I grew up when TV was first starting. My favorite shows were Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Hopalong Cassidy, Davy Crockett, Rifleman—all had good guys vs. bad guys. It was easy to figure out who the good guys were, and who the bad guys were. When I grew up, things like that got complicated and weren’t clear anymore. To show you what I mean, I’d like to tell you a story about the later medieval period. When who were the good guys and bad guys not only weren’t clear, but some of them changed from one to the other…
First, a definition: A good guy, for my purposes, is a person or group who stays true to Jesus’ commandments—he is saved, he is born again--and he does not even hurt those he perceives as his enemies. Because Jesus commands it. Matthew 5:44:
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
If a person doesn't abide by Christ's commands, we may question his salvation, whether he has been the "good guy" in the past. Even in a violent time period in world history. if he was likewise violently brutal with his enemies, no way can he be a "good guy." If he is a disciple of Christ, he must go counter to the culture. We don't let him "opt out" of responsibility because he was in an impassioned period, where violence and lack of respect for human rights seemingly was the "rule." The idea is, you don't just fall into the world's culture. You obey His commands, so you resist the world's culture at critical decision points. Then we know you're the good guy.
During medieval times, the Catholic church was the only recognized Christian church--but their corruption dimmed their witness. Larger protesting groups were rising as early as the 1200s, but the Catholics persecuted them mercilessly, and the groups were snuffed out. The Spanish Inquisition was then set up, and there was the horrific torture and extermination of the Albigenses and the Waldenses. And we must not forget the earlier Lollards and John Huss--and Bible translator John Wycliffe. The ones being persecuted and murdered were godly people. But they didn’t agree with all the Catholic doctrine, and paid with their lives. Feelings were strong. These events were 50-150 years before Martin Luther. Many of these people were burned alive at the stake, or targeted and slaughtered in Crusades ordered by Popes. A Pope also had wicked leverage on his side called “indulgences.” Indulgences supposedly reduced the time your loved ones spent in purgatory. These generally had to be bought (and became an important source of papal revenue), but wily Popes also gave them away to the “right” people as well—such as to common citizens who gathered up wood to help burn these Protestant heretics at the stake. They were also given to people who volunteered to go on Crusades; or he gave them to torture-Inquisitors.
On Halloween, 1517, Martin Luther tacked a list of 95 objections, mostly to indulgences, on the wall of a cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany. And thus the Reformation was actually born. Luther also translated the Bible into German, so for the first time, many people could read God’s Word. By 1540 all North Germany had become Lutheran. The Pope declared a Crusade on them, and after 9 years of bloody battle, a surprising event--a peace treaty won legal recognition of the Lutheran religion. Luther is definitely a good guy, right?
But here is where the story changes, and the playlist gets harder to tell. The only reason Luther stayed alive from the Catholics is because he had the backing of wealthy German princes, who protected him. The princes were still running a very profitable feudalism, where they effectively confiscated the people’s property under the agreement to protect them, but the people were poor for life--in effect, slaves. They worked the property, and their profits went to the princes. (Some accused the princes’ willingness to follow Luther was not religious at all, it was just to get out of a burdensome Roman Catholic tax). So when in 1525, 300,000 of the people rebelled against the princes and their feudal oppression-- you might be surprised to learn that Luther not only backed the rich guys against the poor guys (the opposite of what Jesus would do, given His negative view about the rich who oppressed the poor), but he wrote letters urging the princes on to a killing frenzy. The title of his main paper was: Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, and his hatred against the poor included the following sentences: “Let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as one might kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you.” This bloodthirstiness was unnecessary, since the peasants had few real weapons or military experience. The “princely” soldiers slaughtered 100,000 of them before the revolt was quashed.
This ungodly hatred possessed Luther again in 1543, when he targeted his hatred for the Jews, and wrote a 65,000-word treatise, The Jews and Their Lies, calling them “a base, whoring people…full of the devil’s feces…which they wallow in like swine.” The Jewish synagogue was “an incorrigible whore and an evil slut.” He argues that their synagogues and schools should be set on fire, prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes razed, and property and money confiscated. These “poisonous, envenomed worms” should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. This hatred reached a peak when he suggested murder, saying “we are at fault for not slaying them.” God’s Word suggests that people who hate are unsaved. In I John 3:15:
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Luther’s letter was, 400 years later, an excellent motivator for Adolph Hitler, who fulfilled Luther’s violent rants. Luther never repented from this horrible slander, writing yet more such poisoned letters just before his death. Thus, his evil works carried on long after his death, and he was quoted many times by Nazi propaganda in the 1930s and 1940s.
Did Martin Luther die an unsaved man? Ezekiel 18:24 is a good litmus test. Keep in mind the words “live" and “die” refer to heaven and hell:
“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
My next good guy/bad guy story is in Zurich, Switzerland. Rolling back the years again, when Catholics were in charge: At the same time as Luther began reforming Germany, Ulrich Zwingli was trying to do the same in Zurich, Switzerland. He urged his followers to read Scripture, a very anti-Catholic idea at the time. He was already an admired public figure, so the liberal Catholic magistrates in Switzerland gave him a free hand, but...as long as he didn’t suggest radical changes. But readings of Scripture caused him to request that the people be allowed to drink from the cup during the Eucharist—but the magistrates said No. He backed off, taking no further action. Further Scripture readings caused him to request the magistrates to cease the state-collected tithes (a tax used to support the church). They said No again, and he backed off again. His disciples were now getting restless for reform, and nothing was happening. His disciples, upon their further Scripture reading, stumbled upon a huge, heady question--what was the church, they asked? The procedure at the time was, every infant (except Jewish) was baptized, and was considered part of the church. This doctrine was initiated by the Catholics, of course, and St. Augustine's theory that unbaptized infants were damned. But it was completely un-Scriptural. Augustine, surprise, was unchallenged by the Lutheran Reformers. But some of the Zwingli disciples urged him to request the magistrates again. (By the way, this seemingly odd practice was because civil and religious were the same government). This time they asked to stop baptizing babies, but to change to a Biblical idea, baptizing people when they become believers, and are willing to be disciples of Christ. The Zwingli disciples decided that only the people who followed Christ's commands in Scripture, were the church. The civil court said “no” to this "radical" idea and Zwingli backed off--again. Now his disciples went public, talking about Scriptural reform, and about Catholic doctrine not agreeing with Scripture. So Zwingli was asked by the magistrates to calm his disciples down. But he couldn’t. Hey, he taught them to investigate Scripture, right? Several of his followers now took a bold move--expressing their faith in Christ and His commands, they baptized each other. Since that was their second baptizing, they were called Anabaptists (which means “baptize again.”) The Anabaptists rejected that name, since they only felt that a single baptism, as believers, was properly Scriptural. They called each other Brethren—and started another Movement. From this movement, we have the Amish, the Mennonites, the Hutterites, the Swiss Brethren, and the Bruderhof. It was later called a “Radical Reformation.”
I want to assure you that they didn’t take up arms to defend themselves. Now there was a novel conception at the time--but completely Scriptural. They had a simple desire for the freedom to worship as they saw the Scripture. They did have some beliefs considered strange at the time—not taking oaths (first allegiance only to Christ), not volunteering for military service (because they would have to kill people). But these were peaceful beliefs. So, these are good guys. And they remained good guys until the day they died—which, in many cases, was pretty soon. The magistrates reacted swiftly once they heard that they weren’t baptizing their babies and instead were baptizing adults. They were given one week to recant, or they would be thrown out of the community. If they tried to remain, they would be drowned. Either way they chose, they had to abandon their property--which the magistrates grabbed, and it was divided among the loyal Catholics who remained. So Anabaptists had to flee to other communities, where they were usually expelled again. This happened repeatedly. They were persecuted by Catholics and Lutheran Protestants alike for their ideas (following Scripture was unacceptably radical). Men who attempted leadership of their groups got persecuted more severely--they were either drowned or tortured, and then burned at the stake. But even their enemies wrote what beautiful, godly, gentle people these were--but we still have to kill them, because they have the "wrong" doctrine, and they must be behaving badly in secret.
The story for the Anabaptists ends well--they were not all killed--and some Anabaptists are still around. We snigger at them for the women’s headcovering (which happens to agree with I Corinthians 11:5-6) and modest clothing (I Timothy 2:9) and their radical “third world” standard of farming and living. Hey, they learned to live without Smartphones. Keep in mind, though, that many thousands of them were murdered in those days just because they were different. Even in London, when the Puritans ruled. Well, the Puritans were another story of twisting Jesus’ commands.
Well, wait, what happened to Zwingli, you might ask? Not surprisingly, he was opposed to his disciples making this radical move of baptism. (I suspect his reputation was more important to him). He made a decree in 1526 that urged their drowning, and testified against them more than once. So he betrayed students who followed what he taught. A cowardly act of a compromising man. I can think of one Scripture that he didn’t have the heart to believe in, Matthew 5:11-12:
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Persecution wasn’t his thing. For him to teach radical ideas is easy, but following through, taking up Jesus’ cross, knowing you will be expelled or killed, takes some guts.
In the end, he must have developed some spine: He died in armed conflict against canton magistrates when he was only 47--on other issues he disagreed with. But he never led any “real-Christian” movements. Good guy or bad guy? A mixed bag. But, when you think about it, a mixed bag is what what most of us are--except Jesus. Let us seek to be more courageous and like Him .
Acknowledgement: Dave Bercot, “Anabaptists” CD
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
The Fear of God
The fear of God is an important, yet little studied topic. Let’s start by examining Acts 2:41-47, using the New King James (NKJ):
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
In these verses, we ask, in light of the tremendous power the church had, being close to God, sharing their assets compassionately with one another, and “having favor with all the people”—were any of these wonderful things caused by their fear of God? It wouldn’t seem possible—such a negative emotion leading to a good result. Let’s explore this mystery together.
We start by defining the Greek they used for the word “fear:” phobos. (From which we get “phobia”). According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, phobos means (1) “dread, terror, always with this significance in the four Gospels.” Let’s keep that in mind; whenever Jesus is quoted saying “fear,” that’s the meaning. The other meaning of phobos is only a little less intimidating: (2) “reverential fear of God as a controlling motive of the life; in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a dread of displeasing Him.” Examine your hearts: when you're thinking of sinning, do you have a real dread of displeasing Him? Is your fear of what He might do, enough to make you stop? Is the fear of God a controlling motive in your life? I suspect the only thing keeping us back from many sins is the fear of being discovered by our friends or family and losing our reputations, or more. The serious dread of displeasing God should be more of a motivation keeping us from sin; but it is often just not there; we just don’t think about Him.
Many sermons are expounded on God’s love, few on His hate--of sin. Many sermons on our loving God, few on fearing Him. This paper will attempt to show how many verses there are on how fear of God is good for you. It’s a desirable attribute. Hopefully after reading it you can introspect on His holiness and get to know His “holy side” more. Like medicine, it will seem unpleasant—but it’s good for you. Let’s begin with Genesis 20:11, where Abraham sees the good side of men fearing God: They would be less likely to murder him and take his beautiful wife:
And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
Just two chapters later, in Genesis 22, God is testing Abraham’s willingness to obey Him implicitly, regardless of how illogical His instructions seem. He is asked to sacrifice his son. Note that Abraham doesn’t delay, doesn’t ask himself: “God wants me to kill my son? The son He promised? Let me argue that, or get a second opinion.” He knew that God loves him, that following Him regardless of logic, even doing things we never imagined we could do, will all turn out well. Have we developed that trait? Look at verse 12 for the result of fear that brings obedience regardless :
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Note that God commends him on his fear of Him. His fear led him to obey God without question. God respects his obedience, and no harm is done.
In Genesis 31:42a, Jacob has a name for God: The Fear of Isaac. Nowhere does God disapprove of this name. Note how Jacob appreciates this-named God as his God, connecting it with His protection for him. Finally note how we have proven that the three patriarchs of Israel, giants in the faith, are all given to fearing God:
Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you (Laban) would have sent me away empty-handed.
In Exodus 1:17, the children of Israel are slaves in Egypt. The pharaoh, fearing for their numerical advantage, has instructed the Hebrew midwives to kill the boy babies as soon as they arrive out of the womb. But the midwives refuse to do it—even though disobeying pharaoh endangers their own lives—because of their fear of God (fear of His judgement for murder). Note His blessing on them because their fear of God was greater than their fear of the pharaoh.
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive... because the midwives feared God…He provided households for them.
Maybe we’d have fewer abortions if the mothers or attending nurses had a real fear of God today. In the 60 million abortions in the U.S. since Roe v Wade, these women did not have enough fear of God to dread His ultimate punishment for murder. How many have read Galatians 5:21, which says that (unrepentant) murderers “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” and would spend an eternity in hell? Society may have persuaded these women that abortion--murder--was a good choice. I have no idea what percentage of repentance we're talking about, but if it's miniscule, that means possibly 60 million women are going to hell. Unless they truly repented before God, and developed a fear of Him after the abortion, and He forgave them.
In Exodus 14:31, after God’s great plagues, after the exodus, and His killing the pursuing Egyptians, then the children of Israel finally feared God. After that, they really believed Moses and God. So, a real belief in God, with obedience following (for awhile), results from a fear of God.
Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.
In Exodus 18:21, Moses is to select men as judges, an extremely important function. The first requirement for such men? You guessed it; they need to have a fear of God.
Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds…
In Exodus 20:20b, the Ten Commandments are given. The very first words that Moses says to the Israelis at this momentous occasion include the following:
God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
The Ten Commandments is supposed to awaken the soul to a proper fear of God. The Commandments are His rules--but it still takes a consistent fear of God to obey the rules consistently. Once again, God’s Word is saying that fear of God reduces sin.
There are plenty more in the Old Testament, but to make this paper short enough to be readable, let’s skip ahead to the New Testament; what did Jesus say about fear? Matthew 10:28:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
People experience “peer pressure;” they shrink back from declaring for Christ, particularly in public. And so it was for the Jews, who did not want to go against the Pharisees, who could be a genuine threat to your life if you followed Jesus. But Jesus was unsympathetic for those feelings; He has a stark word (one of many—He talked a lot about hell): basically, "it’s them or me, you can't have both. Follow me, and the worst they can do is take your life. But you get an eternity in heaven. Follow them, you’ll have friends in the world, but then your worry should be about hell—which is forever."
We definitely need an injection of fear for God in this attractive world, to keep us out of hell. (Don’t forget, we said in the two definitions of “fear” that the meaning in the Gospels here is “dread, terror.” Jesus was blunt. Your terror of what God can do to you should be greater than your terror of what people can do to you. People can take your lives, but God can take your eternity).
You want mercy from God? We all should, because the depth and frequency of our sin means we need lots of mercy. Luke 1:50 tells us how to get mercy:
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
Luke 5:26 gives the peoples’ reaction when they see Jesus healing: Fear. Why? Of His supernaturalism, of things about God which they do not know. Also note how this causes them to glorify God:.
And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”.
Today we would be more cynical and sophisticated about healings. Which is the better reaction? Note how their fear didn’t stop their glorifying God. Another good result from a supposedly negative emotion (The same thing happens in Luke 7:16).
In Luke 23:40-41, one criminal on a cross next to Jesus rebukes the other. The one who feared God admitted his execution was proper punishment for his deeds. That's a noble thought--and something few criminals do. He also judged Jesus as innocent, something the people and the Pharisees couldn’t do. Fear of God allows you to judge people properly, and to be humble. Also, wonderfully, the one who feared God got saved. The other one was going to hell.
But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Now we go to the book of Acts. God’s stamp of approval was definitely on the man who was the first Gentile to receive the Gospel preached by Jewish men. Cornelius was that man. How did he get to be first in line for such a wonderful event? Because he feared God, among other positive features. A description of him is in Acts 10:2:
…a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
Note that fear of God is listed ahead of his giving to the poor, and ahead of his passion for prayer. I’ve heard lots of sermons on giving and the power of prayer, but none on the power of fearing God.
Once again, for brevity, we have to skip lots of verses, and move on to the Epistles. In Romans 3, Paul is enumerating the horrible sins of those bound for hell…”Their throat is an open tomb,” etc. He then describes sin that gets worse and worse as men get farther away from Him. And how does he end it; what phrase did he use as the worst, the source of all this defiant sin and rebellion? It’s in Romans 3:18 (just before the gospel is explained):
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
In Romans 11:20-22, Paul is justifying why he is bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles—it was because the Jews (the natural branches of Jesus, the Vine) rejected it and got “broken off” the Vine. So God turned to the Gentiles. But the Gentiles might get haughty (“we’re smarter than the Jews”). His solution for that? They needed to fear God, or else He could cut them off too (God hates pride). Further, note that God is called “severe.” Haven’t heard any sermons on God’s “negative” qualities revealed here:
Because of unbelief they (Jews) were broken off, and you (Gentiles) stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but FEAR. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
Does God sound antagonistic there? Well, deal with it; change your definition of God’s love. He is in charge of the universe, and makes the rules. We should be grateful that He reveals Himself to us so we know what to do to get on His good side, and what gets on His holy side.
In II Corinthians 7:1, Paul has the method to be holy (necessary for salvation, as my other blogs discuss): Fear God.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
So the fear of God helps us to perfect holiness. And holiness is necessary to be saved (Hebrews 12:14). Sounds like the fear of God is necessary to get us on the road to salvation.
In Ephesians 5:21-22, women are going to dislike me for this, but Paul has a solution for women who can’t submit to their husbands because they don’t trust them. Now I realize that there are other qualifiers for wives and husbands, but it clearly says that fear of Him is the key in submitting to one another. I’m reminded of our verses above, where Abraham was ready to do something illogical because he trusted God. And it worked out, because God honored his fear of Him--He made sure all was well. Women, take a hint—trusting your husband despite his obtuseness, is really trusting God, because you’re obeying His commandment to submit. He will honor your trust in Him and make it all work out. The verses are broadened to include all of us acting unselfishly and trusting all the brothers and sisters. One more time--What makes us take a chance and submit to others? Fear of God. I have never heard a sermon on this angle of husbands and wives. Putting these two verses together is called “context.”
…submitting to one another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Once again, brevity demands a stop. I couldn't cover some other great verses. All you need to do is go to biblegate.com and search the word “fear.” But I think you’ve gotten the message. Fear of God is absolutely necessary to reduce sin and to be more holy, to obey God, and submit to people when you should. A lot more people would be saved if they had this attribute. The only question is, how do we develop this fine characteristic? Here’s a few suggestions: (1) Read more of the Old Testament. Lots of judgment and hellfire for disobedience. Not pleasant, but you need to see how much God hated sin. Don’t fall for the argument, “God was different then.” If you believe that, you haven’t gotten the right message about Jesus, either, so that leads to suggestion (2) Read the Gospels just to study exactly what Jesus said. Do you notice how much He talked about judgment? Well, there you go. God doesn’t change, after all, in how much He hates sin, between Old and New Testaments. Write down everything that suggests what it really takes to be saved (or read my blog on initial and final salvation for a quickie summary). When you’re reading, be careful to “update” Biblical words like “idols.” Maybe you think that’s just for primitive folk, wood and stone. So it doesn't apply to me, you say. But read a Biblical definition of idolatry, then spend some time asking yourself if you’ve been into idolatry, in its modern applications. In other words, spend some time asking yourself about the sins you’ve done, and the effects on the family, placing yourself above God (that’s idolatry too). And then think about God, who loves you more than you can imagine, watching you sin. You (and everyone) could do much more with your life if you dedicate yourself 100% to Him. He would make you so happy. So why don’t you? Examine that—is it simple selfishness? Greed? Fear of being laughed at? Then imagine yourself at the judgment seat—we will all be there—when you give your reasons, your lame reasons. What are your Scriptural gifts? You don’t know? Have they been given to God? Do you know what the fruits are, a requirement for you to have them for heaven (John 15:2)? How about your time with God? A person you’re in love with, you talk to daily—how much time do you spend during the week talking with God? Maybe you conclude that you don’t really love Him? That’s not good, read I John when it separates saved vs unsaved, measured by the love you show. It’s never too late to change.
As you can see, lots of Scripture reading and introspection are needed. Please, take time for this. Most people’s mind goes ten different ways when trying to be quiet and meditate on Scripture. Or they sink into this, “I’m just a worm and can’t do anything.” (Maybe appealing for sympathy to get out of being judged always worked when you were a kid; it doesn’t work with God). Developing a fear of God would be frowned at by most ministers today, but who cares what they think? Their “moral leadership” is why we’re in a mess in the U.S. Better to read Scripture like the above to get the real truth about qualities God loves to see. Like fearing Him.
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
In these verses, we ask, in light of the tremendous power the church had, being close to God, sharing their assets compassionately with one another, and “having favor with all the people”—were any of these wonderful things caused by their fear of God? It wouldn’t seem possible—such a negative emotion leading to a good result. Let’s explore this mystery together.
We start by defining the Greek they used for the word “fear:” phobos. (From which we get “phobia”). According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, phobos means (1) “dread, terror, always with this significance in the four Gospels.” Let’s keep that in mind; whenever Jesus is quoted saying “fear,” that’s the meaning. The other meaning of phobos is only a little less intimidating: (2) “reverential fear of God as a controlling motive of the life; in matters spiritual and moral, not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution, but a dread of displeasing Him.” Examine your hearts: when you're thinking of sinning, do you have a real dread of displeasing Him? Is your fear of what He might do, enough to make you stop? Is the fear of God a controlling motive in your life? I suspect the only thing keeping us back from many sins is the fear of being discovered by our friends or family and losing our reputations, or more. The serious dread of displeasing God should be more of a motivation keeping us from sin; but it is often just not there; we just don’t think about Him.
Many sermons are expounded on God’s love, few on His hate--of sin. Many sermons on our loving God, few on fearing Him. This paper will attempt to show how many verses there are on how fear of God is good for you. It’s a desirable attribute. Hopefully after reading it you can introspect on His holiness and get to know His “holy side” more. Like medicine, it will seem unpleasant—but it’s good for you. Let’s begin with Genesis 20:11, where Abraham sees the good side of men fearing God: They would be less likely to murder him and take his beautiful wife:
And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
Just two chapters later, in Genesis 22, God is testing Abraham’s willingness to obey Him implicitly, regardless of how illogical His instructions seem. He is asked to sacrifice his son. Note that Abraham doesn’t delay, doesn’t ask himself: “God wants me to kill my son? The son He promised? Let me argue that, or get a second opinion.” He knew that God loves him, that following Him regardless of logic, even doing things we never imagined we could do, will all turn out well. Have we developed that trait? Look at verse 12 for the result of fear that brings obedience regardless :
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Note that God commends him on his fear of Him. His fear led him to obey God without question. God respects his obedience, and no harm is done.
In Genesis 31:42a, Jacob has a name for God: The Fear of Isaac. Nowhere does God disapprove of this name. Note how Jacob appreciates this-named God as his God, connecting it with His protection for him. Finally note how we have proven that the three patriarchs of Israel, giants in the faith, are all given to fearing God:
Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you (Laban) would have sent me away empty-handed.
In Exodus 1:17, the children of Israel are slaves in Egypt. The pharaoh, fearing for their numerical advantage, has instructed the Hebrew midwives to kill the boy babies as soon as they arrive out of the womb. But the midwives refuse to do it—even though disobeying pharaoh endangers their own lives—because of their fear of God (fear of His judgement for murder). Note His blessing on them because their fear of God was greater than their fear of the pharaoh.
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive... because the midwives feared God…He provided households for them.
Maybe we’d have fewer abortions if the mothers or attending nurses had a real fear of God today. In the 60 million abortions in the U.S. since Roe v Wade, these women did not have enough fear of God to dread His ultimate punishment for murder. How many have read Galatians 5:21, which says that (unrepentant) murderers “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” and would spend an eternity in hell? Society may have persuaded these women that abortion--murder--was a good choice. I have no idea what percentage of repentance we're talking about, but if it's miniscule, that means possibly 60 million women are going to hell. Unless they truly repented before God, and developed a fear of Him after the abortion, and He forgave them.
In Exodus 14:31, after God’s great plagues, after the exodus, and His killing the pursuing Egyptians, then the children of Israel finally feared God. After that, they really believed Moses and God. So, a real belief in God, with obedience following (for awhile), results from a fear of God.
Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.
In Exodus 18:21, Moses is to select men as judges, an extremely important function. The first requirement for such men? You guessed it; they need to have a fear of God.
Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds…
In Exodus 20:20b, the Ten Commandments are given. The very first words that Moses says to the Israelis at this momentous occasion include the following:
God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”
The Ten Commandments is supposed to awaken the soul to a proper fear of God. The Commandments are His rules--but it still takes a consistent fear of God to obey the rules consistently. Once again, God’s Word is saying that fear of God reduces sin.
There are plenty more in the Old Testament, but to make this paper short enough to be readable, let’s skip ahead to the New Testament; what did Jesus say about fear? Matthew 10:28:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
People experience “peer pressure;” they shrink back from declaring for Christ, particularly in public. And so it was for the Jews, who did not want to go against the Pharisees, who could be a genuine threat to your life if you followed Jesus. But Jesus was unsympathetic for those feelings; He has a stark word (one of many—He talked a lot about hell): basically, "it’s them or me, you can't have both. Follow me, and the worst they can do is take your life. But you get an eternity in heaven. Follow them, you’ll have friends in the world, but then your worry should be about hell—which is forever."
We definitely need an injection of fear for God in this attractive world, to keep us out of hell. (Don’t forget, we said in the two definitions of “fear” that the meaning in the Gospels here is “dread, terror.” Jesus was blunt. Your terror of what God can do to you should be greater than your terror of what people can do to you. People can take your lives, but God can take your eternity).
You want mercy from God? We all should, because the depth and frequency of our sin means we need lots of mercy. Luke 1:50 tells us how to get mercy:
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
Luke 5:26 gives the peoples’ reaction when they see Jesus healing: Fear. Why? Of His supernaturalism, of things about God which they do not know. Also note how this causes them to glorify God:.
And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”.
Today we would be more cynical and sophisticated about healings. Which is the better reaction? Note how their fear didn’t stop their glorifying God. Another good result from a supposedly negative emotion (The same thing happens in Luke 7:16).
In Luke 23:40-41, one criminal on a cross next to Jesus rebukes the other. The one who feared God admitted his execution was proper punishment for his deeds. That's a noble thought--and something few criminals do. He also judged Jesus as innocent, something the people and the Pharisees couldn’t do. Fear of God allows you to judge people properly, and to be humble. Also, wonderfully, the one who feared God got saved. The other one was going to hell.
But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Now we go to the book of Acts. God’s stamp of approval was definitely on the man who was the first Gentile to receive the Gospel preached by Jewish men. Cornelius was that man. How did he get to be first in line for such a wonderful event? Because he feared God, among other positive features. A description of him is in Acts 10:2:
…a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
Note that fear of God is listed ahead of his giving to the poor, and ahead of his passion for prayer. I’ve heard lots of sermons on giving and the power of prayer, but none on the power of fearing God.
Once again, for brevity, we have to skip lots of verses, and move on to the Epistles. In Romans 3, Paul is enumerating the horrible sins of those bound for hell…”Their throat is an open tomb,” etc. He then describes sin that gets worse and worse as men get farther away from Him. And how does he end it; what phrase did he use as the worst, the source of all this defiant sin and rebellion? It’s in Romans 3:18 (just before the gospel is explained):
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
In Romans 11:20-22, Paul is justifying why he is bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles—it was because the Jews (the natural branches of Jesus, the Vine) rejected it and got “broken off” the Vine. So God turned to the Gentiles. But the Gentiles might get haughty (“we’re smarter than the Jews”). His solution for that? They needed to fear God, or else He could cut them off too (God hates pride). Further, note that God is called “severe.” Haven’t heard any sermons on God’s “negative” qualities revealed here:
Because of unbelief they (Jews) were broken off, and you (Gentiles) stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but FEAR. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
Does God sound antagonistic there? Well, deal with it; change your definition of God’s love. He is in charge of the universe, and makes the rules. We should be grateful that He reveals Himself to us so we know what to do to get on His good side, and what gets on His holy side.
In II Corinthians 7:1, Paul has the method to be holy (necessary for salvation, as my other blogs discuss): Fear God.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
So the fear of God helps us to perfect holiness. And holiness is necessary to be saved (Hebrews 12:14). Sounds like the fear of God is necessary to get us on the road to salvation.
In Ephesians 5:21-22, women are going to dislike me for this, but Paul has a solution for women who can’t submit to their husbands because they don’t trust them. Now I realize that there are other qualifiers for wives and husbands, but it clearly says that fear of Him is the key in submitting to one another. I’m reminded of our verses above, where Abraham was ready to do something illogical because he trusted God. And it worked out, because God honored his fear of Him--He made sure all was well. Women, take a hint—trusting your husband despite his obtuseness, is really trusting God, because you’re obeying His commandment to submit. He will honor your trust in Him and make it all work out. The verses are broadened to include all of us acting unselfishly and trusting all the brothers and sisters. One more time--What makes us take a chance and submit to others? Fear of God. I have never heard a sermon on this angle of husbands and wives. Putting these two verses together is called “context.”
…submitting to one another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Once again, brevity demands a stop. I couldn't cover some other great verses. All you need to do is go to biblegate.com and search the word “fear.” But I think you’ve gotten the message. Fear of God is absolutely necessary to reduce sin and to be more holy, to obey God, and submit to people when you should. A lot more people would be saved if they had this attribute. The only question is, how do we develop this fine characteristic? Here’s a few suggestions: (1) Read more of the Old Testament. Lots of judgment and hellfire for disobedience. Not pleasant, but you need to see how much God hated sin. Don’t fall for the argument, “God was different then.” If you believe that, you haven’t gotten the right message about Jesus, either, so that leads to suggestion (2) Read the Gospels just to study exactly what Jesus said. Do you notice how much He talked about judgment? Well, there you go. God doesn’t change, after all, in how much He hates sin, between Old and New Testaments. Write down everything that suggests what it really takes to be saved (or read my blog on initial and final salvation for a quickie summary). When you’re reading, be careful to “update” Biblical words like “idols.” Maybe you think that’s just for primitive folk, wood and stone. So it doesn't apply to me, you say. But read a Biblical definition of idolatry, then spend some time asking yourself if you’ve been into idolatry, in its modern applications. In other words, spend some time asking yourself about the sins you’ve done, and the effects on the family, placing yourself above God (that’s idolatry too). And then think about God, who loves you more than you can imagine, watching you sin. You (and everyone) could do much more with your life if you dedicate yourself 100% to Him. He would make you so happy. So why don’t you? Examine that—is it simple selfishness? Greed? Fear of being laughed at? Then imagine yourself at the judgment seat—we will all be there—when you give your reasons, your lame reasons. What are your Scriptural gifts? You don’t know? Have they been given to God? Do you know what the fruits are, a requirement for you to have them for heaven (John 15:2)? How about your time with God? A person you’re in love with, you talk to daily—how much time do you spend during the week talking with God? Maybe you conclude that you don’t really love Him? That’s not good, read I John when it separates saved vs unsaved, measured by the love you show. It’s never too late to change.
As you can see, lots of Scripture reading and introspection are needed. Please, take time for this. Most people’s mind goes ten different ways when trying to be quiet and meditate on Scripture. Or they sink into this, “I’m just a worm and can’t do anything.” (Maybe appealing for sympathy to get out of being judged always worked when you were a kid; it doesn’t work with God). Developing a fear of God would be frowned at by most ministers today, but who cares what they think? Their “moral leadership” is why we’re in a mess in the U.S. Better to read Scripture like the above to get the real truth about qualities God loves to see. Like fearing Him.
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Some Truths About Teen Pornography and Their Working Parents
According to Google
Analytics, pornography searches increase by 4,700% when kids are using the
internet in the hours after school ends.
Like it or not, teens are using their devices to access pornography on a regular basis in today's technology driven society. Where previous generations were cautious of a stolen Playboy magazine, current parents are looking for guidance on how to shield their teens from the ever available, internet pornography.
The average child is now accessing pornography at the age of 11.
Like it or not, teens are using their devices to access pornography on a regular basis in today's technology driven society. Where previous generations were cautious of a stolen Playboy magazine, current parents are looking for guidance on how to shield their teens from the ever available, internet pornography.
The average child is now accessing pornography at the age of 11.
ONLY
3% OF TEENAGE BOYS AND 17% OF GIRLS HAVE NEVER SEEN ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY
If this sounds like a
shockingly low number, consider the amount of hours teenagers spend on screens
for entertainment, 9 hours a day according to a report from Common Sense
Media.
The rate of addiction to pornography has grown
significantly since the introduction of the internet and the vast amounts of
available material. The population at the highest risk for
addiction? Teenage boys ages 12-17.
A study conducted by JAMA Psychiatry looked at the connection between compulsive viewing of online pornography and brain changes. Their results indicated alarming similarities between individuals who view online pornography for hours each week and individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol.
This same study suggests these individuals will develop stronger tolerance to the material and may also have difficulty controlling impulses
Mothers and fathers of teens: I have one question--Is there a way that your child is one of these problems? Most parents don't really know; their teens are fiercely guarding their "privacy." In many cases, it's privacy to sin.A study conducted by JAMA Psychiatry looked at the connection between compulsive viewing of online pornography and brain changes. Their results indicated alarming similarities between individuals who view online pornography for hours each week and individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol.
This same study suggests these individuals will develop stronger tolerance to the material and may also have difficulty controlling impulses
I have a harder question: If both you and your spouse are working in the same daytime period, is it worth sacrificing what this might be doing to your child to obtain extra money, to buy "toys" (bigger house, nicer car) you love and covet? What I'm saying is, one of you needs to quit the job to guide the teen away from sin, to let the child know you care, you want your child to live a Scriptural life, and are willing to enforce boundaries despite sacrifices for the "good life." The teen will pick up on this moral courage and sacrifice.
Let's face it: Teens lie. In America today, they live for their impulses. I'm saying, after you quit, when you're around at home, let your movements be unpredictable--and don't be afraid to snoop. If your teenager wants you to cite a specific time of your return, he or she may have something in mind. Don't provide them with that information.
Then there's the possibility of teens having sex while both parents are at work. I suspect this is happening a lot, looking at the spiraling statistics of people living together before marriage. Teens (and parents, sometimes) don't care a whit about what the Bible says about sex with anyone outside marriage. It's speaking of hell for those who violate this commandment GalatIans 5:19-21 is blunt:
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
So fornication, which is so widespread in TV and movies, ranks up there with murder and idolatry. Think about that.
Now if your teen has a conscience (or if they haven't enjoyed losing their virginity), they may repent, momentarily, but for most it is repentance light, since most don't take serious-enough steps to stop their growing addiction to sex or pornography. (By the way, assuming that "relief" by watching porn will decrease the desire for sex has been proven wrong by lots of studies.) So they are still in hell-trouble unless they can discipline their lives to Biblical rules. Jesus said thinking about a woman for adultery is adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28). And if you think that evil thought but not action gets you scot-free, what about Jesus' comments that to hate someone--and you haven't done anything to them--can send you to hell, too? Try I John 2:9:
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
"In darkness" can only be interpreted as bound for hell, unless there is sincere repentance.
Parents, beware! You are responsible for your children. If one of you is afraid of quitting that job, for worldly pleasures and things, don't be surprised if the teen can catch the drift and take on the ways of the world as well. Scripture says, those who love the world cannot go to heaven I John 2:15:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
IF you believe Scripture is really God's Word to mankind regardless of cultural shifts and rationales, then you will make necessary sacrifices to keep your kids off these paths that lead to hell.
Remember, you're not there to be their friends. Be afraid of God, who will judge you for making decisions (or not making decisions) that harm your child's spirit.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Evangelism Should Emphasize "Repentance" Again
A well-known evangelist, Ray Comfort, estimates that 80-90%, conservatively, of decisions for Christ in modern evangelism will thereafter lose their witness and not even attend church consistently. He cites a detailed study of the 294,000 who “got saved” in a one-year crusade effort by a major denomination, Harvest, in 1991. They had 11,500 churches keeping close records. (PS: Evangelism sweeps don't usually do this). Only 14,000 of the 294,000 still attended church, only a couple years later. That’s a 95% loss rate.
He also studied the works of famous evangelists of the past—such as Wesley, Whitfield, Moody, Spurgeon, and Finney. Along with New Testament evangelists, Paul, Peter, Steven, and Timothy. Their writings and sermon notes suggested a much higher number of people hanging on to their conversion. Why has this loss rate gone stratospheric, he wondered? One of the things he noticed was that in those days, the preaching by these great men would begin with how people have broken God’s Laws. Then, after that was covered in the sermon, the Good News was taught. This principle of sermon order has faded away, particularly starting in the early 1900s. Nowadays, preachers consider that the “You Have Broken the Law" sermon starter is just too negative, and have shied away from it. Modern evangelistic theory (taught in Christian colleges) assumes that most people feel they are not worthy to be with God, so we have to emphasize God’s grace and love right from the start, to make them feel wanted, then explaining what Christ did on our behalf. The Prodigal Son (Luke 15) was the classic example of a good sermon, as they teach how the father accepted his son, though he wasted the inheritance, and still smelled of pigs.
Mr.Comfort came to the conclusion that the surveys mentioned above suggested the old ways were better. What's more important, Scriptures seem to provide proof of his idea. Psalm 19:7 says, in part:
The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul
The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul
Well, converting the soul is what we want in evangelism, right? The Word lays it out plainly. You present the Law.
Mr. Comfort gives us a parable. Suppose you’re walking around, and someone pops up and says, “I’ve got good news for you! Someone paid a $2500 fine on your behalf!” Your reaction might be “What are you talking about? That doesn’t make sense; I can’t think of what I did wrong, nor has anybody told me thus.” They are not exactly in a receptive mood, or grateful, right? The person would be offended, actually--before they got around to accepting the money. BUT what if the following metaphor happened: This person was clocked doing 55 mph in an area set aside for a blind children’s school nearby. There were 10 clear warning signs stating that the speed limit was 15 mph. What he did was extremely dangerous, negligent, and reckless, whether he knew about it or not, and a $2500 fine was appropriate and it was the law. So this person was caught, and in court his ignorance of the law was brushed aside (that would never bring back the life of a child killed). He was told all the details of his illegality, and then told to pay the fine, and with agony he wondered whether he would have the money, how stupid he was to do that, how much his family would sacrifice their lifestyle—or even how he would tell them—when suddenly someone he didn’t even know stepped forward and paid it for him. Now his reaction would be a definition of gratitude, right? He might even want to make friends with this stranger, to see what motivated him to give so much so graciously.
As you can clearly see by the two parables, the second example--explaining what he did wrong, the Law he broke, with proper acceptance of that news, THEN giving him the Good News of One who has paid his debt, generates a much more positive response. Well, that’s the principle they formerly used in preaching. On the other hand, the other approach is what we have a great deal more of now. Most people, hearing this more-recent approach, are offended—they don’t think they are bad sinners. (Which means they haven’t been taught about God, how He is perfect, and hates sin.) If I talk "grace-only" with a prospect, I pretty much can’t get away from insinuating that they have seriously broken the law, when they have usually deceived themselves into thinking they don’t think they have—and they resent our suggestion—and our indirectness. Or, they consider the idea that they need salvation foolish. As Scripture says in I Corinthians 1:18:
…the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing
Anyone “saved” by this method is more by emotionalism, since there is confusion about why they need to be saved and what the Good News really is—but in the cold light of the days following, this emotionalism cools off to rejection more often than not. Which is where the 80-90% falling away comes in.
Thus I need, in my preaching evangelism, to take the time to speak insightfully of the Ten Commandments and its violation in thought as well as deed, and then to also cover Jesus’ commandments in the Gospels—i.e., to show the prospect that he has truly offended a just God—then he hopefully becomes, as James says in 2:9: Convicted of the law, as a transgressor; then the Good News of Christ’s paying our debt will not be offensive or foolish…it will be the power of God unto salvation.
Let’s look at each function of presenting God’s Law. We’ll start with Romans 3:19:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Thus, one function of it is (1) to stop the mouth. We don’t need to hear much of the prospect’s wisdom, justifying himself and saying, “there are plenty of people worse than me.” (He’s either deceived or just putting you off, really). We are the ones bearing the wonderful gift of good news, and need an opportunity to speak.
Secondly, Romans 3:20 says this:
by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The prospect needs to know the knowledge of sin, since self-defense and self-deception are rampant today. We cannot assume that his sin is in the forefront (or even in the back) of his memory. I John 3:4 says: sin is the transgression of the law. It would seem obvious that a person needs to know the law intimately in order to know if he has transgressed it, or has sinned. Romans 7:7 declares this more forcefully: I would not have known sin except through the law.
Secondly, Romans 3:20 says this:
by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The prospect needs to know the knowledge of sin, since self-defense and self-deception are rampant today. We cannot assume that his sin is in the forefront (or even in the back) of his memory. I John 3:4 says: sin is the transgression of the law. It would seem obvious that a person needs to know the law intimately in order to know if he has transgressed it, or has sinned. Romans 7:7 declares this more forcefully: I would not have known sin except through the law.
Thirdly, in Galatians 3:24, the Law is not only to build our knowledge of sin, but, very importantly….
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
What this means, is, the Law doesn’t really help us in reconciliation with God…it shows us that we are helpless. It doesn’t justify us, it just leaves us guilty at the judgment seat. But with the Law, when we see our sin, as God sees it, we see how we have offended God, and if hell is even brought up (which it almost never is nowadays), we are, deservedly, destined for hell. Then we seek Him for some method of righteousness and deliverance. Christ is that key, as a good evangelist will point the way.
When modern evangelism abandoned the "old" principle of discussing the Law and how Christ saves us from wrath, it needed to seek another reason to attract us to Christ. So they invented the term “life enhancement.” Following Christ will benefit us. We will have peace, love, joy, fulfillment, and lasting happiness. At this point, Mr. Comfort provides another useful allegory:
Two men are sitting in a plane. The first is given a parachute, (the only one receiving the offer), and told that it will “improve his flight.” He is skeptical and even thinking the flight attendant is wacko, as he knows that airlines only talk about "good times are ahead," but he puts it on—just as a trial. But it weighs his shoulders, and gives him difficulty in sitting upright. But he perseveres. After a while, though, he notices that other passengers are laughing at him due to his unusual clothing accessory. Feeling humiliated, he can’t stand it anymore, and he throws the parachute to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because as far as he was concerned, he was told an outright lie.
The second man was given a parachute, BUT he was told a different reason, in alarming detail: at any moment, without warning, a faulty flight could mean he would be jumping 25,000 feet off the plane. He takes it to heart: He doesn’t notice the discomfort of the parachute, because his mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he had to jump without it. He develops a deep-rooted peace in his heart knowing that he shall escape a sure death no matter what happens. He can deal with other passengers’ mockery—he knows that they need to do what he did. He might even engage them in intense conversation about their need for this safety device.
You can see what we’re saying. Under modern evangelism, this man-centered “improvement” approach is a guaranteed failure. People will take on Christ as an experiment to see whether their life does improve. But they get what the Scripture promises to the saved, at some points in their lives--temptation, tribulation, and persecution. They are humiliated by others, disillusioned about not seeing a rosy path develop for them. They take off the Lord Jesus, and are rightly embittered. They are now inoculated against evangelism in the future, and their latter end is worse than the first. Modern evangelism has promised them what God has not promised. The opposite of their expectation occurs. After all, God has every right to test us to see if we can really endure. Modern evangelism does not ask a crucial question: Are we able to drink of the cup that Jesus drank of?
We should take the second parachute approach, boldly telling every man, as Hebrews 9:27 says:
it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment
He must understand the horrific consequences of breaking the Law. He must be told to escape the wrath which is to come, when God judges the earth in righteousness. The issue is not one of happiness, but of righteousness. Then he will flee to Christ, and experience true peace and joy—the fruits of salvation. But don’t speak of peace and joy as a “draw card” for salvation, or sinners will respond with impure motives, lacking repentance. The man correctly taught will have much more motivation to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. When bad times come, he doesn’t throw off Christ—because his reason for taking on Christ is not for rosy paths, but to save him from future wrath. He has been re-taught to ignore man’s reasoning. If anything, trials will drive the true believer closer to the Savior—life will be that much better in heaven, and he will be looking more for heaven when life on earth gets miserable.
Mr. Comfort then told of an evangelistic crusade he preached in Australia. He preached of the Law, Hell, and wrath. He told of how few people came forward, and how the atmosphere felt tense. He felt the usual disappointment in people’s deafness. Perhaps he thought of Noah, “a just man, perfect in his generations..walked with God” (Gen. 6:9), who despite being “a preacher of righteousness” (II Peter 2:5), never was able to save a single soul outside his family. The Spirit lifted Mr. Comfort up, told him to simply carry on. Mr. Comfort confessed that this lack of results wore him down, and had pulled him, at one time period, unwittingly to preaching a man-centered Gospel—to get happier results. For that time he got lots of results—that was nice. The original numbers of people “saved” are higher that way, and there is less tension. People are happy to have Jesus take a turn at getting them out of the mess they’ve made of their lives. But--they are not clean from the wrath to come because we don’t tell them of the wrath to come. That was a glaring omission in his message. In the end, people should be asking what David, what the Prodigal Son, and Joseph asked: How could they sin against God? After all, He is also a God of wrath, and we can’t just ignore that—it’s one of His personality traits. Real repentance is understanding that the great offense here is against God, not just “horizontal” repentance against your fellow man. Mr. Comfort calls this “horizontal only” approach “superficial and experimental.” The prospect should be seeking something called “godly sorrow” to obtain true repentance, an important element in salvation. As II Corinthians 7:10 says: …godly sorrow produces repentance. In evangelism nowadays, we are missing discussing sin against God.
We have preached the cure without telling them of the disease.
AB Earle, who had 150,000 converts to his ministry in the mid-1800s, made the following quote:
I have found by long experience that the severest threatenings of the Law of God has a prominent place in leading men to Christ. They must see themselves lost before they will cry for mercy; they will not escape danger until they see it.
Mr. Comfort has noticed that there are many people who have been “saved” several times, yet their lives don’t show change. They’re still fornicating, still blaspheming, and so on. What they’re likely doing is: Using the grace of God for an occasion of the flesh. They sin, they might ask God to forgive them, they move on same as before. They don’t esteem the sacrifice and don’t understand how great the sin. It means nothing to them to trample the blood of Christ underfoot. The problem is: They’ve never been convinced of the disease that they might appropriate the cure.
When you study the Word, you find that Biblical evangelism is always Law to the proud and grace to the humble. Never do you see Jesus giving the gospel to proud, arrogant, self-righteous people. With the Law, He breaks the hard heart and with the Gospel, He heals the broken heart. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The proud and highly esteemed are an abomination to God (Luke 16:15). Note who gets the good tidings in Isaiah 61:1. The poor, the brokenhearted and the captives are those who are there spiritually:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound
Only the sick can appropriate a cure. In Luke 10:25-37, after being plainly asked "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?", Jesus gave the lawyer Law. Why? Because he was proud. Note v. 29 for that in part of the story below:
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves…(the rest of the story is of the Good Samaritan).
Jesus knew this Jewish lawyer didn’t like Samaritans. Then the Master Debater came to the climaxing point:
36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The lawyer had no response—he could see his own lack of love, compared to this generous Samaritan. He could see that he was a Commandment-breaker. The Law has done its job again—stopped his mouth, maybe convinced him of sin.
Note that a similar event happens when the rich young ruler visits Jesus. We read of it in Luke 18:18-23, where Jesus shies away from an easy response:
Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
Again, Jesus did not begin with the Gospel to this person. (Today, as soon as he asks, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” we would engage him in a salvation prayer). But Jesus sees a proud person underneath (v. 21), who was not ready for the Gospel. So in verse 20 the young ruler gets the Law—the “horizontal” part-- and is still convinced that he has never sinned (an advantage that only Jesus can claim, really). Then Jesus slyly points out his lack of the first commandment (Thou shall have no other gods before me) by showing him that his real god is his money. Once again, no argument. His mouth was stopped.
In contrast, we see Nicodemus, in John 3. While a leader of the Jews, he was humble of heart, acknowledging the deity of Jesus (verse 2). He receives the Gospel, and perhaps the greatest verse in His Word, John 3:16.
Consider also Nathanael, in John 1:47-51. In him was no deceit. Since that trait is a tool of the proud, he does not have that negative quality. Plus, he acknowledged the deity of Christ (v. 49). Jesus gives him the honor of prophesying about Himself and His future coming. Part of His glorious good news. This kinder approach goes for the Jews who gathered on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2. These were devout (a word which denotes humility) men, v. 5. What did Peter preach to them? Not the Law, but the Gospel. (But he doesn’t hesitate to lay blame on them for His crucifixion, v. 36).
Think of two verses to the great hymn, “At Calvary:”
Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died On Calvary. | |
By God’s Word at last my sin I learned; then I trembled at the law I’d spurned Till my guilty soul imploring turned To Calvary.
May God bless you as you search for His ways of presenting His precious Words to the lost in your environment. In the light of our first few paragraphs, remember the saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
There is a lot of insanity in evangelism these days.
Acknowledgement: Ray Comfort, “Hell’s Best Kept Secret," audio and book from Livingwaters.com.
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