A Quick Evangelism Report

Since the Lord has continued to provide good weather during this winter, my brother in Christ and I have continued to hit the streets.  If the hotdog venders can stand a little cold, we will certainly do it to share God's law and gospel!

New Year's Eve was a highlight.  We waited until about 10:30pm to hit the streets because that's what everyone does that night.  It's all about midnight, right?  We found a line of maybe 50 people waiting to enter a club and went down the line handing them Ten Commandment coins with the gospel on the back.  Then we took the opportunity to open air preach to the crowd.  The Lord let us do this twice as the line very slowly entered the club and new partiers took their places in line.

One guy kept shouting "Jesus was a Jew", but everyone else politely listened as we walked them through a few of the Ten Commandments and shared that, if they have broken even one of the Commandments, God will find them guilty and the punishment will be eternity in hell.  After the bad news, of course we shared the Good News of how we can be forgiven if we repent from sin and trust that Jesus Christ took our punishment to save us from God's wrath.  What was the response?  Did they curse at us and throw stuff?  Nope.  Several people in the line genuinely thanked us and wished us a Happy New Year.

It was the perfect way to end 2011 and begin 2012!

Myths & Misleading Phrases of Modern Christianity #2 – “A Church Is a Hospital for Hurting People”

Like most misleading statements, there is some truth to this one.  Yes, a fellowship of born-again, Jesus-following Christians is a “hospital” of sorts.  It’s a good place to go for a person who is hurting spiritually, emotionally, physically or even financially.  A fellowship of Christians is a wonderful place to go for comfort in troubled times!  It is where one can benefit from fervent prayer and wise counsel.  As Christians, we are commanded to bear one another’s burdens because, as we do so, we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

The problem with calling a church a “hospital for hurting people” is that it tends to major on a minor, or at least secondary, point.  Whenever I have heard a church referred to as a “hospital”, it has been misleadingly stated as though the primary duty of a fellowship of Christians is to be a place for hurting people to receive comfort; to have their “felt needs” met.  This is a man-centered definition of what a church is and Scripture disagrees.

The Church, as defined by Scripture, is made up of all those who repent from sin and trust Jesus Christ for the salvation that He purchased with His own blood (1 Peter 1: 17-19).  Its primary reason for existing is to glorify God by obeying the commands of Jesus Christ and by being led by the Holy Spirit (Luke 6:46, Romans 8:14).  A local congregation of born-again, Jesus-following believers, as part of the universal Church, has the same reason for its existence.  The Bible’s definition of the Church is clearly God-centered.  It’s all about Him.

Jesus gave us the truth about our comfort in this world in a very direct manner.  He said, “In this world you will have trouble…” (John 16:33).  Jesus promises us trouble!  Not trouble from Him, but if we are His adopted children and if we are obeying Him, we should expect problems because we will be living contrary to this fallen world.  Jesus also demonstrated what it is to lead a troubled life by having a manger as His first crib (Luke 2:12), having no place to rest His head (Matthew 8:20), through conflicts with the scribes and Pharisees (Mark 3:6) and by being marred more than any man (Isaiah 52:14) before being crucified to pay for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4-5).  That’s a lot of trouble for one person!  Should we expect to lead a comfortable life if the Lord Himself had so much difficulty in His earthly life?

The Apostle Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that, “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12).  If we truly members of the Church, if our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 21:10-27), we should expect troubles and persecution.  We can also expect the Lord’s help in the midst.  Ask Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego about that! (Daniel 3:13-27).

One might wonder, if we do not experience trouble and persecution, maybe we aren’t living boldly enough as witnesses for Jesus Christ.  It’s even possible that, if we are leading smooth and comfortable lives, we have somehow been deceived into thinking we are Christians when we are not.  We are warned to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Folks who attend a church and expect primarily to find a “hospital” where hurting people are being comforted should be encouraged to take a look at their priorities.  Who is first on their list?  Themselves or God?  Do they prefer their own comfort or do they prefer to obey and glorify the Lord?  Comfort is nice and I’ll take it when it’s available, but not at the expense of serving Jesus.  Lord, please show me the next step in obeying and glorifying You regardless of the discomfort or problems that may come.

May the Prince of Peace give you His peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) even through the discomforts, problems and persecution He may allow into your life.  God bless you!