The Gospel in 60 Seconds - Love and the Great Commandments

Mark 12: 28-31 “Which commandment is the most important of all?”  Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Romans 13: 8-10 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5; 22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The love of God is given to all of the World and all mankind in that he so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but inherit eternal life.

In Christ we are justified and our sins are washed clean by His blood. By the Holy Spirit of God we are sanctified and we are cleansed and made holy as the Temple of the Living God. In the Spirit we love the Lord our God (Yahweh), with all of our being and we love our fellow man as we love ourselves. We show forth the fruit of the Spirit including love, joy and peace. We love one another for love is from God.

The Gospel in Sixty Seconds - Gods Love

Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ Jesus took on Himself the sins of mankind that provision could be made for all who will to be saved.

Ephesians 2: 4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” God always had a path to Salvation for you and you and me - all who will believe on Christ Jesus.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Even in the Old Testament God loved His people and sought to draw all to salvation. Seeing people choose to die was never His purpose because He is the mighty one who can save you. You just need to believe.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This verse is the essence of the gospel. God so loved you that He gave His only Son, that when you believe in Him, Jesus Christ, you will not perish but will have eternal life.

The Gospel in Sixty Seconds - Sin

 

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” Sin is unrighteousness; working wickedness; the conscious decision to do something even if when we know it is wrong in our heart.

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Our sins separate us from God and he does not hear us.

Luke 13:3 “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” If we don’t stop sinning we will suffer eternal death.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If we confess our sins to God and seek forgiveness in Christ Jesus name then God is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all sin.

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Thus the gospel is that if we believe that Christ Jesus bore our sins upon the Cross and seek His forgiveness we will not die the second death but rather God will forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

The Cost of Standing for Jesus

In the Western World we Christians have had a fairly easy time of standing for Jesus. Even so there are times when there is a definite cost to standing up for Christ and upholding Christian values. I know of a case where the preacher presented a sermon on birth control and the preservation of the unborn and was censured by the elders within the Church. So even Christians can be divided.

Recently, a Christian teacher refused to use the preferred gender of a person of transgender within their class as their preferred gender label. That teacher has apparently been dismissed and deregistered and, can no longer hold a teaching position within New Zealand. A surprisingly harsh reaction from the powers of government if you ask me. I guess the deregistering of Family First as charity and the house arrest of Destiny Churches’ Brain Tamaki for his actions and the opinions which he expressed against the Covid Vaccine mandates are further evidence of a change at government level regarding state interference in the lives of its citizens in this country.

It seems the Orwellian tendency of government to control what a person can think and say has finally been made manifest, even in Aotearoa. I guess we only have to look at the reaction of the Canadian government to truckers in that country who dared to protest against the policies of that government relating to vaccines mandates and their implementation in the transport industry. Arresting truckers and dismantling blockades while also implementing emergency powers to annex bank accounts and other draconian and heavy handed measures. To know that Big Brother is now watching it’s citizens and is prepared to act against them if they dare to challenge its various agendas by taking verbal or physical actions against the state.

It seems to me that as citizens we have to consider carefully whether we attack the government on the basis of freedom of speech. We need to weigh up whether making a stand is genuinely going to advance the cause of Christianity in our country. We can rail against the secular agenda but is that the most important cause we have. I personally don’t believe that it is even though deriding homosexuality, euthanasia or abortion maybe laudable positions to take. They aren’t as important as simply taking a stand for the gospel and being prepared to lay down our lives for our belief that Christ Jesus is the Lord of All and that He bore our sin on the Cross at Calvary.

Colossians 3: 1-4 says that “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is the key issue for Christians around the world and the one which many of the saints die for in Islamic countries and in communist regimes. You see, if you set your heart to follow Jesus Christ and do so with all of your soul, with all of your mind and all of your strength and seek the things that are above and not on the things of this Earth. Then when Christ appears you will also appear with Him in glory. However, to stand for Yahweh means to oppose the beliefs of an increasingly secular society even in the West. To preach Christ crucified is to defy many of the religions and governments in the nations of this World.

Maybe this is a little confusing. So to clarify what I mean. To personally set your heart on the things of God to me means to walk in the Spirit. To read the bible and pray and seek the will of God. To share your testimony of salvation in Christ Jesus. To witness to the lost and to seek them in Christ that they may become found. This to me is the primary purpose of all Christians.
Whereas, to gallop off after secular issues although they may seem to be important is really just a distraction. Those who follow the world will always defend the principles of the world. The way that Christianity is victorious is when Christianity is the majority. When the masses believe on Christ Jesus the wicked are disenfranchised. What we are facing now is the reverse situation. When the majority turns away the righteous are disenfranchised. This is the situation we as Christians face today.

What we need is another reformation. We need God to raise strong leaders within the Church and we need to pray continuously for revival and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Our focus needs to be on witness to the lost much as that was the focus of the churches in England in the nineteenth century. Christians need to seek to bring salvation to the lost in prayer and also by seeking to perform God’s will with all of our hearts. The Church needs to clarify what is important to God and make it the center of its aspirations. Preach the Gospel of Christ Crucified. Lead the lost to Calvary.

Reference List

https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/06/19/teacher-struck-off-after-refusing-to-use-students-pronouns/

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/459673/brian-tamaki-remanded-in-custody-for-alleged-breach-of-bail-conditions
                           
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_convoy_protest

 

What is the motivation for sharing the gospel?

A concern from the Church that I attend has inspired me to consider what motivates Christians to share the gospel with those who don’t know Jesus Christ. Now the reason I raise this is that it has been suggested to me that a possible cause of Christians not discipling other Christians is apathy?

I find this discussion kind of weird. One reason being that I have never separated soul winning from discipling. But they are quite separate when you think about it. The meaning of the word discipling as found in the Word Sense Online Dictionary and is the “Present participle of the word Disciple.” The meaning of the word Disciple is as follows:

Noun

disciple (pl. disciples)

1. A person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others.

2. An active follower or adherent of someone, or some philosophy etc.

   • Holy Bible, Matthew 9:10 (King James Version)
     And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

So to disciple someone is to teach others. In this case followers of Jesus Christ. It involves encouraging them in the way of Christ Jesus and enlarging their knowledge of the Christian Faith, the Bible and significant bible doctrines relating to Election, Salvation and the Holy Spirit amongst many others.

I find it hard to believe that Christians don’t disciple others because of apathy. Miriam Webster defines Apathy as;

1: lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness - drug abuse leading to apathy and depression

2: lack of interest or concern : indifference - political apathy

So, to not disciple as a result of Apathy would mean to be impassive or indifferent to the lack of understanding of other disciples of Jesus Christ about Christianity. I tend to think that really the lack of motivation to disciple is for a number of reasons. I think there are cultural barriers. I believe the situation post Covid is having an impact and people are weary and somewhat shell shocked after the lockdowns. It’s a different World post Covid. Also, some people probably feel inadequate in the face of other Christians lack of biblical knowledge and don’t know what to do about it.

Encore the book: Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus by Mark Devers. A book which encourages Christians in the correct way to disciple folks who need to learn more bible knowledge. Now I haven’t read this book so I’m not going to critique it. Other than to say that from what I’ve given a perusary glance it seems quite good.

However, there are a number of scriptures with I would have thought would leave no one in any doubt of the importance of soul winning disciples for Christ Jesus. Starting with the Great Commission of Matthew 28: 18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So this is a commandment from the Son of God. It is very important that we observe this commandment and I find it difficult to understand how Christians could miss this. Other scriptures that might help to illuminate the need to share the gospel and disciple others are fairly prolific. A sample of them follow below:

Mark 16:15 says this “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.”

John 15:2 “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

Pulling it all together. Jesus gave us a commandment to go and make disciples among the nations and to go unto all the World and proclaim the gospel. He said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments just as He kept His Fathers commandments. He also said that every branch in Him that does not bear fruit. The Father will take away. While, every branch that does beat fruit, the Father will prune the it may bear more fruit.

Pretty heady stuff. However, my personal belief is that any serious minded Christian understands this and is already working their hardest at the behest of the Holy Spirit to obey Christ’s commandments; to make disciples among the nations; to proclaim the gospel; to be fruitful; to be Spirit filled; to love your neighbour as you love yourself; to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind and all of your strength.

In short they are already working out their salvation. Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

As far as I can make out personally. A Christian is either sold out to God or spiritually dead. My personal experience for what it’s worth is that even in the most unproductive phases of my Christian life. I have been in constant communication with God via the Holy Spirit. I have always felt the conviction of the need to Read the Word; Share the Gospel; Worship God. I may have been spiritually dormant at the time but that didn’t change the fact that God was still in contact with me and I was in continual communication with him through prayer.

I just don’t think you can be a Christian and be genuinely apathetic. You’re either in or you’re out. I also think that encouragement is a better way to motivate people than condemnation. Again speaking personally I’m more inclined to allow myself to be encouraged in the righteous ways of Jesus Christ than to accept the stick of condemnation on my back. The carrot versus the stick as it were.

Finally, I think it comes down to empowering Christians to disciple others. My experience has been that God has developed me through experiences like teacher training and I guess the practice of being a teacher. Through working with other Christians, bible studies and reading Christian literature. I think in general that positive experiences are better than negative ones at motivating people to change their habits. On the whole though it comes down to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I think Church prayer is very important and seeking an outpouring of the Holy Spirit should be foremost in the minds of Pastors and Elders in our Churches. Again just a collection of my opinions.

When Jesus Stands Beside Us...

I don’t know if you’ve seen the painting by the Christian artist Warner Saliman. I used to have a small one at my bedside many years ago. It shows a seaman at the helm of a sailing ship in the midst of a storm. Beside him with His hand on the man’s shoulder stood Jesus with His other arm pointing the way. https://annaleeconti.blogspot.com/2015/08/peace-in-midst-of-storm.html

Many years ago an old friend told me a story about a fishing expedition that off of the Coramandel Peninsular here in New Zealand. He and his wife had invited some friends to accompany them for a day out fishing in their 20 footer. The day was fine and the swell light as they set out. They reached the fishing spot some miles of shore and had a lovely day fishing and sharing fellowship with friends.

Suddenly, the the swell began to pick up and they were caught in a squall miles from land. My friend pulled in the anchor and started the engine and began a long slow trip that took several hours and which his friends were not certain was going to end well. He however remained calm, he knew his boat well, and he said “I just kept her facing straight into the swell and proceeded at about three knots.” He told of how that they climbed some very steep waves but the boat never missed a beat and after a long and arduous journey that arrived home safe and sound.

Now, when I hear a story like that I know that Jesus was there beside my friend, hand on his shoulder and pointing the way home. The old boat was a good old girl but when I hear she never missed a beat, I know for certain that the Lord made sure she didn’t. They had much to be thankful to God for that day and that’s for sure.

Notice here, that my friend showed the attributes of a good Captain. He didn’t panic and rush home at full speed. If he had he would have broken the boat or capsized it. Instead he drew from years of carefully built up experience and rather than rush he did that which was contrary to instinct and went as slowly as he could. In doing so he protected his boat and it’s precious cargo. He was patient as he knew the distance was short but the journey would take hours rather than minutes. His wife and passengers were indeed fortunate that they had the right Captain that day and that the Lord Jesus was with them.

Along that vein, I know of an artist called Nathan Green who paints Jesus into many situations in the lives of His people. In the operating theater, in the shepherds fields, with the sick child. He portrays the tremendous wisdom and mercy of our precious Lord and Saviour, as He helps us overcome the trials and tribulations of life in this incredibly difficult world. https://nathangreene.com/

So many times, I find myself praying to my Lord briefly in the morning but not waiting to hear what the Captain of my life has to say in return. So often I rush head long into life under my own steam leaving a calamity of half solved problems and not really coming close to the type of resolution that Christ Jesus would achieve for me if I would only let Him lead the way.

He is however always there with me. Hand on my shoulder, ready to guide me in the power of the Holy Spirit. Never getting angry or despondent and always prepared to help out and to provide a way through when I discover that I need him. Always ready to forgive and help me pick up the pieces. He is the great Captain in life always prepared to guide me in the way of righteousness and to share with me His truth. All the while unfurling the righteous life of a Christian within my own failing and foundering life. He is My Lord and King.

There are many roles in life which require a Captain that has true wisdom and experience. When knowledge is of paramount importance. Where hearing the voice of the Saviour and walking in the Spirit are essential. Roles that require grace and mercy as well as tenderness and compassion. These roles include every walk of  life from mother and father, minister and elder to supervisor, counselor and politician. All require the skills of true captaincy, and leadership, and all require the blessing, and wisdom, that comes from a relationship with and the presence of Jesus Christ in their life.

Now, I have to say that everyone who follows Christ Jesus, everyone who is a Christian endures trials and times of persecution in their lives. I believe it is fair to say that we all remember times when the Holy Spirit has been palpably present and we have sensed Jesus close and almost known the pressure of His hand on our shoulder. Perhaps there have been times when we felt none of those things but when we look back we can see that he was with us and that we only made it through because he was there.

Equally, there are times where we are the Captains of our own destiny or so it seems. Times when we have to work with people, are responsible for certain things and we really need to make the right decisions and show the true grace of God to those around us. Even if we feel uncertain about how to do that. Those are the times when we need to seek Jesus but also we need to be aware that he is with us and understands our needs. Times when he guides our thoughts, our actions and even places his hands on our hands to help those actions to be more accurate.

Finally I say that as Christian Captains we need to be patient and take it slowly until we have the outcome we are seeking. We need to earnestly seek God about His will rather than running around like a headless chicken following our own will. We need to realise that God already knows the outcome and that we can trust him. We need to learn to pray and to be prepared to wait on God. If we can be patient then He can lead us to His perfect will and ultimately to an outcome that so exceeds our expectations that we could hardly imagine that it was ever possible. This is what can happen when Jesus stands beside you and you seek to stand beside Him. 

Christ our Pilot, by Warner Sallman 1950 © Christian Art

Baptism and the Impact of Baptism

I recently heard of a small house church where folk were meeting. It transpired that some of the group discovered that one of their contingent had only been sprinkled as baby. Once this was discovered I gather those who had found this surprising lapse out withdrew from the house church.

They were also vocal in saying that they felt the person concerned was actually not saved in their opinion. My understanding is that the person who had not received adult baptism by immersion is in point of fact a true Spirit filled Christian. Someone dedicated to the purposes of God and the worship of Jesus Christ from waking in the morning until he laid down his head in the evening. Sold out to Jesus then with not a doubt to be given.

Now, I’m not going to be the font of knowledge about all things baptismal here. I would mention that to my knowledge those converted after hearing Jesus were not rushed to be ritually cleansed but rather were baptised with the Holy Spirit. That is obviously a unique incidence though and perhaps is not typical.

Baptism is described in Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” So baptism upon belief is for the forgiveness of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. It is also in my humble opinion for the purpose of proclaiming the fact that you have made a decision for repentance in the name of Jesus Christ. The only name by which you must be saved under heaven (Acts 4:12).

This is not a new issue as the Reformers debated the issue some five hundred years ago and there has doubtless be traffic over the issue in the succeeding years and up until today. The majority of Lutheran and Presbyterian believers practiced infant baptism and used pouring or sprinkling as the method. The same system was applied to new converts.

The Anabaptists were keen on rebaptising those who had been baptised in the Catholic church as babies. This was quite a controversial practice among those of the more mainline denominations (Lutheran, Presbyterian). The Anabaptists also believed that baptism was for the believers who were of sufficient age to make a decision to publicly declare their belief in Jesus Christ. They also eventually moved to a strong adherence to immersion as their preferred style of baptism.

As you can see all of the views and opinions expressed above have been around for a while and are still causing issues today. So what do I think? Well I’m keen on immersion baptism and at an appropriate age to make a decision for Jesus. So as you can imagine I’m a baptist. I believe quite strongly that baptism is a point at which you can share your faith with those you love, brothers and sisters in the faith and your family.

Do I believe in rebaptism? To anyone who has been baptised as a child. I would ask them to question carefully if they personally feel led by the Holy Spirit to take adult baptism. However, I would not force it on them and I would be careful to look at their witness as a Christian to evaluate whether they had received the Holy Spirit. If the answer is an obvious and resounding yes then the person concerned is already being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and there will be no additional benefit to being dipped again. Unless of course they want to, in which case I don’t see a reason why that couldn’t happen either.

I guess in conclusion, all that I would say to believers reading this is be very careful. Love and mercy are so important in the process of bringing grace to our fellow believers and unbelievers alike. So much hurt and emotional damage can be done to the dear folk around us if we are not careful with our words and our actions. A dear sister of mine has always spoken of being as Christ Jesus himself in the way we witness to those who pass through our lives. Good advice I’ve always thought.