C.H.E. Sadaphal's Blog, page 9
April 14, 2016
WHAT IS THE GREAT COMMISSION? by R.C. SPROUL
The bottom line: A book with a misleading title but practical advice on evangelism and vocation.
The Great Commission is a command given to the disciples of Jesus after He rose from the dead. The Commission essentially gives instructions to the followers of Christ to make disciples, baptize and evangelize. The Great Commission is significant because it compels both individuals and the church to action.
With that in mind, What is the Great Commission? really isn’t about the Great Commission per se—that is, it isn’t about discipleship or baptism. This book is about evangelism—what it is (a good message), who is supposed to do it (everyone), and who it’s supposed to reach (the lost).
There are even chapters dedicated to the Biblical basis of evangelism and how to approach evangelism systematically.
A key idea that readers will take away from this book is that each believer is equipped with a different type of gift (e.g. some are teachers, some are preachers and some are evangelists) but everyone is still commanded to evangelize. What that looks like in everyday life will differ according to your situation, and What is the Great Commission? provides a way to clarify that vocation.
It also emphasizes that evangelism isn’t something that a few Christian “superstars” execute, but has its most profound effects when everyday folks are mobilized to spread the good news. What this book subsequently does best is take something distant and make it very much within reach.
This book is part of series by Dr. Sproul called Crucial Questions that provides intelligent answers to some of the most basic and tricky questions pertaining to the Christian faith. I have read many books in this series and this title is another solid addition. What is the Great Commission? is less than 60 pages long, so you can certainly get through it in less than two hours.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
April 8, 2016
THE GIFT OF LIMITATION PART II: GIFT OF CALLING, LIMIT OF OPPORTUNITY
The gift of calling equals a limit of opportunity.
Isaiah 43:7 tells us that humankind was created to glorify God. This signifies our global purpose and the legitimate meaning of life. A calling is therefore that specific way in which you glorify God in your life. So, your calling could be to be a spiritual mother. It could be to be a Bible preacher. It could be to be an evangelist. It could be to be a church planter. What I shall explain is that once you have a firm idea of what your calling is, you therefore have a limit on the opportunities that you will take because many will fall outside of the limits of your calling. So, for example, if you are called to be a Bible teacher and are offered a “golden opportunity” to become famous and make tons of money doing something that will deter you from teaching the Bible, this is an opportunity not worth taking because it falls outside of the boundaries of your calling.
The inherent difficulty with this gift is that we live in a culture that views opportunity as something that is always to be grasped. Opportunity is never seen as a detriment or a subliminal stumbling block but as something that will invariably engender personal advancement.
In the Bible, the ultimate limit-keeper is Jesus. He is the One who followed all of God’s commands and obeyed the Law perfectly (see Hebrews 4:15).
Satan, however, is the ultimate limit-breaker. He is the one who despises God and His commandments and therefore transgressed the ultimate limit: to be like God. Look at what the prophet says of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12:
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’” (emphasis added).
Lucifer saw an opportunity to be like God. This opportunity enticed him to do what? To reject his God-given design and to rewrite his unique story. By design, Lucifer was created good by God. By design, he was called to be an angel in heaven who worshipped The Lord. Lucifer rejected who God called him to be and said, “I want to be like someone else. I want to be better. I want to be like the Most High.” This is why sin is so cataclysmically dangerous. Sin is what enticed the devil to transgress limits, resulting in his fall and being cast out of heaven. Sin is what entices individuals and churches to reject the vision of their uniqueness. Sin is what compels you to compare yourself to something or someone else and say, “I can be bigger, better, and stronger.” Sin is so destructive, it turned Lucifer into the devil. The devil was not “born” the devil. Sin is what made the devil who he is. Had Lucifer had the gift of calling, there would be no devil.
Here is a catch that most Christians neglect to embrace. Paul writes in Romans 7:13 (NLT), “We can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.” Accordingly, the devil loves enticing people to sin by packaging it in an opportunity that seems good or that even seems to be in God’s best interests. And because of a dominant culture that loves opportunity, sometimes we can’t help but unwrap the big shiny box that has “opportunity” written on the top.
Look at Adam and Eve. The devil enticed Eve (Genesis 3:1-5) to take hold of an opportunity to eat of the fruit of the tree so that she would know things just like God. The devil even started the conversation by talking about God in order to psychologically frame the proposal: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” Yet what Eve failed to realize was her calling as a creation that should respect the limits put in place by the Creator.
Right after His baptism, we find Jesus in the desert being tempted by the devil. At the core, each temptation invited the Messiah to cross over the limit that God had placed around Him. Part of the reason why the temptation story is so important is because the devil uses the same strategy when tempting us today. It is a crucial issue of spiritual warfare, especially for those individuals who are seeking to obey God’s will in their lives.
In Luke 4, the devil presented Jesus with several opportunities to demonstrate His power. And guess what? All three opportunities actually used God to divert Jesus away from God.
For example, in Luke 4:6-7, the devil basically said, “You call yourself the Son of God, right? So shouldn’t you have a kingdom fitting of a God? Worship me and I will give you more power, more control, and more respect.” The devil framed the opportunity to make it seem as if obeying God meant no limits, uncapping how high Jesus could reach. (Compare this to the fraudulent prosperity gospel.) In short, the devil weaponized God and His Word. Thankfully for us, Jesus knew His calling and obeyed God’s limits. His response was very clear: “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’” (Luke 4:8).
Recognizing that the devil chose to tempt the Son of God with an opportunity that compelled breaking the limits imposed by the Word of God significantly changes how we perceive opportunity in the present. Imagine a gifted, young, persuasive, and charismatic preacher who has a sense of the calling on his life. He preaches sound doctrine and clings closely to the Word. The devil knows that the path of greatest resistance is to make this person change his vocation and reject God outright. So, the path of lesser resistance is to persuade the preacher to actually use his gifts and transgress a limit.
Imagine that one day someone approaches this young man and says, “You know, you truly are called by God to do wonderful things. You are anointed. But it seems that where you are right now is limited. You have a name for yourself locally, but I want to take you globally. I’m talking TV, radio, social media, and all the works. You have one church now, but I can give you many. The thing is … if we go global, your message has to be different. Most people don’t like all that sin stuff … all that stuff about the Cross, blood, and Jesus. We have to change things up a bit. So, what do you say? Does this sound like a golden opportunity?” How this young man answers this question will change how he preaches and what he preaches about. Just imagine the damage that could be done if he says yes and starts proclaiming half-truths in the name of God. He, too, has now become an agent of the one who first weaponized God’s Word. And what is truly unsettling is when we contemplate this reality with what Romans 11:29 (KJV) says: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” This essentially means that God never revokes your gifts. So, if you are lured away from your calling, your gifts remain intact and free for you to use even if you turn your back on God. Lucifer knows this full well, and this gives him all the more incentive to keep you using your God-given talents in non-repentant ways.
Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus all had to be in a “desert” at some point in their lives, and this wilderness experience brought these men closer to God. Why? Well, one reason is that intentionally focused time with God—that is, without distractions and without opportunities—allows a person to nurture a deep, personal relationship with the One who gave us our callings in the first place. And when we have a keen sense of that calling, all the opportunities that once were so attractive now have to be judged by whether or not they fall within the contours of God’s calling. Hence, opportunities can be opportunities, but they can also be temptations in disguise. Furthermore, spending focused, dedicated time with God will actually give you a special type of rest that opportunity is wholly incapable of providing. And the gift of rest will be our topic for Part III …
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
April 7, 2016
THE EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY CHURCH by PETER SCAZZERO
The bottom line: Solid, practical, and actionable advice based on real-life experience, character-building adversity, and sound Biblical principles.
When it comes to church-building, spirituality and personal development, many books are written “high” and set a pristine bar that you should reach for. The Emotionally Healthy Church is not that kind of book. It is written “low.” That is, it reaches church leaders and church goers where they are and conveys genuine advice from a church leader that quickly admits how broken, vulnerable and limited that he is. It is from this “low” posture that the author Peter Scazzero begins to show the reader how, through Christ, to build the self and the church step-by-step.
The Emotionally Healthy Church subsequently explains seven principles that reveal how those in the church can develop a deep, personal relationship with Jesus and therefore have more meaningful relationships with one another.
As the author writes, church building begins with self-building (looking inward before looking outward) and church building always begins with the leadership and then moves outward.
The Emotionally Healthy Church does not seek to solve superficial problems (e.g. apathy, sadness, hostility, marital discord, defensiveness, neglect of family, church strife) but instead seeks to uncover the larger issue (or bulk of the iceberg) that dwells beneath the surface that’s causing the difficulty.
It is by dealing with these core issues that people can go from being emotionally immature to emotionally mature and conquer crippling, longstanding issues.
Because the author writes everything from the standpoint of everyday experience, he frequently refers to the church he founded (New Life Christian Fellowship) and the people and circumstances he dealt with in this ministry. These references are very frequent and at times it feels as if one is reading the autobiography of a specific institution and not a text that has broad, objective appeal. The nuggets of wisdom communicated through the stories are valuable nonetheless.
As a leader in the church, this book is a tremendous resource not only for the congregants but for the leadership team as well. Transformative change begins at the top, so this book is particularly impactful for pastors and elders. There are some things that are only learned through earnest fellowship with God and the strife that builds character.
The Emotionally Healthy Church is overflowing with practical, everyday knowledge, and wisdom that every church should learn, meditate on and digest. I dare say any ministry determined to demonstrate Christ to the others and raise up disciples absolutely has to read this book.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
April 1, 2016
THE GIFT OF LIMITATION PART I: GIFT OF WEAKNESS, LIMIT OF STRENGTH
The first gift of limitation: A gift of weakness equals a limit of strength.
What is weakness? Weakness does not refer to physical limitations. It does not refer to lack of ability, lack of strength, lack of talent, or lack of achievement. Weakness means that, ultimately, you put your trust in God and His abilities. In other words, you are not self-reliant but God-reliant. Because of your dependence on God, weakness also implies humility.
What is strength? Strength refers to self-reliance and trusting in your own abilities. Because of this lack of dependence on God, strength also implies pride.
Simply put, human weakness provides the perfect chance for God to display His divine power. Human strength provides the perfect chance for God to take a break.
In order to highlight this principle, we shall take a look at the church at Corinth during the time of Paul. Back then, Corinth was like the Las Vegas and Los Angeles of today. It was a very “hip,” progressive city where many different types of people came together as a communal body. And, like in modern times, the culture of the city was so strong that culture began to influence religion and ways of approaching God. Lines began to blur, and in many instances, it became difficult to tell if people were “doing church” or “acting like Christians” versus doing things the Corinthian way. Similarly, today, it may be difficult to distinguish a Christian worship service from a rock concert or a Sunday sermon from a motivational business seminar. Where culture ends and Christianity begins is very uncertain.
Subsequently, the Corinthian church was an institution that behaved badly, where “super-apostles” with signs and wonders came and dazzled the people. These men appeared much more impressive than Paul. They claimed a unique and special authority from God and resultantly drew people away from The Lord and to themselves. Embracing humbleness was not on their radar screen, but what did the apostle Paul have to say about that?
He wrote that a gift of weakness equals a limit of strength. He wrote, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (emphasis added; II Corinthians 11:30, NIV). He also wrote that he would not get conceited and that:
“In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (emphasis added; II Corinthians 12:7b-10, NIV).
Notably, the Greek word for sufficient (arkeō) has a meaning akin to raising a barrier or a limit. Paul is telling us that all we need is the grace of God. If we begin to look beyond God’s grace, this is a tacit affirmation that His favor is insufficient. That is a burden of limitation and the impetus for rebellion. Weakness (astheneia) can refer to physical weakness of the body, but it can also refer to weakness of the soul, as in the want for strength, the want to do things great and glorious, or to want for things that are corrupt. The point is that Paul is not saying that weakness nullifies the desire to do great things or the want to accomplish big, audacious goals. What he is saying is that weakness seeks the fulfillment of those desires in God, not in oneself. When David, for example, went up against Goliath, he had a big, audacious goal to take down a giant. He even planned to do so by bringing a slingshot to a swordfight. David, however, knew that it was never about him or the slingshot: It was about the Living God who stood behind him and who directed the stone that the slingshot fired. The power of David’s question is now clear: “For who is this [Goliath], that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (emphasis added; I Samuel 17:26, NASB). David was strong only because he was weak.
Hence, the gift of weakness means leading from a place of brokenness and vulnerability¾a point made very clear by Peter Scazzero in The Emotionally Healthy Church. The gift of weakness prevents self-glorification. Look at what Paul says of himself near the end of his life in I Timothy 1:15: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
The gift of weakness also redefines our perception of strength. Here is one example: Where does your idea of a successful church come from—God or culture?
If I asked you to list the top three traits of a strong church, what immediately comes to mind? Because if you happened to say that a strong church is characterized by a large, new, ornate building; thousands of members; multiple campuses; or a big, overflowing bank account, then you have the cultural idea that strength equals strength. This stands in direct contrast to the Biblical idea that weakness equals strength. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the traits that I mentioned. There is nothing wrong with keeping score. The problem is that culture says that the score is all that matters.
Paul says that authentic leadership is weak and has a thorn in the side. That thorn makes him so weak that he has no choice but to rely on God. Scorekeeping gives us confidence in the score and perpetuates a sense of self-reliance. And, if you are self-reliant, then you play for Team Goliath, not Team David. And we all know who won that battle.
In fact, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Jesus speaks of seven types of churches in the end times. He had nothing good to say about most of them (five). There are two churches, however, that Jesus had generally favorably things to say about: those at Smyrna and Philadelphia. And what characterizes these churches? Their afflictions, their poverty, and their little strength. This is Biblical strength manifesting as natural weakness. Moreover, the church that was “strong” (at Laodicea) also happened to have lots of money. And what did Jesus say about them? “Because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). It appears that Laodicea will be playing for Team Goliath.
The only legitimate way to keep score in a Spirit-led life is to quantify things that can’t be measured. That is, one cannot measure supernatural traits with natural scales. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what truly matters in our personal lives: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.”
Furthermore, the church is not supposed to let the score be its ultimate end. Ephesians already told us what the church (the body of Christ) is supposed to do:
“And [Christ] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (emphasis added; Ephesians 4:11-16, NASB)
So, the church, as Paul writes in Ephesians, is supposed to equip people to serve and to build up others, and it’s supposed to teach believers sound doctrine so that they may grow and mature in Christ Jesus in love. That is a description of a Biblical church and sounds quite unlike the popularized version of church strength today. And the reason why is because a gift of weakness equals a limit of strength.
More to follow in Part II …
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
March 31, 2016
HOOKED: HOW TO BUILD HABIT-FORMING PRODUCTS by NIR EYAL
The bottom line: Ethical and conscience-driven advice to nudge behavior and encourage routines.
In Hooked , Nir Eyal begins with the proposition that a predictable pattern tends to exist behind the use of addictive products. That may seem obvious but what is not obvious is exactly how such products build these persuasive routines. That is the scope and aim of this book.
The main idea of Hooked is derived from the “Hook Model” which explains the four steps involved in an ideally self-perpetuating habit cycle: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward and Investment.
The meat of the book subsequently devotes a section to each component of the hook model, describes the science behind how the component works, why it works, and then gives real-life examples of each component in action. These examples typically involve demonstrating how a popular app or online platform has incorporated the component successfully.
Above giving solid, practical, and actionable advice, I think the greatest value of Hooked is that its suggestions can be applied to any area of life, not just digital applications.
This is because Eyal provides an explanation of the Fogg Behavior Model or B = MAT. That is, behavior happens when motivation, ability and a trigger are all present sufficiently. The author explains this in such a way that the information will be helpful even if you’re trying to induce behavior in grade-schoolers.
Nir Eyal concludes Hooked with a section devoted to the morality of manipulation. Yes, there are some who will use these strategies for evil but the author clearly strives for a high moral standard and makes a sharp case for adding value to the lives of users as opposed to maliciously extracting value from them.
Ultimately, whatever your project is, if you want to make it more appealing, then Hooked will provide concrete advice based on real life. So if you want to influence the behavior of others, or drive user engagement, then read this book.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
March 25, 2016
THE GIFT OF LIMITATION: INTRODUCTION
Having the gift of limitation means that you accept God’s limits and can therefore receive God’s power. If you reject this gift, you have to rely on yourself. The problem with the gift of limitation is that we live in a culture that hates limits, yet we serve a God that likes limits. For example, our culture says that success invariably means more of something: more house, more congregants, more money, and more achievement. This insatiable desire is driven by comparison, which has the detrimental side effect of crushing contentment. Compare this incessant desire for more with a God who says, “Thou shall not covet.” Culture says that death is a weapon. So whether we terminate life before it is born, electrocute convicts on death row, or use machines halfway around the world to destroy a village to take out one person, life in present times has been devalued to the status of a commodity to be traded. In fact, every “great” empire in human history—whether it be Egypt (enslaving the Israelites), Babylon (conquering the Israelites), Rome (war), Germany (holocaust), or America (slavery)—has exerted its power by destroying life. Compare that with God, who says that life is sacred.
In a spiritual sense, limits are protective. In a secular sense, limits are restrictive. The gift of limitation gives you a sense of peace within the limits set by God. If you go over the limit, you now have to deal with the consequences without the protective covering of God. In fact, in Isaiah 43:25, The Lord speaks through the prophet and says, “I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (emphasis added). Transgression is translated from the word pesa, meaning a revolt or to trespass. Trespass means what? To step over a limit. To cross a boundary that you are not supposed to. What God is saying here in Isaiah is that He is in the business of restoring broken relationships with people who sin or who break limits. The gift of limitation, then, also empowers believers to execute obedience and stay within the limit of God’s Law.
And before we move on, this is worth mentioning: Psychologically speaking, the sheer existence of a limit is what compels us to long to break it. A speed limit of 55 is what compels you to go 65. The limit is actually the sign for revolt, and sin is what turns the limit into a motivation for insurgence. Yet, what many people fail to realize is that sin always creates evil out of limit-breaking. God creates good out of limits. Indeed, there is always more room to roam outside of the limit, but the demands placed on you outside are always greater than what you are personally capable of meeting. Hence, the gift of limitation empowers us to discern what the best response is in the long run (limit-keeping) rather than what seems easiest to do right now (limit-breaking).
So, what are three specific gifts of limitation? Join me next week to find out.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
March 24, 2016
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN? by R.C. SPROUL
The bottom line: Enlightening answers to a pressing question in an age of confusion and misunderstandings.
Being “born again” (regeneration) is a crucial starting point of the Christian’s life. As Jesus explained to Nicomedus, it is a conversion that must happen in order to have eternal life. However, interpretation of what this actually means in everyday terms has led to many misperceptions.
In What does it mean to be born again? R.C. Sproul meticulously explains what being “born again” really means.
He draws on core ideas of Reformist theology to clarify that being born again is an invisible, inward, mysterious, and instantaneous act of a sovereign God who regenerates us to respond to Christ in faith. Because this act is executed by The Lord, His grace is irresistible, and thus being “born again” is permanent. Hence, a person cannot become “un-born again.”
As a reader can expect from R.C. Sproul, this booklet provides sound Biblical and theological arguments that forces you to ask deep, probing questions and scrutinize what it is that you think you know.
In the contemporary setting, I think one of the most valuable takeaways from What does it mean to be born again? is how Sproul differentiates between a conversion from a conversion experience.
Oftentimes people chase a born again experience and tirelessly seek a shining light from heaven and to have their lives radically changed in a big, dramatic moment. The problem here, as the author explains, is that we cannot judge God based upon our subjective experience. What many Christians fail to realize is that we serve a God who stands above and transcends our experiences, and being born again is much more about a deep, inward regeneration that is invisible to external observers.
What does it mean to be born again? is part of the Crucial Questions booklet series. The series offers Biblically sound answers to practical, real-life questions about the everyday Christian experience.
Without a doubt, the series is very informative and a worthwhile resource. Each selection in this volume tends to be less than 100 pages so you can get through a booklet in an afternoon. Furthermore, the fact that all of them are available for free (Kindle versions) is just icing on the cake. This is excellent for anyone who seeks to know more about repentance, and will provide valuable information to Sunday school teachers, Christian educators, and Bible students.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
March 23, 2016
A C.H.E. SADAPHAL SERMON: SIMPLE (BELIEVE)
One of the reasons why Jesus changed everything is because He made things ridiculosuly simple. He unloaded the heavy and complicated things and made them very light and relatable. Jesus even did us the favor of clarifying God’s simple message to the world through His Son (John 3:16). Jesus offered eternal life. What do you have to get it? At the core, it’s simple: believe.
So, if Jesus likes to make things simple, then why does religion often feel so complicated?
This sermon will expose three common complications that separate you from God and show you how to simplify all of them, in turn bringing you closer to The Lord.
(1) Complication #1: Guilt. Guilt is what happens when you violate a rule. Everyone has guilt, so what do you do with yours? There are many temporary treatments for guilty feelings but there is only one legitimate cure for real, objective guilt. Find out what it is here.
(2) Complication #2: Twisted Belief. Don’t get it twisted: It’s not faith in another person or a church. It’s not about how much faith you have. It’s about the object of your faith. Is faith compatible with doubt? The answer may shock you.
(3) Complication #3: You never got the full story. Can you give someone the complete arc of the Bible—from Genesis to Jesus—through one clear, coherent storyline? If the answer is no, then you have to hear this. You’ve never heard the Bible told like this before.
The video above can also be found by following the link here.
This sermon was performed at Deeper Life Christian Fellowship in Richmond Hill, Queens, NY. Dr. Sadaphal is scheduled to preach on the last Sunday of every month for the foreseeable future. For more information, please click on the Contact tab above.
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God Bless.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
March 18, 2016
WHAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD KNOW VOLUME II (#WCSK2) PART VIII: EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP
For a downloadable PDF of this lesson, click here: What Christians Should Know (#WCSK) Volume II (#WCSK2) 2.8: Evangelism, Discipleship, Witnessing, the Great Commission & the Gospel
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The audio:
http://www.chesadaphal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WCSK-2.8-DISCIPLESHIP.mp3
The series What Christians Should Know Volume II (#WCSK2) boosts your understanding and shows you how to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. All Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted. Biblical references are examples and are in no way intended to be exhaustive. Many of the ideas here build upon the series What Christians Should Know, Volume I (#WCSK), which provides education on core beliefs and doctrines in the Christian faith. All of the lessons are best used as a general guide as you engage in your own Bible study.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105).
Introduction
What is evangelism? Evangelism means proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel refers to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, including all the things Jesus taught us during His earthly ministry.
Evangelism does not proclaim ethical living, politics, or neighborliness. Evangelism exclusively declares a unique message that instructs and teaches others about the gospel. The word gospel is derived from the Greek word euanggelion, which means “good message.” So evangelism simply refers to telling others about the “good message” or the “good news.”
The gospel is good news because it informs others about the facts concerning their salvation; it is the vehicle by which God empowers some to respond to Him in faith; and it expresses the promise of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Basically, if John Q. Public does not hear the gospel, he goes about his everyday life knowing nothing about sin, knowing nothing about Jesus, and knowing nothing about an eternal life with God in heaven. The gospel not only makes him aware of all of these things but also reveals the way to be reconciled with God (Jesus). After all, how can John Q. Public believe in Him of whom he has never heard?
What is discipleship? In the introduction to the eBook What Christians Should Know Volume I, I wrote the following:
“WCSK aims to begin the process of transforming believers in Christ into disciples of Christ as they walk that path. Matheteuo, the Greek word for disciple, is very interesting because it simultaneously implies an inner role as a pupil and an outward role as a teacher. By implication, to teach well, you must first have an ironclad grasp on the subject matter.”
Discipleship, then, means more than just believing God. It means following Jesus.
Believing simply refers to an awareness of and acknowledgement that something is true, but there can still be a large gap between believing that value and owning that value. For instance, I could read the Ten Commandments and believe that coveting is wrong, but I can still yearn to have when I see a new Jaguar zip by me on the highway. When I become a disciple and follow Jesus, all of my decisions and actions are based on His values. Because of who I am (being), what I believe, and what I value, my behaviors and actions (doing) are characteristic of Christ.
Now let’s make sure we understand a crucial concept. Discipleship means much, much more than taking a discipleship course. It means more than attending a church seminar. It means more than reading an online Bible study program called What Christians Should Know. Discipleship means taking the red letters in the Bible with the utmost seriousness. Discipleship means having your way of life threatened. Discipleship means giving up the things you value the most in this life to follow Jesus. Discipleship means when Jesus calls, you leave everything and follow Him. Christ told us what discipleship means: You have to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow The Lord. This is an idea so important it is recorded in three separate locations in the New Testament.
The Great Commission
The reason evangelism and discipleship are covered in the same lesson is simple: The gospel isn’t something intended to be proclaimed to people who are then left alone. Evangelism is the first step that introduces people to Jesus. Discipleship is the subsequent process that equips, builds, and nurtures Christian infants into mature Christian adults. Remember, all the disciples that Jesus chose were regular people living everyday lives who subsequently “heard a message” and answered the call to follow Jesus. After all these imperfect people were educated and trained for a time, they went out into the world to tell others about the good news of Jesus. Hence, the cycle that Jesus started continued with the disciples, who evangelized and raised up more disciples, who then repeated the process.
We can be confident that evangelism and discipleship are within God’s will because of what Jesus says in The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20):
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (emphasis added).
In the Great Commission Jesus spoke as the one who had been given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). He, as the head of the church, told His disciples to go out into the world to spread the good news by teaching others what He taught them. So here, in the Great Commission, is where evangelism and discipleship have an intimate connection. First, as I mentioned previously, Jesus told His disciples—people who already knew something about Him—to go out into the world. Thus, in order to tell others about the gospel, you have to know what the gospel is and basic facts about it. Second, Jesus didn’t tell a disciple but His disciples. This communal body of those who believed in and followed Him points to one of the central missions of the church today: to go out into the world in order to teach others about Jesus. Third, Jesus did not say, “Tell somebody, then walk away.” Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples, which requires more than an initial introduction. It requires the purposeful intent to grow and foster nurturing relationships after the gospel is proclaimed. Biblical evangelism, then, is followed by discipleship—grounding others in the full counsel of God and developing those who hear the gospel so that they can mature.
As I hope I have made clear by now, discipleship also marks the transition from spectatorship to servanthood. In the former case, you may be on the team, but you watch others actively participate in the game. In the latter case, you’re ready to be an active participant and help other members to accomplish a unified goal.
“Making disciples of all the nations” invariably involves seeking because the One who commands us in the Great Commission (Jesus) already told us what His mission statement is: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). We, as the church, cannot save but we certainly can seek. Furthermore, seek (zēteō) not only means searching but implies an earnest desire to “find” what you’re looking for. In other words, Biblical seeking isn’t apathetic or half-hearted. It sincerely desires for others to know God, and it is this posture that animates our “seeking.”
The Power of Witnessing
Here is an important point. In Acts 1:8, before He ascended to heaven, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would empower us to accomplish the commands set forth in the Great Commission. I say “us” because the Spirit is not exclusive but indwells all believers. Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (emphasis added). The Greek word for witness (martys) does mean a witness in a legal sense, like someone relaying testimony, but it also means being a witness in an ethical sense, meaning those who, by example, prove the strength and genuineness of their faith in Christ. It is not coincidence that those who die for their faith are called martyrs, because the death of a martyr serves as a means to witness to others. In a more practical sense, each day we can demonstrate effective witness to others by acting ethically in accordance with what Christ commanded us.
Now let’s be clear: Witnessing is not evangelism. You can be an effective witness, for example, for Buddhism or libertarianism, but this is not evangelism because you are not proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can even be a very good witness for The Lord, for example, by showing mercy to others and treating them with kindness, but this is still not evangelism because these acts do not proclaim the gospel.
The clear distinction between witnessing and evangelism does not diminish the effectiveness of being a dedicated witness for Christ—that is, living by example in how you conduct yourself in everyday life. By living this way, a person may one day ask you, “Hey, you’re different. You don’t behave like everyone else. You treat me in a special way. What’s your deal?” It is then that we begin to evangelize and tell this person the gospel: “Well, I’ll tell you what my deal is. Have you ever heard of Jesus?” In the contemporary church, people tend to think that evangelism is an isolated event that is characterized by traveling all the way around the world and speaking to people who live in remote areas. Certainly, such efforts are wonderful but this incomplete understanding diverts attention away from assessing one’s ongoing interactions with people encountered every day. Just consider the plethora of opportunities for evangelism that would exist if we all took the effort to effectively witness in every area of our life.
Furthermore, being an effective witness ties in to what Jesus said in The Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9–13). As I wrote in the lesson on prayer:
“God’s kingdom is unseen, and when we pray that ‘Your kingdom come,’ this is a request that in every aspect of our individual lives and in the communal life of the church, we bring the invisible kingdom into the visible realm—this applies to every aspect of our lives, including family, relationships, community service, devotional life, schools, jobs, finances, behavior patterns, and methods of thinking.”
Effective witnessing makes the light of Christ visible to those who do not yet know Him. So, from the perspective of the church, evangelism is the primary means by which the church looks out and relates to the world. From the perspective of the individual, being an effective witness (demonstrating) can therefore be the very vehicle that you need to open the door for evangelism (the actual proclaiming). For how will the world know we are disciples of Christ? By the love we have for one another.
What evangelism does
In Luke 24:1–9, we can see one of the first recorded instances of evangelism. Here, after the resurrection, the followers of Christ came to the tomb and found two messengers who then asked them:
“Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.”
What these messengers told to those at the tomb relayed a very simple message about a person, Jesus Christ. They didn’t tell a new story but rather repeated the facts of events that happened. These facts form the core of exactly what is to be proclaimed: the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and eventual return of Christ. These core truths are what distinguish evangelism from other messages that you hear in life.
If you turn on the radio, you might hear a good message about reducing your debt. Indeed, such a message is a good message but not the good message. The business world, for example, speaks of “brand evangelists.” Though this label is cute, these “evangelists” are delivering a message about a product from a company. What defines genuine Biblical evangelism is that it is a message about Jesus that has been delivered to us from God. No part of evangelism entails telling someone what you believe or what you think or relaying secular wisdom. Quite simply, evangelism entails proclaiming that Jesus lived, died, resurrected, ascended, and will one day return. In contrast to messages about debt reduction or a new app, the good news of the gospel has eternal ramifications. Once someone hears the good message, it has cataclysmic, eternal effects because it forever alters how he or she will spend not only life on earth but also eternity. Before the good news of Christ, people were left with uncertainty about what would happen after they died. Now, we realize our natural existence is but a small speck relative to the glorified state the faithful will enjoy with The Lord in heaven. For those who are drawn to respond to the good news, the process of discipleship thus begins.
Conclusion
Evangelism focuses on a specific message about one specific person. Discipleship is not about focusing on one specific area of doctrine or Christianity but thinking “big” and contemplating Jesus in the context of the Bible as a whole.
When we do this, it becomes clear that the drama of the Biblical narrative means much more when it animates our everyday lives. When Jesus sent His disciples into the world, He invited us to participate in the story of salvation. Hence, we play a part in the narrative, and the story unfolds each and every day in our thoughts, actions, words, and behaviors. That story is very simple and able to be told by everyday people to other everyday people. Certainly, some have special gifts, but every believer can be equipped with a basic message to be an evangelist and take the fundamental steps toward becoming a disciple.
So how can we think about Jesus in the context of the “big” story of the Bible? The story begins “In the beginning” when Yahweh, the Trinitarian God, made the purposeful intention for humanity to be in a close, deep personal relationship with Him. God’s intent was perfect harmony and to dwell among us and walk in the Garden He prepared for us. God saw everything that He created, and all of it was good.
However, a revolution happened. Adam and Eve thought they could do better than God, and so they sinned. As a result of this rebellion, unity turned into discord. Fellowship turned into separation, and the God Who walked among us became hidden and faraway. The world learned what a reality distant from God felt like—fallen. It was thereby possible to be a creation in God’s world but still not know God. Because of the transgression of Adam, our first parents were exiled from Paradise, and the rest of humanity inherited a sinful nature and the same rebellious tendencies. For the rest of human history, men and women would endlessly search for ways to get back into Paradise and escape death. They would try vague spirituality, other gods, reason, science, logic, philosophy, and politics, but none of these things could deliver them from the grip of death.
This is the bad news, and without any good news, the spiritual story of humanity ends right here.
However, there is hope. The Bible tells us that God refused to abandon His creation. As humanity grew and grew, He narrowed His focus to a particular group of people (the Israelites) with one ultimate goal: to redeem a fallen creation and reconcile them back to Him. The only problem is that just like Adam, the Israelites also failed. They chose to rebel against God over and over and over again. So, the Israelites were exiled from their “paradise,” the Promised Land, and were cast out into the hands of foreign conquerors. There was still hope, though, because those who speak on behalf of The Lord (the prophets) told us that Someone was coming who would at last deliver humanity from its wretchedness. God did not leave creation alone.
Then the story really gets good. God pierced the veil of our existence and Incarnated as Jesus, fully God and fully Man. Throughout His life, Jesus showed us how to be divine and drew our attention back to God and away from the false systems of religion that were exposed as fraudulent. Jesus lived a life of perfect, flawless obedience and revealed to us that God loved His creation so much that He gave His only Son to us for our sake. He gave Him so that we could see Him, speak to Him, learn from Him, and understand that God was reaching us where we are for our sake. God told us that when we believed in His Son, we would inherit eternal life.
However, ironically, the same people that God first chose (the Jews) accused Jesus of being a heretic, and the Son of God was nailed to a Cross by the Romans. However, what the world didn’t understand and intended for evil was what God used to fulfill His good purposes. Despite the fact that once again, God was walking among us, again we rejected Him. Yet Jesus willingly gave up His life and shed His innocent blood to serve as a substitutionary, eternal sacrifice to atone for the transgressions of humanity and to reconcile a broken relationship between God and creation. Jesus did not have to die for our sake. He could have, in His omnipotence, gotten off the Cross and struck all of His accusers down in the blink of an eye. Yet He didn’t do that because God still refused to leave creation alone. Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself for our sake, was crucified in weakness, and then died on the Cross. Then—and this is the best news—He was raised from the dead three days later. The Messiah irrevocably conquered what previously had tainted creation—sin and death—and kept us out of Paradise. The resurrection was the ultimate signal that God cannot and will not leave His creation alone, and to deliver us from our iniquities and guarantee the salvation of the elect, He gave of Himself to redeem us. Out of the fallen creation came new life exclusively with The Lord. Every shackle became loose and the deceiver was crushed as The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords broke every chain that kept us from our loving Father in Heaven.
The good news is that the only One who can give you eternal life is the One who conquered death. The good news is that the only thing that you must do to inherit eternal life is to believe in Jesus. The good news is that you don’t have to pick and choose, because there are not many roads to eternal life. There is only one: Jesus Christ. No one else died for your sake on a Cross, and when the Messiah returns to inherit His kingdom, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Soon after the resurrection of Jesus, He sent His disciples out into the world. For just as the Father sent Jesus, He now sends us into the entire world. We are sent to deliver the liberating message of the good news of God’s kingdom: that those who are elect and have faith in Jesus as the Messiah will inherit eternal life. These disciples go out from the church, the place led by Jesus and where God’s Spirit dwells. Those in the assembly of the church spread the love and light of Christ to all human beings in word and deed. Through witnessing, the redeeming, transformative power of Christ is demonstrated to the entire world. It is at this juncture in the story of redemption that the history of the Bible meets us in the present and compels us to take action now. That is because in the final chapter of redemption, God will return. For those who have faith and worship Christ as Lord, this return will be a time of celebration. For those who reject the Messiah, this return will be a time of judgment. Hence, it is our task now to be culture-makers, because as the saying goes, the good news of Jesus is only good if it gets there in time.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
See Romans 10:14.
Exodus 20:1–17
For example, see Acts 14:19 and II Corinthians 11:25.
See Matthew 19:16–30; Mark 10:17–27; Luke 18:18–27.
Luke 5:1–11
Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
For an example, see Acts 2, 10:34–38.
It is also important to note that Jesus declared this commandment atop a mountain (Matthew 28:16) in front of His chosen disciples. This commandment opened up a new chapter in the story of redemption and defined the conditions of a relationship between Christ and His followers. Similarly, in the Old Testament, God delivered the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17) from atop Mount Sinai in front of His chosen people. These commandments opened up a new chapter in the story of redemption and defined the conditions of a relationship between God and His chosen people.
Of course, in the present day the church is the communal body of believers in Christ.
Acts 2:14–21; c.f. Joel 2:28.
John 13:35
See Matthew 3:1; Mark 16:15; Luke 4:18–19; Romans 10:14; I Corinthians 1:17, 1:23.
The fancy word that refers to the proclamation of these elements is kerygma. Generally speaking, when you read a sermon in the New Testament, these elements are preached.
Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10–11
March 17, 2016
HOW CAN I DEVELOP A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE? by R.C. SPROUL
The bottom line: Clear, focused answers to the book’s central question with many actionable nuggets.
Every human being has an awareness of God written on the conscience. Some embrace this awareness and are led to the truth. Others suppress this awareness and are led astray. In the latter case, following your conscious leads to a suppression of the truth and a subjective form of morality that is tainted by sin. In the former case, the human conscience is very important because it strives to turn away from evil and conform to the external objective truth of God. In How can I develop a Christian conscience?, R.C. Sproul clearly explains what a genuine Christian conscience is and how it can be cultivated.
How can I develop a Christian conscience? is roughly divided into two parts. The first answers the central question of the book and the second debunks the many polluted distortions that exist about what a Christian conscious really means.
“The Creation Ordinances” and “The Razor’s Edge” clarify Christian ethics and elucidates that we, as Christians, are redeemed, but we are not free from being obligated to God and His commandments. Developing a Christian conscience thus entails studying and having knowledge of God’s decrees, found in the Bible. The final three chapters expose fraudulent ideologies (e.g. legalism, antinomianism) and explain how an awareness of the degrees of sin helps to mold a Christian conscience.
How can I develop a Christian conscience? is part of the Crucial Questions booklet series. The series offers Biblically sound answers to practical, real-life questions about the everyday Christian experience.
Without a doubt, the series is very informative and a worthwhile resource. Each selection in this volume tends to be less than 100 pages so you can get through a booklet in an afternoon. Furthermore, the fact that all of them are available for free (Kindle versions) is just icing on the cake. This is excellent for anyone who seeks to know more about repentance, and will provide valuable information to Sunday school teachers, Christian educators, and Bible students.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal
