I was thinking the other day about the common thinking among evangelical Christians that when we talk to unsaved people about the Lord, we need to push for a decision or provide them with an opportunity to respond to the gospel. Actually, I think that’s true, but in a different way than most people think.
The other day I met a man named David who was standing outside the grocery store asking for money or food. After I helped him with a little food (whether that’s a good or bad thing, I’ll let you judge), I started talking with him about his situation and about the Lord. What I found was that, while he agreed that there probably is a God, he didn’t see how he could trust someone he couldn’t see. When I was done talking to him, I did push him a little to make a decision, but it wasn’t to decide to believe in Jesus. Rather I gave him a book of John and a “The Best News You’ll Ever Hear” tract, and asked him to read them with an open mind to see what God has to say about the free gift of eternal life.
Since everyone who has so far read this blog and made comments already shares my same basic beliefs, I realize that I am “preaching to the choir” here, but I thought my conversation with David was a good example of the futility of trying to make someone decide to believe. How can a person who is not sure there is a trustworthy God decide to believe that the Bible is His infallible word and that He truly offers eternal life through faith in His Son? It is through exposure to truth and considering it with an open mind that people find themselves believing something. A person believes in Jesus when he becomes convinced that His offer of eternal life to all who believe is true and reliable.
While a person cannot make himself believe in Jesus or in anything else, God in His word does have strong things to say against those who reject Jesus in spite of the evidence. John 3:36, for example, says that the wrath of God abides on the person who does not believe the Son. “Does not believe” in this verse is one Greek word, apeitheo, and is better translated “disbelieves” or “rejects.” Throughout the book of John and the other gospels, Jesus repeatedly rebukes the Pharisees because of their refusal to believe. So it seems that, while a person cannot choose to believe something they are not convinced of, they can choose not to believe because they refuse to even consider the evidence. On the positive side, they can decide to weigh the evidence with an open mind, and that is the type of decision I believe we should ask people to make. If a person does show interest, but is not yet convinced of the truth of Jesus’ claims, I believe that inviting them to study the word further together is also a good type of decision to push for. If a person does decide to study the issue out and weigh the evidence, then God can use His word in that person’s heart to draw them to faith in Christ.
I would welcome any of your thoughts as well on the types of decisions we should or should not ask unsaved people to make.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT POINT~!!! I agree whole heartily with what you said~!!!
I have come to understand that you can't make a decision to believe something you have doubt about. But you can make a decision to look at the evidence. This is so important to understand when it comes to evangelism. If a person looks at the evidence with an honest and open heart, then I believe that he will find himself believing. Faith happens~!!! Look to Christ and live~!!!
I like your illustrations of *HOW* to push for a decision. My personality makes it hard for me to be bold when it comes to evangelism, but because I want so badly for people to believe in Jesus, I "push" for a decision by giving good books for gifts on special occasions... such as graduation, birthdays, etc. Books such as "Secure and Sure" by Bob Wilkin.
I "push" by giving out candy with tracts on Halloween night.
I "push" by sending out Christmas greetings with the good news of Jesus Christ at Christmas time.
I "push" by sharing your blog and other free grace blogs with friends.
I "push" by sharing Jesus on my own blog.
I try to find ways of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in ways that fit my personality so that I'm not "pushy~!!!"
:-)
Thanks for sharing these great thoughts. I plan on "pushing" your blog AGAIN because it's a wonderful help when sharing Jesus Christ with people for whom He died.
Keep on "pushing" Him.
Your friend because of Jesus,
Diane
:-)
Hi Ken, I agree with what your saying, and I think that is meeting them where they are. And you meeting the man's imitiate needs can open a door for a hearing. I go expecting God to send someone my way because in the past I've just seen God do too many things. From preparing me with a word for them or making it so my planned approach gets turned upside down. I hope I'm ready to meet the Lord in my divine appointments knowing that He may have other plans. Just a couple instances, God was laying on my heart something from the OT, and my mind kept going back to it until the point that I knew God was directing me to those perticular Scriptures. It wasn't until I went to do jail ministry with a Pastor that I found out who the verses were for. We came to the first holding cell, and no one wanted to do a bible study so we went on to the last cell, and I was waiting in the hallway. Only one man came out, and the Pastor started to introduce him to me but before he could the man said 'I know John, he is one of the ones who put me in here.' This man was well over three hundred pounds, and I had been on the jury that found him guilty of selling drugs. Fear came over me because we were about to go into a small cell together. The Pastor did his bible study and then looked at me and asked me if I had something for the man. And of course that was what God had been laying on my heart for a couple weeks and the man knew it was for him because he interacted with questions. Months later the Pastor passed a message from the man to me, he was back in jail for beating his wife up. When they took him to the hospital for some reason he fell face first getting out of the car because he was handcuffed. I went and saw him and told him "you think maybe God want's you to know how your wife feels?" Later on I received a letter from him telling me he believed that God had used me in his life, and he was now trying to live for the Lord.
ReplyDeleteThen there was the time when all my tracts got soaked, so I knew God wanted me to go talk to these people so I sat there praying and asking God what to do. Ha!ha! He wanted me to give my testimony. There was a whole family in a little motel room. Little did I know I had worked with the father years ago, but he was outspoken against eternal security and my testimony was all about eternal security. I knocked on the door and asked if I could give them my testimony. . . .ha!ha! talk about scarry . . . . the room was full, and the one lady was close to giving birth. The only one of the famly that wasn't there was the father or I wouldn't have been given an oppurtunity to speak.
Those two stories happened probably fifteen years ago, but they showed me that God was in control, and my best plans may fall by the wayside. Now I bring my tracts but am hopefully ready for anything . . . .ha!ha!
alvin:)
Another winner in an excellent series of posts!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are coming to GES2011 this year. I would love to meet you.
- Don Reiher
Hi Don,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the comment section. I am planning on coming to the GES conference this year, Lord willing. In fact, I have even been invited to speak, which is a bit scary, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to speak in one main session and one workshop. Hope to see you there.
Ken
Alvin,
ReplyDeleteYou blessed me AGAIN~!!!
:-)
Thanks for this article Ken. You are really helping me to further clarify my thinking on some things. I hope you continue writing because you have much to offer. So glad to hear that you will be a speaker at the 2011 GES Conference! God bless you in your ministry.
ReplyDeleteGary
This statement was once upon a time uttered . . . . heeeeheeee
ReplyDelete1 Cor 1:18ff is what utterly won me...to date, no one has answered (or tried to answer) the unavoidable connection of 'the message of the cross' to saving faith.
The message of the cross is John's eighth sign proving that Jesus is the Christ (John 2:18,19; 20:29,30). Believed in this way one is born of God (1 John 5:1a). But Paul's gospel is about more than the gift of eternal life but is also about the saving of the life (Rom 5:10; Col 1:22,23,27; 2:11-13; 3:9-11). Paul's mystery of the gospel is being saved by Christ life. Not only does the believer at the moment of faith receive the promise of everlasting life but is placed into Christ through faith, they have died with Christ and are buried with Christ and have risen with Christ. The creation of the new man in the believer is Christ being worked out by the believers reckoning himself dead with Christ, buried with Christ and risen in newness of life to live unto God (Rom 6:3-11). As you can see this salvation depends on reckoning which is by faith, and has to do with being saved by Christ life. But, anyone who has believed in Jesus as the Christ in the Apostle John's sense of the term is born of God. That is they have simply believed that Jesus is the Christ the One who has given them everlasting life. Anyone believing this truth will not be condemned (John 3:16-18,36; Mark 16:16).
Jesus did not baptize with the Holy Spirit until after He was glorified (John 1:33; 3:5; 7:37-39. And one could not receive the Holy Spirit unless they were in fellowship with God through the forgiveness of sins (John 20:23; Acts 38). For the Jews at first this meant they needed to complete the requirments of a baptism of repentance before they would be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. But, once after that disconnect everyone who believes is given both the gift of everlasting life and the gift of the Holy Spirit the moment they believe in Jesus for everlasting life. This proves one thing though that the gift of the Holy Spirit which baptizes the believer into Christ for a fuller salvation, the saving of the life at one time had more rquirments than just to believe. But, the gift of everlasting life has always been given freely to the one who simply believes in the Christ. There has never been any other condition as was the case of the Jews in Acts 2.
The gospel as given in 1 Cor 1:18 is a salvation that has to do with justification truth and sanctification truth, that is being saved by Christ life (Mark 16:15,16).
The living water that is offered to the woman at the well has the same content as the living water that can be taken freely in Revelation 22:17, the only two requirments are 1) You must know what the gift of God is (everlasting life), and 2) That Jesus is the Christ. Anyone believing this saving message will not be condemned to eternal condemnation, but to have the salvation Paul preached to believers which was the power of God in ones life it was by way of the cross.
Ken, it's your blog so you are completely free to straighten me out . . . . .if my thinking has gone astray:)
alvin:)
Jesus told Nicodemus he couldn't even SEE the kingdom (John 3:5) unless he was born again~! And, Jesus was telling all the Jews the kingdom was at hand (Matt 10:5-7; 15:24), and the King was standing right in front of him. That is speaking of a physical Kingdom that Jesus came to set up, and before anyone could enter that kingdom they not only needed eternal life which gave them a perfect righteousness, but they needed to be equipped by the baptism of the Spirit which couldn't be given until Jesus was glorified (John 3:5). Once the Jews rejected their King the Kingdom of God was to be in Christ which was a spiritual Kingdom (Luke 17:20,21; Col 1:13). The Jews had lost their chance to be a nation of Priest unto the world (Ex 19:6; Matt 21:43), it would be given to the Church until a generation of Jews would receive their king (Rom 11:25,26). Jesus said they would not see Him again until they said blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (Matt 23:39).
ReplyDeleteKen tell me where I'm going wrong?
Hey Alvin,
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming these comments are related to the things I sent to Diane about the gospel and justification, not about the post about making a decision for Jesus. Maybe I should post that for others to look at, though it is much the same as the discussion we already had about the word "gospel." I think maybe this weekend I'll put it up for whoever else might want to look through it.
I am pretty much seeing things the same way as what you wrote here, though I might say things a little differently here and there. But maybe I'll save any more discussion on that until I put the post up and see if anyone else has any comments.
More soon...
Ken
Sorry Ken, I did kind of just jump into another subject. I saw the statement by Fred Lybrand on Michele’s blog, and have been trying to articulate an answer to the 1 Cor 1:18 gospel, and things came together. You’re the first one who came to my mind to test it on . . .ha!ha!
ReplyDeleteI knew if I was wrong on something you would straighten me outJ
Concerning the Kingdom, I’ve taken in what you have said, and also Zane in his message “Law, and the Kingdom,” anyway I think that was the name. Also what Jody Dillow spoke on at the 2009 GES Conference concerning the entrance spoken of in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 as being an abundant entrance concerning a practical righteousness. All these thoughts and your thoughts were all bouncing around in my head when I realized that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples in Matthew 5 they only had the gift of eternal life but were not yet equipped with the gift of the Spirit. As long as they were in a sinful body they also needed resurrection life to live the Kingdom life which was according to the law. There has only been one Man who can keep the law because the law demands perfection just as the Heavenly Father is perfect so ye be perfect (Matthew 5:48). It’s only the New Man who can walk in the Kingdom, and I don’t believe Jesus would set up His disciples for failure. Then John 3:3,5 came to mind, and it seemed to be saying to me that to enter the Kingdom one needed more than just eternal life but also needed the gift of the Spirit equipping the believer to both enter and to walk there. But we know that even with the Spirit we still fall short in the Christian walk, and it’s only when the flesh is completely done away with could we walk in the Kingdom.
Just some thoughtsJ
You are all making excellent points! Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteI would like to add something in reference to 1 Cor 1:18-23 as completely unraveling Zane's point in messages on leading people to Christ. Apparently, certain parties seem to think that if Zane or any of us GES folks were to travel back to 65 AD and minister alongside Paul, that we would omit the "preaching of the cross" because it is technically not the object of faith, and is like "excess baggage." Perhaps they think that we would omit it so we would not offend the Greeks or be a stumbling block to the Jews. Paul states, that the death of Christ was "foolishness" to the Greeks and a "stumbling block" to the Jews. In other words, in trying to get Greeks and Jews (probably in Ephesus and Corinth) these people to believe in Jesus for their everlasting life, Paul apparently hit a brick wall when he proclaimed to them the death of Christ on the Cross, and the people did not progress to the point where they would believe in Jesus for everlasting life as a result. Does this mean Zane's point about the Cross, that he meant we should not preach the cross lest they not believe in Jesus as the object of faith? I cannot believe anyone would deduce this from Zane's paper or and/or words, and especially in light of his further explanations and his answers in the Q&A times. As I pointed out in my paper several times, Zane stated clear as a bell, that we need to preach Christ crucified as the normal context in which we try to get people to believe the "bare minimum" or "sine-qua-non" of believing in Jesus for everlasting life. For crying out loud, the preaching of the Cross is the only thing that makes the Promise of everlasting life make any sense.
Do you agree?
- Don Reiher
Absolutely~!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe cross proves God's love and sufficeincy for the WHOLE world, so that everyone is invited to take of the water of life freely. That is to Know God, and to know God is to have everlasting life:)
This is a WARNING passage~!
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
(John 3:15-19)
This context has to do with a warning against NOT believing, because the one who does not believe this warning is condemned already (John 3:18). They will perish, being eternaly condemned.
This is a GIFT passage.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
This passage is all about the giving and receiving of a gift. It has no warnings of perishing or eternal condemnation. What is being offered here is to KNOW GOD, and that is ALL. John 17:3 explains to us to know God IS eternal life.
"And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3) To know God IS everlasting life.
To know Jesus is to know the Father.
That is the content of the living water in John 4:10, anyone who KNOWS God has everlasting life. In John 4:25 the woman at the well asked for the liing water (His idenity), and Jesus gave her the living water in verse 26 THEN she knew God because she had drank the living water that sprang up into everlasting life. Jesus Himself had said she would ask and He would give her the living water, the living water is the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. To know Him AS THE CHRIST is to ALREADY have everlasting life.
In Revelation 22:17 It's the Spirit and the Bride who is saying "Come!" And what better way than to tell the world the price has been paid in full so God is just and the justifier of the one who believes in Him for eternal life by simply believing in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ:)
alvin:)