Tag: Heart Knowledge

Love: The First and Greatest Commandment

LOVE. WE HEAR THAT word hundreds of times a week. Most of us take the word love seriously. Waiting, as it were, for what feels like the right time, to say “I love you” to a new lover in our lives. Comedians spoof those who are quick to blurt it out on a first date, along with How many children do you want? Me, I’d like five! When a new puppy eats our favorite sneaker, we say, “You’re lucky I love you!” We “love” pizza and wings, ribeye steaks on the grill, hot apple pie, a favorite Eagles song, our home town. We love our children. Our “best bud” from college. We love films like American Graffiti and The Terminator. We love “to cook,” or “to read books.” We might even love our jobs. Then, we’re told as believers in Christ to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. We’re told the gravity of this love: this is the great and first commandment.

“And he said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'” (Matt. 22:37-40, ESV).

But “all” is such a huge word. A footnote in the ESV Study Bible says to love with all of one’s “heart,” “soul,” and “mind” does not represent rigid compartments of human existence, but rather together refer to the whole person (1). This command originates in Deuteronomy 6:5 and encapsulates the idea that total devotion to God includes a duty to also obey the rest of His commandments (see Matt. 5:16-20). How is any of this even possible? Who can “obey the rest” of God’s commandments? All of the rest of God’s commandments? I cannot. Even with a change of heart and a desire to serve and to obey, to be a new creation in Christ, I cannot. Human nature will not allow for flawless performance of any set of rules or laws. Our will tends to get in the way of God’s will. Our ego says we can figure things out with our human intellect. Our shame says we’ll come back to God after we’re better. But we never get better. Not on our own.

Heart Knowledge

The lion’s share of what I “know” about Scripture, about God and His plan for redemption, is still in my head. I say this because I don’t always live as if I am redeemed and set free. On good days this is not an issue. I seem more “willing” to obey or feel like one of the saints. But on other days, not so much. If “worldview” is not just a set of basic concepts for living, but an orientation of the heart, as described by James Sire (2), then it is not effective to simply “believe” in Christian principles in our mind. Moreover, it is in our heart that we ask What do I believe to be true? Why do I believe it to be true? How does this apply to my everyday life? How does God expect me to act? We all ask the same four great questions: What is the origin of our universe? What is the purpose of our existence? How do we determine morality? What is our destiny when we die? To examine our worldview, we must look at the presuppositions, convictions and values from which we try to understand and make sense of life and the world around us. Phillips, Brown and Stonestreet clarify this even further, stating, “A worldview is the framework of our most basic beliefs that shapes our view of and for the world, and is the basis of our decisions and actions” (3). It is a mindset and a will set.

For any of us to be fully conscious intellectually we should not only be able to detect the worldviews of others but be aware of our own—why it is ours and why in the light of so many options we think it is true.

Surely, worldview is settled in the heart. We are told to love the Lord God with all our heart. But what happens if we know about God, or Jesus, or Christian doctrine for that matter, but such knowledge resides in our mind as “information” or data rather than in our heart? Can we demonstrate a Christian worldview without having Christ in our heart, where our worldview lives and breathes? And if Christ is in our mind but not in our heart, what does our worldview look like? Are we truly Christian? Is this why the Bible says Christians are known by their deeds? Acts 11:20-26 describes the ministry of the early disciples: they preached the Lord Jesus; the hand of the Lord was upon them; they exuded the grace of God; they were faithful to the Lord; they were steadfast in their purpose; they were full of the Holy Spirit; and because of them a great many were “added to the Lord.” They were first called Christians in Antioch as a result of their ministry (Acts 11:26). They were “in the way of Christ.” A “nominal” Christian is not Christian. He or she is not a “follower” of Christ. In such instance, Christianity is merely a religion.

A Living Theology

I like the concept, “A speaking God needs a hearing church.” This dovetails nicely with the principle that ours must be a living theology. Augustine of Hippo taught, “There are two things on which all interpretation of scripture depends: the process of discovering what we need to learn, and the process of presenting what we have learnt” (4). How can we teach what we do not understand and which we do not live? In this same vein, Hart calls Christian theology “faith thinking” (5). This is what is required for integrating Christianity into our larger picture of the world and our place in it. I believe apologetics involves bearing faithful and articulate witness to the source of our life and our hope (see 1 Pet. 3:15). Hart says, “The fact that we believe… implies, of course, an initial degree of understanding, however partial. After all, we could not properly be said to believe something of which we had no conception, something of which we could make no sense whatever” (6). And so Christian faith is driven by a desire to know more of that which is its source and raison d’être. But we must rail against a doctrinaire attitude. Hart says, “A theology of relevance to the society within which it is forged will of necessity be one which speaks the language of that society… we have to meet people and to address them where they are” (7).

A “living” theology is not one of detachment. Rather, it must be paired with spirituality, for our spiritual life is now, not some day in the great beyond. Granted, it is not easy to speak frankly about heaven and hell, sin and damnation, or to claim that Christ is the only way of salvation available to man. I believe the only way to avoid the strong dichotomies of theological detachment is to see all and do all through the eyes of love. We do not share Christ as the way to salvation for the sake of being elitist or narrow-minded, but to share the unmatched love and mercy of God. Growing in true knowledge of God changes our view of everything else. Kapic writes, “It is not that we lose sight of all except God, but rather that we view everything in light of God and through the story of his creation and redemption” (8). We begin to live the fundamental edict that all men are created equal by God, and that God desires all men to be saved. Life and theology must be inseparable. Martin Luther wrote, “It is through living, indeed through dying and being damned, that one becomes a theologian, not through understanding, reading, or speculation” (9). We learn Christian doctrine to participate more deeply, passionately, and truthfully with others.

Please know this: I am not “like Christ” in everything I do. Often, I make decisions “in the flesh.” Honestly, I thought it would be easier to love others, to withhold judgment, to not harbor anger or resentment, to be honest about my motives and actions, once I “became a Christian.” You can imagine the rude awakening! None of us simply “become” like Christ because we recite a prayer, renounce our sinful lives, and rely upon the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for redemption. I raised the question during one of my master’s degree classes whether the the act of Christ dying on the cross is what “saves” us from sin? What I meant is this: Don’t we have to respond to the act of Christ dying on the cross in order for it to have any effect? Scripture does not tell us that the mere fact of Jesus’ death is what saves us. If that were true, all would be saved! Rather, it is our choice to accept Jesus as the Messiah and to identify with His atoning death for our sins that saves us. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). We cannot “behave” our way into heaven.

There is no real life, no “life that is truly life,” no “more and better life than you ever imagined,” no “the way, the truth and the life” outside of Jesus. Certainly no “Life-charged life.” [I]f we want to know Jesus, if we want to immerse ourselves in the richness of the Jesus life, then we must become life-long students and lovers of the Scriptures—Derek Maul. *

Jesus loves the Father. He was sent to do the Father’s will. When the Pharisees berated Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath, He said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). He added, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel” (John 5:19-20). Jesus later said, “…but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31). Jesus told the disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Before His ascension, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

The love I speak of is far from typical. Paul defines it for us in 1 Corinthians 13. One of my favorite translations is from Eugene Peterson’s The Message: “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always ‘me first,’ doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies” (10). The Greek word for “love” in 1 Corinthians 13 is agapē—unconditional Christ-like love that transcends all other forms. It is the love that motivated Christ to submit Himself to crucifixion. He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).

Love spurred Jesus on, healing, teaching, setting captives free, raising the dead, casting demons from the bodies of the tormented. It is through love that we are expected to do as Jesus commands. Without love, it is impossible to serve Christ. To be “in the way” of Christ is to put oneself second. We show God’s love by listening to others; by being generous with our time and our assets; by encouraging others rather than putting them down; by performing acts of kindness; by being a prayer warrior, interceding on behalf of those in distress. When we love as Christ loves, we do so without regard to what it might cost us. Kristi Walker writes, “Jesus is the reason we even know what love is. In laying down His life for us, He taught us everything we need to know about true love. Love is self-sacrificing, generous, unending, not a temporary feeling or attraction. Because of God’s love for the world, we know love is also undeserving and often unreciprocated” (11).

Love God; Love Your Neighbor

Jesus told us to love God with all our being! But what does that look like? Spiritual love is not self-love, but self-sacrificing love. John writes, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). The cost of our adoption is immeasurable. He reminds us, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (v. 14). Then, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (v. 16). We are not to love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. As Jesus prepared to leave the disciples and return to the Father, He said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Which commandments? All of them? The “original” ten? The 613 total commandments established by the Jewish priesthood? No, that would be impossible. The Law was given not to control our behavior, but to show our need for a Savior. Jesus did not abolish the Law when He came; rather, He fulfilled the Law (see Matt. 5:17).

To love God is to seek His will. James tells us, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8a). Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). Some translations call this our reasonable service. Although I like the second wording, I appreciate the ESV translation that our reasonable service equals “spiritual worship.” David Jeremiah writes, “To be a living sacrifice seems an oxymoron because sacrifices are usually dead. So how are Christians supposed to be living sacrifices? With sacrificial service, or worship, that is reasonable for someone who is genuinely grateful for what they have received from God” (12). Paul notes in Romans 12:2 that we are made ready for service through transformation: being changed from the inside out. This change necessarily involves a change of heart. You may recall our worldview is settled in our heart. Zacharias said, “…that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days” (Luke 1:74-75).

John said, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Henry writes, “The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He that does not love the image of God in his people has no saving knowledge of God” (13)(italics mine). To love your neighbor as yourself is to recognize him or her as a child of God. God loves them enough to have sacrificed His Son on the cross in a brutal death as a propitiation for their sins. Christ laid down His life to save all from the wages of sin. He wishes that no one should perish (see 2 Pet. 3:9)—neighbors, friends, loved ones, even our enemies. We must love others through action: putting their needs first as we would want others to do for us; forgiving them as we are forgiven; causing them no harm; sharing with them the same love Christ has shown us. Henry reminds us, “For it is God’s nature to be kind, and to give happiness. The law of God is love. The provision of the gospel, for the forgiveness of sin, and the salvation of sinners, consistently with God’s glory and justice, shows that God is love” (14).

Steven Barto, B.S. Psy., M.A. Theology

References

(1) EVS Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 1870.
(2) James Sire, Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept, 2nd.ed. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 2015), 14.
(3) W. Gary Phillips, William E. Brown, and John Stonestreet, Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview, 2nd. ed. (Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing, 2008), 8.
(4) Augustine of Hippo, On Christian Teaching, Book One, II2 —IV4 (New York, NY: Oxford University Press World’s Classics, 2008), 8.
(5) Trevor Hart, Faith Thinking: The Dynamics of Christian Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1995), 1.
(6) Ibid., 3.
(7) Ibid., 5.
(8) Kelly M. Kapic, A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 26.
(9) Martin Luther, in Kapic, Ibid., 41.
(10) Eugene Peterson, The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006), 1683-84.
(11) Kristi Walker, “What is Love?” Christianity.com (Aug. 15, 2019). URL: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-is-love.html
(12) Dr. David Jeremiah, The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Franklin, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2013), 1561.
(13) Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1997), 1250.
(14) Ibid., 1250.

* Please visit Derek Maul’s website at https://derekmaul.blog/ for many great thoughts and studies and for information on books he has published.

The End of Me

Steven Barto, B.S., Psy., M.A. Theology

KYLE IDLEMAN’S BOOK The End of Me introduces us to the concept, “Where real life in the upside-down ways of Jesus begins.” In other words, the ways of Christ are often completely opposite of what we think might work. We think coming to the end of me means we cease to exist as an individual. It is Idleman’s belief that we need to be broken to be whole. I would add that we need to realize our brokenness—the mere presence of brokenness in our lives will mean nothing if it remains an undiscovered reason for our misery. Scripture speaks of many such dichotomies: mourn to be happy; humbled to be exalted; authentic to be accepted; helpless to be empowered; disqualified to be chosen; weak to be strong. No one knew this better than Paul.

Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20, ESV). He noted that through our own weakness we are made strong in Christ (see Phil. 4:13). He said, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Idleman quotes Colossians 3:3: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We can only come to the end of ourselves through accepting our brokenness and our weakness. This is how Romans 8:28 operates in the lives of those who follow Christ. Psalm 34:18 reminds us, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so we must strive to do the same (see John 8:29; 15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him our Savior and LORD; our redeemer and Master. Jesus said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:38-39). You cannot be “half a disciple.” When we cherry pick which verses to follow, or in any way serve self or the flesh instead of Jesus, we are not in the way of Jesus. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rom. 14:8-9).

Regarding coming to the end of ourselves in order to find Christ, Idleman recalls a conversation with a church member: “I was returning a call to a man named Brian. I read [in] my notes that his eighteen-month-old son had died a few weeks earlier. I didn’t know the details, but as a father of four, I can’t imagine such a loss. I said a prayer as I dialed his number. Brian answered with a monotone Hello. Having had many conversations like this over the past twenty years, I knew there was not much I could say. So, after expressing my heartbreak for his loss, I allowed silence to settle into our conversation. After a few moments, Brian spoke four words I was not prepared for. I backed over him” (1). After describing how their son opened the door and went outside, playing in the driveway, Brian explained how he discovered Jesus in a way he never had before. He said, “I feel like I reached this point in my life when I had absolutely nothing left, and it turns out that for the first time in my life, Jesus has become real.” When he reached the end of himself, Brian discovered Jesus.

We tend to fear any program of recovery or self-improvement that requires annihilation of “self.” Alcoholics often balk at Step 3 in the Alcoholics Anonymous program, fearing a loss of identity—Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him (2). Powell says, “Why don’t more Christians, myself included, look more like Jesus? Ego. You might call it ‘the flesh.’ I believe our definition for ‘ego’ closely parallels Paul’s definition for ‘flesh’. The ego is who you think you are. It’s your false identity, your body image, education, theological knowledge, clothes, friends, social status, job, successes and accomplishments. And, as Paul says, your ego is against your Spirit. Everyone has an ego, and I believe one of the major tasks of spiritual maturity is recognizing and letting go of the ego’s lies in favor of something better” (3).

The First Step

Idleman calls the end of me “where real life in the upside-down ways of Jesus begins.” This is the real paradox: at the end of me I find real life in Him. It is the same paradox as surrendering to win. Idleman writes, “[Jesus] is saying, ‘Down with the kingdom of this world and up with the kingdom of God” (4). Admittedly, I sometimes find myself feeling good when I spend money. Typically, my purchases are on items that will make me feel good or look good. Whenever we overspend to binge on the material things of this world we are establishing “idols.” Perhaps we do not like to look vulnerable. Personally, I don’t like to look “poor.” I cannot think of a better example of putting earth’s treasures and man’s respect before God! This is something I have finally come to examine closely.

Today, man has become masters of illusion, experts at covering pain, abusers of medication, slaves of financial debt, followers of fads, and partakers of loneliness. We don’t realize that we are broken, and that the only solution for being broken is to feel our brokenness. Another paradox: brokenness is the path to wholeness. Idleman believes real life begins at brokenness. He writes, “Broken things are precious. Broken people reveal the beauty and power of God. Flaws are openings” (5). I could not agree more. I have found my illusory life has limited my spiritual life and hindered stepping into God’s will for my life. My prayer today is simple: God, take my broken pieces and remold them into what seems best to you. We all must become willing to let the cracks in our facade show, but we find this extremely difficult. Social media posts, for example, allow us to edit our appearance, our lives, our opinions. We post for acceptance, not authenticity.

Nouwen writes, “What is our true vocation in life? Where can we find the peace of mind to listen to the calling voice of God? Who can guide us through the inner labyrinth of our thoughts, emotions, and feelings?” (6). He speaks of people who “know” the story of Christ and possess a deep desire to let this knowledge descend from their minds into their hearts. The trip from our brain to our heart—a mere eighteen inches—can be one of the longest journeys we will take in our lifetime. We all have a sense of “heart knowledge,” and we know it can give us the proper perspective on life, on love, on God, but we fail to make the leap from head to heart. The prophet Ezekiel wrote, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 11:19). Paul said, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10).

It’s a Matter of Spirituality

In his chapter “All These Other Things,” Nouwen says, “The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of pains and joys of the here and now. Therefore, we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year” (7). I learned a term in my undergraduate psychology studies: metacognition, which is an awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. Essentially, it is “thinking about what you are thinking about.” For me, this can be the underlying source of my opinion or behavior at any given moment. In this regard, it is a lot like metadata: a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.

To become aware of what we are thinking, we must honestly and courageously confront our many self-deceptive games. For example, a mood of resignation will prevent us from actively searching for the life of the Spirit. My spiritual frustration came from deciding that I was unworthy of salvation; of God’s love. I decided He could not possibly use me. This led to a sense of being unfulfilled. I had a gnawing sense that I was useless and worthless. This caused a lot of inaction in my life, which led to boredom. Nouwen writes, “To be bored… does not mean that we have nothing to do, but that we question the value of the things we do” (8). This is a brilliant revelation! He further notes that boredom is often closely linked to resentment. Huh? When we wonder if what we do means anything to anyone, we easily feed used, manipulated, and exploited, which can lead to anger and resentment. If we remain in this state, we begin to ask, “Is my life worth living?” and depression is not far behind.

Life has a way of pouring us out. It takes away a loved one, our job, our home. It can also take away our health and our hope. We come to the point where we’re holding onto nothing. We feel empty and hopeless. But we need to be empty to be filled, and God loves to fill empty things. There are many examples of this in Scripture. Jesus filled 5,000 empty bellies (see Matt. 14:13-21); He filled the empty soul of the woman at the well (see John 4:7-26). When we surrender to Christ, we set the stage for restoration. He heals our brokenness and makes us whole in Him. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

When We Help Others

Our ability to remember even the smallest of details from a past experience is truly remarkable. The older we get, the more we have to remember. Our memory plays a significant role in our emotional well-being. Trauma, failure, grief, pains, joys, satisfaction—all are stored for our recall, whether by choice or as baggage. Most of our emotions are tied inextricably to our memory. Nouwen notes that we “…perceive our world with our memories… our memories help us to see and understand new impressions” (9). Accordingly, when we engage in helping others—whether as a professional or a lay minister—the first questions are always directed to memory. The emotional pain most commonly encountered when counseling others is a suffering of memories. It is not unusual for us to bury painful or traumatic events deep inside our being. Individuals who repress such events often come from a family who does likewise. “We’re not going to talk about this ever again!” This is prevalent in a family who lacks intimate communication.

What is buried cannot be healed. By cutting off the past, we paralyze our future actions. I read a passage from a book on Buddhism years ago that provided the following warning: If we fail to deal with emotional hurts of the past, they will impact our future, wherein our actions will not so much be undertaken by us than driven by our memories. Scheler says, “Remembering is the beginning of freedom from the covert power of the remembered thing or occurrence” (10). Nouwen believes when our memories remain covered with fear, anxiety, or suspicion, the Word of God cannot bear fruit in our lives. He further makes a remarkable comparison: “The strategy of the principalities and powers is to disconnect us, to cut us off from the memory of God” (11). Paul said, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12) (italics added).

Ferguson says, “We have seen through union with Christ… all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith… when we are joined to him there is also a sense in which his life and power become available to us to transform our lives” (12). Jesus has paid for our past, and He has sanctified our present, so that our past may not dominate our present Christian life. This is a key factor in making sure the power of our past experiences do not destroy us in the present. Indeed, we are more than conquerors through Christ (see Rom. 8:37). As we grope for direction, meaning, and purpose, our quest must not be hampered by the hurts and sins of our past. Unresolved trauma and anger color what we see in others. It is not ideal to see our lives as a long list of randomly chained incidents and accidents. This has no place in the ministry of reconciliation.

A man walks down the street, he says, ‘Why am I soft in the middle, now? The rest of my life is so hard I need a photo-opportunity, I want a shot at redemption. Don’t want to end up in a cartoon graveyard… there were incidents and accidents, there were hints and allegations—Paul Simon.

Nouwen compares revolution (on a societal level) to transformation (on a personal level), and he turns to Christ for further comparison. He writes, “The liberals and progressives are fooling themselves by trying to make an intolerable [world] a little more tolerable” (13). Revolutionaries do not want a better human being, but a new human being. Revolutionaries must face self-reflection; in their quest to improve society they are also fighting their own reactions, fears, and ambitions. Radical activism must begin with radical self-examination. If, as we’ve discussed above, life means breaking down the barriers to our painful past, conversion and social change both derive power from a source above and beyond the corporeal. Nouwen says Jesus has taught us that changing the human heart and society are not separate endeavors, but are “…as interconnected as the two beams of the cross” (14).

Concluding Remarks

Kyle Idleman tells us that when we come to the end of our ropes, “real life” begins in the upside-down ways of Jesus Christ. People believe there is “something out there” that might give meaning and purpose to their lives, but they can’t seem to discovery what it is. The Bible tells us life’s real prize is hidden, and we have to know where to look. Scripture is our treasure map. Paul writes, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). Idleman says “the end of me” is where real life begins. Jesus told the disciples, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many [but] the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13-14). In other words, we can expect a tough path when we choose the road less traveled. It crosses through death, but it leads to life.

When Christ calls someone, he bids them come and die. He told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Of course, Jesus is not telling us physical death leads to life; He is talking about dying to ourselves. Today’s post-Christian culture wants nothing to do with this “nonsense,” because for them life is all about celebrating ourselves, finding more for ourselves. But you cannot get there from here. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25). He sums up this heavenly principle by adding, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (16:26).

References

*True Christianity requires a commitment to follow Christ; to be “in the way of” Christ; to live according to the Christian worldview in all circumstances. It involves a denial of self.

(1) Kyle Idleman, The End of Me (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishing, 2015), 11.
(2) Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, 4th ed. (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services), 2002.
(3) Frank Powell, “9 Ways Your Ego Prevents You From Experiencing God,” Frank Powell: Restoring Culture Through Christ. (n.d.). URL: https://frankpowell.me/ways-ego-christians-god
(4) Idleman, Ibid., 26.
(5) Ibid., 37.
(6) Henri Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2016), 5.
(7) Ibid., 7.
(8) Ibid., 10.
(9) Ibid., 224.
(10) Max Scheler, On the Eternal in Man, trans. Bernard Noble (New York, NY: Harper and Bros., 1960), 41.
(11) Nouwen, Ibid., 230.
(12) Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009, 1981), 103.
(13) Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society (New York, NY: Random House, 2010, 1972), 22.
(14) Ibid., 25.

Henri Nouwen and The Spiritual Life

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer, and theologian. He focused on integrating Christian theology, philosophy, and psychology. He unfortunately died of a massive heart attack while traveling to Russia to participate in a documentary about his book The Return of the Prodigal Son. He authored a total of thirty-nine books and hundreds of articles during his ministry. He struggled with loneliness, but had an uncanny ability to describe his personal struggles in a way that resonated with his many readers.

In his seminal book The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles, Nouwen described a persistent urge to enter more deeply into the spiritual life, but said he was confused about the direction in which to go. He desperately wanted to be among the believers who have a deep desire to “know” and experience the “story of Christ.” He noted that heart-knowledge was necessary over head-knowledge in order to accomplish this. He intimated that the method for accomplishing this was to “…set your hearts on [H]is kingdom first.”

All These Other Things

I think it is natural for the layperson (indeed, even the young minister) to determine that “the spiritual life” can only be realized through monk-like study and contemplation. Many believe we must sell our earthly possessions, quit our jobs, leave our family and our paramour, and walk into the dessert to confront our flesh and yield to the Spirit. First of all, if this were indeed the only way we can live a truly spiritual life then there would not be many among us who could achieve it.

Nouwen taught that the spiritual life is not a life “…before, after, or beyond our everyday existence.” Instead, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains, joys, difficulties, and successes of the here and now. We simply must begin our search for a Spirit-filled life by taking a careful and thorough look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year. It is only through this exercise that we can become more fully aware of our need for the Spirit in our lives. While earning my bachelor’s degree in psychology, I learned about a rather unique concept called metacognition. Essentially, this is an awareness and understanding of one’s thought processes. I like to call it thinking about what I’m thinking about.

When we are not content with the way our lives are going, we are not really very happy. There is no joy and no peace. Indeed, Christ said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, NASB). We must understand that any mood of resignation to our “lot in life” will prevent us from actively searching (and ultimately finding) the life of the Spirit. To get there, we need instead to be honest, show courage, and trust in a positive outcome from our journey. We must honestly unmask and courageously confront our many self-deceptive games.

From a psychological standpoint, we tend to bury (repress) our true feelings. We “stuff them,” hoping that ignoring them will work. That somehow this “baggage” will take itself out to the trash container. In addition, we are prone to project unwanted feelings and attributes within ourselves onto others. In other words, we “displace” our emotions. We also tend to use denial to cope with uncomfortable emotions and, sometimes, actions that have been perpetrated on us. Because many of our so-called defense mechanisms are subconscious and (accordingly) automatic, finding them and bringing them to the light of day requires us performing a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. I first heard of this concept while attending 12-step meetings in Alcoholics Anonymous. Believe me, this is a lot harder than it sounds.

The Essence of Spirituality

Spirituality is described by J.M. Houston as “the state of deep relationship to God.” It is noted that prior terms like “holiness” or “discipleship” tended to turn believers away from seeking a spiritual life, liking it to intense dedication at the expense of the day to day life. In addition, “spirituality” is somewhat abstract. It seems Catholic devotion was a spin-off of spirituality. Interestingly, the influence of secularism, atheism, pluralism, and moral relativism into virtually every avenue of Western life caused enough alarm among ministers and believers that many began to take devotion to Christ more seriously.

Christian heresies within the early church all won popularity because of the ascetic and mystical properties they featured more than the “doctrine” they espoused. Some heresies responsible for this reaction included Gnosticism, Greek mystical thought (especially during the period of Diaspora when the Jews were forced out of Israel), Trinitarian and Christological belief, Arianism, Docetism, and others. In fact, Islam is considered by some biblical scholars as a heresy of Judaism. You may remember the story of Abraham and God’s promise to him to bless him with a vast land and countless heirs through his otherwise barren wife Sarah. God said Abraham would be blessed and he would bless many. It was through Abraham that God instilled his plan for the redemption of mankind. Unfortunately, Abraham grew impatient and his faith waned. He and Sarah agreed that he would have sexual relations with Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar. As a result, Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, through whom the Muslim faith was established.

According to J.M. Houston, there are six aspects that characterize Christian spirituality:

  1. Asceticism as such does not define Christian spirituality because much of asceticism involves contempt for the material world. The biblical doctrine of creation recognizes that God created all things, and they were “good” (see Genesis 1). God does not ask the believer to detach from this good life.
  2. Biblical revelation of God as “personal” leaves no place for relying on human wisdom. Moses spoke with God face-to-face, the temple was filled with the Glory of God (Gr. shekinah), and the prophets all manifested God’s will and developed a degree of Christian spirituality never seen before.
  3.  Christian spirituality must be Christ-centered. Paul frequently talked about being “in Christ” to emphasize the union Christians can have with Jesus. The synoptic gospel writers describe following Jesus to mean being in union with love. God’s original purpose was to create man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-28). Moreover, redemption is interpreted as being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
  4. Christian spirituality by definition is life in the Trinity: believers accept God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as one triune God. It is through the Holy Spirit that Christians can cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
  5. Christian spirituality is the outworking of God’s grace in the human soul, beginning with conversion and concluding with having been killed, buried, and resurrected (to new life) with Christ.
  6. Christian  spirituality engenders fellowship, and the communion of saints. This aids in deepening the believer’s character. After all, iron sharpens iron. Spirituality can be tested by measurement of a believer’s public behavior and worship (Acts 2:42-47). Frankly, godliness and spiritual fellowship compliment each other. Christian worship is primarily a matter not of special practices or performances, but of lifestyle (Romans 12:1; 14:6; 1 Corinthians 10:31).

Nouwen speaks of being “filled” or “unfilled” relative to the spiritual life.

It seems that today’s believers are always busy. This is true for all of Western society. It is practically a badge of honor to be “too busy” to get everything done in a day. The fallout is a nagging sense that there are unfinished tasks, unfulfilled promises, unrealized potential. As if that were not enough to distract us, Nouwen says “more enslaving that our occupations, however, are our preoccupations. To be pre-occupied means to fill our time and place long before we are there.” I’ve been there many times. All those “ifs” running through my brain. What if that persistent left lower abdomen pain is cancer? What if I get killed in an automobile accident? What if my mother dies suddenly? What if I can never own a home? What if I can’t find a job in my chosen vocation? This habitual negative prognostication makes us wonder constantly what to do and what to say in case something happens in the future. We ruminate, making us anxious, fearful, suspicious, greedy, nervous, and morose.

What would our lives be like if we were to stop worrying? If we could ignore the urge to be entertained, to travel the world “in search of ourselves,” to buy so much, and to arm ourselves, perhaps our society as it exists today would fall apart. Unfortunately, we all seem to get caught up in materialism, wanderlust, competition, contrived needs, self-sufficiency, and workaholic behavior. We become so filled with the world and our selves that there is no room for God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. When this happens to a follower of Christianity, his or her walk with Christ is sorely compromised. This pervasive materialism can quench the Spirit and lead to a continual walk in the flesh.

Beneath our worrying lives, however, something else is going on. Our minds and hearts are filled with many things, and we wonder how we can ever hope to measure up to the hype. While busy with “this and that,” we seldom feel truly fulfilled. How can we? The material world is experienced solely through the flesh. The result is a gnawing sense of being unfulfilled. Nouwen says, “Boredom is a sentiment of disconnectedness.” He believes to be bored doesn’t really mean we have nothing to do. On the contrary, we question the value of the things we are so busy doing. He writes, “The great paradox of our time is that many of us are busy and bored at the same time” [italics mine]. The most debilitating expression of our unfulfillment is depression. Perhaps we can call this the spirituality of boredom.

This pervasive depression raises it’s ugly head in thought: “Is my life worth living?”

Boredom, resentment, and depression are sentiments of disconnectedness. There it is, plain as the nose on our faces. Man was created to be in fellowship with God and with each other. When we feel unfulfilled, our life is perceived as nothing more than a series of broken connections. Loneliness is one of the most widespread social diseases of our time. It affects not only retired life (although my father was never bored during his retirement), but also family life, neighborhood life, school life, and business life. Frankly, it is because of this sense of separation that many among us are suffering. This is true because when we feel cut off from the human family, we quickly lose heart.

We cannot, however, think of ourselves as passive participants in life who have no contribution to make. I’ve been there way too many times. Not unlike others, I have a need to feel relevant. Without that, we start to believe our pains are no longer growing pains and our struggles no longer offer the potential of a new or changed life. Our past is pointless, dead to us; our future seems to be leading us nowhere. It simply leaves us worried, preoccupied, and without promise.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

One of the most notable characteristics of worrying is that it fragments our very existence, cutting us off from everyone and everything, troubled by events that may never happen. But in our minds, we’ve come to believe we’re no longer destined for success or happiness. We’ve essentially “gone fleshly,” forgetting how to walk in the Spirit. The minutiae of our daily empirical world takes us in a million directions. We struggle to make sense of it all. Nouwen puts it this way: “…most of us have an address but cannot be found there. We know where we belong, but we keep being pulled away in many directions, as if we were still homeless.”

The proper way to address this inescapable spiritual malaise is through Jesus Christ. He responds to this condition of being filled yet unfufilled, very busy yet disconnected, running and looking, yet never leaving home. He wants to bring us to the place where we belong. But His call to live a spiritual life can only be heard when we are willing to honestly admit our own “homelessness” and fretful existence, and instead recognize that we are all from God, and He loves us much more than we could ever comprehend. He gave His one and only son to die a gruesome, painful death on the cross in order for us to live a life for salvation. A spiritual life. Not a life in the flesh, competing, compiling, coveting, stealing, worrying, or amassing material possessions just so we can “become fulfilled” in the flesh.

Instead of feeding our flesh, essentially our ego, with money and fame and “things,” we need to work at feeding our souls with the Spirit of Christ. When our treasure is with God, we will have no reason to worry—economic recession, falling stock prices, government shutdowns, pollution, extinction of various species, failing health. It would be more productive to realize nothing in this world, indeed in the entire universe, is as God intended. Man’s fall has impacted virtually every realm of physical existence, and it has shut us off from communion with God.

Christ did not die to fuel our material desires. He is not pleased with televangelists who speak only of “having it all,” indicating God seeks to bless us with wealth and success (which He does so long as it doesn’t own us, and we use it to bless others) but forgetting to talk about the wages of sin, the essential need for living in the Spirit denying the lusts of the flesh, and moving toward becoming Christ-like. He died an excruciating death on the cross to provide the means by which we can become redeemed and have the power to crucify the flesh. There is no other way to lead a true spiritual life.

Steven Barto, B.S. Psy., M.A. Theo.

References
Houston, J.M. (2017). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 3rd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Nouwen, H. (1985). The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles. New York, NY: Harper One.

The Essence of the Gospel

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The Gospel is the heart of the Bible. Everything in Scripture is either preparation for the Gospel, presentation of the Gospel, or participation in the Gospel.

Many believers “know” God intellectually. I did, initially. Actually, in many ways, I still do. I seem to know of Him more than I know Him. But head knowledge doesn’t cut it. It won’t change our lives. It might tell us how our lives can change. It may provide countless biblical examples of what this so-called changed life looks like; what we can and should do once we’ve become a new creation. But it will not imbue us with godliness or allow us to become Christ-like. The only way we can accomplish this is to get God from our head into our heart. Trust me, this is a lot harder than it sounds.

The most important doctrine in the Christian church is the Gospel. Pastors often encourage believers to begin with the Bible, but this approach challenges contemporary telling of the Gospel. For example, some think the Gospel is about social justice, others see it as salvation, and still others might see the Gospel as theological doctrine (kingdom, justification, sanctification). Just referring people to the Bible risks us losing them in the quagmire of confusion. We need to (i) promote the Gospel through how we live; and (ii) break the Gospel message down to the most basic.

We need God in our heart; not just in our head. This, however, is a life-long process.

As Christians, we often want to believe God in our head yet hang on to who we want to be in our heart. The heart is the seat of our soul: our emotions, desires, and will. To hold onto God intellectually while giving in to our every whim and desire of the flesh is precisely what is meant by trying to serve two masters. To dumb it down, this is also referred to as having our cake and eating it too. Eugene Peterson translates Matthew 6:24, “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other” (MSG). Well, that’s pretty plain, isn’t it? Okay, I’ll admit that from a sociological or legal perspective it is actually possible to serve two masters. But psychologically, or spiritually, if pressured to choose, our devotion for one will always drown out the other.

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As humans, whether we choose to believe it or not, we are servants. Yes, all of us! The bosses. The billionaires. The entrepreneurs. The retirees. Even when we’re not actively serving another human being, we are servants to our wants and desires. Paul understood the broad application of this passage. In Romans 8:5-6, he says, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (NIV). He says we can either be in the flesh (Romans 7:5) or in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). The litmus test for flesh versus Spirit is simple: How do you live your life? What do you give in to on a daily basis?

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GOSPEL

What is the “essence” of the Gospel? The word Essence refers to the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character. Some relevant synonyms include soul, spirit, ethos, intrinsic nature, reality. That last one is rather on point, isn’t it? As if we’re asking the question, “What is the reality of the Gospel?” Philosophers who teach on worldview talk of discovering the “really real.”

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Unconditional love and unwavering grace is the very essence of the Gospel. Jesus came to Earth to live among us, teach and inspire us, serving as Messiah and Exemplar. Man was created in the image of God. Jesus showed us what it looks like when we mirror that image. His entire life was a legacy of unconditional love, sacrifice, and servitude. We need to show love in all our day-to-day interactions with others. We must fine-tune our ability to recognize someone’s need, and then responding to that need. We are presented daily with opportunities to show love and kindness to those around us. There are many attributes which are manifestations of love, such as kindness, patience, selflessness, understanding, grace, and forgiveness. In all our associations, whenever we can, if we display these attributes it will be outward proof of the love and grace we have in our hearts as a result of becoming one with Christ.

For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! — Charles Spurgeon

But what does it mean to preach the entire Gospel? Unfortunately, there are nearly as many answers to this question as there are denominations and sects within the Body of Christ. To truly preach the Gospel is to clearly and unabashedly state every doctrine contained in God’s Word. It includes giving the Word the prominence it deserves. I’ve been to a number of church services in my lifetime. Some of the experiences were, to be as polite as possible, very interesting. Some were, well, just a bit of a downer. All the doom and gloom—how bad we are, nothing but sinners, deserving of eternal pain and separation from God—yet with no mention of the “Good News.” I left more than one sermon feeling as lost and confused as I did when I walked in. Thankfully, I have come full-circle and returned to the church of my youth where I accepted Christ at an alter call at age thirteen and was baptized as an outward display of my new-found faith.

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No man can claim to preach the whole Gospel if he knowingly and routinely leaves out even one single truth about Jesus Christ, God the Father, or the Holy Spirit. I’m a real fanatic when it comes to pastors sticking to the true Gospel message. Many church leaders today “tone it down,” perhaps hoping to avoid offending the congregation. People love hearing “it’s not your fault,” and “Jesus loves you anyway.” They don’t want to be confronted about their wrongdoing. I know I don’t! But I’ve come to accept who I am and realize there is work to be done if I ever hope to fulfill God’s plan for me.

Pastors who are afraid to speak doctrinal truth because they might scare people away are not being shepherds. Such an approach to ministry can actually serve to detract others from the Good News. The apostle Paul summarized the Gospel as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through whom sin is atoned, sinners are reconciled to God, and the hope of the resurrection awaits all who believe. He wrote, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2, NASB). If it sounds like a difficult undertaking, it is. I’ve found it requires singleness of purpose even if we have to wear blinders to the distractions of the flesh.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR CHURCHES?

We’re told in Acts 2:41, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (NIV). The early church grew exponentially. New believers were devoted to the teaching of the Apostles and were possessed by a great sense of awe over God’s glory. I asked a member of my church, “If you had a choice, would you rather be living in the twenty-first century or back in the first century where you’d have a chance to meet Jesus and sit at His feet and hang on His every word? Walk with Him throughout Judea as He tells you about God’s love and grace?” Hands down, he’d rather be living during the time of Christ. Imagine the power and charisma that must have radiated from Jesus! I imagine His empathy and love were palpable. He judged no one. He hated no one. When put to the test by the Pharisees, Jesus always responded with the entire Gospel in mind, typically saying, “It is written.”

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A friend of mine who has served as a youth pastor and associate pastor said, “I am upset and discouraged by the dwindling number true Bible-believing churches that teach the Gospel in America today.” His biggest pet peeve is churches who have “professional” concerts, coffee clatches before or between services, movie night, dozens of support groups, countless missions they support, and yet near-silence on the wages of sin, the answer to breaking free from the bondage of the flesh, and an obligation to preach the entire Gospel. He said, “Church isn’t about entertainment.” Personally, I love worshiping Jesus in song. My church has a full-time (paid) worship leader, and we’ve invested a fairly large of money in sound equipment, in-ear wireless monitors for the team members, lights, and a computer-controlled projection of lyrics and related images.

WATERED-DOWN CHRISTIANITY LEADS TO LUKEWARM CHRISTIANS

Frankly, however, I see my friend’s point. The Christian church of today has been leaning toward “watering down” the Gospel at a critical time in history where we should be screaming from the rooftops the entire truth about sin and death, Christ and grace, the cross and forgiveness. Pastors who preach a less-than message risk lulling their congregations into a state of lukewarmness the Book of Revelation warns us about. Revelation 3:15-16 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (NIV)[italics mine].

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Lukewarm Christians clearly risk being rejected by Christ. It would seem critical, therefore, that we recognize the signs. First, do you seek God before making decisions? One of the major aspects of the Christian life is trusting God to lead. It’s a desire to see His will in our lives over our own. This requires having faith that God’s way is the best way. The lukewarm Christian doesn’t really believe this; they will always make their own decisions without consulting God. Second, people do not take your “Christian walk” seriously. A lukewarm Christian displays an inconsistent witness at best. Friends are able to tell you’re not “all in” for Jesus. If your friends don’t believe what you confess about your commitment to Jesus, is it because your words don’t match your actions? Third, lukewarm Christians  tend to make a habit of testing the limits of God by trying to serve Him and the flesh. A compromised Christian walk is more dangerous than no walk at all.

Thom S. Rainer, in his blog post “Fifteen Reasons Our Churches are Less Evangelistic Today,” provided the following table listing those reasons:

  1. Christians have lost their sense of urgency to reach lost people.
  2. Many Christians and church members do not befriend and spend time with those who are lost and in need of the Good News.
  3. Many Christians and church members have become apathetic.
  4. We are more known for what we’re against than what we’re for.
  5. Churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go” (see Matthew 28:16-20).
  6. Many church members think that evangelism is the role of the pastor and paid staff.
  7. Church membership today is more about getting “my needs met” rather than reaching the lost and the worse off.
  8. Church members are in a retreat mode as culture become more worldly and unbiblical. Culture has begun to tie the hands of Christianity.
  9. Many church members don’t really believe that Christ is the only way to salvation.
  10. Our churches are no longer houses of prayer.
  11. Churches have lost their focus on making disciples who will be motivated and equipped to reach the lost.
  12. Christians to not wish to share the truth of the Gospel for fear they will offend others. Political correctness is too commonplace, even among Christians.
  13. Most churches have unregenerate members who have not received Christ themselves.
  14. Some churches have theological systems that do not encourage evangelism.
  15. Our churches have too many activities; they are too busy to do the things that really matter.

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

The synoptic gospels unite in opening the ministry of Jesus with a summary statement of His message. Matthew writes, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mark tells us that Jesus preached “…the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (ESV). The Gospel of Luke is specifically addressed to Theophilus and is focused on the complete story and history of Jesus Christ from His birth and ministry to His crucifixion and ressurection. Luke focuses on the teachings of Christ about salvation and Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. It includes the beautiful birth story of the baby Jesus and the miracle conception by God. The first five verses of the Gospel of John show us the divine participation of Jesus as the Word who was present at the moment of Creation. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made.

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Ed Stetzer (2012) wrote in Christianity Today, “The gospel is not habit, but history. The gospel is the declaration of something that actually happened. And since the gospel is the saving work of Jesus, it isn’t something we can do, but it is something we must announce. We do live out its implications, but if we are to make the gospel known, we will do so through words.” Of course, evangelism is about speaking Christ to others; it’s also about living Christ in front of others. Virtually any activity provides Christians with the opportunity share their faith in Christ. This involves sharing the good word and doing the good deed. Frankly, this is a huge responsibility. My pastor recently said, “The number one attraction to the Gospel is other Christians.” Makes sense, right? He wasn’t done. He added, “But unfortunately the number one detractor to the Gospel is other Christians.”

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Christian ministers have always sought new ways to attract non-believers to their gatherings. The more non-believers you have, the greater likelihood that at least some of them will come to faith in Jesus. The great British pastor, Charles Spurgeon, observed that when hunting ducks, if you are shooting at a large group of them flying overhead, you have a much greater chance of hitting one or two than if you are shooting at a solitary fowl. However, it is imperative that believers refrain from going to church just to sit in the pew and wait for unbelievers to show up. Clearly, Jesus commanded that we “go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV)[emphasis mine].

Some of the means ministers use to attract people are innovative and effective; others are downright silly and accomplish nothing. Non-Christians may be devoid of the Holy Spirit, but they are usually smart enough to smell nonsense when they see it. Other church leaders, considering themselves too spiritual to ever use any means whatsoever to attract unbelievers, are content to simply pray and preach the gospel, and hope that somehow people will just show up in their meetings. Sometimes it happens; often it does not. However, too many churches have “competitive” and rather manipulative ways to attract non-believers to their gatherings.

This is one situation in which “keep it simple” is the perfect attitude. A successful evangelical message serves to convict people of their sins, explaining the Good News in a contextual manner, while keeping the core message explicit and clear. The message should be delivered from a position of compassion for the lost sheep. This is especially true when reaching out to those whom we believe are living a lifestyle that is in direct contrast to biblical principles. For example, we will never reach same-sex couples, alcoholics, drug addicts, or those experiencing gender confusion if we convict or (worse yet) condemn them. Never forget that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1). We simply cannot reach those whom we despise as we won’t want to spend any time with them. Of course, lastly, the message must be Christ-centered and include reference to what occurred because of the cross.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

References

Peterson, E. (2006). The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

Rainer, T. (Feb. 23, 2015). “Fifteen Reasons Our Churches are Less Evangelistic Today,” [Web Log Comment]. Retrieved from: https://thomrainer.com/2015/02/fifteen-reasons-churches-less-evangelistic-today/

Stetzer, E. (June 25, 2012). “Preach the Gospel, and Since It’s Necessary, Use Words.” Christianity Today. Retrieved from: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2012/june/preach-gospel-and-since-its-necessary-use-words.html