Читать книгу Abba's Own - David R. Lumsden - Страница 19

Supposing, you were having lunch with a group of fellow-workers, and someone walks up to you and says, ‘You may be saved, but you do not have the Holy Spirit in you.’ What a denial of the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Such a lie, you may think. This false teaching was told to the primary subject. This false statement has become the incitement for the author’s qualitative study and thesis. A leading question in this study is: How can a person know that one is known by God this side of eternity and will be known by God in Judgment Day?

A biblical understanding of salvation develops out of this study, and a need for a standard, biblical, conservative, evangelical theology arises, so soul-winners have a guide for their understanding of Salvation (man’s need and God’s perspective on salvation, since it is His business) and soul-winning out of which the Lord indeed grows His church.

A Christian belief system is the philosophical basis for this thesis. Yielding to God as our Stay is critical for the survival of Christians and Christianity to help Marvin (primary subject) understand salvation and assurance (God will know that one in Judgment Day) for himself and others. True church growth is the explanatory objective of this qualitative study. Would Marvin be assured of salvation based on his self- centeredness or, by God’s grace and his love for Jesus and to tell and feed others that they too would become hidden in Jesus, comforted and led by God the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, made complete in Jesus Christ? Marvin’s setting out to find God meant he would be digging into the Holy Scriptures to study, perceive, and agree with God and His Word for God’s approval of him. God delights in one coming to know and to understand Him, (Jere 9: 23-24).

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines philosophy as “the sum of the ideas and convictions of an individual. Philosophy is a critical study of fundamental beliefs and grounds for them,”¹ Pastor leads Marvin in the development of a real Christian lifestyle theologically founded on sound Christian, biblical, Protestant, conservative, evangelical theology.

Theology is a “study of God and His relationship to the world. It is also defined as a study of religious faith, practice, and experience.”² Faith, practice, and experience need to be in line with love for God’s commands, (Ps 119: 77), on eternal life for it to provide a sound theology and a basis for a Christian philosophy. God expects humankind to confess sin, to be forgiven by God, and be cleansed from all unrighteousness, (1 Jn 1: 9). Cleansing is the negative side of confession.³ Then there is the positive side of disclosure, which is to confess or agree with God about Jesus. Biblical faith does not depend on our actions and work, but yielding to God’s Way and Word, a gift through faith in Jesus, (Gal 3: 26).

Needing to reach a world gone wild and filled with diverse religious viewpoints is not an option. Ministers of reconciliation are true Christians filled with the Holy Spirit, willing to take God at His Word, to believe Him, agree with Him, since He is God, Sovereign, Almighty, and the Faithful One. He is True and Trustworthy. He and His Word are the Christian’s absolute authority. There is none other. God has designed His Plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son. He has communicated His plan through His Word with high precision and clarity through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Trustworthiness in God’s Word is warranted; therefore, humankind can have no excuse not to have believed Him this side of eternity, when they stand before Him in Judgment Day. He expects that humanity will have reverenced His Son?⁴ How many people know and understand the salvation of God before they attempt to present their human-made philosophy to an innocent seeker in this wild world, diverse in its alternative religious viewpoints, which claim to be true, but are a lie. If a man presents an non-biblical philosophy, he denies God and His deity. The enemy goes to any extent to deceive people into believing anything but God’s Word. Jesus says not to let anyone fool you, (Matt 24: 4; Luk 21: 8). Strange teachings appear before a vulnerable audience when the TV programmers, for The CHEW cooking program, present that Cher says all one needs is a right attitude. Satan presents a smorgasbord of false teaching worldwide to make people believe and taste lies. Celebrity teaching on attitude does not save a person. Jesus, alone, saves.

A good attitude toward God is good if it is a result of the new birth. Spiritual leaders in a world of rising interest in spirituality may be pointing a seeker straight to Gehenna if they do not know and believe the truth. Have they been discipled, or have they been willing to be discipled, as a newborn follower of Jesus Christ, so that what they teach another is solid biblical Christian spirituality (or are they part of the falling away of 2 Tim 4: 2-5)? Are they taught to share the true message of Jesus Christ; who He is, what He has done to secure salvation for humankind, and will do for a seeker upon believing on Him? What the Pentecostal-charismatic or the neo-charismatic (Alpha Course)⁵ is teaching the seeker is non-biblical. Have they been taught how to understand the use of questions to enter a seeker’s personal space to lead that person to faith in Jesus Christ or do they depend upon their experience and non-biblically-based philosophy to lead that person to believe in what is no more than a non-biblical, religious philosophy? Do they know what God wants us to believe and do in a life yielded to Him? Do they have the assurance of their salvation and that God knows them, this side of eternity ready for Judgment Day in the future? Do they have a daily Bible study and prayer routine, themselves? Do they take God’s Word literally and believe God with their whole heart? Are they true Spirit-led shepherds, confident and trustworthy, called to preach and teach God’s truth? Do they take God and His Word as true and trustworthy? (See Appendix F: Qualifications of a Witness in ‘The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Follow-up, Witnessing, Follow-up, Discipleship - Qualifications of a Soul-Winner, and the Relevant Church for Finding Jesus and Christian Growth), or, do they do what a pastor tells them to do, ‘Leave your Bible at home!’? Our subject rejoices over souls won to Christ, but especially, over some who have been discipled and now are following the Lord in obedience to His call and great commission. (More to follow in Chapter 5: Qualitative Collection of Data.)

During the practice of soul-winning, this author has had all kinds of people cross his path to discuss religion. Even though the author is Protestant, biblical, conservative, evangelical, he wears a ‘clerical collar’ because it attracts people of a liberal, liberal-protestant or other religious groups because they believe he is one, who will pray with them. They come to talk, ask questions, or even trust what is said (as led by the Holy Spirit), and some pray to receive Christ for the first time, or some are encouraged to continue in Christ. In many cases, this author observes that many pastors are ill-equipped for spiritual warfare, soul-winning or preaching Jesus, and follow-through in giving an altar call from the pulpit. Some pastors have admitted to the author that they do not know how to explain the Gospel to another person to lead that person to faith in Jesus Christ. There are many churches in this city that sing a few songs, read prayers from a book, and preach liturgy or some philosophy gleaned from their studies, or someone else’s sermon to make listeners feel comfortable for the coming week(s), rather than present Jesus Christ, after much prayer in preparation and the delivery. At the end when they give an ‘altar call’ for people, who have been prepared by the Holy Spirit to rise to come forward to receive Jesus. A preacher must believe the Holy Spirit does His work on a seeker’s soul, so the seeker will hear and receive God’s Word. Upon receiving the Word, God through Jesus Christ changes their lives forever, by making them complete in Jesus by His Spirit given unto them at salvation. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, (Rom 10: 17). Together the new convert and the preacher rejoice and give God the glory through grace by faith. Many seekers miss opportunities when preachers are not providing seekers with that opportunity to receive Christ by giving an ‘altar call.’ One pastor said that he did not want to call people to receive Christ, because if his church grew, he would not be able to handle the workload. Today, that church once was considered a fundamental evangelical church but has now closed its doors, and the pastor has taken a secular job.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a proven historical fact. The resurrection occurred at a specific time at a specific place, and many witnesses saw Jesus. With such historical proof, why do people not believe God for His account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? It only makes sense. It is historically true. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of the Christian faith, but many in the world deny the fact of the resurrection. Jesus says that He is the Resurrection and the Life; that whoever believes in Him will never die, (Jn 11: 25-26). In soul-winning, this author finds that there are many (including priests and pastors) that say they believe in Jesus, but do not believe that He is the Son of God. To some, He is not the Christ. To some He was not dead, buried, and was raised bodily from the dead by the Holy Spirit for our justification, that He appeared before many witnesses, ascended into Heaven, where He intercedes on our behalf. To others, they say His body was stolen from the grave. They believe they need to work for their salvation. (See Appendix L: Misunderstanding Phil 2: 12). Many deny Christ His rightful glory. Note also, Jesus continues His miracles of healing today. Some argue that miracles are a thing of the past, even though thousands of people in this church age are being healed. (See Appendix E: Continuation vs Cessation of Miracles). Jesus heals today from His throne in Heaven through His Spirit whom He sent into the world at the beginning of the church at Pentecost (fact). God sends the Holy Spirit into the heart of every new-born believer, immediately upon believing on Jesus for salvation and thus becoming a child of God. God says in the Scriptures to them, “Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world,” (1 Jn 4: 4). Liberals panic when they are confronted with having a personal experience with Jesus Christ. They light up if anyone talks to them about social action. Liberals put God second and man first. Members of the Pentecostal or the Catholic charismatic movements are more interested in the number of people that speak in tongues, rather than new converts added to the church, living God-honoring lives. They present a non-biblical gospel. (Note the true means of salvation in the following texts: Jn 1:12; 3:3; 3: 16; Acts 2: 21, 47b; 16: 31; Rom 8: 15; Gal 4: 6; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Jn 1: 9; 5: 1-2; 4: 4; 5: 12-13, 20; Rev 3: 20). Some Fundamentalists are filled with lovelessness and strife.⁶ The Alpha Course movement teaches ‘a leap of faith,’ as though it is something a human does rather than a gift of God as Scripture says in Eph 2: 8-9. The term ‘baby’ is used as terminology for one young in coming to faith. How can a baby take a leap of faith as they illustrate with Indiana Jones in the movie trailer of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when he takes a giant ‘leap of faith.’ A bridge appears to cross a cavern, and a sip out of the ‘holy grail’ means attainment of eternal life. This story line may win at the Box office, but not with God.

A lady phoned and said to a friend, who was witnessing apparently to her, that she believed if a baby was not baptized (infant baptism) and it suddenly died, the baby would go to hell. Also, how can a bedridden senior take a leap of faith, when he is born- again on his deathbed? "Faith," as the Scripture says, is a gift of God, not of man’s deeds; Scripture only makes sense, if faith is followed by good, righteous deeds prepared for them by God, (Eph 2: 10) follow. As Jesus says, “By their fruits ye shall know them,” (Matt 7: 16). Spiritual leaders need to know, model and, share the biblical facts. God illumines the minds of those He chooses to work in His fields that are white-unto-harvest. To them, He gives perception, understanding, wisdom, boldness, and grace to serve Him and have joy in doing so. God’s command is to equip the saints to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that lies within them. Discipleship, in the Christian lifestyle, is imperative. For some people in the world, a discipled true Christian may be the only Bible non-churched people read and know. How many ‘shepherds’ are preparing their ‘flock’ to share that hope of the Gospel with those who are waiting and hungering after God or have never heard the Gospel? Some pastors and priests need the Gospel themselves before they can be reliable messengers of the good news to others. God warns the Colossians, “if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel (good tidings), which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister,” (Col 1: 23). Further, God says, “but sanctify (set apart) in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ,” (1 Pet 3: 15-16).

Who is ready and willing to be sent, then go and labour in God’s business? Are you and I?

A minister must first be ‘in’ Christ’ to present Christ effectively for others to be won to Christ, since it is a work of the Holy Spirit of Jesus, by Whom God does His business. Our aim in ministry is that every minister and seeker must be born-again, Lord willing, as Jesus says in John 3: 3, and standing firm (eternally secure) in Christ Jesus by faith, empowered by God ready to preach Jesus to the world, to win converts and thereby influence society for the better. It is not the friendship of another person to just assume that because you have a relatively good relationship with that other person, that they are Christian, even if they say so. That person may be walking out of step with Jesus, or may not be saved at all, and does not believe any of the tenets of the Bible. If they cannot pass the test of the spirits, (1 Jn 4: 1-4), they may not yet be Christian, even if a friend. Confessions of Jesus in the Bible are tests of the spirits, whether they be of God. A true friend must love and show compassion to that other person so that other person can know he/she is born again complete in Christ, saved from the pit. One professor, shortly after his salvation, said in university to another Christian, known to the author, “Now, I know what it means to be saved. Now, I can go back to my Anglican church and teach my friends about Jesus and show them how to be saved, to have peace with God and, eternal life.” Before his salvation, salvation was a mystery. Without knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord, another leader had preached fourteen years to members of his Catholic church, in New York. The moment he received Christ and was born-again, he gasped and said, “Now, I know and understand salvation. Now I will be able to go back to my diocese and show my people how to be saved and secured for eternity.”

You can get a glimpse from these two examples of spiritual leaders, the difference of certainty of salvation in their personal lives would make for their hearers. The hearers will hear the message of truth. Before preaching, one must appropriate the business of God’s salvation to one’s own life before one can share confidently with another, so others are prepared for eternity by receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ, alone. Christ, solely, is the Way of salvation. Otherwise, how can one know? Souls need to know, now, the hope of the resurrection in the day of the Lord’s Second Advent. A new believer is placed in Jesus by the Holy Spirit when the person believes in Jesus. The author desires that you, the reader will know Jesus Christ of the Bible as your Savior, Lord, Deliverer, Defender, and Coming King when or before you have finished this book. Jesus will never leave you, forsake you, or abandon you once you receive Him.

No other phrase in the Scriptures is as vital to a true Christian as the phrase “… in Jesus Christ, complete.” Some professors and pastors teach others that ‘with’ Jesus, rather than in Jesus makes you okay. They also use the Alpha Course as the statement of beliefs for their church, but still call themselves evangelical Christian. Jesus says that His Spirit is in Him, and His Spirit will not only be with you but in you, (Jn 14: 7). This phrase, ‘in Jesus,’ by His Spirit, is especially critical in soul-winning and salvation as will be seen in the subject of our case study and others that follow as a sample of converts. Being in Christ is as eternally secure one can be. Eternal security is something that God promises and gives you as soon as you believe in Jesus. If a minister does not have the message from God clear in his own heart, how can he ever make it clear to others, who seek to find, know, and be known by God, Elohim? The Word of God “In Jesus,” is critical because Jesus, who sends His Spirit into every believer’s heart, said that His Spirit would be in your heart, not just walking alongside with you. No wonder pastors are still trying to wrap their head around that teaching themselves if they forget Rev 3: 20 where Jesus says that if we open the door to Him, He will come ‘ in’ and sup with us and we will sup with Him. As one new convert testified, “It is sure hard to find any church in this city that preaches a Gospel message for the salvation of souls consistent with what God says in His Word.” God’s Spirit places you in Christ at the same time you are born-again.