John 1:43-46"The day following Jesus went forth into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see."
Notice the very first thing Philip did after being called by Jesus. Did he say, "Wait, Lord, this sounds like a lot of work, let me get back to you when I'm about to die," or immediately rush off to write a soul-stirring song our heart-warming, best-selling book about the experience? No, of course not, because Philip understood what it really meant to follow Christ and that there were more important things at stake. So what did he do? He immediately went off to tell others about the Saviour - a radical idea in today's church. Throughout the New Testament we see the same attitude exhibited over and over again by those who come to Christ, they immediately feel the need to tell everyone they can. Take the woman at the well in John 4:7-30, verses 28 and 29 say, "The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all the things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" Then there's the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:5-15, verse 15 states, "The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole."
It is our duty as Christians to seek and save the lost, it is non-negotiable. The Great Commission applies to all of us, not just the "evangelists." Yet what do we see today? According to The Barna Group, only 54% of Christians feel the need to share their faith, and worse still, only 36% of protestants actually do share their faith (and only 10% of Catholics). How can we claim to know Christ if we do not wish to see others brought to Christ? It is the most important duty of the Christian to share his faith with as many as he can, and notice Philip didn't wait until he had been discipled for 12 months, been baptized, joined a church, studied apologetics, and taken an evangelism course before he started sharing his faith. One of the most common excuses for not sharing our faith is "What if I'm asked a question I can't answer?" But this didn't seem to bother Philip. When a skeptical Nathanael said, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip replied with just what Jesus had told him: "Come and see."
"Oh, my friends, we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the Church, that of evangelizing and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected." - Oswald J. Smith
In Christ's Love,
Matthew
11 comments:
I think 1 John 2:5-6 would be a good self evaluation as to our commitment to the Lord, "But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in HIm must walk as Jesus did." The question we should ask is, "What does my stride look like?"
True, and who knows... it may evaluate more than that; 1 John 5:13 states the purpose of 1 John in saying, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Just some food for thought... thanks for the feedback!
Did you give up matt?
That wasn't even the hardest of my questions yet. I was just getting started.
Don't give up, the most powerful being in the universe is on your side, and can help you anytime!
What makes you think He should beg you to come to Him? Remember Steve, if you're right then I'm a fool, but if you're wrong, then you hold the omnipotent God of the universe in derision, and He's promised vengeance is His. I can tell by your attitude toward God that you are far less than open-minded.
Oh great, your last and strongest argument is Pascals Wager. Cominf from someone who can reason so well, I'm surprised.
(My attitude toward god???)
That wasn't an argument, it was a warning. You'll understand someday.
By the way, yes I am aware that these last couple comments will subject me to much ridicule and (possibly) quote-mining, but I have reasons. Consider my motives, because I don't care what you say about my level of intelligence, character, or maturity. These are things that you need to hear and I won't be held accountable for not having delivered them.
Take it easy man. I'm not hear to ridicule or make fun of you (maybe your beliefs, but not you personally). I wouldn't make fun of your intelligence, maturity etc, because you have much more of it than many other people I've seen; reason #1 why I spend my time talking to you.
Okay, Steve, how 'bout you stop toying with me and just give me "the hardest of [your] questions" and I'll get around to it when I get the chance. I've got a lot of other stuff going on right now and I'm pretty stressed, so I'd like to speed this process up a little bit. You've obviously got a specific issue in mind that you're wanting to bring up, so go for it. By the way, I'd like to transfer these conversations to my blog as much as possible (your creationist bashing, Ray Comfort ridicule, and insulting descriptions of God on your blog tend to stress me out).
In Christ,
Matthew
You just don't know how to have fun. Ray "Bashes" us every day on his blog, but we can't return the favor? According to the Geneva Convention, that violates the rules of engagement.
OK, so here's my hardest question:
Why does God maul children with bears?
For example, why did God kill 42 children for saying to Elisha to "Go on up baldhead"?
He could have just spanked them, but mauling them with bears was somehow necessary.
So tell me, why does God kill children like that?
If you can somehow convince me that mauling children with bears is justified, then I will become a Christian, I give you my word.
btw, heres the verse
Bears devouring 42 children
II Kings 2:23-24
"You just don't know how to have fun. Ray "Bashes" us every day on his blog, but we can't return the favor? According to the Geneva Convention, that violates the rules of engagement."
Okay, Steve, my point was that you seem to devote at least 50% of your blog to being mean-spirited, but I suppose I would be rather annoyed with Ray as well if I were in your shoes.
"If you can somehow convince me that mauling children with bears is justified, then I will become a Christian, I give you my word."
You've just given me your word that you are prepared to reject whatever argument I offer, Steve, because I think we both know you have no intention of ever becoming a Christian. Nonetheless, I'll entertain the inquiry.
I'll work on it, so stay tuned.
In Christ's Love,
Matthew
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