Category: Bible

Is the Christian life a happy life? Is it full of rest and peace?

You may have come away this past Sunday wondering if such is the case. In Sunday school, I spoke about the need to fight and discipline ourselves in the process of sanctification. Meanwhile, Pastor Babij began the book of Jude and introduced our need to contend like a boxer or soldier for the truth of the Christian faith. These are exhortations toward hard struggle, and someone might hear these and suppose the Christian life must be only a joyless and wearying war. However, while there is indeed a war aspect to the Christian walk, there is also, crucially, an aspect of peace.

Consider one of Jesus’ famous invitations to downcast sinners in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Jesus promises all those who come to him a life of deep soul-rest, even an “easy” yoke and a “light” burden. And note that this experience is linked to Jesus’ own person: he gives us both the “yoke” and the “rest” according to his own “gentle” and “humble” heart.

Or consider another famous passage: Psalm 23:1-6. In the Psalm, David says that the Lord, like a good and gentle shepherd, provides all David’s needs and leads David into places of peace and abundance. And David is not simply describing a life of pleasant circumstances, for David also notes how God leads David into the valley of deep darkness and into the presence of enemies (vv. 4-5). Yet David also finds comfort and refreshment in the midst of difficulty. Notice that this comfort comes again by personal connection to the Lord: “For you are with me,” “Your rod and your staff…comfort me,” and “You prepare a table before me.”

Truly, God himself—and not good circumstances—is the fountain of peace and joy for his people (cf. Phil 4:7). Simply knowing God (Jn 17:3; Phil 3:7-11); abiding in his love (Jn 15:9-10; 1 Jn 4:16); and believing in what he has done, is doing, and will do for his people (Eph 2:1-10; 1 Thess 5:23; Rev 21:1-8) imparts a profound lightness to life even amid trouble. Indeed, without the soul-settling peace of God, believers would not be able to persevere in the war of the Christian walk. Just like our Lord and like the many spiritual heroes of Hebrews 11 who came before us, it is by faith and the expectation of a greater and lasting reward with God that we overcome (Heb 12:1-3).

Thus, the Christian life exhibits a supernatural mystery, an apparent paradox. We in Christ are the ones simultaneously at war and at peace, or as Paul describes in 2 Cor 6:4-10:

In everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.

Questions to Consider:
1. Why is spiritual peace necessary to successfully fight the spiritual war?
2. Why won’t a Christian experience spiritual peace without engaging in spiritual war?
3. Are the aspects of war and peace both evident in your spiritual life? How can you grow in these aspects?

In preparation for this last week’s sermon on Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8, I came across a work by the nineteenth century English essayist, William Hazlitt. Hazlitt was not a Christian but a child of the Enlightenment and its belief in the power of human reason and progress. Nevertheless, Hazlitt’s essay, On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth, provides strong evidence for why the teaching of Ecclesiastes continues to be so important and relevant.

To help us think more about the truths we heard on Sunday, here is the first part of Hazlitt’s essay. You can find the rest at http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/Hazlitt/FeelingImmortality.htm.

No young man believes he shall ever die. It was a saying of my brother’s and a fine one. There is a feeling of Eternity in youth which makes us amends for everything. To be young is to be as one of the Immortals. One half of time indeed is spent — the other half remains in store for us with all its countless treasures, for there is no line drawn, and we see no limit to our hopes and wishes. We make the coming age our own — “The vast, the unbounded prospect lies before us.” Death, old age, are words without a meaning, a dream, a fiction, with which we have nothing to do. Others may have undergone, or may still undergo them — we “bear a charmed life,” which laughs to scorn all such idle fancies.

Till then, the example of others has no effect upon us. Casualties we avoid; the slow approaches of age we play at hide and seek with. Like the foolish fat scullion in Sterne, who hears that Master Bobby is dead, our only reflection is, “So am not I!” The idea of death, instead of staggering our confidence, only seems to strengthen and enhance our sense of the possession and enjoyment of life. Others may fall around us like leaves, or be mowed down by the scythe of Time like grass: these are but metaphors to the unreflecting, buoyant ears and overweening presumption of youth. It is not till we see the flowers of Love, Hope and Joy withering around us, that we give up the flattering delusions that before led us on, and that the emptiness and dreariness of the prospect before us reconciles us hypothetically to the silence of the grave.

Questions to Consider:
1. Hazlitt’s essay goes on to conclude that, once the illusions of youth are shattered, life becomes increasingly miserable (of course, Hazlitt also nowhere takes God into account). How does the teaching of Ecclesiastes concur or differ with Hazlitt’s conclusion?
2. Hazlitt suggests that the happy intoxications of youth make young people numb to the hard realities of life. Why should Christians believe that God’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes can still reach and transform the naïve young?
3. Which best describes your own view of life: blissful ignorance, disillusioned misery, or sober contentment?

You may have noticed that the last two Sunday messages have a lot to do with each other. In God’s providence, Pastor Babij preached from 1 Corinthians 12 about using spiritual gifts, and then I preached last week from Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 about taking wise but bold action while you still can. Truly, one of the important applications of Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 is actually to try using your spiritual gifts to build up Christ’s church.

One of the reasons why Christians don’t use their spiritual gifts is because Christians are not totally sure what their spiritual gifts are. Even when Christians have some ideas or desires regarding ministry, they often get caught up like the men Solomon describes in Ecclesiastes 11:4 do,

He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

We Christians can easily become stuck in the “paralysis of analysis” when it comes to serving. We look for the perfect place to serve or the perfect time to serve and either spend so much time gathering information or waiting for the right opportunity that we never actually serve. But like I said in the sermon: the one sure way to fail in Christian ministry is never to try! And you’ll be surprised at how often you will succeed if you simply work hard and try in wisdom. Furthermore, clarity regarding your gifts often comes in the serving as you and others can observe both the experience and the results.

Our brothers and sisters have spiritual needs, and the Lord has given us a serious commission to use our gifts (Eph 4:7-16). Therefore, we cannot afford just to wait around and do nothing. Life is a vapor; if we dawdle, we will squander all our God-given opportunities. So let’s resolve together to try using our gifts for the Lord’s sake now and then let the Lord direct us from there.

Questions to Consider:
1. Are you actively serving the Lord in building up your brethren right now? Why or why not?
2. Why is there no such thing as a perfect ministry or perfect time for ministry?
3. What needs and opportunities do your brethren have right now that you might be able to fulfill if you try?

Chick-fil-A is one of the most successful fast food franchises in America; one 2020 report noted that a Chick-fil-A restaurant is, on average, considerably more profitable than a KFC or even a McDonald’s. Though surely there are many reasons for Chick-fil-A’s success, customers often note the restaurant chain’s emphasis on service. Epitomizing Chick-fil-A’s approach, an employee’s characteristic response to a “thank you” at Chick-fil-A is, “My pleasure.” Chick-fil-A wants customers to see and believe that serving them well is a pleasure for the company’s workers and for the company as a whole. No doubt, Chick-fil-A’s resulting financial success is a pleasure, too.

I have been thinking about the above in connection with Pastor Babij’s Sunday sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Service by every church member is God’s design and necessary for the church’s overall health as well as the health of the individual members. But ministry never ought to be mere duty; it should be our pleasure as Christians to give to and to serve one another.

Consider a profound set of verses about Gentile Christians eager to serve their Judean brethren in a time of need:

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NASB95), Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

Notice how Paul highlights in this report the joy the Macedonian Christians felt in being able to serve their distant brethren with a financial gift—even while the Macedonians themselves experienced great affliction and poverty. Amazingly, Paul says that the Macedonians not only gave beyond their ability but were begging Paul over and over again for the “favor of participation in the support of the saints.” The Macedonians saw service as a joyful privilege not to be passed up but instead begged for; indeed, they were willing to afflict themselves so that they did not miss the opportunity of blessing others in Christ. Paul reports all this to the Corinthians to encourage the Corinthians’ own happy part in taking care of the needs of the saints, as Paul makes clear in the rest of the chapter.

So, how about us? Can we, like Chick-fil-A employees, say, “My pleasure,” to our calling to serve each other in the church, even when others do not see our service or recognize it? And, more importantly, can “my pleasure” be the true testimony of our hearts in Christ?

Questions to Consider:
1. Why should Christians take joy in service?
2. Some people stop serving when undergoing a trial or when service becomes inconvenient. How does such contrast with the Macedonian attitude of 2 Corinthians 8:1-5?
3. How can you serve your family, church, and neighbors with joy right now?

In my last two years of public high school, I was a zealous witness of Jesus Christ. I was always looking to give and stand up for the gospel, whether it was in class when the teacher spoke about evolution, at lunch when talking with friends, or at the cast party when I finished performing in my school’s musical. I was so thrilled to talk about Jesus and the Bible, and many people appeared receptive to what I had to say. Sure, there were a few who accused me of being “holier than thou,” but I suffered little persecution for my words.

I continued my lifestyle of enthusiastic witness in college; I attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick and lived on campus. I met only one other professing Christian in my dormitory, so I was excited to bring the good news of faith and repentance in Jesus Christ to my other dormmates. But then, one day, I had a startling experience. I was in the cafeteria having lunch with some dorm friends when one of them swore using God’s name. I told him. “Oh, you don’t need to say that,” thinking that this was a pretty polite way to express that I valued the name of my God.

But immediately after I said the sentence, I was attacked—not by the person I had just corrected nor by my other unbelieving dorm friends—but by the one other professing Christian from my dorm! She spat angry words of condemnation at me for about ten minutes, telling me (ironically) how judgmental I was and how disgustingly I was misrepresenting the love of Jesus. I could barely defend myself due to shock; the rest of my dorm friends silently watched or soon found another place to eat. I don’t remember how the conversation ended, but I remember what I did afterwards: I went back to my dorm room and fell asleep. I felt traumatized and exhausted, and I certainly did not have the same level of evangelistic enthusiasm for some time afterwards.

Has a bad ministry experience ever left you less motivated or even totally unmotivated to continue? Maybe you went to a church for years before learning that it was a cult; maybe a trusted ministry partner abandoned you or turned on you in a critical time; or maybe you poured yourself out trying to help a certain person, couple, or ministry but never saw any fruit. These ministry reversals can be so destabilizing because we feel like God’s people—and even God himself—have really let us down. We then feel inclined to withdraw: from church, from ministry, from people. We say: “I just can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to get hurt again. People will just have to get on without me.”

I think part of the reason these bad experiences pierce us so deeply is because we do not expect them, even though the Bible tells us that we should (1 Pt 4:12; 1 Jn 3:13). God does not hide the hard realities of life or of being a Christian; he tells us plainly that we should expect hard work (Gen 3:19; 2 Tim 4:5), frustration (Gen 3:18; Eccl 8:14), suffering (Jn 16:33), persecution (Mt 5:10-12; 2 Tim 3:12), false brethren (Mk 4:13-20; Acts 20:29-30), failing brethren (Acts 13:13, 15:38; 2 Tim 4:11; Lk 17:3-4), and ministry without immediately visible results or reward (Isa 6:8-10; Jer 7:27-28; Gal 4:11). Perhaps the strongest evidence of this is the life of our Savior: he dealt with each of these, especially during the passion week! Moreover, he told us that to be his disciple means to walk in his same footsteps (Jn 15:18-21; 1 Jn 2:6).

If all these are actually normal for Christian ministry, then how do we keep going? By taking hold of the truth by faith that Christ is worthy and that he will enable us to labor and endure (Rev 4:11; 5:9; 1 Cor 10:13). He will still show us good in our lives and in our ministries (Ps 4:6; 2 Cor 7:6-7). But whatever temporal good we do or do not experience, we know that we have Christ and cannot lose him (Phil 3:8; 2 Thess 2:14), that he is pleased with our faithfulness no matter the earthly result (Col 1:10; Heb 13:15-16), and that he will reward us at the end of our ministry race (Mt 6:19-21; 2 Tim 4:7-8).

Really, every ministry setback is a chance for us to ask, “For whom am I doing all this?” If ministry is motivated ultimately by self or others, we eventually will quit, and God is kind to show us when these have wrongly become our chief motivations. But if ministry is motivated by God and his everlasting reward, then not only can we do it, but we can do it with joy—even amid the pain.

2 Timothy 2:1-3, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Questions to Consider:
1. Has a past experience left you bitter against God and others or hesitant to return to Christian ministry?
2. What expectations did you have about ministry in the past that were actually naïve or unbiblical?
3. Is your ultimate motivation in life Christ and his glory? How does this manifest in your ministry right now?

Looking back over Ecclesiastes 10:1-20, the passage of the Sunday sermon, you may notice that there is a common theme in all the self-destructive characteristics of foolishness. What do promoting the unqualified, failing to prepare, being full of useless words, and going after pleasure all have in common? A fundamental contempt for and avoidance of hard work. Fools don’t want to spend the time and effort necessary to make sure that only qualified persons receive important positions, that tasks receive proper preparation, that mere talk does not dominate, and that pleasures are enjoyed at the proper time. Instead, because of their exalted view of themselves, fools expect that they should receive everything they want without pain or labor. When this inevitably does not happen, the proud fool does not consider his ways and change but instead blames others and God (Prov 19:3).

Really, a fool’s hatred of work is not just rebellion against the reality of our broken world but also against God’s good design from the beginning. Poignantly, God commissioned man to work before the fall and even designed that the fruit of good labor would not come immediately but only after time and effort. Admittedly, we do not have many details about the pre-fall world, but man’s commissions to “fill the earth, subdue it, and rule” and even to “cultivate” and “keep” the garden of Eden do not appear to be one-and-done tasks (Gen 1:28; 2:15). As any gardener knows, even without weeds and pests getting in the way, the growing of plants takes ongoing, faithful work in order to see a good result. God always designed mankind to enjoy good both in the process of work and in the patiently obtained result of work. Even though the fall brought pain and futility into work, the basic good principles underlying work still remain true for our world (Eccl 5:18-20).

Therefore, we should not be surprised that the Bible, and especially Proverbs, so insistently teaches us about the wisdom of hard work and the folly of laziness (e.g. Prov 10:4; 12:24, 27; 13:4; 21:5; 2 Thess 3:6-13). By resisting both reality and God’s design, a lazy fool only afflicts himself and others, while the wise and diligent one, who recognizes reality and embraces God’s design, blesses himself and others. If you’re looking for a fundamentally wise person, maybe as a companion, ministry partner, or business leader, look for someone who works hard, for that person is more likely to have many other sectors of his life in order. I have always found it profound that, of the many commending descriptions of the Proverbs 31 wife—she who appears almost as Lady Wisdom incarnate—the most repeated is that she is a hard worker. By contrast…

Ecclesiastes 10:15 (NASB95), The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.

Questions to Consider:
1. Consider the popular cultural and political movements of our day: do these encourage or discourage hard work?
2. How is procrastination a form of self-destructive foolishness? What is the biblical solution to procrastination?
3. Where in your life do you avoid hard work and difficulty? How does your thinking need to change?

Earlier this week, I put together a new piece of Ikea furniture, a shoe dresser. I started by unpacking all the different pieces and opening the assembly instruction booklet to step one. I then proceeded to put the pieces together, constantly consulting the booklet for what I was supposed to do next. Even with the instructions, putting together the dresser wasn’t as quick and easy as I expected. Some of the steps didn’t make sense to me at first, and I had to look ahead to better understand exactly what pieces I was supposed to use and how. I also had to redo a few steps after I realized I had not followed the instructions correctly. However, after about three hours, the dresser was complete and successfully installed in our apartment. I felt satisfied with the result, though I did wonder why I had a wooden dowel left over at the end.

As I worked on the dresser, I found myself thinking about the Sunday sermon and especially Ecclesiastes 10:8-11; folly fails to prepare and often only looks for help after great damage has been done. What would assembling the dresser have been like if I had had no instructions, or had them but ignored them, or consulted them but rejected their direction? No doubt, I could have made some progress and maybe even have completed the dresser on my own, but only after much trial and error. The task would have taken much longer, I probably would have gotten repeatedly frustrated in the process, and the end result—if I ever got there—likely would have been less beautiful and less secure than if I had followed the instructions. Of course, Ikea furniture is relatively simple to put together, and the stakes are not exactly high, but what about putting together one’s life?

As Solomon has reminded us throughout Ecclesiastes, we only get one shot at life (Eccl 9:4-10). Because life is so mysterious (Eccl 8:16-17), and because the stakes of miscarrying our lives are so high (Eccl 6:3-6), we dare not proceed in life without the wisdom of God’s gracious instruction booklet: the Bible. We not only need his wisdom at the beginning of our way (Eccl 12:1), but also we need to regularly consult it throughout our way (Eccl 9:16-18; Prov 2:1-5). But do we do this? We shouldn’t be surprised that the world remains largely unconcerned about God’s instructions, but what about Christians? Are you yourself carefully building your life, the life of your family, and the life of your church with God’s instructions? Are you devoted to God’s wisdom of the Bible, meditating on it day and night (Psa 1:1-3)? Or do you find that you never get around to it? Do you leave unopened the gift of God’s wisdom?

In the Bible, two realities are called “the beginning of wisdom:” “the fear of Yahweh” (Prov 1:7; 9:10; Ps 111:10) and “acquire wisdom!” (Prov 4:7) Indeed, recognizing our great and continual need for God’s wisdom is a fundamental step in building our lives well. Therefore, let’s make sure we take the time to read God’s instructions.

Ecclesiastes 10:10-11 (NASB95), If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

Questions to Consider:
1. Why do people choose not to read instructions? How is this true with the Bible as well?
2. Practically speaking, how can you arrange your personal devotions and church involvement to grow in God’s wisdom?
3. Practically speaking, how can help the next generation at home and in the church also to grow in God’s wisdom?

It was very exciting to hear our kingdom workers this past Sunday talk about how the Lord is at work in their country to save souls. Our kingdom workers also repeatedly challenged us regarding our own mission field, “God is already at work. The question is: will we join him?” As Pastor Babij has been explaining from 2 Corinthians 5:1-21, we are all called to be faithful ambassadors of Christ and ministers of his glorious reconciliation. Yet many believers feel like they still don’t know where to begin. Sure, we all know that we need to understand the gospel and be able to communicate it clearly to others, but what is the right way to evangelize?

There are many ways Christians have sought throughout history to bring the gospel to unbelievers: Christians have preached to passing crowds on streets and in marketplaces, have gone door-to-door with the message in various neighborhoods, have invited unbelievers to evangelistic church services/revival meetings/crusades, have shared meals with unbelievers in a home, have struck up conversations with strangers in public places, have published evangelistic tracts and books, have broadcast over radio/television/the internet, have hosted English/sports/Bible camps for children, have offered education and other practical help to the needy, have begun Bible studies at workplaces and schools, have used self-owned businesses as evangelism sites, have spoken with friends/family members/coworkers amid some joint activity, and much more. Some of these ways of evangelism are better than others, and one way might be more effective in a certain time and place than at another. But before we argue over which way is best, a certain reminder is worth hearing. The following is a quotation attributed to the nineteenth century evangelist, D.L. Moody, after a Christian woman criticized him about his evangelism:

“It is clear you don’t like my way of doing evangelism. You raise some good points. Frankly, I sometimes do not like my way of doing evangelism. But I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”

There are certain non-negotiables when it comes to Christian evangelism. We cannot alter the message (the true gospel, Rom 1:16; Gal 1:6-9), nor can we alter the basic method (spoken/written declaration, Rom 10:17; 1 Cor 1:21), nor can we ignore the necessary character of the messenger (holiness and love, 1 Thes 2:3-12; 1 Cor 13:1-3). But there is at least one other non-negotiable in Christian evangelism: you must actually do it. You must actually go and speak to unbelievers. Unless you do that, unbelievers will not get saved, no matter how extensive your Bible knowledge or how holy your life. After all, Romans 10:14-15 say, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’”

We don’t all need to evangelize the same way, but we all need to evangelize. And we all need to be purposeful about evangelism. It is good for us to pray for gospel opportunities, but how sincere is such prayer if we do not also work to promote and make ourselves available for those opportunities? Let’s take time, therefore, to think about our evangelism and how we can go about it more faithfully and more strategically.

When it comes to the right way to evangelize, I have always found instructive the words of a certain missionary. When asked how he intended to reach his country with the gospel and establish a church, the missionary revealed his plan in just a few short words:

“Pray. Meet people. Tell them about Jesus.”

Questions to Consider:
1. Do you know any unbelievers? How often do you talk with them? How much time do you spend with them?
2. How can you use your everyday obligations and interests to meet unbelievers and talk about the gospel?
3. Which ways of evangelism do you most prefer? How can you practice them more faithfully and strategically?

I remember once hearing a pastor say, “There are two sermon topics that are almost sure to make Christians feel guilty: prayer and evangelism.” This past Sunday, Pastor Babij finished preaching on the very evangelism-centered passage of 2 Corinthians 5:1-21. While a wonderful explanation of the glorious gospel ministry we have received from God himself, 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 may leave us feeling a little guilty about not speaking God’s gospel to others as ambassadors of Christ. A feeling of guilt (i.e. conviction of sin) born from recognizing how we have truly fallen short of God’s scriptural standard is good in motivating us to repent and change. But guilt is a terrible long-term motivator for the Christian life, especially in evangelism. Guilt-born evangelism tends to be superficial, ungracious, and thoroughly unenjoyable—more about fulfilling checkboxes and getting God off your back than gladly seeing souls reconciled to God. Just as God’s law is the tutor that should lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24), so guilt should lead us to embrace a better motivation for evangelism, a motivation which, really, must be the ultimate motivation for everything we do as Christians: the glory of God.

God is not bashful in the Scriptures with the fact that everything he does and everything that happens in the world, including the salvation of sinners, is for his glory—that is, for the sake of enjoying and displaying his own wonderful self (e.g. Isa 42:8; 48:9-11; Jn 12:28; Rom 9:17; Eph 1:6, 12, 14). And this is not sinfully selfish of God because, unlike any created being, God is consummately worthy of glory (e.g. Ex 34:6-8; Isa 44:6-8; Rev 4:11; 5:9). Moreover, as many theologians have said, God’s glory is our greatest good; just as God finds infinite satisfaction in enjoying his own infinite perfections, so his creation—humans included—find their highest happiness only in beholding and enjoying God in his glorious character. The Scriptures testify repeatedly that there is no treasure greater than knowing God (Ex 33:13, 18-19; Ps 27:4; Jer 9:23-24; Jn 17:3; Phil 3:7-11; Rev 22:3-5). Thus, for God to be committed to anything else more than his own glory would be to bring about the greatest loss to all creation. Contrarily, if God is wholly committed to his own glory, then we should be wholly committed to his glory as well, especially in evangelism.

You see, evangelism represents for us Christians something more than a mere duty; evangelism is an opportunity for worship, a unique avenue to enjoy, announce, and display the glory of God. Consider some of the ways we get to glorify God in faithful evangelism: when we obey God’s call to evangelize, we show God worthy to be pleased and obeyed (John 14:15; Eph 4:1; Col 1:10); when we go out as weak messengers, we get to show forth God’s powerful message and Spirit (1 Cor 1:18-25, 26-29; 2 Cor 3:4-6; 4:7); when we speak God’s gospel, we get to tell others about Christ’s amazing character and his work on behalf of sinners (Ps 145:1-7; Luke 8:39; 2 Cor 5:18-21); when we encounter lost and rebellious souls, we get to enjoy the prospect of seeing those persons transformed to know and love the same God that we do (John 4:23; Luke 16:9; 2 Cor 4:13-15); and when we face the possibilities of indifference, rejection, and persecution in response to God’s message, we get to show that our great God is worthy of endured suffering (Ps 44:22; Heb 11:24-26, 35-40; Rev 12:10-11). In short, evangelism is an opportunity for us to show our love for God, declare his loveliness to others, and see others come to love God, too.

Truly, without a soul-dominating love for God and his glory, our evangelism will always suffer and probably will not last. The late British pastor John Cheeseman writes in his book, The Grace of God in the Gospel:

Love for God is the only sufficient motive for evangelism. Self-love will give way to self-centeredness; love for the lost will fail with those whom we cannot love, and when difficulties seem [i]nsurmountable, only a deep love for God will keep us following his way, declaring his gospel, when human resources fail.

John Piper echoes this thought in his book on missions, Let the Nations Be Glad:

No one will be able to rise to the magnificence of the [evangelistic] cause who does not feel the magnificence of Christ.

Questions to Consider:
1. What is your greatest joy in life? Is it knowing God in Christ, or is it something else?
2. Sometimes people say that love for the lost ought to motivate our evangelism. While certainly an important secondary motivation, why should love for others not be our ultimate motivation?
3. What practical steps can you take to be a more faithful ambassador of Christ to others?

Thinking more about Pastor Babij’s sermon on Sunday, I am struck by the connection between 2 Corinthians 5:1-20 and Ecclesiastes 9:10. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon exhorts those who fear God to make the most of their lives while they can, including by working hard. Though Solomon’s admonition applies to all kinds of labor, the NT clarifies that the work with which Christians should be chiefly concerned is the work of making disciples, i.e. being a faithful ambassador of Jesus Christ (Mt 28:18-20). Indeed, because life is uncertain yet death is certain, we should stop waiting around when it comes to proclaiming the gospel and building up Christ’s church.

The Bible is clear that salvation is wholly of God (e.g. Jonah 2:9; Eph 2:8-10; John 6:37; Rom 9:14-18); Christians should not be unduly anxious about gospel ministry but rest in God’s sovereignty (Ps 127:1-2; Mk 4:26-28; Phil 4:4-7). Nevertheless, there is a clear sense of urgent responsibility in the NT when it comes to proclaiming the gospel and building up new believers. Jesus modelled this kind of faith-filled urgency himself (John 9:4-5; Luke 9:51), as did Paul and the other apostles (Rom 15:22-25; 1 Cor 9:16; 2 Cor 5:9; 2 Pet 1:12-15). Believers, too, are directly exhorted to use their limited days and wealth wisely for the sake of the gospel (Lk 12:33-34; 16:9; Gal 6:10; Eph 5:15-17; Col 4:5-6). Furthermore, Christians are warned against unnecessary and soul-destroying distractions (Mt 18:8-9; Lk 8:14; 2 Tim 2:4; Heb 12:1), admonished to be found faithful amid the prospect of Christ’s sudden return (Mt 24:42-51; 25:1-30; Lk 12:35-40), and promised eternal reward for all faithful labor (Mt 6:19-21; 1 Cor 3:5-14; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 22:12).

As with much other good God has provided for us in this life, it is easy for us to tell ourselves that we’ll get to God’s good “ministry of reconciliation” later (2 Cor 5:18), but the truth is we do not know how much “later” we have or that others have (Eccl 8:7; Lk 12:13-20; James 4:13-17). God’s salvation plan will not be thwarted in the slightest by our negligence, but we will miss out on the joy of pleasing our master, seeing others saved and built up, and using our lives well for Christ’s sake if we do not get to work (cf. Est 4:14). By his word, church, and Spirit, God has equipped us for the work (Eph 4:11-13; Col 2:10; 2 Tim 3:16-17), and God has gifted all his people with unique and important roles to play in the work (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 3:5-9; Eph 4:7, 16). Since God’s provision is so great and the time is so short, let us work well for the Lord together while we can.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NASB95), For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

Questions to Consider:
1. Would you say that you are gladly and faithfully making the most of your days for Christ? If not, why not?
2. What sinful or unhelpful distractions do you need to remove so that you can wholly participate in Christ’s work?
3. Specifically, how can you reach out to others with the gospel or serve in your local church right now?