Go into All the World

Recently,* I was talking with a 20-year-old Christian college student. In the conversation, I asked him if he talked to unbelievers about the gospel. He replied that he did not know any unbelievers.

I live in the Northwest, which is probably the least churched part of the country. But there are a lot of Christians here. I have asked this question to many of them, and they come up with similar answers. Generally, they do know some unbelievers, but they do not talk to them about the gospel.

One of the reasons they give is that they don’t have the gift of evangelism. Evangelism is not restricted to those who have a gift. It is a command to believers—go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. This has nothing to do with gifts. It has to do with knowing the Father through the Son. It has to do with believing that the gospel is true and that unbelievers are lost.

I ask these Christians if it is true that unbelievers are lost. They say yes. The next question is, “Do you care?” Apparently, not enough.

Do you find that hard? The truth is that Christians do not love unbelievers enough to talk to them about the gospel.

It’s not that difficult to do. Just read the book of Acts to them. Acts 9, 22, and 26 are three accounts of Paul’s conversion. Two of them are his testimony.

Paul didn’t hesitate to tell the gospel. It didn’t make any difference to him whether anyone wanted to know. In fact, the Jews sent people from town to town to keep him from talking about the Lord Jesus. Paul did not preach the gospel just because he had an open door. In fact, in Troas, he had an open door, but he didn’t preach there because he wanted Titus to be with him. That is understandable. Jesus sent His disciples out two by two. Paul and Barnabas went together. Barnabas and Mark went together. You don’t have to do it alone. You can get a companion to go with you.

Please go through the book of Acts. See what is happening there with the Christians and imitate them.

*Written April 2019.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Same Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

Comments

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have

Lifted Up

In the first thirteen verses of John 3, Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about. It was nonsense to him. When Jesus said verse fourteen to him, Nicodemus finally understood Jesus. Here it is: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…” (John 3:14). The reason it made sense to Nicodemus was because he knew of the event that Jesus spoke of. People who had been bitten by a serpent could look at the bronze snake and did not die. Nicodemus knew the Bible story. Here it is: “Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyo

Roots by the River

Search This Blog