Their hearts bear witness…

I was listening to way of the master last week and was very taken by a section sent in by a listener to WOTMR, sent in this quote from “Hope Lutheran church – C F W Walter”

“There is a difference between the Law and the Gospel. All religions contain PART of the Law. Some of the heathen have advanced so far that they have even perceived the necessity to have a inner cleansing of the sole. Purification of thoughts and desires, but of the Gospel not a particle is found except in the Christian religion.

The Law is written in their hearts, Their consciences bearing witness to them, but not the Gospel, this is why we need to go to the ends of the world. Had the Law not been written in men’s hearts, no one would listen to the preaching of the law. Everyone would turn away and say “That is too cruel, no body can keep the commandments, such as these!”

But my friends do not hesitate to preach the Law, people may revile it but they only do so with there mouths, but what you say to them is the things that there conscience is preaching to them everyday! [Unless God has let them go, and that is a terrifying thought…] Nor could we convert any person by preaching to him unless we preach the law to him first. It would be imposable to convert any one if the Law had not been written in men’s hearts.”

Big Picture Evangelism

I think it is safe to say that the ministry of WOTM TV/Radio has sparked new action in personal evangelism and street evangelism in many places in the world. Reproducing what you see and learn on the TV series is a great way to start out in evangelism. I still use the ‘good test’ and many principles of evangelism I have learnt from Ray and Kirk. As I have continued to practise personal evangelism I have discovered that there is definitely a need for God’s gifting and wisdom. Everyone has a different set of understandings, circumstances and concepts and there is much good that can be done for the lost by discovering where they are coming from. Here is an extract from an article from The Third Millennium:

When it comes to specific gospel methods, Reformed theologians affirm many different approaches. Basically, any method that tells the truth about Jesus and man’s plight, and that freely offers the gospel to all who repent, is a biblical method, and may be used. In fact, many times we have to invent new methods to reach new kinds of people.

Bold is good, accurate is better

Act 18:26 He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

In the previous verse we see that Apollos was speaking accurately about what he knew of Jesus, but he only knew the baptism of John.

More carefully …More accurately than he already knew. Instead of abusing the young and brilliant preacher for his ignorance they (particularly Priscilla) gave him the fuller story of the life and work of Jesus and of the apostolic period to fill up the gaps in his knowledge. It is a needed and delicate task, this thing of teaching gifted young ministers. They do not learn it all in schools. More of it comes from contact with men and women rich in grace and in the knowledge of God’s ways. He was not rebaptized, but only received fuller information. RWP

It was great that Apollos went out there speaking faithfully what he had previously learned. In my own (very limited) understanding of the ‘Baptism of John’ is that it was a baptism of repentance and was intended to prepare the way of the Lord and Apollos had knowledge of some of Christ’s teachings. Repentance is an essential response of those coming to Christ. Perhaps what was missing was information on Christ crucified for sinners and the call of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.