WHOM AM I PERSUADING?

Galatians 1:10:  "For am I persuading people?  Or God?  Or am I seeking to please people?  If I were still pleasing people, I would not be Christ's bondslave!"

Paul asks 3 questions in Galatians 1:10 (at least as I have punctuated it).  The answer to the first is obviously yes, as we can see in his remarks to the Corinthians and the references in Acts.  Though he uses many other words (reason, dialogue, etc.), it seems clear that his goal was to persuade.

2 Corinthians 5:11:  "Since then we know the fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are open before God, and I hope also to be open in your consciences."

Acts 18:4:  "And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and he was persuading both Jews and Greeks."

Acts 19:8:  "And entering into the synagogue he was speaking boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God."

Acts 26:28:  ”And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a little bit you're persuading me to be a Christian.'"

Acts 28:23:  " ... he expounded to them, solemnly testifying to them the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from the Law of Moses and the prophets from morning until evening."

Of what was Paul trying to persuade people?  I believe Agrippa understood.  He was persuading them to become Christians, to become believers in and followers of Jesus Christ and citizens of the Kingdom of God.

His methods of persuasion may have differed, as we read in the Book of Acts and in his epistles.  When he dealt with Jews -- those who had the Bible -- he used the Bible to persuade; when he dealt with gentiles -- those who did not have the Bible -- he used whatever means and arguments were available, natural revelation, or even their own religious beliefs.  Though he denied  trying to "please men" he did all that he could to remove barriers.  He "became all things to all that he might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:21).

Shouldn't this be our goal?  Shouldn't we also, by our words and actions be doing all that we can to persuade people to come to Christ?  I pray that this may always be my goal in all conversation, even though it may not be verbal.  And in this blog I pray that though it may not always be the main goal of a particular post it may lie beneath the surface in all that I write.  And I especially pray that nothing I say would persuade others otherwise.  If so, I hope my readers will correct me.

I'm afraid and saddened however, that some Christians and many preachers do not have this as their goal, but see themselves less as trying to be like Paul and his great example Jesus and more as emulating the prophets of the Old Covenant, ranting against the sins of the world.

They forget (or never realized) that the prophets' burden was to bring God's Old Testament people in line, while the New Testament witness is to bring people to faith in Christ.

And I find myself being criticized for not being like them, for allegedly "calling evil good and vice versa."  I don't believe I have done any such thing.

While I hope that I won't hesitate to repent and apologize when I err (which I do frequently) and am corrected, I make no apologies for not conforming to others' criteria.  I pray that in my case the answer to Paul's second question will be no, and to the third will also be no.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, 21

Two Gates and Two Roads

Matthew 7:13, 14

“Enter in through the narrow gate, because wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many are those who are entering in through it.  And because narrow is the gate and restricted the road that leads to life and few are those who find it.”

Jesus is leading into the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount.  He lists for His hearers a series of pairs, and urges them to make appropriate choices.  The first four of these pairs are given in verses 13 and 14:

·        Two gates – the wide one or the narrow one.
·        Two roads – the broad one or the restricted one.
·        Two destinations – destruction or life.
·        Two kinds of people – the many or the few.

Jesus is not giving His hearers four individual choices, but only one.  He is, in a sense, summing up all of life in this one choice.  What is this choice that Jesus lays before His hearers?  Though what that choice is seems clear to many, there are those who try to work around it.

As He often does, Jesus with a few words paints a picture for His hearers, depicting that major choice.

I can visualize the scene – the two gates standing open – one wide, with vast numbers of people streaming through.  Looking beyond the gate, I can see the broad road, covered with these multitudes as they continue rushing along.  The other road is narrow with just a trickle passing through.  As I peer through this gate, I see a road that is restricted, perhaps with high walls on both sides keeping the travelers on the path.  I am at the parting of the way while the crowd is carrying me along by the force of their numbers.  I can allow them to carry me through the broad gate, or I can choose the narrow one.

Notice that the gate is the first thing we see.  The road is on the other side of the gate.  Jesus is not equating the gate and the road.  They are two different entities.  To enter the gate is an instantaneous action; to travel the road takes time.

I believe that entering the narrow gate is a metaphor for conversion.  It speaks of that moment – that instant – when a person places his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Savior – when His work is personally appropriated.  Jesus said, (using a different metaphor), “I am the Door.  If anyone enters in through me he will be saved … “ (John 10:9).  The words “enter in through” are the same words as in Matthew 7:13.

But once one enters through the narrow gate, according to the figure Jesus gives in the Sermon, he has not yet arrived.  There is a road to be travelled – a road that is described as “restricted.”  This is actually a participle form of the Greek verb Thlibo which has the idea of pressing together or squeezing.  Mark 3:9 speaks of the multitude (literally) “squeezing“ Him.  The noun form of this verb is Thlipsis, which is often translated “affliction” or even “tribulation.”  In Acts 14:22, Paul and Barnabas warn the new disciples that  “… through many afflictions we must enter the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus also said, “I am the Road …” in John 14:6, using the same word (hodos).  This road hat is entered through the gate is the road of discipleship with Jesus.  Though the gate entered and the road travelled are different entities, they are not separated.  Once a person comes to Christ by faith, that person enters the road of discipleship, whether or not that person desires to travel the road.

What I’m trying to say here is that our eternal destiny is determined by our faith in Christ.  He paid for our salvation.  Faith is our appropriation.  This is what the narrow gate represents.  The number who actually find life in Christ is small.

But the road that we travel between that choice of faith and our arrival at our eternal destiny, while it may be long or short, is a restricted road.  And everyone who enters through the narrow gate must travel this road.

This is not “lordship salvation,” nor is it "cheap grace.”  All who choose to enter experience free grace.  And all who enter embark on a difficult path.

The destination of the journey is “life.”  This is eternal life as contrasted with eternal destruction.  Jesus uses the expression “enter into life” as a synonym for “have eternal life” (19:16, 17) and as a contrast to eternal torment (18:8, 9).  The word translated “destruction” is apoleia and has the idea of eternal destruction.  It is related to the word apollumi which is translated “perish” (8:25) and often has the meaning of eternal damnation (John 3:16).

We have to be careful of carrying the metaphor too far.  The narrow gate is to be chosen.  People are “entering” both gates, but Jesus says that the narrow gate is to be “found.”  He does not say this of the wide gate.  The implication seems to be that it is not a matter of conscious choice.  The vast majority of humankind is headed through the wide gate and is headed for eternal destruction.

It has been claimed by some that the Sermon on the Mount is the gospel, while it has been complained by others that it does not even contain the gospel.  Certainly it does not contain a clear exposition of the work of Christ as Paul outlines in his writings, especially 1 Corinthians 15:1ff.  But then we must remember that this Sermon was preached before Jesus died for our sins.

But the Sermon does contain enough!  Certainly the requirements Jesus gives clearly show His hearers their need for grace, that they – we -- are sinners who cannot attain to God’s standards.

And here Jesus is clear that the way to find eternal life is a matter of conscious choice.  Though neither the words “believe” or “faith” are used here, it is clear that one must put his faith in Jesus as the only Way of salvation.

See:   THROWING OUT THE BABY.

            WHO CAN BE SAVED?

OUR PENTECOST

“And there were Jews dwelling in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappodocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs …” (Acts 2:5, 9-11a).

On the first Day of Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks) after Christ had risen and ascended, when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in Jerusalem, when the first “Christian” sermon was preached, the speakers had a huge audience, both Pilgrims and settlers from all over the Mediterranean and middle eastern world. Jesus had commanded these disciples to be His witnesses “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), but then had brought this audience to them. Luke tells us that “about three thousand souls” were converted on that day (Acts 1:41).

What happened to these people afterward? Undoubtedly many stayed in Jerusalem and added to the growth of the church there. But others must have returned to their home countries, carrying their newfound faith with them. When the first missionaries arrived in these regions years later, they would have found believers already there. Many of these regions are not mentioned any more in the rest of the New Testament, yet history tells us that Christianity had spread to these regions and beyond within a few centuries. The church truly became what Paul described, a church “in which there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11) -- a truly universal church that transcends boundaries, whether national or ethnic or linguistic.

But many of the churches I know and have attended haven’t reflected this truth too well. We tend to all look the same; in my case, white and middle class.

When I was young, the milkman delivered unhomogenized milk to our door in clear glass bottles. We could see that the milk had separated into cream and what could be called skim milk. So before we poured the milk, we had to shake it up to blend the parts.

It seems to me that God is “shaking up” the church in America these days. The huge number of immigrants and visitors from other nations is giving us a situation similar to that of the first Day of Pentecost. We have people arriving here from other nations, some to study, some to do business, some to work, some to settle down. They bring with them their (to us) exotic ways – strange names, strange accents, strange foods and strange religions. And they bring with them their need for Christ. What an opportunity!

Now I no longer have to sit in church only with people who look and sound like me. God has given me the privilege of meeting with and fellowshipping with and learning from and witnessing to people from “every tribe and tongue and nation.”

Uni and I and some other couples have had the privilege of working with a Sunday afternoon Bible class with college students from at least six different nations. What a privilege it has been to teach these young people and to know that not only are they receiving words of eternal life, but that they will be carrying these words back with them to their home nations, just like those early believers in the Book of Acts.

Bill Ball
3/2/2010