The Body of Christ, a living organism
Worshipping in Spirit and Truth

Did you read that book by Josh Harris, Stop Dating the Church? It's a good read. I believe that if more Christians were committed to a local body of believers that the body of Christ as a whole could have a greater impact on the world we live in. If we want to stick with the "body" word picture of Christ, you have Christ as the Head (I would say He would need to be the heart as well), we have the skeleton which could be your local churches, then you have missionaries who do travel but usually stay in one place for a period of time, and hopefully those put muscles on the bones, then their are people like us, you might say that we are like the blood circulating through the body and since we don't reach every part I am sure there are others out there traveling about and spending brief periods of time within other parts of the body.
I hope we bring the needed oxygen and help flush out the wastes to the parts of the body of Christ that we visit for a time and of course, that would be a result of the Holy Spirit working through us. So, our commitment is to the Body of Christ as a whole and for now we do not belong to a local church but are grateful to those local bodies who welcome us in and love us as if we are going to stay.
We have been to home churches, loud ones, traditional ones (and yes, I take my mother to Roman Catholic mass when she visits). One of the things that we have found a little disturbing about a number of Modern-American Christian Churches is that the purpose of Sunday morning worship is not primarily for the worship of our Lord but instead used for the purpose of evangelism. (Now before you try to stick me in a box: wait a minute, people don't belong in boxes anyway. Boxes are for things. I know this will be my 12th time packing to move in 4 years.) As Christian we are to evangelize: some like to call it the Great Commission and there are times when local churches as well as big ministries hold crusades, tent meetings and revivals, this is where evangelism ought to be taking place regularly along with one on one relationship evangelism. However, we are coming to believe through the Word of God that the main purpose of the Church is to come together to be edified, challenged, lifted up and of course, worshipping the Lord together in spirit and in truth.

Encouragement (edification) and Challenge (spur one another)
Hebrews 10
22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Prayer (lifting up)
James 5
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Worship
Hebrews 12
You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."^[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."^[f]

^{It seems abundantly clear that it is not our job to bring the unbeliever to church: God is the one building His Church (the body of Christ, the kingdom of God, His Family) but our job is to bring them to the foot of the Cross, point them to Jesus, not programs and steeples. When I became a believer the last place I wanted to go was to a church. I was afraid this new relationship with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit would not be permitted because it was not acquired through the rites of "the church" but by the power of God. He invaded my life without my permission and I have never been the same.}

^{Well folks, I really don't have anything figured out nor do I expect to in this life looking through the glass dimly as it may seem. However, I will continue to pursue the Truth for as long as I live by God's grace.}

^Pax,

^CM

"forcing tactics can only do damage, perhaps incalculable damage, to men's souls . . . Evangelism must rather be conceived as a long-term enterprise of patient teaching and instruction, in which God's servants seek simply to be faithful in delivering the gospel message and applying it to human lives, and leave it to God's Spirit to draw men to faith through this message in his own way and at his own speed"( A Quest For Godliness , 164).

--JI Packer

- J.I. PACKER

"At the center of every culture is a cultus, a form of worship. Suffice it to say that the Great Commission requires us to disciple, baptize, and teach obedience to all the ethnoi, all the nations of men. This means that robust evangelism cannot be done without challenging the gods of the system. While we must not despise the day of small beginnings, and must labor faithfully in the little things, we must not be distracted from the ultimate mission and goal, getting diverted into picking off the devil's stragglers, and going off with them to build an isolated evangelical ghetto. Evangelism is combat between the gods, that is, between the living and triune God of the Bible and the idols of the age. Evangelism is therefore religious war at the highest level."

--Douglas Wilson

“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for.”
--C. H. Spurgeon

The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt to look upon Our Lord as One Who assists us in our enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simply says - "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.
--Oswald Chambers

"The poor quality of Christian that grows out of our modern evangelistic meeting may be accounted for by the absence of real repentance accompanying the initial spiritual experience of the converts. And the absence of repentance is the result of an inadequate view of sin and sinfulness held by those who present themselves in the inquiry room. " (A. W. Tozer)

"Somebody said once that evangelism, true evangelism, is only this—one beggar telling another beggar how to find bread. There’s nothing that should make me boastful about my faith. I recognize that my faith is a result of the grace of God. And so we must understand that when we’re talking to people, we’re called to be gracious and kind. The fruit of the Spirit that the New Testament calls us to exhibit includes gentleness, meekness, patience, and love. That’s the spirit in which we are called to communicate to people. "

--R.C. Sproul

Those are the thoughts of some men who have (or had) made preaching the gospel their lifework. I would contend that Christians are expected to share their faith, preach the gospel: evangelize. Like I said in one of my previous posts, the results are in God's hands. It is more about planting and watering seeds and leaving the growth up to God; that is his business (my paraphrase of 1st Corinthians 3).

We don't want to water down the gospel (IE leave out that part about sin). The truth is to be spoken in love. One of the hardest truths to swallow is wanting all the people to be saved, and facing the reality that not all will be. Get to know your audience and speak their language so that they can understand what you are getting at is also important for us to do. Just because we know that the gospel is offense to some does not mean that we are to be offensive in presenting it.

2Corinthians 2;15 & 16

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life."

Decaffeinated Truth
Yesterday I wrote:
"Since the church is being used as the tool of evangelism, the truth of the gospel and the truth of God's Word has been watered down and Evangelism has been reduced to a sales' pitch."

What is the truth of the gospel?
1Corinthians 1;18 "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Paul continues:
21"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached tosave those who believe.22For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;23but we preach Christ crucified,to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Basically, it is crazy, the Message (a paraphrase) calls it "sheer silliness." I would say that biblically, the gospel is that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and was resurrected. Finishing the work of Redemption for the salvation of His people.
However, the "Jesus loves you and He wants to make your life a blessing and you will receive many blessings if you just put your faith and trust in Him" (you will get what you want) message is at best a half truth. It is the decaffeinated gospel.
We want the whole truth (we being those of us who have been adopted by God the Father). Paul says we preached Christ crucified. Many say that love was the motivating factor of Christ being crucified and dying for the sins of the world. But Jesus had a different motivation: In John 12 Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." John 17, "Father the hour has come, glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You" The more I read through the gospels the more I see that the primary motivator was for God's glory. How would He glorify His Father? By paying the penalty of our sins, providing New Life for those who were dead in their transgressions, by being the first to be born from the dead.
This does not take away from the Love of Christ. He even says that "greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15;13 When asked what is the greatest commandment? How did Jesus answer?
"You shall Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22;37-39
One of the sales pitches I have heard is "if you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for you. He loves you that much." I don't think that we can find anything in the Bible lines us with that thought. If you can please let me know. This me focused message is not sustaining or life giving.

What do we need with the gospel anyway? There is a need. Man is sinful in his core. There is no way for man to rescue himself from sin and death. First we need to believe that we are dead spiritual. Ephesians 2 says it perfectly especially verses 4 & 5 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved.)" We are doomed we'll never make it without the power of God.
In most of the modern American Evangelical Churches (MAEC) you don't hear that. I would say on balance MAEC say look at the gifts, blessings, benefits that Christ has to offer you. Your life will turn around 180%, all you have to do is accept Christ and you will be on your way. It is a self-centered, selfish decaf. gospel. Everyone wants to "be blessed" but not everyone wants the Blesser. Romans 3 says, "there is none who seeks for God"

So where is the hope? For those who believe our hope is in God and that He is the keeper of His promises.

*Disclaimer about the book: I have not read this book but I was going for the caffeine look ;-)

Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship


Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship. Let me say that again, Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship. We don't need to beg and plead for someone to come to Christ (and that is what this guy is doing in a video I watched online today). The Lord said, when I am lifted up I will draw all men to Myself. We are to lift Him up! Preach the gospel! The good news is that we were dead in our transgression on the fast train to hell but then CHRIST came to bring good news to the afflicted, to proclaim liberty to captives, to bind up the brokenhearted. To demonstrate the mercy and loving kindness of God.
Today in the van we talked about what is the purpose of the church (the visible church). What we observe in the American church at large is that the church is the tool of evangelism instead of a fellowship of like minded believers where we can sharpen our tools, gain strength from one another, encouragement and healing for those of us who already call God their Father. Then we are sent out to GO and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Since the church is being used as the tool of evangelism, the truth of the gospel and the truth of God's Word has been watered down and Evangelism has been reduced to a sales' pitch. "Imagine God loves you so much that He sent His own Son to die for you, it is as if God is getting down on one knee and asking you to accept Him and all you have to say is I do." This is a close paraphrase. Isn't this man reducing God to the ways of man? Remember what Jesus reminded Nicodemus just as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Let's not reduce the Creator of the Universe down to a man size God. Who wants to love, serve, honor and glorify someone like that? Not me. He is a Mighty God, fully just and fully loving, our Abba Father (daddy), Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Redeemer.
At this point are you wanting the link to the website. Before I do give that to you, I do want to say that I agree with quite a bit of it. It was the sales pitch that turned me off. The site www.juststopandthink.com

I will clearly admit that a lot of evangelists are charismatic and persuasive and for the most part I believe the Lord uses those abilities to preach the gospel but again it is the Holy Spirit who does the Work and brings about the results. It is not the salesman (excuse me) the evangelist closing the deal (getting a response via the alter call). The alter call I believe is also used by the Lord. The Lord uses His children to call His other children to Himself. I believe that we are or have the ability to be in the delivery room and get to help in the birthing process of someone being born again. It is an exciting place to be, an honor.
Tomorrow I will continue these thoughts on evangelism.
PAX, CM