All posts tagged Evangelism

C.S. Lewis on an Awkward Picture of Evangelism

by brad on August 20, 2012 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“Did you ever think, when you were a child, what fun it would be if your toys could come to life? Well suppose you could really have brought them to life. Imagine turning a tin solider into a real little man. It would involve turning the tin into flesh. And suppose the tin soldier did not like it. He is not interested in flesh: all he sees is that the tin is being spoilt. He thinks you are killing him. He will do everything he can do to prevent you. He will not be made into a man if he can help it (p. 179).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

What a great image of how we often respond to God’s activity in our life. We are being brought from death to life and we resist it.

Think of a time when you have sat or slept in an awkward position and due to cutting off the circulation, your foot has “fallen asleep.” As the blood flows back, there is a painful tingling sensation that we would stop if we could. That is a small taste of life invading death.

Now imagine cold hard lungs becoming soft again and grasping for air, or a stone heart passing through the sensation of an intense “Charlie horse” as it begins to beat again. These mercies that would be miraculous would be experienced initially as torture.

Now, following Lewis’ lead, let’s imagine these events less self-centeredly. Imagine you are the child Lewis describes who loves his toy and wants to bless it with life so that it could know the affection you have for it in ways a dead/inanimate object cannot.

While this confounds the metaphor slightly, imagine giving life required the cooperation of your beloved tin soldier. Each time you begin the process of imparting life, the soldier resists and resents you as a mean or harsh person. But you continue to love your toy and want to give it life so that it can know your love and have a more full existence.

This is one picture (not the only picture) of evangelism. We are beloved toys (metaphorically speaking) who have passed from death to life and found the change to be of inestimable value. We are encouraging our fellow toys to trust their Owner because He is good and the changes He wants to make in them are the best thing that could ever happen.

Yet any step that is taken towards life causes intense pain (dying to self – Luke 9:23; becoming a new creation – 2 Cor. 5:20). Our testimony sounds life foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18). Their experience of what God offers is the exact opposite of what we say.

Oddly, the pain of gaining life distracts them from the absence of life in which they are already existing. We realize that we cannot make blind/dead eyes see or deaf/dead ears hear the truth. The same God who must change their heart must touch their eyes and ears as well.

We are merely an example, in word and deed, that the result of God’s activity is truly life. We recognize their fear of the gospel is rational from where they are. It will cost them everything (Matt 13:44-46). From where they stand, the price cannot be “worth it” unless they accept that their everything is nothing compared God Himself.

We patiently, repeatedly, and passionately affirm that He is. We have compassion towards their fear of embracing life. But we do not agree with their fear. We simply affirm that a moment of true life is of greater value than an eternity of living death, and we ask them to accept God’s offer.

Video: Summit Counseling Ministry — Vision, Challenges, & Pieces

by brad on March 7, 2012 in Church Resource with 3 Comments

The following presentation was given at the EQUIP Leadership Forum of the Summit Church (Durham, NC). The purpose of this talk was the present the exciting opportunities and unique challenges involved with trying to offer a comprehensive counseling ministry. This talk is divided into three sections:

1. The Unique Opportunities and Challenges of Summit’s Counseling Ministry

2. How the Pieces of the Summit’s Counseling Ministry Are Designed to Fuel One Another

3. What This All Means for Individual Ministries within the Summit’s Counseling Ministry

Equip Leadership Forum – Pt2 from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

PRESENTATION NOTES: Here is a PDF copy of the notes that were made available to those in attendance: ELF Talk #1 — Counseling Vision & Pieces

 

Sharing the Gospel through the Window of Emotion

by brad on January 27, 2012 in Application Supplement with No comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on Jonah 4 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday January 28-29, 2012.

When you have gotten to know someone decently well you begin to know what pushes their buttons, gets under their skin, and their pet peeves. Rarely can we hide from others what really makes us tick for long. It shows up as our agitation, anxiety, awkward silence, drive, outspokenness, sensitivities, and quirks.

The things that stir our souls reveal important things about us. When people show us emotion, their beliefs, values, and hopes are on display (Luke 6:45). These are precious and powerful moments. These are moments when friendships are forged and lives are changed. Seeing Jesus’ relevance in these moments in the gospel is most relevant.

Unfortunately, these are also the times when there is a strong tendency to back away from people. We find these moments intimidating, uncomfortable, or “personal.” While nothing of significance should be approached cavalierly, neither should moments of such influence be ignored.

The question is, “How do we engage these moments with the honor they deserve while seeking to maximize the potential they hold?” I will offer some suggestions on how to approach these moments to engage gospel conversations.

Ask a good question. It can be as simple as an observation, “That was really important to you.” Maybe you ask, “What did you like/dislike most about that?” Just don’t let the question get in the way. Make it short and an acknowledgement that you’re interested in what is significant to them.

Honor push back. Interest is one door to winning trust; honor is another. If the other person is uncomfortable, let the question rest. We model Christ’s compassion when we do not force our concern upon them and are not offended if they are not open to the conversation.

Show genuine interest. Evangelism should never be a “technique.” Nobody wants an unsolicited counselor. If you cut quickly to what you really wanted to talk about (i.e., Jesus), you risk insulting the person you are seeking to reach.

Don’t try to complete the journey in one conversation. This is relational evangelism. If you are able to put their concern/passion into words and they say, “Thank you! Finally somebody gets it,” that is a huge win. You are an ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20). Ambassadors know the value of trust and learning culture (emotions are “personal culture”) for delivering an impactful message.

Listen for sin and suffering. When we seek to share the gospel through the window of emotion we must know how the gospel speaks to sin and suffering. We need to be able to offer God’s forgiveness and comfort. The “idols of our hearts” are sought for both pleasure and refuge. For on how the gospel speaks to sin and suffering, see these two videos.

Listen for how you’re like them. Testimony is uniquely important in these kinds of gospel conversations. You may not have the same “driving desires” (idols) linked to the same historical influences with the same emotional response. But chances are you can relate to the pattern – heart set on [blank overgrown desire] that is important to you because [historical reason] so you [emotional response].  People are not as different as we like to think we are.

As a Christian, you should be able to talk about how the gospel has changed the way you respond to those moments – how Christ’s Lordship put overgrown good desires back in proportion, is transforming the way you understand shaping events, and is creating stability in your emotions (for an example of this applied to anger/conflict click here). You just shared the gospel. Now all you need to do is to ask if they are interested in a similar relationship with Christ.

Continue having “normal” conversations. The freedom of the gospel is expressed (in part) by the fact that while Christ comes to us in our weakest moments we are not defined by those moments. Be God’s ambassador in this way as well. You are inviting them to be a part of God’s family (where people are defined by their relationships), not God’s recovery group (where people are defined by their struggle). This is someone you know them well enough that they allowed you to see their soul; honor that by showing concern for their whole life.

Self-Doubt, God-Doubt, & Evangelism

by brad on January 20, 2012 in Application Supplement with No comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on Jonah 3 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday January 21-22, 2012.

Jonah’s hesitancy to share the gospel with Nineveh had nothing to do with self-doubt or God-doubt. Actually, it was just the opposite. Jonah feared that if he called Nineveh to repent that they would repent and God would forgive (4:1-3). Jonah simply wanted Nineveh to receive justice rather than mercy so he resisted introducing them to the God he knew.

While there are some Christians who allow laziness or animosity to prevent them from sharing the good news they found in God, that is not the only reason Christians fail to share the gospel. I’ll leave it up to the reader to guess at what percentage of Christian failure to share the gospel results from laziness ( _____% ), animosity ( _____% ), self-doubt ( _____%), and God-doubt ( _____%).

But I think the more important question is not weighing the percentages of the Christian population, but dividing the motives of our individual hearts. What percentage of your failure to share the gospel results from laziness ( _____% ), animosity ( _____% ), self-doubt ( _____%), and God-doubt ( _____%).

This post wants to reflect on the two forms of discouragement that come when we share our faith and people do not respond. Did I fail (self-doubt)? Or, did God fail (God-doubt)? It is a natural question. When I try do something and it doesn’t work, I want to know, “What went wrong? Who/what failed?”

Some Christians, usually in a legitimate attempt to be humble, begin to think they were the problem. “I didn’t say the right thing, know the right verse, pray enough before, tell a funny enough story, or read my Bible enough. Or, I spoke too soon or wasn’t cool enough to win their respect.” Whatever rational is created, the bottom line in self-doubt is: I am the reason that person is still going to Hell.

In the end, self-doubt always exaggerates the role of the witness in evangelism. After all, Jonah’s message wasn’t that impressive (3:4) – eight words in English, only 5 words in Hebrew, and his heart wasn’t in it. He simple spoke the truth about God to people who needed to hear it. Evangelism that is “done” by an impressive speaker or argument will be “undone” by a more impressive speaker or argument.

Further, self-doubt focuses our attention on self rather than the person we’re talking to and the God we’re talking about. Self-doubt reduces our genuine interest in the person we’re talking to (fear always causes preoccupation) and our passion for the God we’re talking about. That is probably the best possible recipe for making something simple seem difficult.

Other Christians, begin to doubt God when their evangelism is ineffective. “Maybe God doesn’t like me and doesn’t want to bless what I’m doing. God likes other people better so He gives more fruit to their ministry. Maybe God isn’t as good as I thought He was if He didn’t do what I expected Him to do.” The thinking process can take many forms, but it boils down to either God doesn’t like me or God can’t be trusted.

Either way, the result is that we stop praying (especially for specific lost people that we are burdened to share Christ with) and stop sharing. The activity that should drive us to God and His Word—evangelism—begins to be the reason to avoid God and His Word, or at least intellectualize and privatize our faith.

The worst part of God-doubt is not the lack of evangelism; that is only the bitter fruit. The worst part is the functional belief in a sterile, distant God who becomes a moral score keeper instead of tender Father making an appeal to His lost children through His children who have returned. We begin to live as if God accepted us as His hired labor (Luke 15:18-19) instead of interrupting our repentance with lavish love and affection (Luke 15:20-24). We believe the lie we feared before we knew the truth.

Self-doubt and God-doubt both forget who we were before God saved us (people who resisted the truth), what God has done to make salvation possible (bearing the penalty of our sin and offering us Christ’s righteousness by grace), and how simple the message really is (Jesus in my place). We quit sharing the gospel with others regularly because we quit reminding ourselves of the gospel daily. If you struggle with self-doubt or God-doubt, then remind yourself daily of who you were, what God did, and how powerfully simple the gospel is.

Forsaking Their Hope of Steadfast Love

by brad on January 13, 2012 in Application Supplement with No comments

This post is meant to offer guidance to common “What now?” questions that could emerge from Pastor J.D.’s sermon on Jonah 2 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday January 14-15, 2012.

What a sad description of people; even sadder because it is true. “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love (Jonah 2:8).” From the belly of a great fish Jonah is reflecting on what led to his demise. It was “vain idols” that caused him to drift from trust in God’s love.

The scary part is that Jonah was a prophet who was still used by God as this drift occurred. It is doubtful that the disdain for Nineveh that caused him to put country and personal offense ahead of God started the moment “the word of the Lord came to Jonah (1:1).” How Jonah was responding to atrocities of Nineveh was likely source of the “vain” (empty, useless, without comparative worth) idol that caused him to forsake God’s steadfast love – “to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord (1:3).”

Jonah’s “great sin” of active rebellion fleeing in the opposite direction of God’s call began with a bad response to suffering (Nineveh’s violently oppressive actions against Israel and surrounding nations). Seeing depravity at it most vile made Jonah forget his own desperate need for God’s grace. When God wanted to extend the same grace Jonah received to Nineveh, Jonah balked and forsook the hope of God’s steadfast love.

Whether we can relate to Jonah’s overt, opposite-direction rebellion against God that resulted in “bottoming out” in a living submarine in the depth of sea, we can definitely relate to Jonah’s subtle, shocked-at-evil step into idolatry. We all know who “the really bad” people are and we’re not them. We hear about them on the news. We’re not rapists, terrorists, or pedophiles.

If we thought being a recipient of God’s grace put us in that category and called us to share the gospel with someone who raped our child or blew up our brother, we (at least I) would be very tempted to “forsake my hope of God’s steadfast love.” Bringing Jonah’s assignment into my world makes me want to look for the ship to Tarshish. I am Jonah! I might take a suicidal leap from a ship in the middle of the ocean before I would carry my Bible into that maximum security prison.

I would resent sharing the same grace. I would resent “sharing” in terms of being washed in the same Savior’s blood much less “sharing” in the form of being God’s ambassador of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:20). As this resentment built, I could see how forsaking the hope of God’s steadfast love and looking for something else to base my life on (“vain idols”) would be so tempting. I am Jonah! Guilty as charged!

Yet even from the belly of the great fish Jonah came to his senses and said, “Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God (2:6).” Jonah was humbled. He realized he could not escape the evil he was trying to avoid traveling away from the presence of the Lord (1:3). Jonah brought the evil of allowing people to die based on his preferences with him, in his own heart, as he fled taking God’s message to Nineveh.

Jonah realized he must share (verbally communicated) God’s grace with Nineveh because he realized he shared (drank from the same fountain of life) God’s grace with Nineveh. By the end of the book it appears that while Jonah accepted this reality he had a hard time with it (4:11). Jonah could preach it as true, but he couldn’t sing it as joy.

I believe this impairs my ability to embrace and willingness to proclaim the gospel. The point is not whether I could muster the love to share the gospel with my brother’s murderer who posted a celebratory video on the internet before going “hunting.” The question can be as simple as, “Do I love my neighbor as myself?”  Am I willing to share my hope because I see myself as sharing their predicament? Am I as desperate for them as I am grateful that God was desperate for me?

Or have I become numb by the constant atrocities I see on the news and the hateful banter that permeates the media to a point that I see myself as “different” from real, hateful sinners as Jonah saw himself as “different “ from Nineveh? As soon as I think in “degrees of bad” instead of simply “need for grace” I fall into Jonah’s trap of forsaking the hope of God’s steadfast love.

If we use this reflection to remind ourselves to look at people as sharing our need for God’s grace, then it will become much more natural to share the message of God’s grace with those we see as being “like us.” Jonah’s vision was corrected by a crisis after overt rebellion and bottoming out. May God use Jonah to correct our vision where we are now.

Using Counseling in Your Personal Outreach

by brad on September 9, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

At The Summit Church, our counseling ministry wants to equip you for local missions. This is done primarily through our seminars. The next of these will be on September 25 on “Taking the Journey of Grief with Hope” in the Brier Creek South venue.

Consider the following points: (1) every person will face grief many times in their life, (2) grief is a time when we are forced to think about what’s after death, and (3) during grief people often reflect on the purpose of their life and want to talk about it.

Question: What if you had a resource which equipped you to compassionately enter those conversations and consistently directed conversations towards the gospel in grief-appropriate ways? Could you say to a friend, “I know you’re going through a lot with the loss of [name]. I know a decent study that is designed to help people process their grief, if it would help you to talk through it I’d be glad to listen.”

That is the goal of the counseling ministry – to produce these kind of materials on a myriad of subjects. To help you gain a better grasp of why we are doing things this way, this post includes one of the introductory page that is included in every Summit counseling seminar.

What Can I Hope to Get From this Seminar?

Whether you are here due to personal need, the needs of others, or for a general interest in the topic, we hope this seminar will benefit you.  If we do our job well, parts of this seminar will speak to you personally.  There will also be parts that speak to aspects of this subject that are different from your own experience. What follows are six unavoidable facts that should help you profit from all of the material you hear (bold faced text taken from Paul Tripp and Tim Lane How People Change):

1.  Someone in your life had a problem this week. That person may be you.  Even if you are here for yourself, chances are you know or will know others who struggle in this area.  Because we live in a fallen world and have a sin nature, we can be certain that we will battle with sin and suffering in our lives.  Because we love people, we can be certain we will be called on to love and assist others in their battle with sin and suffering.

2.  We have everything we need in the Gospel to help that person (2 Peter 1:3). God has given us Himself, the Gospel, the Bible, and the church and promised they are effective for all things that pertain to life and godliness.  Our task as Christians is to grow in our understanding of and ability to skillfully apply these resources to our struggles. These resources are the essence and source of “good advice,” and we hope to play a role in your efforts to apply and disseminate this “good advice.”  We do not aim to present new material, but new ways of applying the timeless, eternal truths of the Gospel found in Scripture.

3. That person will seek help from friends, family members, or pastors before seeking professionals. Counseling (broadly defined as seeking to offer hope and direction through relationship) happens all the time.  We talk with friends over the phone, crying children in their rooms, spouses in the kitchen, fellow church members between services, and have endless conversations with ourselves.  We listen to struggles, seek to understand, offer perspective, give advice, and follow up later.  This is what the New Testament calls “one-anothering” and something we are all called to do.

4.  That person either got no help, bad help, or biblical, gospel-centered help. Not all counseling is good counseling.  Not all advice that we receive from a Christian (even a Christian counselor) is Christian advice.  Too often we are advised to look within for the answers to our problems or told that we are good enough, strong enough, or smart enough in ourselves to overcome.  Hopefully you will see today how the Bible calls us to something (rather Someone) better, bigger, and more effective than these messages.

5.  If they did not get meaningful help, they will go elsewhere. When we do not receive good advice (pointing us to enduring life transformation), we keep looking.  We need answers to our struggles.  This means that as people find unfulfilling answers they will eventually (by God’s grace) come to a Christian for advice.  When they eventually come to you, we hope you will be more prepared because of our time together today.

6.  Whatever help they received, they will use to help others! We become evangelists for the things that make life better (this is why the Gospel is simply called “Good News”).  We quite naturally share the things that we find to be effective.  Our prayer for you today is that you will find the material presented effective for your struggles and that you will be so comforted and encouraged by it that it will enable you to be a more passionate and effective ambassador of the Gospel in the midst of “normal” daily conversations.

The Most Unpopular Christian Virtue

by brad on August 8, 2011 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, ‘Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.’ Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it is now, has gone wrong (p. 95).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The either/or statement which concludes this quote is very provocative and, potentially, an effective point to begin a conversation about Christianity with a non-believer. Obviously, this would not be a standard introduction for conversation with every non-believer.

But many people have been hurt by the human sexual instinct in its current condition: rape, betrayal, or even the backlash of their own choices based upon sexual urges. In the case of rape or betrayal, people are left asking, “Why would someone do this to me?” In the case of the fallout in pursuing “sincere love” expressed sexually, people are left asking, “Why didn’t this work for me?”

Both questions echo the either/or contrast established by C.S. Lewis. If the current sexual instinct of the human race is right, normal, moral, or healthy, then there should be no rape, betrayal, or emotional trauma from the expression of sincere love. But there is. Not only do these things exist, but they affect the vast majority of the human population.

Honestly, how many people do you know who do not have deep regret about their own sexual activity pursued with good intent, or have deep pain due to unfaithfulness or some form of sexual abuse?

Those who have been touched by the devastation of the sexual instinct gone awry begin asking deep questions about the human condition. They want explanations for suffering and sin. They want to know if redemption, restoration, or hope truly exist. They want to know why the majority of what they have been taught has been proven tragically false.

The answer, at root, is that the human sexual instinct, like the rest of our being, is deeply tainted by sin. Our experience confirms this foundational tenant to the Christian faith, which so many want to condemn as judgmental or prudish.

Ask someone who has experienced the consequences of human sexuality if they would gladly accept the standard of the most unpopular Christian virtue. I believe they would gladly tell you “Yes!” if they believed it were possible. That takes us into a discussion of the necessity of Christ to keep the law on our behalf, which will have to wait.

The point is simply this: Christian virtue may be disliked or impossible apart from Christ of Christianity, but it has not been proven false. On the contrary, it is proven true in our lives constantly. When it comes to conversations with unbelievers, we can often draw upon their own experience to confirm the truths of the Bible rather than trying to convince them certain actions are wrong.

If they will not listen to the testimony of their own experience interpreted and illuminated by the truth of Scripture, then our evangelistic task might be (not always) better served continuing to build a bridge of friendship and/or waiting until their experience so confirms our faith that their heart cannot help but be tender to listen.

Other Religions Not All Wrong

by brad on December 9, 2010 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through… When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I become a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view… As in arithmetic—there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong; but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others (p. 35).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

When discussing the Gospel with the Rich Young Ruler it is said Jesus “looked at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing’ (Mark 10:21a).” It is worth noting that Jesus said he only lacked “one” thing. This implies that there are many more things he could have missed.

The young man was seeking God (even Yahweh, the One true God), he approached Jesus as the one who could give him direction, he knew the quality of his life mattered, but he was unwilling to sacrifice his material blessings for God’s kingdom.

This conversation was different from other conversations Jesus had when people asked him questions about the law or eternal life (see Matthew 22:15-46). In these cases the questioners lacked more than one thing.

What I believe C.S. Lewis is rightly pointing out is that our tone of conversation can be different with a person of faith than with an atheist. In

these conversations we know that we agree on at least some of the key questions, although not on the answers. While with the atheist we cannot agree on the answers, because we are asking different questions.

That advantage of this is that it allows us to avoid being condescending in our conversations.  C.S. Lewis is not arguing that God gives partial credit. We either enter into heaven by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ or not at all. But someone who accepts that there is one God who created the universe who is good and that we are not good and must have our sin accounted for by some means is nearer the Gospel (conversationally) than an evolutionist who believes in the inherent goodness of people.

You may (rightly) say that my assumptions about other religions are too optimistic. You would be correct. Most other religions do not believe in everything I stated (one God, the goodness of God, Creation, sin, and some form of atonement). But if we find any of these elements in the belief system of a lost friend, we have a starting point of conversation that we do not have with the atheist. We can begin talking before we begin debating.

I think the main point C.S. Lewis was making was that Christianity gave him the ability to have honest, patient conversations. He did not have to “walk off the stage” (The View) or “fire” (Juan Williams) those with whom he disagreed as being unworthy of talking to or hearing from. In our current culture this has real appeal.

While we must be careful not to compromise the end of the conversation – after all Jesus did let the Rich Young Ruler walk away sad without altering Gospel (Mark 10:22) – we should not mistake the narrow road of entering God’s kingdom with harshness, defensiveness, or abbreviated conversations about the Gospel.

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Simple Religion

by brad on November 18, 2010 in Counseling Reflection with No comments

A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

“It is no good asking for a simple religion. After all, real things are not simple… Such people put up a version of Christianity suitable for a child of six and make that the object of their attack. When you try to explain the Christian doctrine as it is really held by an instructed adult, they then complain that you are making their heads turn round and that it is all too complicated and that if there really were a God they are sure He would have made ‘religion’ simple, because simplicity is so beautiful (p. 40-41).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

In the context of this quote Lewis uses the illustration of a child praying. It is a simple act – having a conversation with God like you would anyone else. But if you ask, “How does prayer influence life, events, emotions, or choices?” then you move into a domain that is anything but simple.

Lewis’ point is that real things are not simple. Any child with blocks can make a bridge, but if you want to design a real bridge you need an advanced degree in engineering. The precision and technicality of the conversation depends upon your audience and the purpose of the conversation.

Any parent or teacher is (rightfully) content to allow a child to stack two vertical blocks and one horizontal block and call it a bridge. They would even allow the child to drive their toy cars over it. Middle school science classes allow students to design various types of miniature bridges to test durability of various designs and spark creativity in students.

In these cases no one “ambushes” the students with questions of advanced engineering to cast doubt upon whether the thing built is a bridge or would be the kind of bridge that would do any good. The definition of bridge and the exercise in bridge building is understood to be equivalent to the intellectual maturity of the student and the purpose of the class.

This means we teach simple religion to those young in their faith or new to Christianity. Yet the expectation is that we will “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity (Heb 6:1).” If we have been a Christian for any period of time and have not begun this journey, then we are not following the Bible.

There is a time in our Christian life when “Admit you are sinner, Believe Jesus died for your sin, and Confess your need for Christ” is sufficient. But that time is brief. You are called to love God with all your mind (Matt 22:37). We are called to always be able to make a defense for the hope that is in us (I Pet 3:15).

With that being said when someone presents a difficult question regarding our faith, we have (at least) two questions to ask in return. First, we ask “Do you really desire an answer for your question?” Some people ask questions as traps and not to get answers (example Matt 22:15). In this case the best our answer will do is reveal the insincerity of the questioner.

Second, we ask “Are you prepared to consider an answer as large as your question?” Answering large questions with brief answers will always be unsatisfying. We will be in a position to only offer clichés or simplistic answers.

A third question (if the person is willing to engage) would be, “Is the question you ask ‘next’ for you based upon your current understanding of Christianity?” This would be the best and ideal place to start the conversation. For instance, before we could answer, “Does someone have to be a Christian to go to heaven?” there are several questions that must be answered first. Why isn’t everyone going to heaven already? What does it take to go to heaven? Can we earn our passage to heaven? Until we answer these questions the original question is not “next.”

At that point the answer will not be “simple” but it can be both true and intellectually satisfying.

Ministering What Matters – II Corinthians 4

by brad on July 26, 2010 in Application Supplement with No comments

Tamper with God’s Word (4:2)

In II Corinthians 3:5-6 Paul had already said, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,  who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Paul is now explaining what this competent ministry in God’s sufficiency looks like – faithful handling of God’s Word with a reliance upon God’s Person (God’s Spirit not our interpretation of the letter).

This is a hard balance to strike.  On one side, many come to Scripture and ask, “What does this passage mean to me?” They tamper with God’s Word (often putting words in God’s mouth) that are not consistent with the words God inspired.  On the other side, others explore Scripture exclusively in its historical context thinking an extensive understanding of the culture and setting in which the Bible was written is a “deep” understanding of Scripture. They tamper with God’s Word by ignoring or being silent about the modern relevance of God’s Word.

For what it’s worth, both groups often treat conversations with other people the same way.  One group thinks what they feel is the same thing as what you meant.  The other group thinks that if you only understood the context of their thinking you would agree with them.  Here again we see that we tend to treat other people the same way we treat God (life reveals our hearts).

Application: If you have never read a book on interpreting and applying the Bible, I would recommend two.  The first one does an excellent job of teaching you how to interpret each genre of Scripture (epistles, narrative, parables, prophetic literature, wisdom literature, and psalms). The second gives excellent examples and a model of how to make application of Scripture to the modern context and struggles of life.

Blinded the Minds of Unbelievers (4:4)

Evangelism is about more than convincing someone about the Truth of who Jesus is, why Jesus came, and how the Bible says we are to respond.  Evangelism is a miracle in which God gives sight to the blind. Ezekiel described humanity in his prophecy, “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.”

With this in mind we can see how evangelism is more spiritual warfare than it is education.  The Gospel does have exclusive content, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).” But it takes a supernatural intervention in the heart of an unbeliever for him/her to “see” this truth. When you share the Gospel you are conducting a “spiritual vision check (even believers need this; II Pet 1:9).”

Application: When you pray for a lost friend or family member, pray that God will open their eyes to His truth.  When you meet resistance or confusion in sharing the Gospel recognize that you will not argue someone into sight.  At that point, your first goal is to help them “see their blindness” (which oddly enough spiritually blind people are the only blind people who think they can see).  The type of question (modify it to fit the conversation) I advise for this is, “What do you think makes life worth living?”  Only when they see the inadequacy of their current hope will they “see” their need for an eternal hope.

Outer Self vs. Inner Self

(BCH_2Cor_4_handout for Printable PDF Handout)

 

In Ephesians 4:20-24 Paul discusses the old man and the new man in reference to our battle with sin. In II Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul contrasts the outer self and the inner self in reference to our struggle with suffering.  We learn from this that we are conflicted people (without a derogatory connotation) whether our challenge is moral or endurance.

Unless we realize this we will often wonder “Am I going crazy?” when we feel so torn in the midst of every life challenge (sin or suffering).  The points below are meant to help you find encouragement by rooting your identity in your “inner self” during episodes of suffering.

  • The “inner self” lasts longer. The passage contrasts wasting away with being renewed and transient with eternal to make this point. We are called to treat suffering like a woman treats pregnancy. The condition is temporary and comes with a great reward.
  • The “inner self” is more real. We would tend to think the outer self is “weightier” than the inner self. But we learn the opposite.  The outer self is the shadow that will fade away when we come fully into God’s light (presence).
  • The “inner self” belongs to the unseen reality. Just like there are more micro organisms (which we can’t see) than there are animals, there is more unseen reality than seen. Before we acknowledged germs we got sick for lack of washing our hands. Until we acknowledge the greater unseen reality we will be sick for lack of hope in suffering.
  • God understands our attachment to the “outer self.” God gave us this passage to comfort us in our current level of awareness. God is not impatient with our finite limitations. He believes the benefits of the process are worth the effort in ways we probably cannot understand because of our limited awareness. We must trust that Father knows best.
  • It is right to grieve the decay of the “outer self.” God does not expect us to be unmoved about the process of change. We should not grieve the dying of the “old man” (it is sin), but we should grieve the decay of the “outer man” (God said it was “very good” Gen 1:31). God has not told us we can only come out of our room when we stop crying. After all it has already been said He is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (II Cor 1:3).”

Introduction to the “Living Our Faith” series.
TOOL: “Using Prayer Time to Cultivate Ministry”
BLOG POST: “Teachers Equipping Ministers Through Prayer Time“

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