I was pleased with all the interest people expressed after we set up our Bible booth at the farmers market last Saturday. Friends called, emailed and texted me to ask how things went. As far as I was concerned, it was a great success. But what do I mean, “As far as I am concerned”? I say that because I know the goals of this effort. What should our attitude be during outreach efforts? Here are some things we must never lose sight of:

Spreading the Word

As both individual Christians and collectively as a church, we need to get the gospel out (Mark 16:15). If people are going to be converted to Christ, it has to come from preaching His gospel (Rom. 1:16). Whether it be from the pulpit, a personal Bible study, TV or radio program, or even a Bible booth, the focus musty be on teaching God’s word with its power to save (James 1:21). Our efforts at the farmer’s market and the county fair are not anything flashy. If our goal is not to simply plant and water and have God give the increase (I Cor. 3:6-9), then we have lost our proper focus.

Exposing Error

Effective teaching will provoke thought, and sometimes conflict. After all, light exposes darkness (Rom. 2:19). The word of truth will not mix with variation or compromise. It should never be the goal of any evangelistic effort to be non-controversial as if we were ashamed of the gospel. Not only that, you are not actually helping if you are afraid to expose false doctrine (I John 4:1). You cannot stand for something without standing against something else. Again, if we are more concerned with not offending anyone, our evangelistic efforts will not be successful.

Defending our Faith

The church is to be the pillar and ground of truth (I Tim. 3:15). The church has always been under attack and frequently been falsely accused. As long as there are false teachers, there will always need to defend ourselves (I Pet. 3:15-16). Soldiers of Christ will put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-16) and doing everything possible to stand for what is right. There will be temptations to not study and thus not be able to give an answer. This is not a solution – it is a problem. Those who do not want to be asked questions will not be able to defend the faith.

Helping the Seekers

There are people in this world that are looking for the truth. They want answers and need to know where to go to find them. Providing opportunities for the lost allows the Lord to use us to help others (Matt. 7:7). When a man was asked if he understood what he was reading in the scriptures, he replied by saying, “How can I unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:30-31). It is true that everyone can know the truth (John 8:32), but Christians can provide avenues for others to learn. However, if there isn’t that desire to provide help, then this effort should not be done.

Developing our Talents

If you want to create courage and learn how to talk to people, reaching out with the gospel is a way to do that. You cannot help but grow when you find yourself engaged in various Bible discussions (I Pet. 2:2; Matt. 25:15-28). Learning what to say to people is great, but never underestimate the need to know how to talk to people (Eph. 4:15). Learning to be swift to hear and slow to speak is vital in reaching people with the gospel (James 1:19).  Those not interested in growing need not put forth this effort.

Chuck

Do not forget that Jesus was a worker

We should never forget that Jesus lived a perfect, righteous life and then endured a terrible death save the souls of mankind (Heb. 4:15; Rom. 5:6-11). This is why we are admonished to follow His example (I Pet. 2:21). But let us not forget that when Jesus walked on this earth, He was constantly working.

Consider this example from Matthew 11:1: “Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.”  The next verse says that when John was in prison, he heard about the works of Christ (verse 2). This indicates how far the impact of Christ’s work spread. What else do we know about how much the Lord accomplished? “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain all the books that would be written,” (John 21:25).

Many claim to be Christians – do they desire to be workers like Christ? If we sing the hymn “I want to be a worker for the Lord” can we also say, “I am a worker for the Lord, just like the Lord”?  This is a good aspiration to have, but it is not easily accomplished.

It is true that Jesus spent time healing people, which we cannot do. And yes, Jesus performed many miracles that we simply cannot do. However, our Savior did many things which we can do like praying long and often, encouraging and sympathizing, and preaching and teaching. We all need to be increasing in these things as time goes by.

Perhaps Jesus knew that He only had about 3 ½ years on the earth to do these things, so He did as much as He could in a short period. Whether this is true or not, it makes no difference. None of us know how much time we have. If we are earnest about our service and we do not know how much time we have, then we should be even more encouraged to work while we can! Live like Jesus lived, and work like Jesus worked!

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Looking for souls like Cornelius

     If you are not familiar with the conversion of Cornelius and his household, please read Acts 10 and 11. I will point out some of the wonderful qualities this man possessed that aided him in becoming a Christian.

     We are told that Cornelius, even though he was not saved, believed in God and prayed often (Acts 10:2). Though these qualities did not automatically save him, they were essential for him to seek God on His terms. Thus, when the Lord told Cornelius to send for Peter so he could hear how to be saved (11:14), he did not get upset. Too often people allow pride to stand between them and salvation. Cornelius could have closed his mind and decided that he had done enough to be saved already, but His desire for righteousness was earnest.

     Another quality that aided Cornelius was his humility. When Peter came to Cornelius, he immediately fell down to worship him (10:25). Though Peter told him that he should not be worshipped (verse 26), Cornelius’ humble disposition is evident. This attitude was key for Cornelius and his entire household (10:47-48) to carefully listen to and obey Peter’s instructions.

     Also notice how Cornelius desired for others to hear the message of salvation. We are told that when Peter came, Cornelius had many people gathered for the apostle to teach (10:27). What a delight this must have been for Peter! What teacher of God’s word wouldn’t light up with joy when they find many people assembled and ready to learn? This is as true today as it was for early Christians.

     Cornelius’ example shows why it is critically important to pray for those seeking the truth. Not only will our prayers help them directly, but that same aspiring Christian might be encouraged to bring others to their studies too. Those earnestly longing for salvation will want others to be saved as well. If you are not a Christian, please consider Cornelius’ example and earnestly seek the Lord.

                                                                                                                                                                                   Chuck