Today, we will be
following up on what we were discussing yesterday. We may have to spend one more day on this subject, but please remember -- this one subject is VITAL and so very
important. I promise we will move on and get to other evangelism tips and
training in the many days ahead.
Instead of taking extra time to recap, I would suggest that you go back and read DAY 2 (if you have not done so already). We are continuing the line of thought -- Are we truly saved and how can we know for sure? It is essential that we get this nailed down so we can carry on and be effective in building up the kingdom of God and it is essential that we be able to help others know for sure that they are in the faith. So, here we go……
Back in 2006 my ideas and preconceived notions about witnessing were turned upside down forever by two powerful messages:
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
http://www.livingwaters.com/learn/hellsbestkeptsecret.htm (You can listen here or download as an MP3.)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/HellsBestKeptSecret.pdf (or you can read the transcript here)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/study_sheets_HBKS.pdf (study sheet)
True and False Conversion
http://www.livingwaters.com/learn/trueandfalse.htm (You can listen here or download as an MP3.)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/TrueAndFalseConversion.pdf (or you can read the transcript here)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/study_sheets_TFC.pdf (study sheet)
I HIGHLY recommend that before you precede any further to either listen to or read these two messages. If you do, you will be better prepared for the things we will discuss. If you don’t, then some things I say to you may not make sense. If this gets you behind in reading the daily material, please don’t worry -- I don’t plan on removing anything; it will be here when you need it. I want you to go at your own pace. Quantity is not as important here, quality is. I want you to grasp what you are reading and listening to, so don’t rush and compromise your understanding.
Through the messages Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion I have learned that around the turn of the last century preachers began to change how they presented Christ (and the gospel message) to others. Easy believism (my term for it) was born and society started on its downhill slide. Prior to the 19th century all the great preachers used 10 powerful cannons (The Ten Commandments) to shoot into the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls and great revivals were the results. Churches were packed out, many were converted, and holy living was the standard. Now, I’m not sure who it started with, but we can be assured that the “easy believism” way was the brain-child of satan himself.
Okay, now what do I mean by that term? It is a tragedy of modern evangelism. It was when the law of God and its capacity to convert the soul was forsaken (I am not talking about us still being under the law, but using the law just like Jesus did; to show men their need for a Savior – this will be explained more in the days ahead). After forsaking the law, to drive sinners to Christ, modern evangelism had to find another reason for sinners to respond to the gospel. And the issue that modern evangelism chose to attract sinners was the issue of “life enhancement”. The gospel degenerated into “Come to Jesus Christ. He loves you and will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.” This is an easy way to introduce Christ to others, but it can create false converts because this teaching does not produce fruits of righteousness. It does not produce holy living. It does not get men lost so they can be found. It does not produce repentance. And one big drawback to this message is that it will not fly with someone who already has a great life. Remember, there is pleasure in sin for a season. Those who love their sin and are happy in it will see no need to change. What do you tell them then?
Which message is easier to say to a lost and dying world?
1) Come to Christ and He will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.
OR
2) Believe and repent or you will die in your sins (this is after you have shown them what their sins are through God’s standard – His law).
Nowhere in scripture do you find Christ or His disciples presenting the gospel to lost sinners as described in option number one. They did, however, teach that these things would come after salvation. Number one is so much easier to do, but it will not produce true converts. This message is very appealing to those who are down on their luck and looking for an easy way out of their problems, but it will do nothing for those who are already happy with their lives.
I may shock you with this statement, but I don’t need God in order to live my life here on earth. Millions of people, with no knowledge of the true and living God, get up every day and go to work, go to school, have families, have hobbies, go on vacations, have a good time, survive tragedies, etc. God gave humans the will to live and thrive and many of them get along better than I do.
Okay, now pick your jaw up off the floor and let me explain in my own words and through my own story what I mean by saying this. I recently shared this with an unsaved person who felt that my need for a god was because I was weak and too helpless to take care of the issues of life on my own, that I had been influenced by my family to become a Christian, that I had been deceived into thinking there was a God, and that I was not really looking for truth. Boy, were they wrong! Here is an excerpt from what I shared:
I am and always have been a very strong-willed person and I don’t like to be fooled. I research EVERYTHING. I always want to know the truth.
In the past I was a tom-boy, took karate and fought in tournaments, was in the Marine Corps for 6 years, etc. I have had some horrible things happen to me, but I am a survivor. At times, I can be a loner. I really don’t need anyone else. I have always picked myself back up and carried on. To get through this life I don’t really need God. Without Him, I would just keep pushing on – like non-believers do every day. BUT, there was always one thing I could not do for myself – I could not make myself righteous enough to go to heaven. By taking a long hard look at God’s Law and His Word, I know that I have lied, stolen, cheated, committed adultery (Jesus says lust is adultery) and fornication, I’ve hated (scripture likens this to murder), been disrespectful to my parents, coveted, manipulated others, shunned authority, been selfish, worshiped “things and people” over God, have gossiped and slandered, etc.…I could go on and on.
When I came to Christ it was NOT because I was weak and needed someone to help me or guide me and it was not to have a better life. I looked into the mirror of God’s Word and saw what a wretched person I had been. I saw a sinner who needed a Savior. I needed Christ to bridge the huge gap that was between me and the Lord (because of my sin) – to help me stand before a holy and righteous God. That was one thing I could NOT do on my own. No matter how much I tried to clean up my life, I knew all the things I had done were still on my account and no matter how much I had tried to bury them that me and God knew they were still there. On top of that, I knew that my sinful nature would still cause me grief. I knew that I could not remain sinless for very long. The nature I had fed all those years would always be with me.
I did not grow up in a Christian home (I grew up around drugs, alcohol, etc.), so belief in God was not something instilled in me or forced on me. But, one day, the Holy Spirit of God pulled on my heart strings – just like He does every person. Instead of ignoring Him or refusing Him, I looked to see what He had to say (remember, I said I wanted to know truth – I would not hide myself from it). I diligently inquired of Him – wanting to know if He and His Word were real. I searched the scripture and I searched for Him to see if He was true. I found that it was He who had first sought me. He knew before He even laid the foundation of the world that I would one day exist. He knew that I would accept Him. He knew exactly the time to come knocking at my heart’s door.
Like I said, I didn’t need Him to help me through this life, but I did need Him to make me righteous. I could never do enough, be enough, or say enough to change the fact that I was a sinner – and sin CANNOT enter into heaven. If it did, it would cease to be heaven because we know that just one little sin (like a lie) can lead to another and another – just like our society keeps getting worse and worse because sin is tolerated a little more each day. Those of us who have lived long enough are witness to the fact that our society’s morals are not what they were 20 years ago, or 30 or 40. They are ever changing and not for the better. More and more is tolerated, but God will not tolerate it in His heaven, and for that I am so thankful. This life has too much pain because of our sin – and pain and sin will never into the gates of God’s great city.
What non-believers don’t understand is that I have, on a personal level, met the Savior. I have walked with Him and talked with Him. I have felt His presence in my darkest hours. He has prompted me to pray and I have seen Him answer miraculously. He has opened my eyes to see many things in a different light and on a different level. Just as I know my daughter, my son, and my husband because they have been a part of my life, I know God the same way. I cannot un-know them and I cannot un-know God. I cannot believe my family does not exist because I have met them and I have been with them…so, in the same sense I could never believe God does not exist. I would have to create an elaborate lie and repeat it to myself every day, but even then would be unable to convince myself.
I believe God and His Word with everything in me. Since I have experienced what I have with Him there is nothing on the face of this earth that can convince me He doesn’t exist and that His Word is not powerful and changes lives. I’ve had too much evidence before me.
I could have existed in this life without God, but I didn’t really live until I met Him.
________________________________________________________
Dear friends, as you can see, I did not come to Christ to enhance my life, I came because I was convinced by the law of God that I was a sinner in need of salvation. The wrath of God abided on me. I threw myself on the mercy of God, placed my faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and then repented (turned from my sin). Coming to Christ to make my life better would have been easy, but it would not have been real. I had to come the hard way, by taking a good long look into the mirror of God’s Word and seeing myself for who I really was: a hell bound sinner – hopeless – lost and undone. But, thank God for His infinite mercy, love, and grace that would save an old sinner like me.
Thank you for hanging in there with me. I hope this has been helpful to you and has given you some new insight to an older and proven method. Tomorrow we will conclude this train of thought: Are we truly saved and how can we know for sure?
Instead of taking extra time to recap, I would suggest that you go back and read DAY 2 (if you have not done so already). We are continuing the line of thought -- Are we truly saved and how can we know for sure? It is essential that we get this nailed down so we can carry on and be effective in building up the kingdom of God and it is essential that we be able to help others know for sure that they are in the faith. So, here we go……
Back in 2006 my ideas and preconceived notions about witnessing were turned upside down forever by two powerful messages:
Hell’s Best Kept Secret
http://www.livingwaters.com/learn/hellsbestkeptsecret.htm (You can listen here or download as an MP3.)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/HellsBestKeptSecret.pdf (or you can read the transcript here)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/study_sheets_HBKS.pdf (study sheet)
True and False Conversion
http://www.livingwaters.com/learn/trueandfalse.htm (You can listen here or download as an MP3.)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/TrueAndFalseConversion.pdf (or you can read the transcript here)
http://assets.livingwaters.com/pdf/study_sheets_TFC.pdf (study sheet)
I HIGHLY recommend that before you precede any further to either listen to or read these two messages. If you do, you will be better prepared for the things we will discuss. If you don’t, then some things I say to you may not make sense. If this gets you behind in reading the daily material, please don’t worry -- I don’t plan on removing anything; it will be here when you need it. I want you to go at your own pace. Quantity is not as important here, quality is. I want you to grasp what you are reading and listening to, so don’t rush and compromise your understanding.
Through the messages Hell’s Best Kept Secret and True and False Conversion I have learned that around the turn of the last century preachers began to change how they presented Christ (and the gospel message) to others. Easy believism (my term for it) was born and society started on its downhill slide. Prior to the 19th century all the great preachers used 10 powerful cannons (The Ten Commandments) to shoot into the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls and great revivals were the results. Churches were packed out, many were converted, and holy living was the standard. Now, I’m not sure who it started with, but we can be assured that the “easy believism” way was the brain-child of satan himself.
Okay, now what do I mean by that term? It is a tragedy of modern evangelism. It was when the law of God and its capacity to convert the soul was forsaken (I am not talking about us still being under the law, but using the law just like Jesus did; to show men their need for a Savior – this will be explained more in the days ahead). After forsaking the law, to drive sinners to Christ, modern evangelism had to find another reason for sinners to respond to the gospel. And the issue that modern evangelism chose to attract sinners was the issue of “life enhancement”. The gospel degenerated into “Come to Jesus Christ. He loves you and will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.” This is an easy way to introduce Christ to others, but it can create false converts because this teaching does not produce fruits of righteousness. It does not produce holy living. It does not get men lost so they can be found. It does not produce repentance. And one big drawback to this message is that it will not fly with someone who already has a great life. Remember, there is pleasure in sin for a season. Those who love their sin and are happy in it will see no need to change. What do you tell them then?
Which message is easier to say to a lost and dying world?
1) Come to Christ and He will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.
OR
2) Believe and repent or you will die in your sins (this is after you have shown them what their sins are through God’s standard – His law).
Nowhere in scripture do you find Christ or His disciples presenting the gospel to lost sinners as described in option number one. They did, however, teach that these things would come after salvation. Number one is so much easier to do, but it will not produce true converts. This message is very appealing to those who are down on their luck and looking for an easy way out of their problems, but it will do nothing for those who are already happy with their lives.
I may shock you with this statement, but I don’t need God in order to live my life here on earth. Millions of people, with no knowledge of the true and living God, get up every day and go to work, go to school, have families, have hobbies, go on vacations, have a good time, survive tragedies, etc. God gave humans the will to live and thrive and many of them get along better than I do.
Okay, now pick your jaw up off the floor and let me explain in my own words and through my own story what I mean by saying this. I recently shared this with an unsaved person who felt that my need for a god was because I was weak and too helpless to take care of the issues of life on my own, that I had been influenced by my family to become a Christian, that I had been deceived into thinking there was a God, and that I was not really looking for truth. Boy, were they wrong! Here is an excerpt from what I shared:
I am and always have been a very strong-willed person and I don’t like to be fooled. I research EVERYTHING. I always want to know the truth.
In the past I was a tom-boy, took karate and fought in tournaments, was in the Marine Corps for 6 years, etc. I have had some horrible things happen to me, but I am a survivor. At times, I can be a loner. I really don’t need anyone else. I have always picked myself back up and carried on. To get through this life I don’t really need God. Without Him, I would just keep pushing on – like non-believers do every day. BUT, there was always one thing I could not do for myself – I could not make myself righteous enough to go to heaven. By taking a long hard look at God’s Law and His Word, I know that I have lied, stolen, cheated, committed adultery (Jesus says lust is adultery) and fornication, I’ve hated (scripture likens this to murder), been disrespectful to my parents, coveted, manipulated others, shunned authority, been selfish, worshiped “things and people” over God, have gossiped and slandered, etc.…I could go on and on.
When I came to Christ it was NOT because I was weak and needed someone to help me or guide me and it was not to have a better life. I looked into the mirror of God’s Word and saw what a wretched person I had been. I saw a sinner who needed a Savior. I needed Christ to bridge the huge gap that was between me and the Lord (because of my sin) – to help me stand before a holy and righteous God. That was one thing I could NOT do on my own. No matter how much I tried to clean up my life, I knew all the things I had done were still on my account and no matter how much I had tried to bury them that me and God knew they were still there. On top of that, I knew that my sinful nature would still cause me grief. I knew that I could not remain sinless for very long. The nature I had fed all those years would always be with me.
I did not grow up in a Christian home (I grew up around drugs, alcohol, etc.), so belief in God was not something instilled in me or forced on me. But, one day, the Holy Spirit of God pulled on my heart strings – just like He does every person. Instead of ignoring Him or refusing Him, I looked to see what He had to say (remember, I said I wanted to know truth – I would not hide myself from it). I diligently inquired of Him – wanting to know if He and His Word were real. I searched the scripture and I searched for Him to see if He was true. I found that it was He who had first sought me. He knew before He even laid the foundation of the world that I would one day exist. He knew that I would accept Him. He knew exactly the time to come knocking at my heart’s door.
Like I said, I didn’t need Him to help me through this life, but I did need Him to make me righteous. I could never do enough, be enough, or say enough to change the fact that I was a sinner – and sin CANNOT enter into heaven. If it did, it would cease to be heaven because we know that just one little sin (like a lie) can lead to another and another – just like our society keeps getting worse and worse because sin is tolerated a little more each day. Those of us who have lived long enough are witness to the fact that our society’s morals are not what they were 20 years ago, or 30 or 40. They are ever changing and not for the better. More and more is tolerated, but God will not tolerate it in His heaven, and for that I am so thankful. This life has too much pain because of our sin – and pain and sin will never into the gates of God’s great city.
What non-believers don’t understand is that I have, on a personal level, met the Savior. I have walked with Him and talked with Him. I have felt His presence in my darkest hours. He has prompted me to pray and I have seen Him answer miraculously. He has opened my eyes to see many things in a different light and on a different level. Just as I know my daughter, my son, and my husband because they have been a part of my life, I know God the same way. I cannot un-know them and I cannot un-know God. I cannot believe my family does not exist because I have met them and I have been with them…so, in the same sense I could never believe God does not exist. I would have to create an elaborate lie and repeat it to myself every day, but even then would be unable to convince myself.
I believe God and His Word with everything in me. Since I have experienced what I have with Him there is nothing on the face of this earth that can convince me He doesn’t exist and that His Word is not powerful and changes lives. I’ve had too much evidence before me.
I could have existed in this life without God, but I didn’t really live until I met Him.
________________________________________________________
Dear friends, as you can see, I did not come to Christ to enhance my life, I came because I was convinced by the law of God that I was a sinner in need of salvation. The wrath of God abided on me. I threw myself on the mercy of God, placed my faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and then repented (turned from my sin). Coming to Christ to make my life better would have been easy, but it would not have been real. I had to come the hard way, by taking a good long look into the mirror of God’s Word and seeing myself for who I really was: a hell bound sinner – hopeless – lost and undone. But, thank God for His infinite mercy, love, and grace that would save an old sinner like me.
Thank you for hanging in there with me. I hope this has been helpful to you and has given you some new insight to an older and proven method. Tomorrow we will conclude this train of thought: Are we truly saved and how can we know for sure?
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reserved.
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copyright and web address. Other uses require written permission.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from the
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