ISEMA Newsletters
No Excuse
by Larry Rosenbaum
In order for an unsaved person to come to Christ, he or she must be absolutely convinced that he is a lost sinner, and that there is no way he can save himself by his own works or by any other means. As long as he thinks he has found a loophole–that somehow God will accept him without the need for faith in Christ, he will invariably take advantage of that loophole. The unbeliever will comfort himself with the thought that most of the people he knows don’t believe in Christ and that all these people couldn’t be wrong. As we know, this is a dangerous deception.
In a similar manner, in order for a Christian to commit himself to evangelism, he or she must come to the realization that God has commanded him to do so. If he can convince himself that God has made an exception for him, that he is excused from obeying the Great Commission, he will invariably take advantage of this loophole. Unfortunately, the vast majority of evangelical Christianity has allowed itself to be deceived into thinking that a Christian who never witnesses for our Lord can be right with God. Such a Christian comforts himself with the thought that most other Christians don’t witness, so it must be OK.
Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). Before He ascended into heaven, He gave us the commandment to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The apostle Paul understood the necessity to preach the gospel. “When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me” (1 Corin. 9:16-17). He told the Ephesian elders, “I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26). In making this statement, he referred to God’s words to Ezekiel and considered them applicable to us in New Testament times: “When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself” (Ezekiel 3:18-19).
I’d encourage you to read the whole third chapter of Ezekiel. Some will argue that this passage only applied to Ezekiel, but Acts 20:26 is a clear reference to it, and shows that Paul thought the passage referred to him. The passage in 1 Corin. 9 confirms that Paul considered that some adverse consequence would fall on him if he refused to preach the gospel.
It may come as a shock to us that the great apostle Paul was motivated by the fear of having the blood of unsaved people on his hands in preaching the gospel. Surely he would have been motivated rather by his great love for God, by the great joy he had in his salvation that he couldn’t keep to himself, and by his love for the lost. I’m sure he was motivated by all these things, but sometimes he needed this extra motivation–Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel. Witnessing for Jesus isn’t always pleasant or convenient. Even Paul at times would have avoided witnessing if he thought he could have gotten away with it and still be right with God. After all, it wasn’t fun having people throw stones at you and being thrown into jail.
Again, some will argue that these scriptures only applied to the apostles or to those specifically called as evangelists or missionaries. Certainly there are different callings in people’s lives. But do you think that God has placed this great responsibility on Paul, where the blood of others would be on his hands if he disobeyed, yet He has given you no responsibility whatsoever to the lost?
Why do you think God did not take you to heaven as soon as you were saved? Why must we endure all those trials and tribulations? Yes, God is purifying us so we will be more like Jesus but His purpose in bringing about these changes is for us to become better witnesses for our Lord. When I am in heaven I will be totally like Jesus and will have perfect fellowship with Him, but it will be too late to help anyone else. Again Paul wrote, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Phil. 1:23). The only reason we stay on this earth is for the sake of others–to help other believers mature in Christ and bring salvation to the lost. If we are not doing these things, we are wasting our lives.
I realize that these are strong words. Some have probably stopped reading this newsletter and are angry at me. Some are still looking for loopholes. “My ministry is to the church, not to the lost.” No–God has called you to minister to both. “You’re trying to put me into legalistic bondage in which I’ll feel guilty whenever someone passes me by and I don’t witness to him.” Obviously, we can’t witness to every single person we come into contact with. But we sin both when we fail to witness to someone God tells us to talk to and when we fail to give evangelism the priority in our lives God wants it to have. When we confess our sins of omission in regard to evangelism, God will forgive us– but we need to change our ways. Thinking about the blood of others being on our hands may seem crude but Paul needed it to motivate him and we need it to motivate us as well.
Once we stop looking for loopholes and making excuses for our failure to witness, we will find a way to witness for Christ as a central part of our lives. If we need training, we will get it. If we are fearful, we will overcome the fear. If we are busy, we will find time to witness just like we find time to go to church, read our Bible, and pray. Getting past the excuses is the hard part; the rest is easy.
Book Review
My Friends are Dying
by Ray Comfort
The word “prolific” was made for Ray Comfort. Having written one book, I am amazed at the number of books he writes. He told me that he disciplines himself to get up early and write a few hours each day. My Friends are Dying is book 23. It is about his experiences witnessing in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. When he came to the U.S., God directed him to witness in this park, a hangout for thieves, drug addicts, drug dealers, murderers, and the homeless. He shares his experiences preaching, giving out food, treating people for medical conditions and trying to help people in horrible circumstances. Ray’s teaching on the use of the law in evangelism can be misused to justify preaching in a harsh, uncaring manner. However, Ray is a very compassionate person who shows great love for the people he is seeking to reach. Ray also has a great sense of humor, making this a very funny book. The book is written to be read by unbelievers as well as Christians, and has an extensive gospel presentation in it. I think Christians will find the book helpful in understanding the problems of the drug addict and homeless and how to reach them with the gospel.
Coming Events
Saturday April 28 San Francisco Worship Rally and Evangelism Outreach. Meet at 3 PM at Powell St. BART Station. Contact SOS Ministries, Box 27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (510) 531-5325.
April 2-4 Spiritual Impact/Evangelism Conference, Houston, TX. 7th year. Bob Phillips, Ray Comfort, Ken Henderson, others. Contact Turning Point Ministries, Box 925308, Houston, TX 77292, (713) 621-1498.
April 25 San Antonio, TX Riverwalk Outreach. Contact Rev. David O’Dell 3400 W. Park Blvd. #2117, Plano, TX 75075, (214) 519-0195.
May 1-2 Kentucky Derby Outreach, Louisville, KY. Contact No Greater Love Ministries, Box 263, DuQuoin, IL 62832, (618) 542-4503.
May 22-24 Indianapolis 500 Outreach. Contact Christ in Action, Box 100, Chatsworth, GA 30705, (404) 695-1868 or No Greater Love Ministries (address above).
June 2-16 England Outreach. $1370. Contact Forward Edge, 15121-A NE 72nd Ave., Vancouver, WA 98686, (206) 574-EDGE. (Also short-term outreaches throughout summer to East Germany, Romania, Spain [summer Olympics], China, Thailand, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Native American Indian tribes [$285].)
June 11-14 Tampa, FL Outreach. Contact Pat Schatzline (813) 683-5726.
June 22-27 Rescue Atlanta Outreach. Contact Rescue Atlanta (Mel Rolls, Director), Box 965039, Marietta, GA 30066, (404) 924-0201.
June 26-July 4 SOS-San Francisco. This outreach will be held in conjunction with the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International Convention. Contact SOS Ministries (address above).
It’s Time To Renew Your ISEMA Membership!
“Two are better than one… and a threefold cord is not easily broken.” We urge you to become a member of ISEMA if you have not already done so, linking up with other evangelism ministries and Christians who believe in the Great Commission. If you are already an ISEMA member, now is the time to renew your membership for 1992. As an association of street and evangelism ministries, ISEMA depends on your active involvement.
Once again I want to thank you for your prayers and financial support for ISEMA. Please continue to send us information about what is happening in your community, teachings on evangelism, information about upcoming outreaches, etc. so we can share these with our readers.
Also, if you are involved in an evangelism ministry or know of one or more ministries that should be included in our next Street and Evangelism Directory, please send us information so we can update our next Directory. Include the name, address, phone number, director’s name and brief (50 words or less) description of what the ministry does.
Our Tape of the Month is “How to Fly for Free” by Jeannie Griffin (TNT for Jesus, P O Box 447, Dryden, NY 13053, (607) 844-9892). No, it’s not about the rapture. Jeannie travels extensively doing outreaches and teaching evangelism. Many of these trips she has taken free with frequent flier miles obtained not only from air travel but from long distance calls and a variety of things including groceries charged to her credit card. In this tape she tells how to do this.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
