Tag: Salvation

Evangelism Aims at Conversion

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

In my last post, I argued that the Holy Spirit was the one who closes the deal in evangelism. You can read that post here. Even so, knowing the Holy Spirit is the one who closes the deal does not mean we don’t call others to either accept or reject the message. We are not just presenting knowledge for knowledge sake. When we evangelize the lost we are challenging them to accept or reject our message. In other words, evangelism always aims at conversion.

Scripture

Let’s explore a few passages of Scripture to see that this is true.

1 Corinthians 9:19

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.”

 Paul desired to win others to Christ, and we should do the same.

1 Peter 3:1

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,”

One of the reasons given for wives to be submissive to their husbands is so that they might win them to Christ. Through their submission they model Christ’s submission to the Father, presenting to their husbands a picture of Christ’s submission, which led Him to the cross to die for the sins of mankind, so that we might have life.

Luke 5:10

“and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.””

Jesus tells them their role is not to be fishers of the sea, but fishers of men. Their aim was now to be catching men for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:19-20

“that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Paul implores others as an ambassador for Christ to be reconciled to Christ. So then, his evangelism aimed at converting the lost to Christ.

Conversion is Still the Work of the Holy Spirit

Even though we implore others to be reconciled to Christ, challenging them and calling them to repent, we rest in the finished work of the Holy Spirit, knowing He is the one who ultimately brings about repentance. 

What Conversion is Not

Converting the lost is not calling them to take up our religious actions – We are calling for heart change, which only happens through the work of the Holy Spirit as they are converted from a life of sin to a life in Christ.

Converting the lost is not getting them to come to church with us – Again, we are after a real commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There are many God fearing, but unconverted people who attend church.

Converting the lost is not helping someone out of financial trouble – While that may give us inroads to present the gospel to them, helping someone get back on their feet doesn’t mean they have been converted to Christianity.

Converting the lost is not helping someone overcome an addiction – Even though that may help them get in the right mind to hear the gospel, getting clean is not a conversion.

What Converting the Lost Involves

Converting the lost involves calling someone to repent of their sins, turn from their rebellion against God, and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It involves helping others recognize that their relationship with God has been severed because of their sin, and it cannot be reconciled apart from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. So then, converting the lost aims at conversion to a life in Christ, which is always evangelism’s aim.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you believe there is another aim to evangelism besides conversion to Christ?
  2. How might you define conversion?
  3. Can you think of other things conversion is not?

Resource

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We Can’t Refine Ourselves

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals8 Comments

The gospel tells us that we can’t refine ourselves, because we are inherently sinful. But knowing that does not keep people from trying. One way they try to do this is by adding to the gospel message, thinking that their additions make them more holy and more acceptable to God. However, this is simple not true.

Justification by Faith Alone

Throughout biblical history, many groups have sought to impose laws along with the gospel as a means for salvation. The Judaizers, in Galatia, are one example. They believed the Gentiles must first become Jewish proselytes and submit to the Mosaic law along with believing in Jesus as their Savior in order to be saved (Gal. 1:7; 4:17, 21; 5:2-12; 6:12-13). But this is not the Bible’s message of salvation.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul disagrees with the Judaizers’ when he says,

“a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ…because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal. 1:16)

Paul makes it clear that we are not justified by the works of the law but by grace. This is a theme he will re-enforce time and again throughout the letter.

Christ of No Advantage

Paul tells the Galatians that the Judaizers who add to the gospel message by requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised are creating another gospel. One that does not save. He tells us that

those who “accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage” to them (Gal. 5:2).

In other words, when one adds to the gospel, they are no longer justified by Christ’s work on the cross, but by their own works.

Obligated to Keep the Whole Law

In the case of the Judaizers, who are saying gospel + works = salvation, do more than just add a few works to an already free gospel. They are obligating themselves to keep the whole law since their gospel is not the gospel of Christ. In other words, by eradicating the true and free gospel of Jesus Christ they are placing themselves under the stipulations of the law, which must be kept perfectly in order to provide them with salvation.

Conclusion

What we find then is that we cannot reconcile ourselves to God (Gal. 2:16; 5:3-5). For if we try to add to the gospel, then we make Christ of no advantage to us, and we force ourselves to keep the law perfectly, which we cannot do. The true gospel tells us that we can only be justified by faith alone (Gal. 3:10-14). So then, we can’t refine ourselves. We can only be refined and reconciled to God through the gospel.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Are there things that you add to the gospel message, requiring people in your church to do before they are saved?
  2. How does the gospel free us from having to do works in order to be reconciled to God?

Resource

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Why Suffering?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals10 Comments

Why do Christians suffer for their belief in the gospel? Does our suffering for the gospel even have a point? These are questions that Paul answers in his letter to the Philippians.

Context

The Philippians were being persecuted by those in Philippi for their Christian beliefs. They were being imprisoned, beaten, ostracized, and even killed. Paul, knowing this, writes to encourage them. One way he encourages them is by telling them the point of their suffering.

He writes, 

and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, (Philippians 1:28b-29 ESV)

Paul’s answer to why Christians’ suffer for the gospel in these verses is tied to the how and why of our salvation. So in order to answer the why question of suffering, we need to first answer the why and how question of salvation.

How and Why We are Saved

At the end of verse 28 and the beginning of verse 29, we are told that our salvation is from God and it is “granted on behalf of Christ.” Granted carries the idea of graced or gifted. This means that our salvation is given to us as a gift from God. It is not something we earn, nor is it something we have to accept. Rather, it is a gift from God.

The reason we are saved is for Christ’s sake. More specifically, we can say it is for His glory. This means that while salvation benefits us, it is not ultimately for us. It is ultimately for Jesus Christ and His glory.

Now that we understand how we are saved and why we are saved, we can take the same idea and apply it to suffering for the gospel.

How and Why We Suffer

In verse 29, Paul tells us that not only is our salvation for Christ’s sake, but our suffering is also for Christ’s sake. So we see that not only has God gifted us with our salvation for the glory of Christ, but God has gifted us with our suffering for the glory of Christ.

Application

This means that our suffering for the gospel is not pointless. It, just like our salvation, is for Christ’s glory. So when someone is fired from their job because of their belief in the gospel, it is for the glory of Christ. When someone is ostracized from their community, because of their belief in the gospel, like what is happening with Chick-fil-a right now, it is for the glory of Christ. When someone is beaten, jailed, or even martyred because of their belief in the gospel, it is for the glory of Christ.

Conclusion

So then, when we face persecution, we should be encouraged, knowing it is not pointless, but it is for the glory of Christ.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Have you ever thought that your suffering is for Christ’s glory?
  2. Does it provide you comfort knowing that your suffering is for Christ’s glory?
  3. What do you make of God gifting us with the privilege to suffer for Christ’s sake?
  4. How does suffering play into your understanding of Christianity?

Resource

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What I Learned at Royal Ambassador’s Camp

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Family, Leadership2 Comments

I spent this last week at Camp Copus with four of our boys from church who are in the Royal Ambassadors Program. I had never been before, so I did not know what to expect, but what I learned was significant. Here are just a few things.

What I Learned at Camp

(1) We need godly men to train boys to be godly men

After attending camp all week. I noticed the heart of the RA program is for godly men to train boys to be godly men. There were many godly men at camp this last week, but more are needed. More are also needed in our churches.

While there are many godly women who participate in church activities, we need godly men who are willing to step up and train the future generation.

In short, we need godly men who are not only following the biblical mandate to train up their own children and grandchildren in the way of the Lord, but we need them to participate in our churches as well (Ephesians 5; Deut. 4:9-14).

(2) Scripture memory should be a regular diet in our churches and families

At camp they made a big push for the campers and counselors (that would be me) to obtain a power band. The way you get your power band is by memorizing and reciting the Romans Road (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 10:13).

As I committed these verses to memory and helped my boys do the same, I saw first hand the value and importance of memorizing God’s Word. Not only because it is God’s Word, but because, when you do so, Scripture is always there with you. No matter what situation you are facing, you can quickly recall a verse that could help you. In the case of the Romans Road, you are always able to tell others how they might be saved, since it is the plan of salvation. So may we all be spurred on to regularly memorize Scripture.

(3) You cannot talk about the gospel enough

At every service and every activity that we attended the gospel was presented. Not only was the plan of salvation presented, but how the gospel affects the way we live our everyday lives. You see the gospel is not the ABC’s of the Christian life. It is the A to Z. Everything stems from the gospel. Since this is true, we cannot talk about the gospel enough.

(4) Children can understand deep theological concepts

After a day of hearing different aspects of the gospel, the boys and I gathered each night for a devotional. As I led them in a devotional every night, I soon realized they were really wrestling with deep theological concepts. Even though they did not use these terms, they asked questions about God’s Fairness/Justice, God’s Love, Mercy and Grace, God’s Righteousness, Substitutionary Atonement, Heaven and Hell.

As I fielded their questions, I was both encouraged and shocked that they were thinking on such a deep level. Which leads me to believe we often forget that children can and do understand biblical concepts. As a result, we can go deep with them as long as we find a way to relate the concepts to their world.

(5) Churches need to invest in their children’s theological education

While most churches have a children’s program, these programs offer nothing more than man-centered principles for living a good life. We need to do better. We need to go deeper. We need to understand that our children can and do understand the gospel. They can and do understand theological concepts. They can and do wrestle with the same questions adults have.

As a result, we need to present these concepts to them in ways they can understand and let them wrestle with it. As well as we need to make time to allow our children to ask us tough questions. When they do, we need to have a good response for them. So then, we need not only invest in their education, but ours as well, so we can answer the tough questions. But more importantly, we need not sell our children short.

Resources

Here are a few books and a Scripture memory tool that can help you to begin training your own children:

The Underestimated Gospel

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

In Romans 1:16-17 we read,

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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Here we learn that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. But do we really believe the gospel has the power to save everyone? Thabiti Anyabwile, one of the speakers at the T4G conference challenged us to believe the gospel has the power to save everyone. He spoke on 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and the title of his talk was: Will your gospel transform a terrorist?

In 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Paul is discussing who he was before his conversion to Christianity. As you know Paul heavily persecuted the church. In this text, he lists himself as the chief of all sinners. Even so, Christ saved him. He received God’s grace and mercy despite his persecution of the church.

The Underestimated Gospel

Often I think we, myself included, believe the gospel cannot save those who are that far gone. We do not really believe our gospel will transform a terrorist. The reason we believe that is because we underestimate the power of the gospel, which was the theme of the conference I attended.

The purpose of the conference was to show that the power of the gospel is not to be underestimated. It can, will, and does change those who we may believe are unchangeable. In order to show this, we heard a number of sermons, as well as testimonies about the power of the gospel. Some of these testimonies came from people who grew up in Christian homes, but others were from people who were power hungry, selfish, and only seeking to make a name for themselves. While others gave testimony that the gospel saved them from gang life, alcohol, and drugs.

The Articulated Gospel

Not only did we learn that the gospel has the power to save everyone, and that we should not underestimate its power to bring about change in a person’s life, we also learned that we must articulate the gospel to others. In other words, we must actually tell it to others.

And so, if we believe the gospel has the power to save even the worst of the worst, if we believe the gospel has the power to save a terrorist, then we must articulate it’s message to everyone in society. Never thinking that someone is too far gone, because when we start to think like that, we are underestimating the power of the gospel.

My Challenge

I want to challenge you, just as I have been challenged this week, to not underestimate the power of the gospel to save everyone. As well as I want to challenge you to articulate its message to all you come in contact with. For it is a message that took Paul from a hardened persecutor of the church, to its greatest advocate. May it do the same in someone’s life we take the time to tell this good news to. Don’t underestimate the power of the gospel!

The Proper Motivation for Christian Obedience | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals4 Comments

In my next few posts, I want to cover what drives our obedience to God. In this first post, I need to lay the theological foundation before talking about what does and does not motivate our obedience.

In John 15:4-5 we are told that the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine. In this parable, Jesus represents the vine and we represent the branch, which means we cannot bear spiritual fruit unless we abide in Christ; we cannot obey His commandments unless we abide in Him.

What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ?

In means that we are His disciples; that we believe His gospel message and in so doing, we enter into a relationship with Him. But more than that, it means that we are in union with Christ. We are joined together with Him, so that who He is we are.

Two types of Unions with Christ

There are two ways in which we are in union with Christ. The first is a representative union and the second is a living union. In order to understand the living union, we must first discuss the representative union. Today, we will look at our representative union with Christ and in a future post I will discuss our living union with Him. My hope is that a proper understanding of our representative and living unions will be what drives, or motivates, our obedience to God’s commands.

Representative Union

Romans 5 is especially clear in that both Adam and Jesus are representatives (Rom. 5:12-21 especially 18 & 19). What do they each represent?

Adam represents all that is:

  • Sinful
  • Corrupt
  • Imperfect
  • Unrighteous

As a representative, all those whom Adam represents are also sinful, corrupt, imperfect, and unrighteous. As such, their relationship with God is hindered because a holy God cannot have a relationship with sinful man.

Jesus represents all that is:

  • Holy
  • Sinless
  • Perfect
  • Righteous

As a representative, all those whom Jesus represents are also holy, sinless, perfect, and righteous. As such, they have fellowship with God, whereas those whom Adam represents do not.

Who Do They Represent?

If Romans 5 tells us both are representatives, who then does Adam represent and who does Jesus represent?

  • Adam represents all those who are not redeemed by the blood of Christ. In other words, he represents the entire human race apart from those in Christ (Rom. 5:12, 17, 19)
  • Jesus represents all those who profess Him as their Lord and Savior (Rom. 5:18-19, 21).

Imputation

2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us. The verse reads as follows:

For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God. 

So we see that Jesus, the one who knew no sin, took our sin on Himself, so that those who are “in Him” who are in union with Him, who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior, will become righteous. In theological terms, we would say that Jesus’ righteousness is imputed or attributed to us on the basis of our belief in Him as our Lord and Savior.

When we enter into union with Jesus, He becomes our representative instead of Adam. When God looks down on us, instead of seeing what Adam represents – sin, death, unrighteousness, rebellion, etc – He sees what Christ represents – sinlessness, perfection, righteousness, obedience, etc. As a result, we are reconciled to God and we experience fellowship with Him (2 Cor. 5:20b; 1 Jn 1:2-3)

Implications of the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness to Us

If we are made righteous by Jesus’ righteousness being attributed to us and by no other way, what are the implications?

(1) We are not saved by our works

Only through Jesus’ work on the cross are we saved because sinful man can never do enough to make himself holy. It took the perfect sacrifice of Christ being credited to our account to make us holy. In other words, we are only holy because Christ’s blood covers our sins. Since we cannot offer a perfect sacrifice, nor are the works of sinful man seen as worthy, we cannot ever work our way to God.

(2) Our works cannot earn us favor with God 

God accepts Christ based on His righteousness, and Christ’s righteousness is attributed to us, when we believe in Jesus as our Savior. This means God doesn’t love us anymore than He does right now and always no matter what we do for Him because God loves Christ perfectly and His account has been credited to us. There is nothing more we can do to earn His favor or earn more of His Grace. We are given Christ’s righteousness, and Christ’s righteousness is perfect.

However, we often live as if we can earn God’s favor. What are some things we do that we might believe will earn favor with God?

  • Show more love to our wife
  • Not have a lustful thought
  • Participate in Foreign Missions or Home Missions
  • Serve the church
  • Give away money, time, or resources
  • Read Bible, Pray, Come to Church
  • Volunteer in the city
  • Etc.

Try as we might, these things do not earn us favor with God. The only way we earn favor with God is through our union with Christ. Since Christ is perfectly favored and accepted by God, we are perfectly favored and accepted by God.

(3) We are fully accepted by God in Christ

We do not have to earn God’s acceptance. God perfectly accepts Christ, and being in union with Christ as our representative means God perfectly accepts us as well.

Summary

We learn from these three implications of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us that our works do not earn our salvation, our works do not earn us favor with God, and our works do not earn us acceptance with God.

Conclusion

The Gospel tells us that in Christ, there is nothing we can do that would make God love us more, and nothing we have done that would make Him love us less. Only by abiding in Christ are we made righteous because only then is He our representative head and only when He is our representative are His attributes and works attributed to us.

In my next post, I will discuss how our obedience to God is motivated out of a sense of gratitude, which stems from a proper understanding of  and reflection on our salvation.

Resources

Jerry Bridges, The Transforming Power of the Gospel, Ch. 1, 4, 5

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