Evangelism and the Depravity of Man

by Bruce Mills

I listened to a sermon recently which really got me to thinking about our modern day assumptions about the nature of man and the impact of those assumptions on our evangelism. The modern psychologically-driven concept is that man is basically good; that he loves God, and that his evil deeds are aberrations rather than the inner desire of his heart. To the contrary, Scripture is clear that man is not basically good. Rather, he is corrupt to the core. There is nothing about him that desires, seeks, or does anything that is good, righteous, or worthy (cf. Romans 3:10-18). That is not to say that man is incapable of doing things which are "good" within the context of human relationships, but that even man's righteous deeds are filthy to God (cf. Isaiah 64:6). Thus, man is not the good person he considers himself to be.

This understanding has tremendous implications for our evangelism methods. Many modern day evangelicals have adopted the world's viewpoint that man desires that which is good and genuinely seeks to know God, so they think that if they can craft their presentation of the gospel in a particularly persuasive way, those who hear will be convinced of the truth contained in it and will thus turn to Christ.

But when we recognize that man is not basically good and does not seek after the things of God, we will understand that our presentation of the gospel, no matter how clear and convincing it may be, is incapable of convincing anyone to turn from his sin to Christ. Unless the Holy Spirit is working in the human heart to draw a man to the Lord, no one will ever seek after God on his own.

This takes the pressure off of us in presenting the gospel. When we realize that salvation is entirely the work of God who sovereignly elects those who will believe and then draws them to Himself, granting them the faith to believe the gospel, we will recognize that it is not essential that our presentation of the gospel be persuasive and convincing. We are only called to be faithful to present the gospel. Yes, we must include important issues such as God's holiness, man's sin, the need for repentance, and saving faith in Jesus Christ alone, but we are not responsible for the response of those who hear. That is God's sovereign work. He has ordained those who will come to faith, and He has ordained the means by which they will hear. The Holy Spirit takes the truth of the gospel, applies it to the heart of the hearer, and then draws those who will believe to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin.

So the next time you present the gospel to someone and they don't respond like you prayed that they would, don't beat yourself up later, telling yourself, "If only I had said this..." or "If only I had said that..." If He chooses to do so, God is able to take the most stumbling, inarticulate presentation of the gospel and draw the hearer to Himself. In fact, Paul discusses this whole issue in 1 Cor. 1:18-31 where he talks about the foolishness of the gospel message and how God chooses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the things that are wise. So don't worry about how stumbling and disjointed your presentation of the gospel may have been; just be faithful to Him by presenting the gospel and then trust that He is able to accomplish that which He desires in the hearts of those whom He intends to save.

New "Recommended Reading" Feature

by Bruce Mills

A new Amazon "widget" has been added to the right column which includes pictures of ten books which I recommend to everyone.  All of them are excellent books on various issues in theology, church history, or Christian living.  They are all written by men who are known for their sound doctrine and clear communication of biblical truth.  Some of the authors who are included in this initial group of recommended books are John MacArthur, Erwin Lutzer, John Piper, Jerry Bridges, and a man who is one of the most gracious gentlemen I have ever known and one of my favorite professors when I was in seminary--Paul Enns.

The widget works like a ferris wheel, with the buttons which move it located just below the pictures of the books on the wheel.  I will be periodically updating the books listed on the widget, so be sure to check back on a regular basis to see what is listed there.

If you see a book that you want to purchase, just click on the picture on the widget and you will be automatically linked to Amazon where you can purchase the book.  Over the years, I have found Amazon to be one of the least expensive sites from which to purchase books.  It is a solid company with a history of providing excellent service.  So please use the widget to see which books I am currently recommending, knowing that all of them are outstanding Christian books by excellent, sound Bible teachers.

The Importance of Church Membership

by Bruce Mills

We live in a day when many professing believers focus on their personal relationship with Christ and either neglect or completely reject the biblical instruction on the importance of their relationship to other believers within the context of the local church. I have encountered many individuals who see no need to attend or join a local church because they feel their personal Bible study, prayer life, and relationship with the Lord do not require their participation with others within the formal structure of a church body. They even attempt to defend their position with words such as "Well, I'm a member of the universal church; just not a member of a local church." Others don't attend church because of a sin issue in their life for which they do not wish to be accountable to others. Still others attempt to "replace" church with attendance and participation in some kind of other Christian group which is, in reality, more of a social function than a gathering of believers for worship and praise to their King.

Such reasoning couldn't be further from the truth that is taught in God's Word about the believer's responsibility to join with and actively participate in a local body of believers known as a church. It is within that context that believers join in corporate worship, study of the Scriptures, live out the biblical injunctions regarding ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of other believers, and where they submit themselves to one another and hold each other accountable in their walk of obedience.

The local church is a group of people; not a building, denomination, or activity. The apostle Paul directed most of his letters to specific local churches in specific cities or regions (Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1, Gal. 1:2, Eph. 1:1, Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:1, 1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:1). Most of those letters then go on to describe how life within the local church is to be lived out. Clearly then, God, in giving us the Word through the apostle, expects that believers will join themselves together with other believers within the context of a local body of believers which gathers for the purposes of worship, study of the Word, and mutual encouragement and admonition.

In fact, Scripture clearly commands us not to forsake "our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near" so that we can "stimulate one another to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24-25). Apparently when the letter to the Hebrews was written, there were already those who were neglecting their responsibility to join with the local church, and the Holy Spirit, in inspiring this text, wanted to make it clear that church attendance and membership is not simply a good idea for Christians, it is a mandate! And thus, if God has mandated such, for those who profess to be believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is sin not to do such. Charles Spurgeon spoke directly to this issue over one hundred years ago. He wrote:

I know there are some who say, "Well, I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to any church." Now, why not? "Because I can be a Christian without it."

Are you quite sure about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord's commands as by being obedient? There is a brick. What is it made for? To help build a house. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick. So you rolling-stone Christians, I do not believe that you are answering your purpose. You are living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live, and you are much to blame for the injury you do.

Now, some come along and say, "I believe in attending a local church; I just don't believe membership is a biblical concept." My response is this: If God expects us to be involved in a local church in all of the ways I have mentioned, then He clearly expects a commitment to the local church. It is not enough for us to say that we are merely a part of the universal or invisible church; we must also commit ourselves to a local or visible church, and that commitment is demonstrated through our membership. As Jay Adams says, membership clarifies the difference between who should be treated as believers and who should be treated as unbelievers. The leadership then knows who should be evangelized and who should be encouraged toward greater service for Christ. In fact, if membership is not biblical, why would the Lord command us to put an unrepentant sinner out of the church (Matt. 18:15-17)? If the sinner is not a member, you should assume he is an unbeliever and evangelize him. But if he is a member, he has identified himself as a believer, and in that case, you exercise loving discipline by excluding him from the church. That does not necessarily mean you tell him he cannot physically return to the church building; but that you no longer consider him a part of the church and, instead, consider him to be an unbeliever because he is acting like one. This is only possible if formal membership is a part of the Scriptural understanding of what it means for a believer to be joined to a local church.

So if you are a professing Christian, you have a God-ordained responsibility to join and participate in the body life of a local church of Christ-following believers who gather each week to praise and worship our Lord, who will help you on your walk of faith, and help you stay accountable before God and men for that walk. Please be obedient to the Word and do not neglect that responsibility.

The Proof That We Are God's Children

by Bruce Mills

I have been studying Romans 8:14-17 for an upcoming lesson in my adult Sunday School class. The passage reads as follows: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

This passage is all about the believer's adoption into the family of God, and there are many rich truths contained in it. But the section of this passage which captured my attention is As I examined this passage, I became intrigued with the last half of verse 17--"if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

This is the difficult part of the verse, but it fits well with what precedes it. Here we have the proof that we are truly God's heirs. So how do we know that we are the sons of God and His heirs? How can we be certain?

Paul's answer in verse 17 is suffering. The Spirit of God brings suffering into our life to reveal to us that they really are His children. The word “suffering” here has to do with persecution, mockery, scorn, ridicule…whatever comes to us by virtue of our union with Christ. You can identify the child of God by the fact that he’s the one the world doesn’t really like. He doesn’t fit in with the world. And so persecution will come, and its intensity will vary to all kinds of extremes. Sometimes it’s light affliction, sometimes it’s martyrdom, and sometimes it’s somewhere in between.

All genuine believers will be ostracized or shunned or looked down upon or mocked in some way or another for their faith, if indeed, it is faith in Jesus Christ. Because Paul says here that we are God’s heirs if we’re the ones who are suffering. We are the ones who will be glorified together with the Lord if we’re the ones that are suffering. So it’s a statement of fact about us. Christians are going to be alienated from the world.

Now let me help you understand what the phrase “if indeed” means in the Greek. The word here is a marker of an emphatic condition and a good way to translate it is “in as much” or “since.” One commentator has translated it “since indeed.” And I would also point out that the word translated “we suffer with” is a present active indicative verb, expressing an on-going activity. So you can translate this verse this way: “and if children, heirs also; on the one hand, heirs of God and on the other hand, fellow heirs with Christ, in as much as (or, since indeed) we are suffering together with Him.”

In other words, it is a mark of our identity. It is assumed to be a reality, and it is assumed to be something that continues throughout our lives. I don’t think Paul means that it is continuous in the sense that there is never a break. But I do think he means that throughout our lives, there will be a pattern of scorn, ridicule, and persecution at some level for all those who are true believers.

2 Tim. 3:12 says, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Now, someone might say, “Ah ha, Bruce, that verse says ‘all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’ The reason some Christians are not persecuted for their faith is because they simply don’t have the desire that they should have to live a godly life for Christ.” Then I say, they aren’t really true believers. Genuine believers love their Lord and are willing to suffer for Him. They don’t like it, but their love for Him is greater than their fear of man. It is the proof of the fact that they belong to Christ. Suffering is a necessary element in the life of a believer. If you’re a true Christian, you are going to suffer.

So examine your life. Is there a pattern that arises every so often of you suffering for Christ, in the sense that others mock you or ridicule you for being so simple as to believe the Bible and not participating in the sinful activities which they love? Do others sometimes avoid talking to you because you bring up the Lord in the conversation? Have you ever been treated unfairly at work—perhaps passed over for a promotion or an assignment—because the boss liked the ungodly, unethical behavior of someone else rather than the godly character and ethical standards which you upheld? Are there perhaps some of your family members who want nothing to do with you since you became a follower of Christ, so they don’t invite you to certain gatherings anymore because your presence might put a damper on their behavior?

I’m not talking about the suffering that comes from being a part of the overall group of people known as evangelical Christians which the world loves to ridicule. I admit that if you identify yourself as an evangelical Christian in our society, people look at you like you have a third eye. But I’m not talking about suffering for the Lord in that sense. Anyone can hide in a group which is ridiculed, because they can still get reassurance and comfort from the other members of the group. But I’m talking about whether or not you have been persecuted, ridiculed, mocked, or rejected on an individual basis because of your professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Suffering for Christ is the mark of identity for those who are the true children of God.

2 Tim. 2:11-12 puts it this way—“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him.” It is a trustworthy statement…in other words, this is true as true can be. And he says, if you’re going to be one of those who reign with Him, you’re going to be one of those who endures suffering with Him. True Christians are a rebuke to the world. A hostile, God‑hating, Christ‑rejecting world doesn’t take kindly to believers.

You say, “Well, why do we have to suffer? I mean, if we are the sons of God who are going to inherit eternal glory, why don’t we just get on with the glory? You know, as soon as I get saved, just take me to heaven. Why do I have to hang around and suffer?” Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:10. It says, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

So what’s the answer? The answer is that the more we suffer, the more we grow, and the more we grow, the greater capacity we receive to glorify the Lord in eternity. 2 Cor. 4:17 says, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” You see, the more you suffer here in this life, and the more you learn about God and abandon yourself to His service, and take the rebuke of the world, then the closer you draw to Him, the more you’re infused with His strength, and the more that affliction is producing in you an eternal weight of glory. The more we suffer in this life, the greater will be our capacity for glory in the life to come.

I am convinced that when we get to heaven, there will be very few American Christians who receive as great a capacity to glorify the Lord in eternity as many believers from other nations where suffering for Christ goes to a level which none of us have ever experienced. If we only truly understood that whatever affliction we receive, whatever ostracizing, whatever difficulties we might have is only a “momentary light affliction [which] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

So then, suffering for Christ in this sin‑cursed, Christ‑hating world is normal for the Christian. It’s routine stuff. We should be willing to do it because in so doing it we not only receive the assurance of the Spirit that we are God’s children, but we are also given a greater capacity to glorify God in eternity.