Romans 10:13–15
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!
I am reading a sermon by Oswald Chambers. He points out the four “how’s” in these verses. First there is a promise: “call on the name of the Lord and be saved.” But to call you must first believe. To believe you must first hear. To hear someone must preach. To preach someone must be sent. The final responsibility God puts on us to send. If the missionary is sent he can preach. If he preaches people will hear the Gospel. If they hear some will believe. Those who believe will call, and those who call will be saved. But where does it start? With sending.
I am a Southern Baptist. The statistics show that my denomination has been in decline for the last few years. I believe we have been in decline for longer. I believe we have been living off our reputation for the past twenty years!
The latest edition of On Mission Magazine prints some statistics that reveal the main culprit. In 1999 about one in five of our forty thousand SBC churches baptized no one. That’s zero baptisms for a year! In 2006 that was up to one in four churches that baptized no one! That same year half of our churches baptized no one—that is zero baptisms—between the ages of 12-17!
We need to send missionaries to our own churches!
I’ve heard the complaint so many times: “You win all these people to Christ but you don’t disciple them. If we did a better job of discipling the ones we have we’d see the number of conversions go up.” So we have tried to do a better job of discipleship, but what kind of disciples are we producing if we are seeing less people saved—especially teenagers?
We have more literature on how to reach the lost than we’ve ever had—but what good is it doing us?
We simply must do a better job of sending out missionaries. Ah, but, we must do a better of job of being missionaries! We need a renewed emphasis on evangelism and missions or we are going to see our churches whither up and blow away—and our country along with them.
I guess I don't understand the complaint quote too well...
ReplyDelete“You win all these people to Christ but you don’t disciple them. If we did a better job of discipling the ones we have we’d see the number of conversions go up.”
What does it mean to disciple the ones we have and then we would see the number of conversions go up?
How can you disciple a goat (non born-again)??
Don't we only disciple sheep (born-again believers)?
Why would goats listen to sheep herders? Are they not spiritually discerned? 1 Cor 2:14
I know I have said this before, but I believe the spiritual decline, whether in the SBC or anywhere in the country, is due to the watered down gospel that is being preached today that delivers a feel good Jesus and takes away the sreiousness of sin and its consequences.
Leonard Ravenhill once said, "“Many pastors criticize me for taking the Gospel so seriously. But do they really think that on Judgment Day, Christ will chastise me, saying, 'Leonard, you took Me too seriously?”
I praise God that you take Christ and Him seriously Brother George. I praise God that you have a heart for evangelism and taking that message of the Good News to Canton and beyond.
As long as we are faithful in preaching Christ and Him crucified, God will take care of the numbers.
Amen, Wayne!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I think the point of "discipling the ones we have" is that we help the new believers mature so that they'll become effective at winning people to Christ. I think there is validity in this, but not at the expense of evangelism. Jesus said to, "Go therefore and make disciples," which includes "baptizing them" (winning them to Christ) and "teaching them" (helping them mature in their faith.) We need to do both!
And, again, amen to what you said in the second part of your post!
Oh...I misunderstood the qoute to mean that we needed to do a better job at discipling non-christians so we would see the conversion numbers go up.
ReplyDeletelol.
Note to self: read slower.
Nevertheless, I never think twice about numbers. God is in control of that. As long as the gospel is faithfully preached, He will bring His into the fold in His timing.
Good posts Brother George & others.
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems we have is "We have more literature on how to reach the lost than we’ve ever had..." but less willingness to share. We spend a lot of our time reading 'literature' (in many cases 'literature' is read much more than the word of God) to build up ourselves but never share the message. The most common reason given is "I don't feel qualified or prepared to share yet".
We should practice our faith in the same or greater manner that we practice less eternally important things like our hobbies. Examples would be an amateur golfer will read about a better way to putt or drive and then go to the putting green or driving range to practice. A business leader will go to training on how to make the perfect presentation and then practice and role play with others to perfect their skills. What is lacking in many believers is the willingness to, in faith, practice what we've heard, read and proclaim to believe in. Again, the idea that "I will" when "I feel prepared" is often given as the reason for not witnessing .
I believe the believer has a responsibility to step out in faith to witness and this command should be given and instructed immediately after conversion.
I believe that the church and Sunday School is responsible to teach this principle through small groups and regular visitation programs (with teachers leading out) and not be shy about holding 'believers' accountable to following the Great Commission.
I believe Sunday School / Small Groups is key to strengthening the Church. Less focus on 'reading lessons', planning social activities, and general chit chat and more emphasis on instructing, coaching, encouraging and leading the class to live out their faith with accountability.
Watered down gospel is a great problem but, especially in the age of larger churches, great gospel preaching without great discipleship support is also a problem.
"I believe the believer has a responsibility to step out in faith to witness and this command should be given and instructed immediately after conversion."
ReplyDeleteAmen!!