THE WORLD NEEDS EVANGELISM BUT SO DO WE

Jesus’ entire ministry was focused on evangelism. When He called His disciples, He promised to make them “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Interestingly, He didn’t entice them with the promise of stature, respect, or power. He didn’t promise to make them healers, deliverance ministers, miracle workers, or prophets, although He did endow some of them with these gifts. Instead, His promise to make them fishers of men was to characterize their calling.

It also characterized Jesus’ ministry. Peter and the others had found Him praying on the mountain and wanted to know why He was up there instead of coming back down to the people waiting to be healed. Jesus’ answer revealed His priorities:

·       And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1:38; ESV)

It seems that preaching to save souls took precedence over all of His other ministries, even healing and delivering the evil spirits.

Jesus certainly taught His disciples to perform acts of mercy, but even these had a greater purpose:

·       “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Good deeds were to be performed for the glory of the Father to turn the hearts of the people to Him. Evangelism was also the prime focus of Jesus’ final instructions to His followers – the Great Commission given to spread the Gospel throughout the world:

·       “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

·       “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

Regarding evangelism, there is something that we often forget or, perhaps, overlook. We also need evangelistic for our spiritual health and the health of the Church. Towards the end of the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul had written instructions for the purpose of enabling us to stand against satanic attacks. He described these defensive measures as “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13). This armor consisted of the “belt of truth” and the “breastplate of righteousness” (14) followed by a piece of unusual armor that doesn’t seem to be defensive at all but offensive:

·       As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ephesians (15).

Our feet should always be ready to carry forth the Gospel. However, this is not defense but offense, right? I think that it is both. We have often heard it said, “A good defense is a good offense.” This would suggest that the Church best defends itself as it moves forward, rather than waiting defensively and fearfully for the next blow to fall.

This understanding made me think about Daniel’s description of the Church during the last days of this current era. The Church would not be cowering in the corner awaiting the next wave of persecution. Instead, the Church would be showing forth the glory and courage of her Savior:

·       He [the anti-Christ king] shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand [evangelism], though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. (Daniel 11:32-33)

I rejoiced to read this! Although we might “stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder,” we will not be cowered into submission. As He had promised, our Lord will be with us. We would endure the pain and threats by moving forward, by fulfilling our commission!

This also accords with Jesus’ teachings. After teaching how the Church would be torn by dissension and how we would be hated by the world (Matthew 24:9-12), Our Lord illustrated how that those who continue with Him will courageously carry out His evangelistic mission to the ends of the earth:

·       “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

If our Lord is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31-32)!

SPIRITUAL PRIDE KILLS

Spiritual pride is deadly. One reason for this is that it disguises itself as virtue and deceives and blinds people to themselves and the saving truth about God. This is the judgment that Jesus brought against the religious leadership:

·       “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” (Matthew 23:13; ESV)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus charged:

·       “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:52)

How did they take away this “key of knowledge” that would open the door to God? By giving the people a false portrait of what it means to please God! Most of the people, even Jesus’ disciples, had been convinced that the spiritual pride of the scribes and Pharisees represented the pinnacle of piety. However, Jesus saw through them:

·       “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28)

According to Jesus, they were masters at image management, at presenting a false face, but they were no better than whitewashed tombs. However, on the outside, they looked faultless:

·       “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:5-7)

Jesus’ condemnation was damning. It was not that they occasionally lapsed into deception. Instead, “all their deeds” are performed to deceive, perhaps even themselves. No wonder Jesus proclaimed:

·       “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:25-26)

Jesus called them “blind” Pharisees, perhaps because they were barely conscious of their willful self-deception. But what could they do about it? They could submit to the light of the Savior. Therefore, Jesus instructed His disciples to not engage in Pharisaical practices:

·       “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:8-12)

Why these severe restrictions? Because we are all Pharisees! We are all susceptible. We too all want the acclaim, the recognition, the honor, the influence, and the power. That’s why Paul had warned us:

·       Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Cor. 3:5; Gal. 6:3)

None of us has what it takes to stand. If we think we do, then we are deluding ourselves. The Apostles all proclaimed that they would never abandon Jesus. However, their spiritual failure proved to be a painful lesson that we all need to learn. Jesus had warned them, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but we need to experience painful reinforcements of this lesson.

Well, how do Jesus’ teachings against taking honorific titles prevent us from becoming like the Pharisees? These teachings are humbling. We find that it is very hard to resist pursuing the acclaim and honor, and we come to see the Pharisee prowling within. This should humble us and cause us to confess our sins.

Elsewhere, Jesus taught us to seek to serve as He had. In contrast, His disciples had been seeking their own honor. Two of them came to Jesus requesting that, once He had received His kingdom, they would be elevated to reign alongside of Him.

When the others heard about this, they became indignant. Jesus then corrected them all:

·       “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:25-26)

This teaching continues to humble me, showing me how unworthy I am of anything good from the Lord. It continues to put to death the Pharisee within. Yes, this self-realization, that I do not want to be the servant, humbles me, but it also nurtures gratefulness that God loves this unworthy person.

When Jesus’ 72 disciples had returned from their evangelistic outreach, they boasted that the demons were subject to them. However human this celebration over their spiritual accomplishment might have been, they were celebrating the wrong thing. Accomplishments come and go. However, what we have of supreme value is an eternal relationship with our Savior. Therefore, Jesus corrected them:

·       “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

My prayer is that He would always correct me.

IS THERE SOMETHING THE MATTER WITH OUR FAITH IF WE ARE NOT PERFORMING THE MIRACLES JESUS DID?

Should we routinely be performing miracles today like Jesus did? Some “word of faith” (WOF) preachers claim that we should. Do they have a Scriptural basis for this? They cite:

·       “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever [of you Apostles?] believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12; ESV)

Well, why aren’t we performing “greater works” today? The WOF preachers claim that we just don’t believe the promises of Jesus – a serious indictment.

However, there are many reasons to conclude that Jesus’ promise was extended only to His Apostles. Elsewhere, He promised that it was only the Apostles, those who had been with Him from the beginning, who would be supernaturally equipped by the Spirit to carry forth His Word:

·       But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

“Bring all things to your remembrance” could only refer to those who had been with Him. Likewise, “teach you all things!” If this promise only has an application to the Apostles,  Perhaps also John 14:12?

Paul too had been designated as an Apostle. How could the Church know this? Only through “signs and wonders”:

·       For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. (2 Corinthians 12:11-12)

If all Christians were expected to produce signs and wonders, he would have had no way to prove to the Church that He had been called to be an Apostle. Instead, Paul had taught that not everyone was given this supernatural gift.

It was the Apostles alone who would perform “signs and wonders”:

·       And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. (Acts 2:43; 4:33)

In this way, God had established the fact that the Apostles were His ordained ones to spread His teachings. Consequently, after the Apostles had heard that the Samaritans had come to faith, they sent Peter and John to lay hands for them to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-15).

For the early church, there was no guess-work regarding who bore the Gospel of Jesus. Had all believers been performing miracles, there would have been lots of confusion:

·       And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. (Acts 19:11-12)

·       So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their [Barnabas and Paul] hands. (Acts 14:3)

·       And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?" (Acts 3:12)

God sent miracles to prove that it was the Apostles who had been commissioned to carry His Word:

·       Now we [Apostles] have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we [Apostles] impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

·       For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:2-4)

·       So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us [Apostles], either by our spoken word or by our letter. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

·       When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Ephesians 3:4-5; 2:19-20))

·       And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

·       For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; (Romans 15:18-19)

Against this WOF idea that we should all be performing miracles if we believe Jesus, it seems that instead, our Lord has purposed for us a miracle-lean diet. This leanness compels us to walk by faith instead of a constant flow of miracles:

·       For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)

·       For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Instead of relying upon a miracles-rich diet, our Lord wants us to live by faith, the unseen, and to even persevere in suffering:

·       Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)

To walk in perpetual miraculous healings is not to “Always carry in the body the death of Jesus.” Perpetual miracles would make us spiritually lazy. We would not learn patience, faith, or how to meditate on the Word day and night.

I have attended numerous WOF churches without seeing the lame walk, the blind see, or the dead raised. Perhaps these are intended only as a rarity among us today.

I too do not want to miss anything my Savior might have for me. I also admit that I do not know what to pray for. However, He assures me that, even if I don’t know, His Holy Spirit does, and He is intervening for us (Romans 8:26).

DID ALL THE APOSTLES DIE AS MARTYRS CERTIFYING THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL?

Clearly, many of the Apostles did die as martyrs, without any historical evidence that any had ever reneged on their faith and their certitude about the Resurrection of their Master.

However, Sean McDowell has written that the historical record about the martyrdom of some the Apostles isn’t compelling. Why not? Some of the historical evidence doesn’t appear until hundreds of years after the fact.

Nevertheless, McDowell argues that their martyrdom isn’t absolutely critical to their testimony to the Resurrection. Why not? McDowell explains that their outspoken lives were always lived facing martyrdom and cites historian Michael Licona:

·       “After Jesus’ death, the disciples endured persecution, and a number of them experienced martyrdom. The strength of their conviction indicates that they were not just claiming Jesus had appeared to them after rising from the dead. They really believed it. They willingly endangered themselves by publicly proclaiming the risen Christ.” (Christian Research Journal, Vol.39, No.2, 16)

According to McDowell, the entire Christian community had also been convinced of the Resurrection:

·       From the Apostles forward, there is no evidence for an early Christian community that did not have belief in the Resurrection at its core. The centrality of the Resurrection can be seen by considering the earliest Christian creeds, the preaching in Acts, and the writings of the apostolic fathers. (14)

McDowell cites NT scholar James Dunn in support:

·       “It is an undoubted fact that the conviction that God had raised Jesus from the dead and had exalted Jesus to his right hand transformed Jesus’ first disciples and their beliefs about Jesus.” (14)

Could they ALL have been deluded or just mistaken?