Justification?

I take serious offense to any attempt at justifying the idea of a Christian not witnessing.  Whether it’s “I don’t have that gift” or waiting around for "friendship evangelism” or thinking that “people are going to notice me as different from everyone else in the world.”  

The reason is because it’s already hard enough for people to overcome their fears to speak out as commanded by the Lord.  I’ve been doing it on a regular basis for over 3 years, and still have to overcome fear sometimes.  It’s a constant battle, and to give excuses or justification for not doing it just makes it that much worse.  

You SHOULD be convicted to witness.  You SHOULD feel bad when you miss an opportunity, and you SHOULD take corrective action to keep from letting it happen again, not justifying yourself.  
We tend to justify ourselves while condemning others.  Being a hypocrite is not a Christian thing, it's a human thing.  People just tend to do this and it's due to our sinful nature.  But this is something to overcome, not something to embrace and hide behind. 

Don't try to justify your disobedience to the command of our Lord and Savior in the Great Commission, get yourself equipped, get out there and share the Gospel of eternal life. 
Check out resources and training materials at LivingWaters.com and then go.  
Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26, Romans 1:16

Saturday 06-19-10

Tom and I met Marcus out on Mill. We prayed and gave out a few tracts, playing some music through the PA system.

It wasn't real busy, but people were very receptive to taking tracts. Then we played with the light illusion for a while, throwing them back and forth. People will often stop to see what we are doing, and we'll show them how it's done and explain that it's just an illusion and that your eyes can fool you. Next we ask if they would sell an eye for $100,000. Or both for $1,000,000. Most wouldn't, because their eyes are precious to them. We explain that the eyes are just the windows of the soul, and how much more valuable the soul is. Jesus said that it would be better to pluck out an eye, if it causes us to sin, for it is better to enter into heaven with one eye than to be cast into hell with both eyes (Mark 9:47 ).

A large group of young women stopped as we were doing this, and they said they were all Christians. You can never be sure when someone claims this, so you must press a little to see if it's really true or not. I gave them each a "Are You Good Enough to get into Heaven?" tract and the first one answered, "I know I'm not good enough." This is a good sign, because if anyone is good enough to earn their way into heaven, then Christ died in vain. So, I explained that this will help them to be able to share their faith with others, going through the law first and then the grace of God in providing the salvation that we could never earn. They thanked us and continued on their way because the traffic light changed.

A woman named Nicole stopped while Tom was doing Open Air Trivia, but left before the end. Sometimes the conviction is too much and they're unwilling to listen as their conscience condemns them. Maybe she'll reflect on what she's heard later. God's Word does not return void, we are called to be obedient in sharing the Gospel, and God will work in her heart.

We talked to her drunk friends who didn’t think we should be using money to gather a crowd. Yet, Luke 16:9 says to use money, and Paul said that he would be all things to all people that he might save some. If we give away our own money (rather than asking for it like a televangelist), I wouldn't think people would have a problem with that. Well, the problem really isn't about money, but about the Gospel.

A Spanish speaking family stopped, attracted by our light illusion. I started talking to them a bit and then asked Marcus or Tom if they had any Spanish tracts. Neither of them had any with them this night, but Tom talked to them for a while. It turned out that their 13 year old daughter spoke English and the father also knew some. Tom gave them a complete Gospel message and we left them with some tracts for the girl to read and interpret for the rest of her family later.

I did some Open Air Trivia and a man named Al (cool name, huh?) took the Good Person Test. He had recently been released from prison and was a few bucks short for a place to stay for the night. We helped him out with that and he heard the Gospel as well. He thanked us and went on his way.

There was a guy who had been standing nearby for a while and he came over to talk to Tom for a bit. His name was Andre and he didn't agree with what we were preaching. He had some strange beliefs and didn't believe that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. No amount of Scripture could convince him. He'd just jump to another subject when we provided answers. He was very evasive about what he actually believed, but later let it slip that he believed that Jesus was a black man killed by being hung from a stake. Not really sure where he gets that, but it's not Biblical.

Later, another man who came up smelling of alcohol, said that we shouldn't argue with people. He seemed to want to argue about this so Marcus and I talked to him for a little while. He had heard some street preachers earlier in the week and didn't like their message and decided he'd bring it up to us. He knew some Scripture, but really had a faulty understanding of it. He proudly claimed that he was a whore and had as many women as he could, yet he was still going to heaven because Solomon had 1,000 wives and built the temple to God. We both told him that he needed to repent rather than glory in his sins.

He later admitted that he'd be going to hell, but still just wanted to argue and try to justify himself. After Tom took out his video camera, the man tried to knock it out of his hand and left shortly afterward. It seems that he had just come to waste our time and keep us from talking to others who were more open to discuss the things of God.

We need to watch for this more carefully and not be distracted from the harvest work, as this happened a couple of times this night. Please keep the lost in prayer, and reach out and pull them from the flames.

Soli Deo Gloria

Should All Christians Evangelize?

Ok, here it is very simply, straight out of Scripture.

According to the Bible we will all spend eternity in one of two places (Matt 25:46 ). God doesn't take pleasure in the death of anyone (Eze 18:32 ). Without repentence, people perish (Luke 13:3, 5 ). God doesn't want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9 ).

God chooses to use preaching the Gospel as the means for people to come to repentence and faith to be saved (Rom 10:13-15 ). He chooses to use us and we are commanded by the Great Commission to go out and tell other people (Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 10:42 ).

We will be held accountable for our disobedience (Eze 33:8-9, Acts 20:26-27 ).

He has empowered us by His Spirit to go forth, proclaiming the Gospel (Acts 1:8 ). And He has given us instructions (2 Tim 4:5, 1 Cor 9:22, Acts 20:21 ).

Be ready for that day, when each of us will give an account to God (Rom 14:12 ).

What are you waiting for?

Saturday 06-12-10

Alan, Tom & Catherine, Dan, Marcus and I met out on Mill Ave to share the Gospel.  We were using our light throwing illusion and caught some people’s attention. Tom talked to them for while, one of them stated he was a Jehovah's Witness and I don't know what the others believed. Tom didn't get into any of that theology, though, just spoke to them about God's Law, His righteousness and justice.
I listened for a while, then moved away to pass out more tracts.

The Bible is very clear that there we will spend eternity in one of two places. (Rev 21:8, 1 Cor 6:9-10, 1 John 5:13, Matt 7:21-23 )

Each and every one of us will glorify God in one way or another. We will either glorify Him as a demonstration of His grace and mercy in heaven through repentance and trust in Jesus Christ alone, or we will glorify Him as a demonstration of His divine justice as we suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

All of us deserve that punishment, and justice is satisfied by sending us there. We cannot pay for our own sins, because it is our sins that condemn us to death. No one else can pay our fine for us, because they have their own sins to deal with. Only God Himself could come down in human flesh, live a perfect, sinless life and then take on the punishment that you and I deserve.

If Jesus Christ is not God, then we are still under God's wrath and condemned in our sins, for salvation comes from the Lord and He will not share His glory with another (Jonah 2:9, Isaiah 42:8 ).

A couple of girls named Kaylee and Amanda stopped by to ask us about the tracts we were handing out. I was able to take them through the Good Person Test, even though they stated that they didn't believe in the Bible. I explained that God's law is written on our hearts and that they knew that it was wrong to lie and steal when they did it. I also explained that our belief, or lack of it, doesn't have any effect on reality and what's true or what is not.

They were still skeptical, but stated that these were better answers than they usually get when talking to people about Christianity. Marcus offered them each a Bible and another book, which they accepted. I encouraged them to look into it, to study and see what is true and they said they would.  Please keep them in prayer, that God would open their eyes to the truth.

A man named Christopher stopped to look at a Smart Card tract and I was able to bring him through the Law, but he wasn't interested in a conversation on spiritual things and made a quick exit before I could explain the Gospel to him.

I did some Open Air Trivia to gather a crowd and a woman named Lisa stepped up to take the Good Person Test. As we went through the test, she said she had never stolen anything. I told her that I wasn't sure I could believe her since she had already admitted to being a liar. She said that was true, but held to never having stolen anything. I told her that was commendable, but that she was still guilty of breaking God's Law, as she was found to be a lying, blaspheming adulterer-at-heart.

She had a basic understanding of Christianity, but I'm not sure she really understood the concept of repenting and trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. I explained this and quoted Hebrews 10:26-27 to her and we left her with a few tracts to look through later. She thanked us and went on her way.

There were a couple of girls giving away some new energy drinks and we were able to give them million dollar bills on their way by.
The energy drinks (at left) were a carbonated citrus flavor.  It was definately different and we found the best word to describe it was "interesting."

Most of our team headed out shortly after that, but Marcus and I stayed for a while longer.

I did another Open Air Trivia and a man named Jervante stopped to take the Good Person Test. He failed the test, and was found to be a self admitted lying, thieving, blaspheming adulterer-at-heart.

People often seem surprised at how bad it sounds when you put it all together like that, but that is exactly how God sees us. I took him through the Gospel and explained the need to repent and trust in Christ alone, and he went on his way. He seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere else. Conviction by our conscience often does that.

I offered a woman a tract, but she claimed to be a Christian who didn’t need a tract because she "goes to church and knows all that “sh#@!" Well, hmm, little problem with the language there. I wonder if that's how she refers to it in church as well. She didn't want to hang around to discuss it.

Two guys came to listen to Marcus, who was Open Air preaching. They were drunk and mocking as they sat down in front of the speaker, but heard the Gospel, as did a girl who was with them who waited on some mailboxes nearby (on the far left in the pic). 
A third man sat down with them, and he ended up staying there for quite a while after the others had left.  He was drunk but quiet.


Later, I did another Open Air and got a bunch of drunks heckling and asking questions, tearing up tracts and throwing them around. I gave one of them an untearable tract and told him that he couldn't tear that one. He tried and couldn't do it, so he quickly crumpled it up and threw it into the street. They were obnoxious but harmless.

Then a couple of guys showed up, saying they were Christians. They meant well, but were ready to "beat these guys up for Jesus" if they didn't leave us alone. There's so much wrong with that statement.

I ended up stepping down from the soapbox and wasn't able to speak with either group before they all dispersed after arguing for a while.

It gets a little wild as it gets later out there, so I figured it was about time to head out anyway. Marcus stayed as he normally continues preaching to the lost much later into the night. 

May the Lord work in all who heard the Gospel proclaimed or took a tract to read later.  It was a good night of witnessing.

Soli Deo Gloria

Tracts

Tracts are a wonderful resource for sharing the Gospel. I know, I know, what comes to mind is something like those old Chick tracts - little comic booklets with a dramatic message - I never liked those myself. Or those other ones that say "Jesus loves you and He's just waiting for you to open the door" or "you have a God-shaped hole in your heart."

Not that some of these haven't worked to bring someone to a knowledge of the Savior - God can use anything for His good.

But I never liked them. I didn't feel that it was a defendable message, if anyone were to question something in it, I wouldn't be able to answer. I never used to share my faith, because I felt this way. I just didn't know how to defend my belief if someone questioned me on it.

But that all changed back in October of 2006 when I went to a one day Evangelism Crash Course. I learned how to share my faith Biblically, how to answer objections and not fear those questions that I couldn't answer. What's wrong with simply saying, "That's a good question. I don't know the answer, but I'll look into it and get back to you." You can find an answer to just about every objection anyone's ever made with a quick internet search these days.

Anyway, I realized that I needed to be out sharing my faith on a regular basis, and started going with a group on Saturday nights. We generally follow a three pronged approach: Open air preaching, speaking to people one 2 one, and handing out tracts.

I want to concentrate on tracts in this post, as it's a good starting point. These are different from the tracts I was used to seeing in the past.
There's the trillion dollar bill, with a complete Gospel message on the back that makes sense and takes you through a few of the Ten Commandments in order to answer the question of how God sees your sins.

These are probably the easiest to give out. You can give it to someone in order to open a conversation, or just leave it with them to read later if you are not comfortable speaking to people yet. People love them and they're rarely rejected. There are also million dollar bills and celebrity ones with caricatures of different celebrities on them.

There are IQ Tests, which are business card sized and easy to carry.

These have simple riddle type questions or illusions on them with the Gospel on the back. The answer to the question on the front is buried in the text on the back, so people will read through the whole thing.

A Gift For You
 These can be used for giving cash to people, whether it is homeless people, a high school or college graduate or someone else. It has a Gospel message on the card and little tabs to hold a dollar bill, or a five or ten or whatever you can afford to put in it.

Are You Good Enough To Get Into Heaven?

This one gets directly to the point. It is a complete booklet that takes you through the entire Ten Commandments and gives the Gospel message after you realize your need for a Savior.



If you prefer the old comic type that I'm not really fond of, well, they have those, too!  This one will take you through a test to see if you really are a "good person" by God's standard or not. 




 

 If you really don't feel ready to even hand out a million dollar bill - fear has a hold on you but you know you've got to start somewhere, the wallet tracts are great.

They're designed to look like a wallet with money sticking out of it. Just leave them laying around anywhere, there's a great Gospel message inside.

There are many more interesting tracts available at LivingWaters.com

Check it out and get yourself equipped, for it is commanded that every believer share their faith, and you want to be sure that you're doing it Biblically.

Saturday 06-05-10

Tom had a WOTM crash course and I helped out with that. We had a lot of people this time, but none of them came out to Mill afterwards. They were very enthusiastic about the class and agreed with the teaching. They asked questions, made comments and said that they will keep in touch and come back to another class. Maybe they’ll bring even more people with them.
Even though none of them came out with us, they said they were already sharing their faith and witnessing at other locations, so I'm sure they'll use this Biblical principles as well.

We hit the streets with Marcus, Jennifer, Alan, Doug, Tom and Catherine, and met Dan, Richard and Walt out there.
It’s getting hot out here, but still the lost are wandering the streets. We gave out a few tracts while Marcus did some open air preaching, and then Tom did some trivia for cash to gather a crowd.

Tom got a young guy and two girls to stop and go through the Good Person Test. They were very hardened toward the Gospel, but the lure of money kept them there. The guy said that he didn't believe that lying or stealing were wrong, but obviously he was just trying to be disagreeable. He didn't believe the Bible either, but Tom said, "Forget about the Bible, what does your conscience tell you?"

They attempted to disagree, but were shown that they were not good when held to God's standard. As a demonstration of God's grace in giving us eternal life that we don't deserve and cannot earn, Tom gave them the money, anyway. The Gospel was proclaimed and who knows how God may work on these young people in the future? We do know that God's Word will not return void, accomplishing all that He has purposed.

After a while, I did some open air trivia and a couple of guys stepped up for the Good Person Test. Mike went through the test and his friend Dominick listened as well.

We found him to be a self-admitted lying, thieving, blaspheming adulterer at heart, but he still thought he would go to heaven, "because of Jesus" he said.

So many think that they've "asked Jesus into their heart" and are now free to do whatever they want to, with no change in lifestyle and no remorse for sin.
But Jesus didn't die crucified on a cross so that we could continue in our sins. This is where we end up with "carnal Christians" and other false converts in the Church. But Hebrews 10:26-29 makes it clear, if we deliberately continue in our sins, we are trampling the Son of God underfoot and should expect nothing less than the judgment that we deserve.

Since Mike knew about Jesus and the sacrifice made for us, I asked him if he knew what he had to do in order to make that sacrifice pertain to him. There are two things: Repent, turn away from your sins, forsake them and stop committing them. We should hate those sins that we once found pleasure in as much as God hates them. And then we must trust in Jesus Christ alone, for only He can pay the fine.

We cannot pay our fine because it is our own sins that condemn us to death. No one else can do it because they all have their own sins to deal with. Only Jesus Christ - God in the flesh - could live a perfect life, never sinning, and then take on the punishment that you and I deserve. So, if Jesus Christ is not God, we are still condemned in our sins, for only God could make that payment for us.

This all seemed to make sense to them, Mike gave me a hug and I shook Dominick's hand and they went on their way with some eternal things to consider.

Soli Deo Gloria