We Made It!
By Carlos Aguilar

Last week completed the last bulletin for the year 2000. We are beginning another year of weekly publications to help edify, and evangelize. Edify, because we have looked at a variety of subjects from the vantage point of the Bible so that it might build us up. Evangelize, because many members have been passing out these weekly bulletins to friends, neighbors, and co-workers as a means of introducing them to the gospel. It has been exciting to be a part of this endeavor and I look forward to this year. On behalf of Russ and myself we extend our gratitude for your enthusiastic support and your constructive criticism. We have tried to put together a publication, which provides the essential spiritual food required by babes in Christ, and mature Christians. Thank you again, and please continue the enthusiastic support into 2001.

As I reflect over the last 12 months I am impressed by one of the greatest yet simplest lessons learned. I believe it was Floyd Thompson who said, "The good you and I will get from the lessons we study will depend not just on remembering what is said, not on just being impressed at the time, but by making application of them in our lives.” Simply put it means living like the Lord has taught. If our lives have not been corrected by, effected by, the teachings, than we are not making the applications. So many lessons are revealed to us by Scripture that no one can use the excuse, “I didn’t know.” The excuse in reality is this; “I didn’t care enough to apply it to my life.” James writes in chapter 1:21-25, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James nails it. Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness! In other words, put away the old man, put away your old ways, put away the former life you had and put on Christ, Gal 3:27. Humble yourselves to the point you can receive the implanted word, which will save your soul. Don’t be so arrogant to think you can do it on your own, that you can continue to live your life as you please and still claim to be a child or follower of Christ. You only deceive yourself by thinking you are in a right relationship with God and yet do not do His will. James admonishes us to be doer of the word not merely hearers. Those who choose to continue or remain permanently in the perfect law of liberty, who continue to be doers of the work, are blessed. What more could you ask for?

I suppose if God would open the ground and swallow up anybody that rebelled, Num 16:31ff, it might motivate people to serve Him. I suppose if he would send a plague of fiery serpents, Num 21:6, to consume those who complain and murmur against Him it would motivate people to serve him. Most people ought to be thankful that God does not behave in this fashion today. The Bible tells us that God, “…is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” 2 Pet 3:9. God wants us all to go to heaven He therefore is longsuffering. The problem we encounter is not knowing what “time clock” God is working from. Too many people are like those mentioned in 1Thes 5:3 where it says they say, "Peace and safety!” But as the verse continues the reality of the situation is brought to light. Verse 3 continues by saying, “then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” Since we are not children of darkness let us not be caught off guard and overtaken by thief. As children of light we are to be watchful and sober “putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” 1Thes 5:4-9. We are precious in God’s sight and he did not create us so He might execute His wrath upon us but instead He wants to save us so that we might life together with Him 1Thes 5:9-10. Oh, what a glorious thought to know our God wants us to be with Him in eternity! Someone said to me after Sunday morning’s lesson, “Someone save me from my own free will.” I was impressed by the thought. He captured a whole sermon in one sentence. And on top of that he did so with humor. Humor sometimes brings the point home more poignantly than other methods. The only thing we have to fear is our own free will. We can’t ask God to a remove it from us because he won’t. He wants people who will serve Him because He is God the Creator and Sustainer of this universe. Will you do that for Him? Will you turn over your will to His and serve Him with all of your heart? God needs men and women who want to serve Him and other Christians need each other. Will you join the Lord’s army and be a faithful soldier to the end? I hope so! #

Popping the Question 2
Ninth in a series on personal evangelism

At times we actually run from subjects and statements that provide some of our best opportunities. For example, we tend to "duck" or change the subject when stereotypes, misconceptions, and prejudices about us come up. Some of these are:

I know someone who is a member of the Church of Christ, and he is a real hypocrite.

You are fundamentalists, members of the radical religious fringe.

You are a cult.

You people think you are the only ones going to heaven.

You are the ones who don't have "music" in your church.

You believe in water salvation.

Sometimes, we go ahead and discuss the subject then and there -- perhaps exhausting it -- and fail to take the opportunity to ask for an actual sit-down study of the Bible. At other times, we merely invite the person to visit the services of the church, rather than ask for a home study. The services of the church are primarily for the edification of those who are already Christians, and only secondarily or incidentally for the evangelization of those who are not. Consider 1 Cor 14:1-40; Heb 10:24,25; etc.

But general religious discussions, inviting people to services, etc. will not by themselves get the job done. Joshua and the children of Israel did "march around" Jericho for a few days -- but not indefinitely! Sometimes even in our congregational efforts we fail to get to the heart of the matter quickly enough. For example, several congregations using computers have found they get equally good results if they just go ahead and ask people if they would be interested in a home study, rather than a correspondence course or some other intermediate step.

Ways to ask for a Bible study are plentiful. What is it about asking people to study the Bible that fills us with such fear and trembling? We may claim to be too bashful and shy to do it. Yet we demonstrate when we talk enthusiastically about other things that this is nothing more than an excuse when the subject happens to be religion. In any case, there is no need for us to be bashful about the gospel.

"Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” Acts 28:30,31. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” Rom 1:16. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” 2 Tim 1:7.

Depending on the opportunity, there are various ways we can ask people to study. We might ask the person what they think a Christian is, and then zero in on the fact that there happen to be many different ideas about that in the religious world, that the question can only be settled by an appeal to scriptural authority, etc.

We might ask the person if they have ever wondered how the present divided state of "Christendom" got to be the way it is, what can be done about it, etc.

We might ask them what they have heard about the "church of Christ," whether they know anything about us, etc., and then ask whether they would give us a chance to show how some of the commonly held ideas about us are not accurate.

Perhaps best of all, we might inquire into a person's own religious background and say something like this: "If I could show you from the New Testament how you could be closer to genuine Christianity than you are, would you be interested?"

The main thing is to place the challenge on ourselves. We must accept the burden of proof, the responsibility to show people from the Scriptures that we have some things worth thinking about. If we cannot persuade people from the Scriptures to obey the gospel -- if our case is not strong enough to stand on its own -- then they should not, in fact, be interested in what we have to say.

When all is said and done, asking people to study the Bible is like many other skills in that there are tips that can help us, but basically we learn how to do it by doing it. If we keep at it long enough, we will gradually develop an effective way that is right for us. In the process of finding out what works for us, we can be encouraged by knowing that most people will make allowances for our mistakes of method as long as they know we are acting with love and integrity. Honest sincerity on our part will compensate for many blunders in the communication process.

We need not be afraid of the word no or be discouraged by it. It takes hearing a certain number of no's to get to a yes. We need to respect other people's answer -- even when it is no -- just as we want them to respect our question. There is no need for fear or discourtesy on either side. Most folks appreciate plain talk. We can be straightforward and candid without being discourteous. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” Eph 4:29.

Love will find a way! We need to develop the habit of speaking early and honestly with people about spiritual matters. "Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” Col 4:5,6. We need to have more courage to ask people if we can study the Bible with them. However long it takes us to build up to it, we must eventually pop the question. As to the specifics, there are things we can learn from the experience of others. But in the end, love will find a way.

Paul said that he had not withheld the gospel from the Ephesians: "[You know]...how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house" Acts 20:20. "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" Acts 20:26,27.

It is in actions, such as sharing the gospel, that we demonstrate whether we truly do love our fellow man. "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" 1 Jn 3:18.

Conclusion

If we imagine we can thrive spiritually without sharing the gospel with those around us, we are fooling no one but ourselves. Evangelism is as necessary to our own survival as it is to the salvation of others' souls. When we sit down and become lethargic in the matter of evangelism, the devil is able to insinuate all kinds of evil things into our midst. If he can keep us inactive in this area, he will have robbed us of many of the blessings of our faith and kept us from being effective in many of the other things the Lord wants us to do. Too many of us are failing to be personal evangelists, and that failure is costing us dearly. Our shortage of personal evangelism is one of our worst problems. We will either correct it, or we will be destroyed by it!

There is no safe middle ground. Satan would like nothing better than for us to be distracted and discouraged in regard to God's work of rescuing the lost. If he can keep us from that work the devil need do nothing else to hinder us spiritually. We simply cannot allow the devil to have his way. We must forge ahead knowing that "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” 2 Cor 9:8. Through our great God, we must abound in the work of communicating the gospel to mankind.

This article is the last in this series on personal evangelism. We hope it has provided you with some ideas on how to better do the work God has given us all to do. 
“Let us not be forgetful hearers but doers of the work.” 
RDT,sr