, our witnessing today ought to be primarily concerned with glorifying God. Having a love for lost sinners is essential to the Christian walk. But even more important is our love for God and our desire to honor Him first in all we do.
_________________________________________________________________________
Okay, back to me now…. Can you imagine someone running to you and asking with that type of enthusiasm, “What shall I do to inherit the Kingdom”? Man we would love that. We would tell them to say the sinners’ prayer with us, and confess they are a sinner and receive the free gift of Jesus, and then we would pronounce them as a brother in Christ. What if a police officer came to you and said, “hey you need to confess that you ran that stop light to a judge and then he will let you take a course to get out of this $5000 ticket, and then it won’t affect your insurance.” You would say, well, I didn’t run a stop light. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do I need to confess it to a judge. But if you were pulled over, and a police officer said, you may not realize it, but you just ran that stop light back there. It was in a school zone, and you could have killed young children with your carelessness. What you did was very dangerous. I’m going to have to fine you with a $5000 ticket because of your failure to obey the law”. It would make more sense for him to offer to have you appear before a judge and admit your mistake and be granted a free, one time pass to take a class and have the fine withdrawn, and prevent that from being on your insurance. You would appreciate the gift, because you realized you were in the wrong and that you broke the law. It is the same with evangelizing. You have to preach the law to the proud, and give grace to the humble. That is what Jesus did. I’m not saying you have to stand on a street corner and preach hell fire to people. I’m just saying that they need to know that they have sinned against God and there is a penalty for that. Until they realize that, they cannot be saved. There are numerous bible verses which condemn the sinner just as there are numerous verses that offer grace to the sinner. I think we need to use the two together. But don’t tell me that the best way to witness is to just live your own life in a “Christian” way and let others see that. It sounds good on paper, but it’s not working. The reason is that the perception of Christianity in America today is that we are not much different than the world. So what if you go to Church on Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday. If you are not proclaiming the gospel boldly the rest of the week, you are not being effective. I once heard a man say, I always try to just say something using God’s name. Like God Bless you. Or this is a beautiful day the Lord made. That is great and all, but how many times has that lead someone to Christ? I think those are great ways to turn from the conversation into an opportunity to share the Gospel. But if you just say God Bless you and that’s it, you think that makes you different from the world? Many people say God Bless you. Even the lost. Christians, we have to be different. Not just different than the lost. We have to be different from all the professing “Christians” who are just going through the motions and not living a life for Jesus. If you go to work and all you talk about is American Idol, and Dancing with the Starts, and Football, then do you think the lost will believe you are any different than them? I’m not saying those things are bad. I just believe many Christians spend time doing things and talking about things, that can easily cause them to break the 2nd Commandment. Thou shall have no other gods before me. If you spend more time watching TV, or surfing the web, or doing your hobbies, than you do talking to God or reading His Word, do you not think you may have some idols before Him? Think about it. How much time do you spend praying and growing closer to God, being sanctified? How much time do you spend in acts of service to help the poor, the elderly, the lost, the unborn? How much time do you spend learning how to share our faith in a Biblical and effective way? Charles Spurgeon said, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that!” Sure everyone “wishes” others would be saved, but what are you doing to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost? Jesus said, “Go”. He didn’t say wait comfortably inside the walls of your church building for others to come to you. He said go get them and bring them to the house of the Lord.
Another concern I have had lately is that Christians will witness other Christians doing the work that we should all be doing, yet they don’t stop to encourage them. Most of the time, if there is someone with a Bible in their hand, preaching the word of God, with a soft loving voice, we still don’t approach them and encourage them. We turn our eyes the other way and walk on by. We get embarrassed by what they are doing, because we have been taught that those people are crazy. I am so guilty of this myself. I realize sometimes you see someone doing something that you don’t agree with. But if you see a guy or girl holding a sign proclaiming biblical truths, or hear someone preaching in the streets, or on the sidewalk, don’t ignore them like they are homeless people. Encourage them, and be encouraged by them.
Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.
Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
I know what I have said here is my own point of view and it sounds as though I am condemning Christians. I am actually speaking to myself in this as well. I have not been living like I believe. When are we going to let our theology become our biography? (Flip Benham). You are living out your biography right now. In 10 years or 20 years, what will your biography look like? Will it have lots of stories of American Idol and Football and the Bachelorette, and family get togethers, and parties, etc. Or will it be about how you were sold out for Jesus and tried to share Him with everyone you met, in hopes of just bringing Him Glory! It’s not for our own glorification, but for God’s Glory. I know we are not saved by “works” but if you are truly saved, your life should be filled with them. Mine has not been, and that is why I am making changes in my life and also why I am writing this.
I welcome comments. I am very immature when it comes to Bible knowledge. If any of my thoughts are not in line with the Word, I welcome that feedback. I am learning as I go.
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