In March of this past year, Vision New England published the results of their "Recent Convert Study," wherein they interviewed 200 converts who had come to faith in Christ within the last two years. Two statistics made quite an impression on me:
(1) Seventy-one percent (71%) of the recent converts came to Christ through the witness of a personal friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family member.
(2) Eighty-six percent (86%) of the recent converts said that the process of coming to faith took months to years.
Neither of these statistics surprise me, because they are very consistent with what I've seen for myself here at First Baptist Church. The vast majority of folks who have come to faith in Christ began their spiritual journey as a result of a friend or family member who took a personal interest in them and extended a personal invitation to come to a Sunday morning worship service, Bible study, or some other church-related function.
Furthermore, virtually every person who has come to know the Lord as his or her Savior over the last few years did not come to faith immediately, but over a period of time, as they sat under the teaching of God's Word, and were prayed for and befriended by caring Christians.
While there are many avenues in which evangelism takes place, certainly on of the most effective means is the formation of redemptive relationships. Just recently, a bicycle/car accident resulted in the death of a ten-year-old boy who had attended First Baptist Church many times at the invitation of one of our member-families. The driver of the car who hit him happened to be a neighbor whose children have also been to our church -- again through the invitation of this same church member-family. Who knows how this network of relationships will work out to the glory of God and the good of these families in the wake of this awful tragedy?
We never know how God might use our feeble attempts to befriend others with the love of Christ to make a difference for eternity. What a great reminder to be faithful in forming redemptive relationships with every person that God puts in our path! Remember, "the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (Prov. 11:30).
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?
This past Tuesday, the Vatican said that Christian denominations outside Roman Catholicism were not full churches of Jesus Christ. This was really a re-statement of the controversial document "Dominus Iesus" (Latin for "Jesus is Lord"), issued by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000. The 16-page document says that Christendom suffers from a "wound" of disunity because non-Catholic Christian churches do not recognize the primacy of the Pope. Under Section 4, "Unicity and Unity of the Church," the document reads:
Just as there is one Christ, so there exists a single body of Christ, a single Bride of Christ: “a single Catholic and apostolic Church”. Furthermore, the promises of the Lord that he would not abandon his Church (cf. Mt 16:18; 28:20) and that he would guide her by his Spirit (cf. Jn 16:13) mean, according to Catholic faith, that the unicity and the unity of the Church — like everything that belongs to the Church's integrity — will never be lacking.
The Catholic faithful are required to profess that there is an historical continuity — rooted in the apostolic succession — between the Church founded by Christ and the Catholic Church: “This is the single Church of Christ... which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care (cf. Jn 21:17), commissioning him and the other Apostles to extend and rule her (cf. Mt 28:18ff.), erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and mainstay of the truth' (1 Tim 3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the Catholic Church. . . .
Basically, this document asserts that the Church Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16:18 was and is none other than the organized Catholic church. "This is," according to them, "the single Church of Christ," the historical continuity of which is "rooted in the apostolic succession."
Is this what Jesus meant when He said, "Upon this rock I will build My church"? Was the rock Peter? If this was the case, why didn't Jesus just say to Peter, "Upon you I will build My church"? (After all, Peter was standing right there!) The reason is that Peter was not the rock on which Jesus would build His church, but rather the truth that Peter had just uttered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Hence, as J. C. Ryle wrote:
It was not the person of the Apostle Peter but the good confession which the Apostle had just made! It was not Peter, the erring, unstable man, but the mighty truth which the Father had revealed to Peter. It was the truth concerning Jesus Christ Himself which was the rock. . . . It was the blessed truth, that Jesus was the promised Saviour . . . the real Intercessor between God and man. This was the rock, and this the foundation, upon which the Church of Christ was to be built.
The Catholic hierarchy has woefully forgotten this vital fact. They have twisted Jesus' words to mean something He never intended. Nobody is saved or becomes a member of Christ's body by being Catholic ... or Baptist, or Methodist, or Presbyterian, or becoming a member of any other ecclesiastical society or denomination! The Bible says that the true Church consists of all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ the Son of God to save them, by relying fully on His substitutionary death and resurrection on their behalf. To quote Ryle again:
It will not save your soul to be an outward member of any ecclesiastical body whatever, however sound that body may be. Such membership will not wash away one sin, or give you confidence in the day of judgment. There must be personal faith in Christ, -- personal dealings between yourself and God, -- personal felt communion between your own heart and the Holy Ghost. Have you this personal faith? Have you this felt work of the Holy Spirit in your soul? This is the grand question. If not you will be lost.
Second Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." The members of Christ's body may belong to a diversity of denominations here on earth, but they all believe in and belong to one Lord: Jesus Christ. He alone is "head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23). Don't let any Pope, priest, church council, or self-proclaimed prophet tell you otherwise.
Just as there is one Christ, so there exists a single body of Christ, a single Bride of Christ: “a single Catholic and apostolic Church”. Furthermore, the promises of the Lord that he would not abandon his Church (cf. Mt 16:18; 28:20) and that he would guide her by his Spirit (cf. Jn 16:13) mean, according to Catholic faith, that the unicity and the unity of the Church — like everything that belongs to the Church's integrity — will never be lacking.
The Catholic faithful are required to profess that there is an historical continuity — rooted in the apostolic succession — between the Church founded by Christ and the Catholic Church: “This is the single Church of Christ... which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care (cf. Jn 21:17), commissioning him and the other Apostles to extend and rule her (cf. Mt 28:18ff.), erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and mainstay of the truth' (1 Tim 3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the Catholic Church. . . .
Basically, this document asserts that the Church Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16:18 was and is none other than the organized Catholic church. "This is," according to them, "the single Church of Christ," the historical continuity of which is "rooted in the apostolic succession."
Is this what Jesus meant when He said, "Upon this rock I will build My church"? Was the rock Peter? If this was the case, why didn't Jesus just say to Peter, "Upon you I will build My church"? (After all, Peter was standing right there!) The reason is that Peter was not the rock on which Jesus would build His church, but rather the truth that Peter had just uttered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). Hence, as J. C. Ryle wrote:
It was not the person of the Apostle Peter but the good confession which the Apostle had just made! It was not Peter, the erring, unstable man, but the mighty truth which the Father had revealed to Peter. It was the truth concerning Jesus Christ Himself which was the rock. . . . It was the blessed truth, that Jesus was the promised Saviour . . . the real Intercessor between God and man. This was the rock, and this the foundation, upon which the Church of Christ was to be built.
The Catholic hierarchy has woefully forgotten this vital fact. They have twisted Jesus' words to mean something He never intended. Nobody is saved or becomes a member of Christ's body by being Catholic ... or Baptist, or Methodist, or Presbyterian, or becoming a member of any other ecclesiastical society or denomination! The Bible says that the true Church consists of all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ the Son of God to save them, by relying fully on His substitutionary death and resurrection on their behalf. To quote Ryle again:
It will not save your soul to be an outward member of any ecclesiastical body whatever, however sound that body may be. Such membership will not wash away one sin, or give you confidence in the day of judgment. There must be personal faith in Christ, -- personal dealings between yourself and God, -- personal felt communion between your own heart and the Holy Ghost. Have you this personal faith? Have you this felt work of the Holy Spirit in your soul? This is the grand question. If not you will be lost.
Second Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." The members of Christ's body may belong to a diversity of denominations here on earth, but they all believe in and belong to one Lord: Jesus Christ. He alone is "head of the church: and He is the Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23). Don't let any Pope, priest, church council, or self-proclaimed prophet tell you otherwise.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
When Unbelievers Die, How Do You Comfort the Living?
Following last Sunday's sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, one of our church members sent me the following e-mail: "Here's a question for you regarding the topic of sundays sermon: How do you deal with a new believer that has realized that someone they love died without Christ? How do you comfort THAT, or try and combat their rejection of Christ because of that? I've come across it a couple times already with people close to me, so I am looking for some fresh insite. Seems to be bound to come around again!"
Good point! Most likely, all of us will eventually encounter such questions. What do we say? How do we comfort Christians (or non-Christians) regarding unsaved loved ones who have died?
This is without question a very delicate subject and must be handled very carefully and prayerfully. I think it's very important that we not give them a sense of false hope. That is, if we have no reason to think that they are in heaven, don't give others the impression that they are. This would undermine the authority of God's Word, minimize a person's need for salvation, and create confusion over the nature of true conversion, among other things.
As Christians, we are to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). I think there is a way to offer a measure of comfort without compromising the Scriptures. Personally, I would keep in mind and draw into our conversation three key points from Scripture:
1. The Righteousness (or Rightness) of God
Abraham said in Genesis 18:25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" This was a rhetorical question; that is, Abraham was stating a fact by way of a question. Yes, the Judge of all the earth will do right. We can count on that.
This verse reminds us that, ultimately, God is the Judge, not us. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 17:10). God sees everything perfectly and will deal with everyone appropriately. God is utterly just and righteous; therefore, nobody will suffer any injustice with God. Nobody will be treated unfairly. This we can affirm with great confidence and utmost sincerity, based on the truth of Scripture.
2. The Rich Man and Lazarus
This goes directly to the second question that was asked: How do you deal with a person that is tempted to reject Christ because his or her unsaved loved one died apart from Christ? Truly, "love is as strong as death." Therefore, someone might say, "If my loved one isn't in heaven, then I don't want to be there either. I'd rather be in hell where they are."
This is where I think the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) would be a helpful reference. Remember that the rich man cried out, "I am tormented in this flame." Then he said to Abraham, who was in Paradise: "I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him [Lazarus] to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment" (vv. 27-28). Clearly, the rich man did not want his loved ones to join him in hell.
Years ago, the heavy-metal rock band AC/DC came out with a song entitled "Highway to Hell," wherein they said:
Living easy, livin' free
Season ticket, on a one - way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too.
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell.
Folks, hell is no joke. It is a place of horrific torment, where "there will be weeping and ganshing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30). Nobody who loves anybody would want that person in hell.
3. The Rest that Christ Offers
We must realize that there is only so much comfort we can genuinely offer to those whose loved ones have died apart from Christ. That's precisely the point of 1 Thes. 4:13 -- We as Christians do not sorrow as those who have no hope.
However, it is when a person is overwhelmed by such grief, that we can extend to them Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-29: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
There is no greater remedy that we can offer to the bereaved. Christ alone "heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). To have Him is to have hope. This is the good news of the gospel.
Good point! Most likely, all of us will eventually encounter such questions. What do we say? How do we comfort Christians (or non-Christians) regarding unsaved loved ones who have died?
This is without question a very delicate subject and must be handled very carefully and prayerfully. I think it's very important that we not give them a sense of false hope. That is, if we have no reason to think that they are in heaven, don't give others the impression that they are. This would undermine the authority of God's Word, minimize a person's need for salvation, and create confusion over the nature of true conversion, among other things.
As Christians, we are to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). I think there is a way to offer a measure of comfort without compromising the Scriptures. Personally, I would keep in mind and draw into our conversation three key points from Scripture:
1. The Righteousness (or Rightness) of God
Abraham said in Genesis 18:25, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" This was a rhetorical question; that is, Abraham was stating a fact by way of a question. Yes, the Judge of all the earth will do right. We can count on that.
This verse reminds us that, ultimately, God is the Judge, not us. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 17:10). God sees everything perfectly and will deal with everyone appropriately. God is utterly just and righteous; therefore, nobody will suffer any injustice with God. Nobody will be treated unfairly. This we can affirm with great confidence and utmost sincerity, based on the truth of Scripture.
2. The Rich Man and Lazarus
This goes directly to the second question that was asked: How do you deal with a person that is tempted to reject Christ because his or her unsaved loved one died apart from Christ? Truly, "love is as strong as death." Therefore, someone might say, "If my loved one isn't in heaven, then I don't want to be there either. I'd rather be in hell where they are."
This is where I think the story of The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) would be a helpful reference. Remember that the rich man cried out, "I am tormented in this flame." Then he said to Abraham, who was in Paradise: "I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him [Lazarus] to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment" (vv. 27-28). Clearly, the rich man did not want his loved ones to join him in hell.
Years ago, the heavy-metal rock band AC/DC came out with a song entitled "Highway to Hell," wherein they said:
Living easy, livin' free
Season ticket, on a one - way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too.
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell.
Folks, hell is no joke. It is a place of horrific torment, where "there will be weeping and ganshing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30). Nobody who loves anybody would want that person in hell.
3. The Rest that Christ Offers
We must realize that there is only so much comfort we can genuinely offer to those whose loved ones have died apart from Christ. That's precisely the point of 1 Thes. 4:13 -- We as Christians do not sorrow as those who have no hope.
However, it is when a person is overwhelmed by such grief, that we can extend to them Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-29: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
There is no greater remedy that we can offer to the bereaved. Christ alone "heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). To have Him is to have hope. This is the good news of the gospel.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Having Hope
Last Sunday, July 1, I preached on the Christian meaning of "hope" as used in the New Testament. It's not wishful thinking but rather a joyful and confident expectation believers have in their final, eternal salvation.
My wife Ruthie came across an excellent illustration of this in Mary Somerville's book, One with a Shepherd: The Tears and Triumphs of a Ministry Marriage. Mrs. Somerville writes, "We can get up in the morning with hope and we don't need to fear what may happen next in our congregation, family, or world. What is the worst that can happen to us as believers? Our last and worst enemy is death. We will have power over the worst enemies we have to face."
Somerville goes on to share that her own mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was in her fifties. Yet her faith and hope in the Lord remained strong. She was confident that she would dwell in His house forever. So great was her faith in the face of death, that her own husband wrote the following letter to his home church three months after she went to heaven:
Dear Pastor Dick and Family and Beloved Friends,
Enclosed is a little Thanksgiving gift to the church in appreciation for the blessing that you and your people have been to my family and me through the years -- through times of joy and through times of bereavement.
I thank God at this Thanksgiving season for sins forgiven, for a great Priest touched with a feeling for my infirmities, for the privilege of being a small tool in His mighty hand, for His guidance, for His ear that hears my prayers, for His arm on which to lean, for His precious Word in which He speaks to us explicitly and for the blessed, blessed hope of His soon coming!
I thank Him, more than all else, for utter safety. In the past I have known what it was to be afraid, but now I know that I am entirely and perfectly secure. I feel that I have come into a safe place, a safe harbor. Nothing, absolutely nothing, not my own deeds nor those of others, not the works of devils, or circumstances, or so-called fate, nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Sorrow and bereavement can come, death can even put my body and that of my beloved in the grave, but whatever comes, it passes first through His tender hands, and so I can love it because it comes from Him!
Nothing can keep me out of heaven. I am safe now as though I were already there. Just a few years to live, a few tasks to be done and then to be forever with Him and our beloved gone on before, our daily portion glory beyond infinite glory! Thankful? My cheeks are often wet with happy tears. Why He gives all this to a poor creature like me I don not know, but I know that I shall need all eternity in which to thank Him for it!
As you fellowship in Him ... may your expectation and ever desire be found in Him and the Blessed Hope.
Affectionately yours till he comes,
-- Robert L. Gates.
What a great legacy of faith! Somerville goes on to say that her dad finished his "few years to live" at the ripe age of 90, then he, too, went home to be with the Lord. That's where we will ALL be some day, those of of who have trusted in Jesus Christ as our precious Savior and Lord.
This is the kind of hope Christ gives us and heaven holds for us! Remember, Christian: When there is no hope on the horizontal level, there is always hope on the vertical level!
My wife Ruthie came across an excellent illustration of this in Mary Somerville's book, One with a Shepherd: The Tears and Triumphs of a Ministry Marriage. Mrs. Somerville writes, "We can get up in the morning with hope and we don't need to fear what may happen next in our congregation, family, or world. What is the worst that can happen to us as believers? Our last and worst enemy is death. We will have power over the worst enemies we have to face."
Somerville goes on to share that her own mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was in her fifties. Yet her faith and hope in the Lord remained strong. She was confident that she would dwell in His house forever. So great was her faith in the face of death, that her own husband wrote the following letter to his home church three months after she went to heaven:
Dear Pastor Dick and Family and Beloved Friends,
Enclosed is a little Thanksgiving gift to the church in appreciation for the blessing that you and your people have been to my family and me through the years -- through times of joy and through times of bereavement.
I thank God at this Thanksgiving season for sins forgiven, for a great Priest touched with a feeling for my infirmities, for the privilege of being a small tool in His mighty hand, for His guidance, for His ear that hears my prayers, for His arm on which to lean, for His precious Word in which He speaks to us explicitly and for the blessed, blessed hope of His soon coming!
I thank Him, more than all else, for utter safety. In the past I have known what it was to be afraid, but now I know that I am entirely and perfectly secure. I feel that I have come into a safe place, a safe harbor. Nothing, absolutely nothing, not my own deeds nor those of others, not the works of devils, or circumstances, or so-called fate, nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Sorrow and bereavement can come, death can even put my body and that of my beloved in the grave, but whatever comes, it passes first through His tender hands, and so I can love it because it comes from Him!
Nothing can keep me out of heaven. I am safe now as though I were already there. Just a few years to live, a few tasks to be done and then to be forever with Him and our beloved gone on before, our daily portion glory beyond infinite glory! Thankful? My cheeks are often wet with happy tears. Why He gives all this to a poor creature like me I don not know, but I know that I shall need all eternity in which to thank Him for it!
As you fellowship in Him ... may your expectation and ever desire be found in Him and the Blessed Hope.
Affectionately yours till he comes,
-- Robert L. Gates.
What a great legacy of faith! Somerville goes on to say that her dad finished his "few years to live" at the ripe age of 90, then he, too, went home to be with the Lord. That's where we will ALL be some day, those of of who have trusted in Jesus Christ as our precious Savior and Lord.
This is the kind of hope Christ gives us and heaven holds for us! Remember, Christian: When there is no hope on the horizontal level, there is always hope on the vertical level!
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