Sloppy Evangelism..

The world is destitute of the sense of things heavenly for the lack of priests who are able to bring that dimension of reality. Another synonym for heaven is reality. Whatever reality is, then that is heaven. It takes even a priestly mentality to sense that, and to feel for that, and a priestly ministry to introduce that in a world that is inhospitable to heaven. Earth resists heavenly things, and yet mankind languishes for the lack of priests.Art Katz

will you tell people about the goodness and the SEVERITY of God? will you tell them there is a day when mercy will be CUT OF FOREVER? will you tell them that in hell people pray but NOBODY answers?"I am reminded of the balance that needs to be kept in these matters. We must tell about both the goodness and severity, sometimes we tend to over-react to the all 'goodness' message and preach only 'severity', but there must be a balance.I was convicted recently of my own over-reaction to the easy-believism gospel that is often heard these days from many Christian circles. Our Soveriegn Lord and King has come down from heaven to the lowest rung of the ladder and He reaches out His hand to sinners everywhere. But in my over-reaction to the 'easy' gospel I have, at times, unwittingly attempted to make sinners climb up a few rungs of the ladder to take God's hand. This position is just as out of balance as the easy gospel is.May God help us to stay balanced and centered in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Christ,Ron

There is a God-given balance, but it might not be in the same message. All we have to do is look at the ministry and message of the law and the prophets and Jesus.Our balance must come from God. Or as E. M. Bounds quotes someone..."Messages are got from God." I am convinced of one thing, that Christ died to save sinners, of whom I am chief.God aims for our hearts without pity...because He knows the eternal consequences are far greater than the temporal pain His arrows might induce. We must follow His example, again, getting our message from Him.

There is a God-given balance, but it might not be in the same message. All we have to do is look at the ministry and message of the law and the prophets and Jesus. Our balance must come from God. Or as E. M. Bounds quotes someone..."Messages are got from God."Very true! And what a joy it is to hear a message that was "got from God". Indeed these are the messages that are life changing, usually through deep conviction and challenge. We sure could use more preaching like that, more messangers who are truly "sent" by God.In Christ,Ron

We sure could use more preaching like that, more messangers who are truly "sent" by God.Amen, brother Ron. May you know the One who loves you, face to face.

God will take nine steps toward us, but He will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but He cannot do our repenting for us.A.W. Tozer

God will take nine steps toward us, but He will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but He cannot do our repenting for us.This is a confusing quote from brother Tozer. I would like the context of what he is saying. And yet at the same time I understand and agree with what He is saying.His will is that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). But in and of my self, I cannot. There is nothing in me, that is, my flesh, that can repent. It is solely by the prevenient grace of God (something Tozer explains in "The Pursuit of God"), God's previous working in my heart, that brings me to the place of agreeing with God, which is all that I can do. I agree with God about what He says is my true condition, that I am poor in spirit, bankrupt, in fact.That leads me to mourning over my sin. It's the godly sorrow Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 7:10, which leads to repentance (which yes we do, but only by the grace of God, the working of God in us-remember what Jesus said in John 15:5, "For without Me ye can do nothing." The word in the Greek is οὐδείς - oo-dice'. and It's meaning brings full light to what Jesus is really saying when He says 'nothing'. The Greek language explains it like this...not even one (man, woman or thing), that is, none, nobody, nothing: - any (man), aught, man, neither any (thing), never (man), no (man), none (+ of these things), not (any, at all, -thing), nought.Amazing truth! In the colorful greek language He actually means 'Nothing.'O.K. I'm being sarcastic for a reason. Forgive me. Only by the will of God, the work of God in my heart, will repentance be able to reflect itself in my life...Phi 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. sorry if I'm rambling as I share my thoughts...more later.

Hasn’t God – by grace, if you want – planted conscience within man to testify together with the Spirit concerning truth and holiness of the sake of causing man to act. The initial act lies with God, but he expects man, every man, to react and act. Jesus died for all, to save all, each and everyone who dare to act contrary to all evil powers.L. W.Tozer qute:That Incredible Christian,The Freedom of the will

For further help or, perhaps, distraction.The Freedom of the WillA.W. TozerThat incredible ChristianIT IS INHERENT IN THE NATURE OF MAN that his will must be free. Made in the image of God who is completely free, man must enjoy a measure of freedom. This enables him to select his companions for this world and the next; it enables him to yield his soul to whom he will, to give allegiance to God or the devil, to remain a sinner or become a saint.And God respects this freedom. God once saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. To find fault with the smallest thing God has made is to find fault with its Maker. It is a false humility that would lament that God wrought but imperfectly when He made man in His own image. Sin excepted, there is nothing in human nature to apologize for. This was confirmed forever when the Eternal Son became permanently incarnated in human flesh.So highly does God regard His handiwork that He will not for any reason violate it. For God to override man’s freedom and force him to act contrary to his own will would be to make a mockery of the image of God in man. This God will never do.Our Lord Jesus looked after the rich young ruler as he walked away, but He did not follow him or attempt to coerce him. The dignity of the young man’s humanity forbade that his choices should be made for him by another. To remain a man he must make his own moral choices; and Christ knew this and permitted him to go his own chosen way. If his human choice took him at last to hell, at least he went there a man; and it is better for the moral universe that he should do so than that he should be jockeyed to a heaven he did not choose, a soulless, willess automaton.God will take nine steps toward us, but He will not take the tenth. He will incline us to repent, but He cannot do our repenting for us. It is of the essence of repentance that it can only be done by the one who committed the act to be repented of. God can wait on the sinning man; He can withhold judgment; He can exercise long-suffering to the point where He appears “lax” in His judicial administration; but He cannot force a man to repent. To do this would be to violate the man’s freedom and void the gift God originally bestowed upon him.Where there is no freedom of choice there can be neither sin nor righteousness, because it is of the nature of both that they be voluntary. However good an act may be, it is not good if it is imposed from without. The act of imposition destroys the moral content of the act and renders it null and void.For an act to be sinful the quality of voluntariness must also be present. Sin is the voluntary commission of an act known to be contrary to the will of God. Where there is no moral knowledge or where there is no voluntary choice, the act is not sinful; it cannot be, for sin is the transgression of the law and transgression must be voluntary.Lucifer became Satan when he made his fateful choice: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Clearly here was a choice made against light. Both knowledge and will were present in the act. Conversely, Christ revealed His holiness when He cried in His agony, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” Here was a deliberate choice made with the full knowledge of the consequences. Here two wills were in temporary conflict, the lower will of the Man who was God and the higher will of the God who was Man, and the higher will prevailed. Here also was seen in glaring contrast the enormous difference between Christ and Satan; and that difference divides saint from sinner and heaven from hell.But someone may ask, “When we pray ‘Not my will, but Thine be done,’ are we not voiding our will and refusing to exercise the very power of choice which is part of the image of God in us?” The answer to that question is a flat No, but the whole thing deserves further explanation.No act that is done voluntarily is an abrogation of the freedom of will. If a man chooses the will of God he is not denying but exercising his right of choice. What he is doing is admitting that he is not good enough to desire the highest choice nor is he wise enough to make it, and he is for that reason asking Another who is both wise and good to make his choice for him. And for fallen man this is the ultimate use he should make of his freedom of will.Tennyson saw this and wrote of Christ,Thou seemest human and divine,The highest, holiest manhood, Thou;Our wills are ours, we know not how;Our wills are ours, to make them Thine.There is a lot of sound doctrine in these words—”Our wills are ours, to make them Thine.” The secret of saintliness is not the destruction of the will but the submergence of it in the will of God.The true saint is one who acknowledges that he possesses from God the gift of freedom. He knows that he will never be cudgled into obedience nor wheedled like a petulant child into doing the will of God; he knows that these methods are unworthy both of God and of his own soul. He knows he is free to make any choice he will, and with that knowledge he chooses forever the blessed will of God.

Yes, He has, Lars. :-) We are to "testify together" with the Spirit's witness...and you find the will of God for you taking place, having it's effect, as we agree with Him. Then we will find ourselves able to react. He will give us the 'ability to do' by His Spirit(The 'dunamis').Jesus died for all, to save all, each and everyone who dare to act contrary to all evil powers.And that ability to act contrary is granted by God, because we are being held captive by the devil to do, not our will, but his will."In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" 2 Timothy 2:25-26.But Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly. He lived a perfect life in my place because I couldn't. He died a brutal death in my place because I deserve it. He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me" so I wouldn't have to. I agree with the testimony of the word of God and by the 'divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in the life', my gratitude towards God for the act He has done on my behalf, I offer my life, dead and wrecked as it is, to Him at His feet. "Do with me as You please, Lord. I am not my own, I've been bought at a price."Blessings, bro. :-)

Thanks for the article. I am printing it now. God Bless.

Dear Josh,"Do with me as You please, Lord. I am not my own, I've been bought at a price."This is a concentrated summary of my "theology".This fact carries me to Heaven. It opens for a building and moulding of Heaven within. It never allows me to walk passive. It puts the focus right at any point - Not I, but Christ.Blessings,Lars

God aims for our hearts without pity... because He knows the eternal consequences are far greater than the temporal pain His arrows might induce. We must follow His example, again, getting our message from Him.This is greatly important due to the various types of hearts that are present in any one gathering. You may have some that are near to salvation (if you will) and others who are utterly bent towards their sin and will resist the Holy Spirit to the death (or reprobation). In my sphere of influence God has been leading heavily upon HELL and judgment type messages. I believe this is because many of the people have pathologically rejected His love and loved their sin in stead. They have an agape love for the world- in direct rebellion to the commandment of God not to love the world in this way. Anything that you love in this way is difficult to get loose from. They have heard Jesus loves me- Jesus loves me- yet they love the world. It's like getting a love letter from someone you don't want to be with. Hearing of that love only turns you off more and more. So it is with many, they love the world and reject Christ's love until they sin and are confident. God is 'striving' with men through the light of conscience, the light of creation, and the light of the word of God written on our hearts at all times (some more than others). Not to mention the multitudes of reminders that people see every day when they walk out their doors (crosses, churches, bumper stickers, etc.). Therefor in areas where people are sinning with an abundance of light, they are sinning with a high hand. For a person to walk around daily with the knowledge of the greatest demonstration of love that God could give, namely, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the back of their minds- yet they continue in impenitance? When they see that goodness that is supposed to lead them to repentance- yet they trod under foot the Son of God and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and do despite unto the Spirit of Grace? I seem to recall Leonard Ravinhill saying once something to the effect that Christians tell people... God loves you, God loves you... then he paused and said, "God hates you- He is angry with the wicked every day." (end of quote) Under these conditions the heart becomes hardened to the Gospel. In our part of the country I see bumper stickers and billboards everywhere saying, "God loves you" or "Jesus loves you." Yet you read through the Psalms and see repeatedly God's hatred for workers of iniquity; not just one passage, but over and over and over. Yet, we have to square all these passages with John 3:16. In my mind I come to terms with this by believing that once a person has had opportunity to hear the Gospel preached- and yet they walk out on Christ- they have trodden Him under foot. The whole dynamic changes. They are not just an enemy of God in their mind by wicked works- they are high handed enemies who have seen and heard and rejected; nay, verily, if they repent not- God will reject them. Consider the following:Psalm 5:4-54 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.Psalm 5:66 You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. NASUPsalm 11:5-65 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.KJVThe message of John the Baptist was the strongest message ever preached word for word in my opinion. He preached repentance, hell fire, and Holy Ghost fire almost in a single breath. His audience were people who knew better and yet would not walk in the light of what they knew. They had the law and the prophets and yet rejected them. Jesus taught that the message of God's word was more effective than if a person returned from hell to warn the people of their coming misery. How could this be? Surely a person who could tell their first hand experience of all the intracasies of hell could convince a person to repent. But they cannot. God is already coming at the impenitent with almost overwhelming force to steer their will towards Him. I recently watched a man who was raised in church wrestle with God under near overwhelming conviction, in agony of mind, and cry out... no- No- NO- and have great anguish of face and mind refusing to let go of his sins. Not now! NOT NOW! He was telling us and God audibly.Jonathan Edwards advised unrepentant sinners to consider just how many means that God was using at any given moment to bring them to salvation. On the flip side of this some will turn to Christ when they witness a true demonstration of the love of Christ through the genuiness of Christians. Some have had their hearts softened by God through a much needed gift or help in the time of need. I know of a man recently said that he turned to Christ as a result of a person signing the title of a car to him at a time when the first got out of jail. Every time he got in the car he thought of God's love. He used to hear sermons preached and people claim to be Christians, but when he received that car he said "It is good to know that people these days will give without hesitation." However, this is a sermon few Christians are willing to preach. If you have two coats give one away- this is fruits of repentance. Perhaps your fruits of repentance will yield salvation in someones life. Do you have a neighbor that is in need and you can meet that need? You may see a person come to Christ from showing love.

RobertW wrote:In my mind I come to terms with this by believing that once a person has had opportunity to hear the Gospel preached- and yet they walk out on Christ- they have trodden Him under foot. You probably know this, but for balance sake there are four soil types in a persons heart. Sometimes that heart has had years of wear and tear as a pathway, so for the seed to fall, take root and bear a harvest is a miracle. Also there is veil of understanding that guards them. They are unable to respond because there is simply been no work upon the heart. I would imagine it is the same thing that missionaries face in foreign lands. The ablity to pray through till there are streams in the desert and the soil has been plowed.The whole dynamic changes. They are not just an enemy of God in their mind by wicked works- they are high handed enemies who have seen and heard and rejected; nay, verily, if they repent not- God will reject them. What awful state for any person to get in, absolute God haters. At least there emotions are involved, and if their emotions are involved it must have been prompted by something they have experienced. And sometimes acts like this...will turn to Christ when they witness a true demonstration of the love of Christ through the genuiness of Christians.would lead them to Jesus. I am reminded of a story a heard. There was a guy in the army who was a christian and the guy in the bed next to him was a satanist. In the course of living together the christian would tell the satanist about Jesus and salvation. This drove the satanist nuts, and one day drove him so far as to smash the christian guy in the nose. With blood flowing out of his bust up nose, the christian says to him, 'You see this blood, every drop is for you.' The reality of that statement at that momment caused truth to break into the other guys heart and Jesus was able to conquer his life. So yah, simple acts of kindness touch hearts. Zeke

The reality of that statement at that momment caused truth to break into the other guys heart and Jesus was able to conquer his life. So yah, simple acts of kindness touch hearts. Thats great! Think about how love can sometimes penetrate a heart that all the messages on hell and judgment could not. This is again why it is important to be led of the Spirit in all ministry. We have to be just as obedient to show love as we are to preach a certain sermon.

We wonder why unbelievers are not responsive to the 21st Century Gospel presentation? We do not wish to offend our neighbours by speaking words that seem harsh. We prefer to speak of "God's unconditional love" - a term found nowhere in scripture. Nowhere in the Book of Acts did the first Christians preach a Gospel of "God loves you".We have lost the "old Gospel" preached by all the old saints: Luther, Whitefield, Wesley, Finney, Spurgeon. What did they do that we don't? They preached The Law of God before they went on to mention the Grace of the Gospel. People need to recognize and understand they are sick before they are prepared to take any medicine. Most folks today see themselves as "nice people". They have no awareness of a holy God and his anger towards them as rebels. John Wesley said of those who failed to use God's Law in evangelism, "All this proceeds from the deepest ignorance of the nature of the properties and of the use of the Law, and proves that those who act thus either know not Christ, or are the strangers to living faith, or at least they're but babes in Christ, and as such unskilled in the Word of righteousness."Charles Spurgeon said, "They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law."Finney said:" Ever more the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel. To overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts…Time will make this plain." Brian Johnson

People need to recognize and understand they are sick before they are prepared to take any medicine. Most folks today see themselves as "nice people". They have no awareness of a holy God and his anger towards them as rebels. I need to really get alone with God and I mean ALONE. The statement above is definately true. I am constantly being bombarded by people wanting to preach love or more loving, etc. and this in itself is legit. But many do not understand what they are saying. Paul said knowing the terror of the Lord he persuades men. A few verses later he said that the love of Christ constrains him. His zeal was made of those two sub assemblies. The knowledge of terror of the Lord AND the constraining love of Jesus Christ. One does not rightly function without the other.To this beloved I must ask; how is it possible for a person to apprehend any measure of the love of God without first have seen themselves in the context of utterly desperate and pending damnation? How can anything about the Gospel make sense to a sinner who has not the faintest notion of his/her real danger? To put it simply, we error in not making clear their need. Not just clear, UTTERLY clear. And what we lack in our ability to drive home with words, the Holy Spirit will make real as we preach through tremendous conviction.Think about how a person does not fully apprehend their need for salvation- and yet they will come to Christ as Ray Comfort puts it- because modern evangelical methods tell them that the "parachute" (salvation) will improve their flight (life). This is humanism gone mad. A person will not put on Christ unless they to some extent understand the need. We cannot force Christ on anyone, but we can compel people by showing them their need and their condition before God and then after that is well done, reveal His great love.How will a person who is forgiven much- love much- if they do not understand to some real degree the enormity and magnitude of their sin? If a person is not made somehow conscious of their need- how will they rightly accept and then appreciate what they received? The problem today is that people are not shown the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God to balance His love, grace, and mercy. Therefor they do not see how severe their danger is; nor the majesty of God in His making a way to show mercy without compromising His own holy attributes. They are not made to see their sin and its degredation- how it hurt God and yet He still loved or how He suffered so greatly - though we were so unworthy, etc.. How can a person LOVE the God we present? A God that we have called loving- yet have stripped the Gospel of the elements needed to give substance to His love. How can a person have JOY, when they know not why the ought to exceedingly rejoice that their name is found written in the Lamb's Book of Life? How can they know true PEACE when we have failed to tell them that in Christ they are safe from the only storm that even make any real difference- the storm their soul was in when it was headed for a devil's hell. By God's grace- you can endure anything if you understand where God has brought you from. We need to be like Jonathan Edwards and preach with ETERNITY in our eyes.God Bless,-Robert