Today's Evangelism - Its Message and Methods by Ernest C. Reisinger

2022-04-24 0 views

This book is about the biblical view and practice of evangelism with the emphasis on the areas that are weak or missing in most modern evangelism.

Introduction: Evangelize of Fossilize

Church leaders from different denominations or even heresies agree that evangelism is important. We disagree in three aspects:

(1) message (what)

(2) methods (how)

(3) motive (why, or goal)

In this book, we want to discuss about differences of evangelism among the evangelicals. We’ll talk about the difference between God-centered evangelism (only biblical evangelism) and man-centered evangelism. The goal is to encourage God-centered evangelism, to raise questions about the present day, man-centered evangelism and to plead to the Scriptures to be the court of appeal.

Evangelism - What is it?

Evangelism is the communication of divinely inspired message that we call gospel. The definition is as follows: “To present Jesus Christ to sinful men, in order that they may come to put their trust in God, through Him to receive Him as their Savior and serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His church.”

Evangelism is a Good Work

Evangelism is a Good Work. But what determines a good work?

  1. it must be done by the right rule. In case of evangelism, the rule is the Word of God. The question is not “does it work?”, but “is it true? is it biblical?”
  2. have the right end in view. For evangelism, end is glory of God! God’s grace, mercy and power will be glorified in the salvation of souls, or his righteousness, holiness and justice will be glorified in the rejectors of His revelation.
  3. have a right motive.

(1). Love to God and concern for His glory

(2). Love to man and concern for his good. As Jesus said, the greatest commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind, Second is thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

We glorify God by spreading His message. If we love our neighbor, we will want to share with him the message of salvation.

The Goal of Evangelism as Mandated by our Lord

Make Disciples

The first part of the goal is to “Go and make disciples”, seeking to bring men into a right relationship to the Son of God. A disciple is:

  1. a learner of the teachings
  2. a follower of the teacher
  3. One who is seeking to be conformed to the teacher and the teachings

Baptize Them

The second part is to “baptize them”. Baptism is the church ordinance, the badge of membership into the Christian church.

Teach Them

The third part is to “teaching them to observe all that I command you”. This is seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the Word of God.

Summary

The goal is:

  1. Make disciples - seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the Son of God.
  2. Baptize them (a church ordinance) - seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the church of God.
  3. Teach them - seeking to bring them into a right relationship to the Word of God.

The Scope and Results of Evangelism

In Mark 16:15 Jesus gave us the scope and results. The scope is clear - all the world and every creature. The gospel is addressed to “whosoever will”. There are two results:

(1) “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”

(2). “he that believeth not shall be damned.” Salvation is one result and damnation is another result.

God is glorified in both results. (Second Corinthians 2:14-16) We have seen many examples of the truth that God’s mercy was manifest in the salvation of some and His justice was manifest in the damnation of others.

Mathew 11:16-30 is a great example of Jesus taking comfort and consolation from the fact that God the Father would be glorified, even when He and His message were rejected. To some the gospel will be a savor of life unto life - salvation. To others it will be a savor of death unto death - damnation.

In summary, Mark 16 gives the scope of biblical evangelism - all the world and every creature; and the results - salvation and damnation.

Doctrinal content of the Message of Evangelism

Biblical doctrine is the foundation of evangelism as it is the foundation of Christian experience, Christian worship, Christian behavior and Christian service. We can find the doctrinal content of the message of evangelism in Luke 24: 46-48. There are three basic points in verses 46 and 47:

(1) “it beloved Christ to suffer”: the suffering of Christ in the cross, the atonement in its design, accomplishments and application.

(2). “and to rise again from the dead”: the resurrection of our Lord.

(3). “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations”: repentance and remission.

Truths that Hinge on the Death of Christ

Three truths of the Bible stand or fall together:

(1). The law of God summarized in the Ten Commandments, sin is a transgression of the law, if there is no law, there is no sin and cross is not necessary

(2). The cross - no cross, no hope for sinners

(3) The righteous judgment of almighty God. - if no righteous judgment, no one cares about since, the cross or Christ.

But many preachers do not talk about law.

The next aspect of the cross that forms the doctrinal content of the message is atonement, for whom did Christ die? The Bible is very clear on this answer, that Christ died for his people, according to God’s unchangeable, immutable plan. You might have heard the wrong message of a poor, impotent, pathetic, and sometimes effeminate Jesus who died just to make salvation possible and who is standing idly and impotently by, waiting to see what these mighty, powerful sinners are going to do with Him.

Truths that Hinge of the Resurrection of Christ

Christ has been raised by God to be the Lord. The lordship of Christ is a vital part of the message of evangelism. No one will be saved who has not bowed to the lordship of Christ, any more than one could be saved without repentance. There are a few points about the lordship of Christ:

(1). When our Lord was introduced and announced into the world as to who He is, it was a clear announcement of His lordship in Luke 2:11. The Savior is the Lord and the Lord is the Savior.

(2). When the new Testament preachers preached, they preached the lordship of Christ. And there is not a place in whole New Testament where Christ is offered as we heard Him offered today: “Trust Christ as your personal Savior”. There is no such language or idea from apostles.

(3). When believers came to Christ in the New Testament, they came to Him as Lord. Lordship was not a second step of consecration, or a second work of grace. Nor did sinners make Him Lord.

Repentance and Remission

Repentance is one of the vital elements of the gospel message that is strangely absent from most of the present day evangelism. As an example, To the intellectual Stoics and Epicureans at Athens, the great apostle Paul said “God … now commandeth all men everywhere to repent”. Repentance is 1. An inseparable part of the message of evangelism. 2. Not just for the Jew but also for the Gentile 3. A sacred duty 4. Inseparable from faith Being deeply convicted of our (1) guilt, (2) danger, and (3) helplessness and (4) the Way of Salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned (1) contrition, (2) confession; and supplication for Mercy. And heartily receiving Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King, and relying on Him alone as the only and all sufficient Savior.

From Dr. James: Abstract of Systematic Theology, the doctrine of repentance is to be learned in part from the meaning of the original Greek word used to express it, and in part from its application to a matter which is within the sphere of morals. Christian repentance is:

  1. An intellectual and spiritual perception of the opposition between holiness in God and sin in man.
  2. It consequently includes sorrow and self-loathing, and earnest desire to escape the evil of sin.
  3. It includes an earnest turning to God for help and deliverance from sin
  4. It is accompanied by deep regret because of the sins committed in the past and by determination with God’s help to avoid sin and live in holiness hereafter. From these, who know

(1). The seat of true repentance is in the soul. It is not itself the mere intellectual knowledge of sin or the sorrow that accompanies it, nor the changed life that flows from it. But is the soul’s apprehension of its heinous character, and the determination to forsake sin which flows from it.

(2). True repentance is inconsistent with the continuance in sin because of abounding grace.

(3). True repentance consists of mental and spiritual emotion, and not of outward self-imposed chastisement

Repentance and faith are inseparable graces. According to Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 87 about what is repentance, it says a sinner out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of and endeavor after, new obedience. In the definition of repentance, we have the “apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ”, since faith and repentance are inseparable. Repentance must reach the whole man, that is: his mind - what he thinks, his affections - what he feels, his will - what he decides.

The Authority and Power for our Commission to Evangelize

The steps to translate a lost soul from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son consists of (1). Convincing the conscience of sin and misery (2). Enlightening the mind. (3). Renewing the will. Although people may differ in extent of conviction, time to conviction, results of conviction.

The conviction comes from Holy Spirit. God-centered evangelism is - knowing, preaching and practicing the truth of the work of the Spirit in conversion.

Effectual Call

The work the Spirit bringing men to Christ is called effectual call because the call affected what it is intended to do. But we do not know who are included in the election of grace, or who the Spirit will effectually call. The inward call of the Spirit is under the direction of the sovereign will and pleasure of God as to the time of it.

Often man-centered evangelism acts as if the success of the gospel is owing to the piety, the power of persuasion, or the eloquence of those dispensing the gospel. BUt God-centered evangelism acknowledges the absolute necessity of the effectual, inward call of the Spirit. However, the Spirit’s effectual work does no violence to the will, he deals with them in a way that is agreeable to their rational nature: ‘so that they may come most freely, being made willing by His grace’.

The free offer of the gospel meets with no success unless God regenerate the sinner, which they can’t do for themselves. The reason the gospel is rejected by sinners is because they are not regenerated by God, there is something wrong with their will. There must be necessary change from God to regenerate the person.

Men believe and repent because they are born again. This is the biblical, God-centered view. Man is spiritually dead before regeneration, spiritually blind, enslaved to sin, needs deliverance from the powers of darkness, the natural man is incapable of knowing of discerning the things of the Spirit, the natural man is incapable of changing himself, defiled in conscience.

So if God must do something before the sinner can do anything, spiritually, then we would plead with sinners to call on Jesus to do something for them instead of begging these “powerful sinners” to do something with Jesus.

Intellectual arguments will do no good for a dead man. If the Holy Spirit does not give him spiritual life, he cannot and will not savingly respond to the gospel. Neither is there any value in using physical threats.

Therefore, above all, pray for the regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit.

What is the Difference

We may ask what is the difference between God-centered and man-centered evangelism. The short answer is theology. Theology is a study or belief of God and His relationship to the world of man. It is a rational interpretation of the Christian faith, practice and experience.

First Theological Difference

The first area of theological difference is the condition of man. If man is spiritually deaf, blind and dead, then God must do something before man can hear, see or live, and thus God will receive all the glory for man’s salvation. If on the other hand, man is just sick and not dead, he only needs God’s help, then the glory is divided between God and man.

Second Theological Difference

Second one is what you believe about God’s sovereign election. Man-centered evangelism asserts that

(1). salvation of individuals is the result of their own choice and perseverance.

(2). The election made by God is simply an election of a class

(3). So far as the election of individuals took place in eternity, it was only as God foresaw what would be the result of the election of a class

(4). Election is made upon condition that some would accept the offer of the gospel

God-centered evangelism believes that elections is:

(1). An act of God and not the result of the choice of the elect.

(2). The choice is one of individuals, not of classes.

(3). It is by the good pleasure of God

(4). It is according to an eternal purpose

(5). It is an election to salvation, not to outward privilege.

(each point has 5-10 verses that support the claim)

Election is God’s eternal choice of persons unto everlasting life - not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ.

Again this would have a profound effect on both the message and methods of evangelism.

Third Theological Difference

The third one is what you believe about the atonement of Christ. What happened at the cross? What did Christ accomplish? How is that which He accomplished applied in time? Did he die savingly for all the sins for all men? or all the sins for some men? or some of the sins of all men? or did He just die to make salvation possible and now stands idly by, waiting for man’s decision?

The second is the true biblical view. Christ suffered for all the sins for all His sheep in the whole world, and none of them will be lost.

Fourth Theological Difference

The fourth one is what you believe about the Holy Spirit in the application of what Christ accomplished on the cross. For example if you believe man has enough power to resist God almighty’s power to save, your evangelism will be man-centered. On the other hand, if you believe God’s power can overpower man’s will to cause sinners willingly to come to Him - your evangelism will be God-centered.

God-centered evangelism represents all persons of the Trinity working together for the salvation of poor, lost sinners. What the Father planned in eternity, the Son purchased on the cross, and the Holy Spirit savingly applies in time.

Fifth Theological Difference

The fifth is in respect to God’s keeping power. God-centered evangelism believes that God powerfully keeps those whom He saves in time.

The Effects of Theology

God-centered evangelism stresses that faith is man’s duty but is not within his ability. God gives what He commands or no one would be saved. Man-centered evangelism leads men to believe that they are saved by a decision. God-centered evangelism teaches that man’s decision is a result of what God does by His Word and Spirit.

Salvation is of the Lord and God saves sinners by grace and power. This encouraging truth does not leave man passive or inert. The very opposite takes place. The Spirit graciously and powerfully takes possession of the man, lays hold of his whole being for time and eternity. The Spirit does not annihilate man’s powers, but renews his powerlessness. The Spirit does not destroys his will, but frees it from sin. The Spirit does not stifle or obliterate man’s conscience, but sets it free from darkness. And because of this, we say evangelism is a work of divine grace, divine power and divine sovereignty.

It is not so much that sinner moving and Christ standing impotently still, waiting for the sinner’s decision, but rather Christ coming, seeking and finding the sinner.

Before moving on to methods, here is a summary of gospel:

  1. The teachings of Christ and His apostles
  2. The history of Christ’s birth, life, resurrection and ascension
  3. The preaching of the Word of Christ, particularly, the doctrines of Christ and the offer of salvation through Him.

The divinely-inspired message has four main ingredients

  1. it is a message about God, our Creator and Judge and His absolute claims on us as creaturs
  2. it is a message about sin, meaning the transgression of the law
  3. it is a message about Christ
  4. it is a summons of faith and repentance

Methods of Inviting Sinners to Christ

What does it mean to “come to Christ”? It does not equate to “coming forward” or “walking the aisle”. Not only is it not in the Bible, but it was never practiced in the church for the first eighteen hundred years. It was not practiced until around 1830 to 1850, by Charles G. Finney. This invitation system has deceived and confused millions of people and continues to do so. It is from Finney’s Pelagian or semi-Pelagian theology.

“Following Jesus” is not physically following his since Jesus is not physically with us now, it means learning His teachings, living under the influence of those teachings, and applying His teachings to everyday life and practice. It is a spiritual identification with Him by faith and repentance.

Many men and women are deceived by this system of invitation that they are saved as long as they “Come to Christ” (coming forward, walking the aisle), which is the worst kind of deception. And many sincere preachers and evangelists have never examined this system, neither from the Scripture nor from history.

Four Dangers

There are four dangers of this man-made, Pelagian system:

  1. It conveys to sinners a condition of salvation that is not in the Bible and was never practiced or approved by Christ and His apostles
  2. To call sinners to the front of church is not a divine command, but many times those who do not go forward are led to believe that they are not obeying the Spirit and not obeying God. On the other hand, those who go forward believe that they did something commendable, while in many cases it’s a deception
  3. This unbiblical system has produced the greatest record of false statistics ever compiled by church or business
  4. This system has spawned the error of representing the faith in Christ as something to be done in order to salvation.

Coming to Christ is not a physical or overt act, or mental act, or volitional act, or mystical act. The great missionary David Brainerd once mentioned that he was irritated by four things in the Bible:

  1. The strictness of he divine law. It not only requires actions, but also thought.
  2. Faith alone was the condition for salvation. For example God would not promise life and salvation upon my sincere and hearty prayers and endeavors. And faith was the sovereign gift of God, we are not saved by works.
  3. I could not find out what faith was; or what it was to believe and come to Christ. I could not find a way that would bring me to Christ. A natural man could not, of his own strength, obtain that which is supernatural.
  4. Sovereignty of God. I could not bear that it should be wholly at God’s pleasure, to save or damn me, just as He would. Romans 9:11-23, especially 21 was a constant vexation to me.

What is involved in coming to Christ

  1. Recognition of a spiritual need.

(1) Matthew 11:28 - all are called, but only those who are weary and heavy laden will be come

(2) Isaiah 55:1 - all may be invited but only thirsty people, who recognizes a need will come

(3). Revelation 22:17 - let him that is athirst come.

  1. Revelation of Christ to the heart as the only one suitable to meet that spiritual need (1) Matthew 16:13-17 - When Peter recognized Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus said it is not flesh and blood that reveal this to Peter’s heart, but the Father who is in heaven.

  2. There must be a commitment of oneself to Christ without reservation as the only one who can meet that need e.g. Mark 10:17-22 and Matthew 13:45, 46

Anything less than these three things is to be a stranger to the Christ of the Bible and true Christianity. To have a clear biblical picture of what is involved in coming to Christ would make our methods God-centered and God-honoring.

Is there a Divine Method?

The divine method will be find in the divine manual of evangelism - the Book of Acts. Everyone is called to the defense and proclamation of the gospel because evangelism is the mission of the church. Paul thanks God for the fellowship of the Philippians in the gospel: 1. They had a divine message: the gospel. 2. They had a divine command: Go and spread it 3. They had a divine promise for power: “ye shall receive power”

What about their Methods?

The Book of Acts documents two steps in the biblical method

  1. “Go”, Contact the Uncoverted
  2. “Preaching and Teaching” to the Unconverted

The gospel is a message that must be learned before it can be embraced and before it can be lived or applied. So we need to teach the gospel to the unconverted.

What were the Results?

Many times the apostles looked like failures. They made people angry; they wound up in jail; they were threatened, persecuted and killed; but they did not change their message or method. They continued to use the same method - teaching and preaching the biblical message.

The first question for the early followers of Christ is not “does it work? how many did you baptize?” But, is it true? is it biblical? They were committed the truth and left the results to God.

Why no followed program? Because in God-centered evangelism, God does something inwardly to sinners. It is not so much what the sinner does, but what God does. Follow-up is not necessary means that cajoling and pampering and begging them to do what everyone who is born again will want to do and will do without calling them every week to remind them and coerce them to worship and serve the Lord and His church.

In New Testament evangelism, there was preaching, teaching, reasoning, explaining, persuading and pleading, all was done before a decision. Men-centered evangelism is chiefly concerned with “decisioning”, and in many cases, the person does not know what is involved in the decisions.

Summary and Comparison

We will talk about four vital areas of biblical truth that is different from God-centered and man-centered evangelism.

The View of the Character of God

Man-centered evangelism: God loves you. It is true that the love of God for sinners sent Jesus to cross, but it is equally true that his justice sent Jesus to cross. The base of the cross is eternal justice - the spirit of the cross is eternal love. Man must see the breach of the Creator-creature relationship before they desired a reconciliation. Man-centered evangelism operates with a disharmony in the Trinity with respect to the accomplishment and application of God’s salvation. Father planned the salvation for every individual, Christ died savingly for every individual without exception, but Spirit applies salvation only to those who believe. So we have a frustrated and defeated God.

God-centered evangelism: God created you and therefore has authority over you as your Maker and Judge. Seeing the breach of the Creator-creature relationship before a Redeemer relationship will make sense. God-centered evangelism operates on the basis that the Trinity works together in perfect harmony; What the Father planned in respect to salvation, the Son purchased on the cross, and the Holy Spirit applies. All this is summed up in the golden chain of theology in Romans 8:29-30

Views of Man as to his Condition before God

Man-centered evangelism views man as fallen, yet with the ability to come to God and a will that is totally free to choose spiritual good. Man-centered evangelism leaves sinners with the idea that their hope is in their decision. Bible is clear that sinners

(1) Cannot understand

(2) Cannot hear

(3) Cannot see

(4) Cannot come

(5) Cannot be subject to the law of God.

Men-centered evangelism does not have a correct view of the relationship between the cause of conversion and the means God employs in conversion.

God-centered evangelism views man as spiritually deaf, blind, dead, and his will is only free to act according to his sinful nature. He does not have the ability or will to come, and his great need is life. A power that changes his mind, affections and will, the almighty power. God-centered evangelism tells sinner that since God must do something, therefore, one needs to call upon God, to bow to Christ, not trying to strike a bargain with Christ. God-centered evangelism believes all men are fallen and will not come to God by their own power or will, because they are deaf, blind, dead. They will not seek God. Men need new natures. We call this regeneration. Regeneration is God’s work alone and it produces conversion, which is the repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Views of the Person and Work of Christ as it relates to Evangelism

Man-centered evangelism puts the emphasis on Christ’s saviorhood: that He is the Savior from our selfishness, our mistakes - a Savior from life’s casualties, and a Savior from the consequences of sin. Thus Christ came and exists for our benefit.

God-centered evangelism puts the emphasis on Christ as the Savior from sin and its consequences, but more important, from the sinful nature, which is the root case of every sin. Christ came not only to save us, but by His Spirit, to change us. The Bible says that Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant, which has two parts, one part is that ‘their sins and iniquities will I remember no more’ (justification), the other part is ‘I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds will I write them’ (sanctification).

God-centered evangelism emphasizes both parts and man-centered evangelism emphasizes the first part and makes the second part optional.

To solve the awful error of separating justification and sanctification, man-centered evangelism has invented many strange and erroneous doctrines, “second works of grace” etc.

The Difference in the Two Views in respect to the Sinner’s Response to Christ

When the gospel comes to sinners in word and power it powerfully engages the mind, moves the affections and changes the will. True religion cannot be less than 1. Right thinking in relationship to God 2. Right feeling in relationship to God 3. Right acting in relationship to God. This is the whole man: mind, affections, will.

There are two errors in man-centered evangelism. First there are those who aim a the intellect (mind) only. However, man is more than mind, and the error comes when the sinner’s only response is an intellectual response. We must lay the logs of divine truth to the mind, but without the Spirit coming in power to illuminate the mind, there will be no true conversion. The Spirit must open the understanding, make truth alive and effectual.

The second error of man-centered evangelism is aimed at the emotion only. This is usually done with many anecdotes, experiences, deathbed stories, etc. but not true biblical exposition or Christian doctrine. And the response is purely emotional.

Another difference is that in man-centered evangelism the sinner’s choice, decision and response is the basis of his salvation. It is only half of the truth. The other half is that no man will make this saving response unless God first does what only God can do, the work of regeneration. In God-centered evangelism, the sinner’s response and decision is because of God’s decision, power and initiative in saving. When this is understood, there will be no more of this man-centered method of begging sinners to respond to an impotent Savior who is standing idly by, patiently waiting for the sinner’s response.

Gospel must come not in Word only, but also in power. The power reside in the mighty power of God to regenerate poor, dead sinners, and where God does this mighty work, faith and repentance always follow.

Why do some Sinners come to Christ while Others do not?

State of the UnConverted

  1. He is ignorant of saving truth
  2. He is slave to Satan
  3. He is captive of Satan

Who has the Key? God or Sinner? Man-centered evangelism tells the sinner that he has the key in his pocket to get out any time he wills to get out. The appeal is to sinner’s will, his decision and his power to do something for himself. God-centered evangelism’s approach is to tell sinner he is in Satan’s prison house and that he does not have the key in his pocket to get out. Only God gets him out.

Efforts of the Servant of God

  1. Teach and instruct
  2. Rescue them from Satan
  3. Set before them the claims of God as their only hope

Manner and Method Employed By the Servant of God

The servant of Lord

  1. Must not strive (or be quarrelsome)
  2. Must be gentle
  3. Must be able to teach
  4. Must be patient (when wronged)
  5. Must instruct in meekness (with gentleness)

The Nature of the Response

Another difference of the two views in respect to the sinner’s response is the implication of the response. In God-centered response evangelism, the response means:

  1. Loving submission to Christ’s lordship at the outset, not later at a second work of grace or a second act of consecration
  2. Willing obedience: if a man loves me he will keep my words
  3. Ownership: ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price
  4. Joyful service: Lord, what wilt thou have me do?

Man-centered evangelism usually emphasizes the benefits and blessings of coming to Christ, and later begins to emphasize discipleship as something that is optional. Men-centered evangelism tends to hold out the joys and blessings the hope of heaven, but does not face the other half, that is, of what it costs to follow Christ. In this we have an danger of spreading half-truths for the whole truth. Many of the responses in man-centered evangelism are faulty because the invitation did not contain the whole truth at the outset.

Assurance of Grace and Salvation

Assurance is a God-given conviction of our standing in grace stamped on the mind and heart by the Spirit of God supernaturally. It is a conscious and experimental discernment of a saving relationship with God. First Bible teaches that there is a false assurance in which unconverted men sometimes indulge, in which they are deceived, and in which they will finally be discovered. Second, the Bible teaches that there is a true assurance in which believers are not deceived, but rather confirmed, and in which they will not be confounded. What is the difference? Charles Hodge answered this question in the following manner:

True Assurance False Assurance
Begets unfeigned humility Begets spiritual pride
Leads to increased diligence in practice of holiness Leads to sloth and self-indulgence
Leads to candid self-examination and a desire to be searched and corrected by God Leads to a disposition to be satisfied with appearance and avoid assurance investigation
Leads to constant aspiration after more intimate fellowship with God Not the case in false assurance

Third, a true believer may lack assurance. Faith is the root, and assurance is the flower, you can never have the flower without the root, but you can have the root without the flower.

Fourth, the Bible teaches that believers should seek to attain a well-grounded assurance.

Fifth, the Bible teaches that a true believer’s assurance may be shaken, diminished, and intermitted because of negligence, sin, temptation or trail.

Sixth, the Bible teaches that assurance, instead of encouraging believers to indulge in sin, excites them to the pursuit of holiness. True biblical assurance cannot be attained or preserved without close walking with God in all his commandments or ordinances blameless.

The ground of salvation and the ground of assurance are two different things.

  1. “What must I do to be saved?” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”.
  2. “How do I know that I have believed to the saving of my soul, that is, how do I know that my faith is saving faith?”, this is related to assurance, and there are three grounds: (1). promises of God made alive or real by the Spirit of God. The sinner needs sight (from the Spirit) and light (from the promises of God). This direct exercise of faith in Christ is the unfailing source of relief and comfort in the Christian’s darkest doubts. This is not just a promise intellectually of the Spirit, it requires also the illumination of the Spirit (2). Witness of the Spirit. The witness of the Spirit to the sonship of believers must never be divorced from the other activities of the Spirit in the sanctification of believers. The Spirit opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. The Spirit opens their minds to understand the Scriptures. The Spirit unveils to them more and more of the glory of Christ， shreds abroad in their hearts the love of God, etc. (3). Christian character and conduct, or assurance by evidence of regeneration, or assurance by the marks of grace. We could call this First John assurance. “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”. Let’s look at some of the birth marks of the second birth, or the test for eternal life: a. A believe in the Christ of the Bible as He is offered in the gospel b. A belief that reaches the whole man c. A belief that has been revealed and applied by the Holy Spirit in regeneration d. A belief acknowledged by the sinner in his response to the Savior e. A belief that is apparent in the fruits of faith and repentance

Second the test of obedience is a birth mark of the second birth. “We do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” Third, the test of love of the brethren is a birth mark of the second birth: “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren” Fourth, the test of the doing of righteousness is a birth mark of the second birth: “ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him”.

The Difference

Man-centered evangelism will use syllogistic reasoning, for example: Major Premise: He that believes in Christ is in the state of grace and shall be saved Minor Premise: I believe in Christ Conclusion: Therefore I am saved; I have eternal life

A similar syllogism could show no one is saved: Major Premise: He that knows Christ keeps his commandments, He that says he knows Christ but does not keep his commandments is a liar Minor Premise: No one keeps all of Christ’s commandments at all times Conclusion: No one knows Christ and no one is saved.

God-centered view of assurance is that there is much more to true biblical assurance than a syllogism. It has the three components we discussed about: (1) promises of God made alive or real by the Spirit of God (2) Witness of Spirit (3) Christian character and conduct. The preacher or personal worker never tries to do what only the Holy Spirit can do. The biblical view of assurance put all preachers and personal workers out of the assurance business.

Now let’s see a illustration of God-centered approach from Pilgram’s Progress, several lessons from evangelism:

  1. Evangelism did not give Christian a sales pitch and wring a decision out of him and pronounce him saved
  2. He pointed him to the Narrow Gate
  3. He taught him to follow the light that God put on his path, and he would get more light
  4. He did not try to play the Holy Spirit and give him assurance
  5. Later in the book Evangelist met with him to give him additional instructions

In the second example, Hopeful was converted through Faithful’s testimony in Vanity Fair. Again, there is the absence of salesmanship - no decisionism - and Faithful does not try to play the Holy Spirit and give assurance. We have the same example from the life of that great missionary David Brainerd.

Conclusion

Most evangelism of this day is not only superficial, but radically defective. It is utterly lacking a foundation on which to base an appeal for sinners to come to Christ. There is a fatal lack of proportion and omission of that which God has given for the purpose of imparting a knowledge of sin. The new message fails to produce:

  1. Deep reverence for the God of the Bible
  2. Deep repentance and humility
  3. A real spirit of ownership
  4. A proper love and concern for the church Because it is man-centered, it fails to make man God-centered in his thoughts and God-fearing in his heart.

The God-centered message is God and His way with man. The subject of the man-centered message is man and the things God does for him, or the help God gives him. It is the sincere purpose of this book to encourage God-centered evangelism. Some who read this book will agree with the doctrinal substance and yet not seem to demonstrate the real zeal for carrying out our Lord’s clear command. Others who will read this book are among those who have zeal and do actually seek to carry out our Lord’s heavenly mandate, but do not have a sound doctrinal foundation.

Apart from my own salvation the greatest joy of I have ever known in this world is being the means of taking the gospel to some poor lost sinner and seeing God magnify His grace in the salvation of lost souls through the power of that gospel to make a saving change.

Jesus said: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

Appendix: The Nature of Saving Faith

The issue before us today is not a denial of justification by faith alone, but rather a perversion of that doctrine. Present-day preaching often excludes the possibility of spurious faith; however, religious deception is the worst kind of deception because of its eternal consequences.

Spurious or Counterfeit Faith

The Bible teaches that there is a spurious faith. In the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke of temporary faith. (Luke 8:13) These believers received the word with joy and believed for a season; but in the time of trial, they fell away. They lacked root and fruit; and they did not continue. Non-saving faith lacks the following characteristics of saving faith:

(1) Continuance in trusting Christ, and in devotion to Him and His service;

(2) Desire to be useful in Christ’s church;

(3) Attendance to Christian duty;

(4) Love of prayer and the Word of God and of assembling with God’s people in worship;

(5) Devotion to loving the people of God as such;

(6) Progress in knowledge of self, sin, and the Savior;

(7) Progress in loving holiness and hating sin, with increased conviction of and humility concerning personal sinfulness

A man may believe all the truth contained in Scripture, as far as he is acquainted with it; indeed, he may be familiar with far more truth than many genuine Christians. And as his knowledge may be more extensive, so his faith may be more comprehensive. He may go even as far as Paul had. But not having saving faith. There are those who willing to have Christ as their Savior, yet who are most reluctant to submit to Him as their Lord, to be at His command, and to be governed by His laws. There are unregenerate persons who profess Christ as Lord, and yet are not in possession of saving faith.

True Saving Faith Described

Regeneration is inseparable from its effects, one of which is saving faith. Except a man be born again, he cannot see, understand, or come to Christ. Regeneration is the act of God alone. But faith is the act of the sinner.

The Acting of True Saving Faith

True justifying faith is variously expressed in Scripture according to its different actings toward God and its outgoings after Him. True faith is sometimes spoken of as a desire for union with God in Christ - as a willing. True faith sometimes goes out in the act of leaning on the Lord, Trust in the Lord. True faith desires Christ in whatever way He holds Himself out in the Scriptures. True faith desires Christ and aspires to be conformed to His image.

It is important to remember, in considering the actings of true saving faith, that every true believer does not manifest all these various actings and exercises of faith, for their condition does not require them. There is, however, one thing common to all who possess true saving faith; that is a heart-satisfaction with God’s plan of salvation by Christ. When one is pleased with God’s method of satisfying His justice through Christ’s person and work and when the soul and heart embrace that plan, then one is believing unto salvation.

From John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied p. 112: The essence of saving faith is to bring the sinner lost and dead in trespasses and sins into direct personal contact with the Savior himself, contact which is nothing less than that of self-commitment to him in all the glory of his person and perfection of his work as he is freely and fully offered in the gospel. The principle acts of saving faith are accepting receiving and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Justifying faith, therefore includes knowledge, conviction and trust.

Differences between Spurious and True Faith

There is a faith which saves and a faith which damns. There are many differences, but we’ll list four:

  1. Spurious believers want Christ, but not without exception. They want the grace of Christ, but not the government of Christ. They desire the benefits of the cross without bowing to the implications of the crown. They want to be saved from the consequences of sin, but not from sin itself. True saving faith wants Christ without exception.
  2. True faith wants Christ as He is offered in the Scriptures; as the only Mediator between God and man. As prophet, priest and king of his church. Spurious believers want Christ only as a Priest to procure pardon and peace, but not as a Prophet to instruct them or as a King to rule over them.
  3. Spurious believers never close with Christ and all the inconveniences that follow. They want Christ but have never done what Jesus commanded - that is, counted the cost. Every serious Christian knows that the Christian life is not a all “happy, jolly etc.”, but “I war”, “I fight”, “I wrestle”. It costs you nothing to become a Christian; but it may cost you everything to be a Christian.
  4. Spurious believer’s heart is not changed, and, is that the spurious believer’s heart is not changed, and, therefore, his faith is not operative. True faith is operative, purifying the heart.

In summary:

(1) Saving faith wants Christ without exception

(2) Saving faith receives Christ in all of His offices - as Prophet, Priest and King.

(3) Saving faith receives Christ and all the inconveniences that follow.

(4) Saving faith is operative, purifying the heart. None of these things is true of spurious faith.