Evangelism

An advertisement in the papers Saturday (11 Oct 2008) caught my attention with the headline screaming “Calling All Christians” directing interested parties to either call a number or visit a web site. My curiosity got the better of me and this was how I found about MyHope Singapore.

While I don’t know who is or are behind the site, it looks to have been put up in cooperation with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and has the support of churches in Singapore to “bring the message of lasting hope to Singapore this Christmas”. Participating churches will be screening DVDs to bring the “Christmas message of Hope”.

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Ah, yes, the favorite question of many a skeptic and, of course, atheist. Bodie at Answers in Genesis sheds some light on answering the question:

For this to be a valid question, God would need to be bound by the laws of gravity. Obviously, God is not bound by His creation (i.e., gravity), as it is part of the universe He created. This is like asking on what page of Shakespeare’s Hamlet can we find Shakespeare? It is an illogical question. One could argue that Shakespeare’s characteristics are in the play, but he, as the playwright, is certainly not bound by the pages of his work.

In other words, this question first assumes that gravity is greater than God. How can something God creates be greater than God? The assumption is illogical right from the start, and thus the question is illogical right from the start — this is called the contrary-to-the-premise fallacy. Since this question assumes God is bound to His creation, it cannot be referring to the Creator God of the Bible. One way to reveal this fallacy when someone asks this question is to ask:

“What ‘god’ are you talking about?”

They will probably respond: “The God of the Bible” (as this person apparently intended).

Then you can respond: “The God of the Bible is not bound by His creation, and since this question has this ‘god’ bound by gravity, it cannot be referring to the God of the Bible.”

Do share if you have creative and Biblical answers to this question.

Or have you yourself been given the false Gospel by a Christian, who though well-meaning and sincere, didn’t tell you the Good News as it should be?

I have, and was even taught the same manner of evangelism once, in particular the “relational gospel”. Add the ‘miracle prayer’ and bam! another false convert is born.

James MacDonald tells us of the four false gospels out there today — the relational, relevancy, resource, and prosperity “gospels” (taken from an old clip from Todd Friel’s previous radio show, Talk the Walk, on AM 980 KKMS in Minneapolis).

I’ll also like to include a quote by Dr. John MacArthur here on this issue:

Listen to the typical gospel presentation nowadays. You will hear sinners entreated with words like, “accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior”; “ask Jesus into your heart”; “invite Christ into your life”; or “make a decision for Christ.” You may be so accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them is based on Biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted gospel.

John MacArthur

HT: Bororean for the quote.

Wow, it feels like a decade that I’ve been away. For those who have been accustomed to me updating this blog daily, you might be wondering where I was.

First off, I migrated the blog from the hosting service I was using (and which was giving me headaches going down every so often in the past week or so) to a new host. Thanks to some friendly pointers and recommendations, I’m settled with a new hosting service company that’s offering me a ton of disk space (350 GB to be exact) and loads of options.

With thanks to God, the migration went well!

At the same time, because I can now host an unlimited number of domains and sites on my account, I decided to set up a blog that I’ve been meaning to for the longest time.

And this is where this call for contributors comes in.

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The State-controlled local broadsheet — The Straits Times — published a special report¹ on religion on 9 August, which was also our National (or Independence) day.

The report noted a major shift in the professed religion/faith of many who were born Taoists to Christianity. For those who are not familiar with the religious landscape in Singapore, Taoism is the traditional religion of choice, so to speak, of many Chinese here. In fact, I was born into a Taoist family myself and had even considered myself a Buddhist/Taoist when asked to declare my religion/faith in primary school.

While seven out of 10 people would consider themselves to be Taoists 90 years ago, that percentage has taken a big hit through the years with recent census figures taken in the year 2000 putting this figure at just 8.5 per cent of the population surveyed. Conversely, Christianity has seen an impressive growth — from just 12.7 per cent of the population in the census taken in the year 1990 to 14.6 per cent in 2000. Given that numbers in the other major religions recognized in Singapore (Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam) held steady, the conclusion was that most Christian converts hail from a Taoist background.

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Christian, do you truly believe in God, and that our Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to God the Father but through Him (John 14:6)? Do you truly believe that hell is where those who die without Christ will suffer eternal punishment and torment?

Did I hear you say that you do?

So why are we afraid to share the Gospel with those whom we know? Why are we more concerned about what the world thinks is important rather than sharing the Gospel at every opportunity?

“If you’re right about God, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your ‘loving’ god created, yet you stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing … Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right, then you’re an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.”

– An Atheist

No, I am not “better” than you. I will sooner think about what it’d be like losing a friend or acquaintance than “offend” him or her by preaching the Gospel. That’s why this letter from an atheist puts me to shame. Funny that it’ll take an unbeliever to do that, when we’ve been commanded, yes it’s a command, by our Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel to all. And if we do indeed acknowledge Him as Lord, then we will do well to put that acknowledgement into action (James 2:19).

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:1-2

HT: Atheist Central for the letter.

This morning I heard an account of an evangelism encounter that reminded me of the joy in our hearts when we carry out the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ and see and experience how God works on a person’s heart, drawing him to repentance and faith.

As Tony recounted this, I was moved as well.

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If you, like me, are Chinese but can’t preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in Mandarin well, this video might help you.

It’s comprehensive, lasting 76:10 minutes  — giving a detailed account of the fall of man, Abraham, Exodus and the life, death and resurrection of our Lord. For me, it was a good way to learn the Chinese terms for salvation, repentance, etc.

Judging by this “appreciative” email sent by a certain Rose after watching Ray Comfort on TBN, perhaps this might be indicative of the fact that what Ray is preaching is the true Gospel without compromise.

To understand this “Ray Comfort Issue” (a term I coined for the entire episode), first read this post then this.

Read the entire email at Atheist Central (Ray’s new tongue-in-cheek name for his blog).

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

No amount of good works can save you — not sacraments nor baptism at birth nor feeding the poor. Salvation comes through repentance of your sins, i.e. turning away from those sins and sinning no more, and putting your faith and trust in Christ Jesus acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

I’ve just come home from the hospital visiting my mom who has just undergone a surgery on her right knee. Visits to hospitals always remind me of the frailty of life itself — that one day, rich or poor, king or peasant, we’ll have to face the ultimate destiny of all man: death.

What matters is what happens after death, for that is the beginning of one’s fate in eternity, be it abject suffering in hell or overflowing joy in the presence of the Lord, our Creator and God. As Christians, we all have the truth that those who die without Christ are condemned to suffer the wrath of God for their sins against God no matter how much good works they have done during their time on earth.

The question, therefore, is what are you doing about it?

Beloved: we know very well that people need the Lord, and we’d do well to share the Gospel whenever we can, in season and out of season. May this song exhort and encourage us all to continue to share God’s good news of salvation through Christ Jesus with the lost.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Shabbat Shalom.

I received an email from a dear brother, Nick, who is currently on a mission trip in China, coveting our prayers. Here’s a quick update that he gave me in his email:

Hubei - where we’ve been doing all his work for the past 10-20 years and where we are this week. The main people we’ve been working with is the head of the Hubei Christian City Council (in charge of all the govt churches in the Hubei Province) and they’ve been the one opening all the doors for us, including outdoor crusades every week in one of the smaller towns, booking a stadium for our band, etc. Sadly, last night, these leaders we’ve been working with just got ousted out of the council and kinda forced into retirement. Not only that, their church has been taken away from them. It’s still early to tell the impact as we liaise with the new leaders and teach them the ways of God so please keep this in prayer. But apparently there’s some politics going on in the church already, people turning people in to the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and apparently we were turned in too! The RAB didn’t wanna care about us but because somebody reported us, they had to come on Sunday to film our services (we actually praised God for that - that they can hear the word of God, ha ha ha)

Hunan - Mao Ze Dong’s hometown. Apparently more than 2000+ govt churches changed their worship styles after my last trip there (think you remember the last testimony I sent out on this one where even the govt officials were touched in our worship sessions) and the Hunan Christian City Council (head of all the govt churches in Hunan) kinda want me back there to teach for 1 year *gulps* (I’m trying to see if I can arrange anybody else to go)

Personally I’ve been doing back to back leading worship and teaching Praise and worship to the church, to their bible training centre, their Christian School (called ‘the Ark’) and to their seminary (all in Hubei) for the past 2 days from dawn to dusk literally (6am to 10pm everyday). The pollution here is not good for my voice I remember last time I came I fell really sick by the end of the week (which was also spiritual warfare) so covet your prayers there.

Please pray for the missionaries, and the Church in China.

Nick, here’s an encouragement for you that I hope you’ll be able to see all the way in Wuhan.

The LORD bless and keep you safe.

Instead, I have lined up for you one of my favorite sermons by Paul Washer. May it bless and encourage you as it had me.

Shabbat Shalom.

This article at Apprising Ministries really got me thinking. Much of today’s evangelism methods involve what I call the “John 3:16 Approach”, telling sinners that “God loves you, Jesus loves you, accept Him into the ‘hole in your heart’ and you shall be saved!”.

Ugh!

Yet, if we look closer at how the Apostles went about preaching the Gospel, we find that (while we acknowledge that God is love and concur with what John wrote in John 3:16 not a single mention of the “feel-good” message of “God loves you, Jesus loves you” is found, but what they preached was how lost people were, bound as slaves to sin, emphasizing on forgiveness of sin by Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Reading the article also reminds me of a great quote by A.W. Pink on present-day evangelism which I very much agree with:

The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day “evangelist”.

He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin.

And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of fire, who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness!

The very first thing said of Christ in the New Testament is — “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” (not from the wrath to come)

Christ is a Savior for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who feel the awful burden of it on their conscience, who loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion. And He is a Savior for no others.

Were He to “save from hell” those still in love with sin, He would be a minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God.

What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One!

A.W. Pink

To read the full article, visit Apprising Ministries.

This story just made me sad and angry all at the same time. In my opinion it is very indicative of the fact that we are witnessing a great falling away that Jesus warned of in Matthew 24:11-12.

The Line Continues To Fade

by Tony Miano.

The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I received a call today from a friend of mine. He is a godly man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, his family, his fellow Christians, and those who are bound for hell apart from the gift of eternal life that only Jesus Christ can give. He is passionate about biblical evangelism. I’ve listened to him preach in the open-air and I’ve listened to him engage strangers in one-to-one conversations. He speaks the truth in love.

My friend came up with an innovative way to reach lost people with the gospel. His plan was simple enough: set up a table; give away hot and cold drinks; give away gospel tracts; and use this simple act of kindness as a springboard for sharing the Law and the Gospel with lost people. All he needed was a place to set up his table.

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Let this be to you the mark of true Gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Originally posted here. Written by William MacDonald.

There is a curious problem today in the evangelical [and fundamental] world — one that poses sobering questions for the church and for the individual believer. The problem in brief is this: a great army of personal soul-winners has been mobilized to reach the populace for Christ. They are earnest, zealous, enthusiastic, and persuasive. To their credit it must be said that they are on the job. And it is one of the phenomena of our times that they rack up an astounding number of conversions. Everything so far seems to be on the plus side.

But the problem is this: The conversions do not stick. The fruit does not remain. Six months later there is nothing to be seen for all the aggressive evangelism. The capsule technique of soul winning has produced stillbirths.

What lies at the back of all this malpractice in bringing souls to the birth?

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A recent uproar in Malaysia over remarks that school uniforms worn by school girls in the country are too sexy and encourages rape and pre-marital sex is both amusing and a great reminder of how depraved the minds of man are.

While I don’t agree that the girls are the primary ones to be blamed and men are just responding to their lusts as it is in their nature to do so, I’d like to state that it doesn’t matter if the school uniforms are perceived to be sexy to begin with, but that the total depravity of man itself is the primary lesson we can all draw from this episode.

Don’t look so surprised or shocked when I say this — that sometimes it doesn’t matter what a woman wears or how she looks, but that if a man has his thoughts on lust, those factors don’t matter one single bit. A woman can be all covered up, but some men can still have perverted pleasure in undressing her in their minds!

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May this episode be an encouragement and inspiration to you as much as it has me. Sometimes, people are thinking of their eternal fates, and if you feel a gentle push to share the Gospel with that someone, you can be sure that it’s God orchestrating the meeting!

Today, Augustus “happened” to be wandering around the mall with no place to go. Then he ran into me and I asked him, “Do you have any thoughts about God and spiritual things?”

“For sure… I’ve got plenty to say!”

Instantly he wanted to talk about God.

So we put him on The Way of the Master Radio and afterward he was very moved by the law. He got off the program and his eyes filled with tears as he explained, “I was asking God for a sign — last night… you know… I needed to hear from God… and then he brought you.”

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Surely, this is not the “true Church of God” as they proclaim themselves to be! If you’re Roman Catholic, I encourage you to read this and see for yourself how far removed from the true teachings of God these traditions of men are! Refutations to these man-made traditions follow immediately after each event, and are taken directly from Scripture.

300 A.D.: Practice of praying for the dead and “signing with the cross” introduced.

375 A.D.: Veneration of dead people and use of statues and images as part of worship introduced.

500 A.D.: Doctrine of purgatory first preached by the Roman Catholic Church.

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