Truth, love, and patience.
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Writing to his friends; Paul said:
"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that
we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I
may proclaim it clearly, as I should." (Col 4:3-4)
Proclaiming the mystery of Christ clearly as one should means to avoid
sophisticated intellectualism. (1Cor 2:1-5)
For example: when physicist Stephen Hawking set out to write his fabulously
popular book "A Brief History Of Time" he determined to make an effort to
speak of complicated cosmological concepts for a layman's ears. Well; he
succeeded, and consequently just about anybody with an average IQ and
the ability to read can pick up Stephen's book and get something out of it.
When the Bible is taught with too many uncommon words, the result isn't
much different than speaking in a foreign language. So to avoid a language
barrier, I suggest keeping one's presentation colloquial, i.e. informal.
"In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others
than ten thousand words in a tongue." (1Cor 14:19)
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Writing to his friends; Paul said:
"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that
we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I
may proclaim it clearly, as I should." (Col 4:3-4)
Proclaiming the mystery of Christ clearly as one should means to avoid
sophisticated intellectualism. (1Cor 2:1-5)
For example: when physicist Stephen Hawking set out to write his fabulously
popular book "A Brief History Of Time" he determined to make an effort to
speak of complicated cosmological concepts for a layman's ears. Well; he
succeeded, and consequently just about anybody with an average IQ and
the ability to read can pick up Stephen's book and get something out of it.
When the Bible is taught with too many uncommon words, the result isn't
much different than speaking in a foreign language. So to avoid a language
barrier, I suggest keeping one's presentation colloquial, i.e. informal.
"In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others
than ten thousand words in a tongue." (1Cor 14:19)
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John 15:17-19
1 Jn 3: 18-23:
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
I cinsider the verses above to be the gospel condensed into its most succinct form!
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Rom 10: 14-15:
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
1 Cor 3: 9:1 Cor 3: 12-15:
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
I suspect that thre fire that tries what we build is revealed when all the elements melt with fervent heat , just before a new heaven and a new earth are created. Only two things will cross over to the next creation from this temporal one, and that is the word of God and the faithful who have turned to the Lord. The gold, silver, and precious stones here refers to the those who have been born of the Spirit in this life.
Mt 25: 20-30
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
At worst your encouraging the brethern to him their talents in the dirt and at best to have such a one to come through the firey trial, suffering loss, but to be saved; yet so as by fire.
Pr 11: 30:
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Jam 5: 19-20:
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Heb 5: 12-14:
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
To grow to full age spiritually, one needs to be weaned from the milk of the scripture and be taught that which be the first principals of the oracles of God...
The first principals of the oracles of God are found in Heb 6: 1-2:
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
These principals of the doctriine of Christ are the first principals of the oracles of God: Repentance from dead works and faith towards God are referring to the indivual believer. The doctrines of baptisms and laying on of hands referes to body ministry. The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement refers to the Churches burden for the lost, which is why the body of Christ is made to be ambasadors for Christ (high ranking govenment officals of the Kingdom of God who have both the word and the ministry of reconciliation.) as per 2 Cor 5: 18-19,
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Finally, I imagine that when we're all gathered in New Jerusalem, sooner or later, someone may come up to you and say, I was just with Jesus and he told me that because you were faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit and told me about Jesus's sacrifice for me, I excaped the eternal flames and am here. Here! Thank you for speaking to me about Jesus as the Lord called me to himself! Thank you! Forever and ever!
No. pastors and people who teach witnessing are the ones doing that. Pastors quench the spirit by turning church into 1 hour lectures and entertainment sessions instead of encouraging everyone to act together sharing their gifts. Imagine speaking up while a pastor is delivering his non-inspired. pre-prepared sermon to say the scripture doesn't say what he just said. Yet that is the function of the church in order to turn believers away from error and edify the church into the fullness of Christ . Pastors instead teach witnessing to people who have heard of Christ all of there lives, but don't know how to live because the churches are so carnal
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Speaking of witnessing: as energetic, as active, and as motivated as
Jehovah's Witnesses are all 'round the world, it's curious why they are
relatively so few in number.
For example, conventional Christians number +/- 2.52 billion souls whereas
the Witnesses number only +/- 8.6 million which is an approximate ratio of
293÷1
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Speaking of witnessing: as energetic, as active, and as motivated as
Jehovah's Witnesses are all 'round the world, it's curious why they are
relatively so few in number.
For example, conventional Christians number +/- 2.52 billion souls whereas
the Witnesses number only +/- 8.6 million which is an approximate ratio of
293÷1
_
Hello ChristRoseFromTheDead, the main point of witnessing is to lovingly share the Gospel (the Good News) about the Lord Jesus Christ with the lost, and by doing so, help them find their way to Him and be saved. I will be forever grateful to all of the Christians who stepped out of their "comfort zone" and chose to witness to me, and forever thankful to the Lord for them, as well.
As far as "everyone in the US knowing ~ABOUT~ Jesus", that's one of the biggest and most important reasons that our need to be His witnesses in this world today is so great, because knowing ABOUT Jesus doesn't save anyone, only knowing Him does!
I know something about this personally because I was baptized as an infant and raised in the church (so to speak). I went to Sunday School, sang in the Children's Choir (and eventually the Adult Choir), went on retreats, was confirmed, and attended church regularly until college, you know, the whole 9 yards. I, in fact, loved church (for the most part anyway), and I always believed that I was a Christian (why wouldn't I have), until the day that I actually became one that is, 2 months to the day after my 30th birthday.
So, I was one who knew ABOUT Jesus, all about Him, if fact, but I didn't KNOW HIM, not until November 2, 1986, which again, is why we witness whenever the Lord provides us with opportunities to do so, so that others can do more than simply know ABOUT Him, yes!
"Living it" is, indeed, a great part of witnessing to others (we need to be/act like the Christians that we claim to be so that our behavior does not detract from our witness), but we are commanded to speak as well, to "speak the truth .. in love" .. Ephesians 4:15, because no one is going to come to saving faith apart from hearing and understanding the truth about the Lord Jesus, and the truth about themselves, as well. As the Bible also tells us,
As far as Matthew 28:19-20 goes (which appears to be directed to the 11 alone, at first blush anyway), why do you believe that the Lord's command was to "make disciples" ... instead of "make converts"
Also, if they (the 11 alone) were the only ones who the Lord intended to witness about Him to others and, thereby, fulfill the Great Commission going forward, why does He mention that He will be with them, even to the end of the age?
~Deuteronomy (David)
p.s. - I agree with Spurgeon on this one (sadly however, simply agreeing with his admonishment isn't enough, because those who still live in the darkness of this world simply must hear)!!
As far as "everyone in the US knowing ~ABOUT~ Jesus", that's one of the biggest and most important reasons that our need to be His witnesses in this world today is so great, because knowing ABOUT Jesus doesn't save anyone, only knowing Him does!
I know something about this personally because I was baptized as an infant and raised in the church (so to speak). I went to Sunday School, sang in the Children's Choir (and eventually the Adult Choir), went on retreats, was confirmed, and attended church regularly until college, you know, the whole 9 yards. I, in fact, loved church (for the most part anyway), and I always believed that I was a Christian (why wouldn't I have), until the day that I actually became one that is, 2 months to the day after my 30th birthday.
So, I was one who knew ABOUT Jesus, all about Him, if fact, but I didn't KNOW HIM, not until November 2, 1986, which again, is why we witness whenever the Lord provides us with opportunities to do so, so that others can do more than simply know ABOUT Him, yes!
"Living it" is, indeed, a great part of witnessing to others (we need to be/act like the Christians that we claim to be so that our behavior does not detract from our witness), but we are commanded to speak as well, to "speak the truth .. in love" .. Ephesians 4:15, because no one is going to come to saving faith apart from hearing and understanding the truth about the Lord Jesus, and the truth about themselves, as well. As the Bible also tells us,
Romans 10
17 Faith comes from ~hearing~, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Here are a few, additional Scriptures to consider that may be useful in this discussion. None of them are directed at the 12 alone (though in an immediate sense, I suppose the passage below from Matthew 9 is, though there the Lord was directing them to pray to His Father to send OTHERS into His harvest field too).As far as Matthew 28:19-20 goes (which appears to be directed to the 11 alone, at first blush anyway), why do you believe that the Lord's command was to "make disciples" ... instead of "make converts"
Also, if they (the 11 alone) were the only ones who the Lord intended to witness about Him to others and, thereby, fulfill the Great Commission going forward, why does He mention that He will be with them, even to the end of the age?
Matthew 5
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 9
37 Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Matthew 28
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
2 Corinthians 5
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ~ambassadors for Christ~, as though God were ~making an appeal~ through us; ~we beg you~ on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
1 Peter 3
15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
God bless you!!~Deuteronomy (David)
p.s. - I agree with Spurgeon on this one
(sadly however, simply agreeing with his admonishment isn't enough, because those who still live in the darkness of this world simply must hear)!!-
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The only requirement there is to always be ready; we are not required to
always make a defense. In point of fact Christ limits our responses to sincere
folks rather than any John Que and/or and Jane Doe pumpkin that happens
along.
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you
do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to
pieces." (Matt 7:6)
Anyway: the Greek word for "hope" in that passage basically pertains to
expectation; viz: it isn't wishful thinking, nor crossing your fingers; no, this
kind of hope is a confident looking forward to taking possession of
something that's already in the bag, viz: it's an anticipating hope, i.e. it
doesn't pray for the best, while in the back of its mind dreading the worst.
When people are uncertain what the future has in store for them-- if there is
even the slightest anxiety or unease --then of course they can't possibly
comply with Peter's instructions for the simple reason that the hope that is in
them, if any, is the wrong kind of hope.
● Rom 12:12 . . Rejoicing in hope.
People have absolutely no cause for rejoicing when they're unsure of their
afterlife destination, no, but they do have plenty of cause to fear the
unknown.
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