Global Evangelism Ministries is excited to announce a new forum we have through our web ministry! Throughout the years, we have been asked many valid questions and have always tried to answer them honestly. A dear friend suggested that we begin to answer some of the questions for our friends on the web and after prayer and discussion with some of our trusted colleagues, we have decided to provide this ministry.
The format for this column will be simple. we will attempt to give a succinct answer in the opening paragraph (for those who really don't take time to read long emails) and then a more detailed answer in the "more on the matter" section of each email.
Question: If Jesus is the only way for salvation, what happens to the Indian Tribe who never gets to hear about Jesus... What happens to the Middle eastern person who has their own religion and never hears about Jesus?"
Answer: All of us have at times struggled with questions like this one. Religion and tradition does not bring salvation to the heart and life of any person. People who die without Christ are without hope. The Bible clearly states, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."Acts 4:12 NASB
Scripture teaches us the absolute truth of the gospel, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”Rom 10:9-10 NASB
This is why we must follow the command of Jesus to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel!" (Mark 16:15)
More on the matter:
I suspect that the genuine impetus of this question is really one of fairness. What really spurs this question is the idea that it seems unfair for a loving God to condemn anyone to eternal damnation and separation.
The problem with this line of thinking is based in our human condition. The bible teaches us that we, as the human race, are sinful, fallen, and unrighteous. Remember the bible proclaims, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;” Jer. 17:9 NKJV
The heart of man does not operate in tandem with the heart of God. We do not process TRUTH as does God. The mind of man is flawed; the mind of God is perfect. The mind of man is limited; the mind of God is eternal. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.Isa 55:8-9 NASB
Any discussion of “fairness” presupposed that we know what is best. Often we speak of fairness when it works to our benefit, but ignore it when is works to our disadvantage. It must be realized that God’s nature is Holy and Just – in other words, what God states and does is founded in His own holiness. When this is understood, do we really possess the right or knowledge to question His character? God has, in His own wisdom demonstrated His love for us in the person of Jesus Christ. God has made a way for all to come into a faith relationship with Him. His love for us is perfectly presented in the life, death, resurrection, and promise of Jesus Christ. Who are we to argue or disagree with His perfect plan? A careful reading of Romans 9 will help us with this struggle. “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?”Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? “--Rom 9:20-21 NIV
God’s way to eternal life and relationship with Him is through Jesus Christ alone. Jesus proclaimed, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father, but through me.” (John 14:6)
The bible makes a clear proclamation that people are “without excuse” in their knowledge of God. Romans, chapter 1 says that God has revealed Himself through creation to all humanity. Verse 20 says “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
It is my firm conviction that people of every walk of life have the truth of God’s love, power, and nature. The question then becomes, “Do they acknowledge and recognize God?” Romans 1: 21 says that, as a whole, they do not. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. “
It must be remembered that God has given Light to shine in the darkness. According to John 1:9 Jesus is the Light. “There was one true Light, which coming into the world enlightens every man.” So, the real question should be, “Have the people [to whom you refer in the stated question above] acknowledged the light that has been given to all men?”
I fully believe that God gives us more and more light as we walk in the Light that He has given us, but remember what the bulk of humanity has done with the revelation of God:
"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen." Rom 1:22-25 NIV
This willful rejection and denunciation of God has a certain result:
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”Rom 1:26-32 NIV
It is important to remember that God’s heart is for humanity to accept His love and receive His grace. God does not wish for any to reject His gift of salvation.
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 NASB
“God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim 2:3-4 NIV
The Word of God makes it clear that God has given all humanity enough of His grace to realize the need for salvation. As we walk in the light of God, this light will increase and draw us into truth. By God’s grace He has made available to everyone who believes all that is necessary for salvation, therefore, the entire world is without excuse.
Posted September 4, 2008
Question: Why is it that Baptists do not recognize and promote sacraments?
Answer: The most succinct answer to the question is this: True, Bible believing Christians do not hold to the sacramental system, because sacraments have absolutely NO SAVING POWER and the concept is in complete contradiction to the New Testament.
In other words, there is no such notion in the whole of New Testament instruction to the Church of Jesus Christ.
With respect specifically to Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper and baptism, the fundamental issue in this question is the meaning and use of the term "sacrament" versus "ordinance."
Catholic and other liturgical churches use the term sacrament to describe these two institutions, but the distinction should be in what is actually meant by these practices.
Baptists recognize, promote, and practice both the Lord's Supper and baptism in obedience to Christ's command, however they do not use the word "sacrament" because this is a non-biblical concept.
The term ordinance is typically used in Baptist churches for these celebrations but it is the meaning of these acts that remains biblically true. Jesus said, when referring to the Lord's Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me."Luke 22:19
More on the matter:
For most casual attendees of church the use of these terms [sacrament and ordinance] are nearly interchangeable, but there is a reason baptists and other evangelicals do not refer to these institutions as "sacraments."
At the outset let me clearly state that I do not speak for "Baptists." The hallmark of the Baptist belief system is that of the "autonomy of the local church" which simply stated means that each baptist church is free to both establish and govern themselves, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
There is a need to understand the meaning of the word sacrament.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary reads; "Sacrament - a Christian rite (as baptism or the Eucharist) that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality."
The Catholic Encyclopedia reads, "Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification."
With both of these definitions, the Christian should be careful in the interchanging of the words "sacrament and ordinance."
The impetus of the word "sacrament" [in both above definitions] indicates that the rite or act is a "means of grace and sanctification." Both these statements are in opposition to the teaching of the Word of God.
The bible clearly and unmistakably claims that we are saved by "grace, through faith."Ephesians 2:8 This simply means that our salvation is complete in Christ's finished work on the cross. We are sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. To sanctify means commonly "to make holy, that is, to separate from the world and consecrate to God."*
This [sanctification] is realized through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, accepted by faith, in the life of the true believer in Jesus Christ.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," -- 1 Peter 1:3 NASB
The sacramental system carries with it the notion that the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is incomplete and inefficient. It implies that there is a regular need for Jesus to "die and resurrect" over and over again because of the ongoing sinfulness of humanity.
Specifically the Catholic church believes that the sacraments bestow "saving grace" upon the followers of Christ. The flawed pseudo-theological position of transubstantiation is in direct conflict with the teaching of Christ's instruction of "do this in remembrance of me."Luke 22:19
The doctrine of transubstantiation is the dogma that in the Eucharist the bread and wine to be administered become, upon consecration, the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ, even though the external manifestations of the bread and wine-shape, color, flavor, and odor-remain. It is interesting to note that this concept was and phraseology did not make its way into the church until 1215.
Here's what I mean. If the body and blood of Jesus magically appear in the otherwise plain elements of the wine and the bread, then what was Jesus saying when he instructed his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me."? When Jesus stood there and said, "This is my body" and "This is my blood." Matt. 26:26-28 what was he talking about? Certainly it was not talking about His actual body and blood, for he was standing right there in front of them!
In the simplest form of the discussion, the sacramental system teaches that we must have a renewed sacrifice of Christ (Mass) because of the sinfulness of mankind. Scripture flatly rebukes this concept:
For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. --Heb 9:24-28 NASB
While it may be understood by many who participate in the sacramental system that there is a need for a continuing sacrifice for our continuing sins, this understanding is wrong. It is direct contradiction to the living Word of God. Read what Paul said to the Church at Rome (the claimed Birthplace of Roman Catholic Church):
For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. -- Rom 6:10b-11 NASB
It is also important to realize that this truth is consistent with the entirety of the New Testament.
So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, --Heb 9:28 NASB For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; -- 1 Peter 3:18 NASB And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. --1 John 3:6 NASB
With all of this said, the most succinct answer to the dilemma is this: True, Bible believing Christians do not hold to the sacramental system, because sacraments have absolutely NO SAVING POWER and the concept is in complete contradiction to the New Testament. In other words, there is no such notion in the whole of New Testament instruction to the Church of Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus can save! It was his single act of obedience to the Father; His virgin birth, his vicarious death, his victorious resurrection, and his promised visible return that made salvation possible for all who place their faith in His act of grace toward them. This grace is not received via some magical, secret, or mysterious channels of grace for those who participate in the act of worship.
In his book, "Criswell's Guidebook for Pastors" Dr. Criswell writes, "The ordinances are not sacraments; they are not the means and the channels of saving grace. [They] are symbols and visible representatives of the vital, central truth of the gospel. There is no sacramental efficacy in the rite at all." **
The ordinances of both Baptism and Communion are vivid reminders and representations of the dynamic, essential facts and truths of Christianity. As Criswell says, "They are outward symbols of tremendously meaningful, spiritual, inward experiences with Christ our Savior." ***
Answer: Over the years this question has been asked to me on numerous occasions. My answer, while not always appreciated or accepted, has remained the same. The Bible, God's inerrant, infallible Word bears clear and undeniable testimony to the fact that Jesus alone provides the way for sinful man to enter into an eternal relationship with God, The Father. Jesus' testimony clearly proclaims, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." --John 14:6 NIV
With this divine affirmation in place, there is no doubt that it is only through a personal relationship with Jesus that eternal life in heaven will be realized.
The most important part of this question is never really asked and that is this: "Who deserves to go to heaven?" Once again, it is imperative that we look to the scripture for the answer to this, and all, questions.
The idea of deserving something is always based on a certain performance. The bible makes it clear that NO ONE can earn a place in heaven for heaven is a free gift. Scripture teaches "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." --Rom 6:23 NASU Maybe the idea of a free gift causes you to stumble because you think that certainly there must be a way to work for or work toward the prize we desire. The prize, in this case, would be a home in heaven. So, you might ask, why can't I just work harder, be more religious, or something that will cause God to reward me? Here are the fundamental problems with that suggestion.
There is only one true God. While many people proudly proclaim that "the God of the Christians is but one of many gods," this belief is completely outside the realm of scriptural authority! The Bible, as a whole, and the Lord Jesus specifically, proclaims the truth of only one God. 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."--Mark 12:29 NIV "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."--James 2:19 NASU, (also see Deut. 6:4)
God is holy and completely free from sin. The concept of "holiness" is one that has lost both its meaning and understanding in the modern world. Unger's Bible Dictionary reads, "Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure, or morally imperfect; i.e., it is moral wholeness. The term is used with reference to persons, places, and things." This is the hallmark characteristic of God. God is completely free from all sin, evil, impurity, and the like, because He is, by very definition HOLY. As Holy, He has a self-imposed limitation upon himself that He cannot tolerate anything that is sinful. "You shall be holy, for I am holy." --1 Peter 1:16-17 NASB
Man is sinful and cannot save himself. The word of God tells us "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"--Rom 3:23-24 NASB This single verse of scripture reveals to us that there is no one that is now, or ever will be, good enough to get to heaven through any work of their own. Some will contend with this statement and suggest that "sin is an obsolete concept" or that sin is certainly to be categorized and thus sin does not automatically preclude one from heaven. Remember God demands perfection to be accepted to heaven "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."--Matt 5:48"There is no one righteous, not even one;"--Rom 3:10 NIV NASB. The bible makes it undeniably clear that there is no one perfect.
God loves us and wants us to experience a love relationship with Him that is real and personal. One word that is rightly used to describe God is love. The nature of God includes love; 1 John 4: 8 and 16 openly and simply state, "God is Love." However, God is also just which means that while He loves the sinner, He hates the sin! Remember, sin is anything that is "less than perfect" and all sin separates us from God. However, there is another characteristic of God that is of monumental importance. God is grace! This means that while we deserved immediate and complete punishment for our sin (which would be eternal separation from God) He provided a way for our sins to be forgiven. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." --Rom 5:8-11 NASB God sent Jesus to earth to provide the solution for our sin! Scripture affirms that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and the Creator of the Universe. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (v14) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." --John 1:1-5, 14 NASB But why did Jesus come to earth? He came to be the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world. The Bible says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.--Isa 53:6 NASB. God the Father, because of His great love for us, allowed our sins to be placed upon His son, Jesus who became sin for us. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."--2 Cor 5:21 NASB So the answer to the question "Why is Jesus the only way to Heaven" is this, only the perfect, sinless, Son of God could satisfy the requirements of God for the sins of the world. But now I have a question for you
What will you do with Jesus? The Bible says that God has offered us a free gift of eternal life, but how do you receive this gift? Scripture testifies, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." --Eph 2:8-10 NIV
Faith is more than an intellectual decision. It is more than a confident belief. Faith as used in the above verse of scripture means placing your whole and complete hope for eternal life and salvation in the work of Jesus Christ. It means realizing that JESUS alone has paid the price for your sins through His death on the cross, resurrection from the grave, and promise of His returning to claim all His followers to Himself. In addition to placing your trust for salvation in the completed work of Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that we must be willing to repent of our sins. This means, turning away for those things that separate us from God and ask Him to give us the strength to abandon them in the future.
Question: How can we make the message of Jesus relevant today?
Answer:In the modern world it seems like words have little meaning. The growing phenomenon of "situational conversation" is amazing. Politicians are seemingly masterful tacticians of this practice. They are apparently able to frame words, which once meant one thing, to mean something totally different while on the political trail. This "situational conversation" is the natural outgrowth of the flawed philosophy of "situational ethics" which has pervaded our educational institutions for several decades.
The societal problem is this: People only want to hear what is pleasing to self. In response to this desire those who are dispensing information and opinion use words which will gain the ear of the masses. The old adage of say what you mean and mean what you say has obviously become a part of our forgotten foundation. This is, I'm afraid, a microcosm of the state of affairs in the world today!
Recently I was listening to a person explain how the message of the church of Jesus Christ needed to be made relevant to people today. While this has a generally positive sounding ring to it, a careful analysis of the statement is very troubling. To state that the message must be "made relevant" implies that the message somehow has been "irrelevant." Should this be the case, there are at least three more substantial problems:
1. The word of God is antiquated and obsolete. If societal problems have evolved into epic proportions, unable to be addressed by the Word of God, then the original Word was never really necessary! In other words, the Bible, while useful for a time, is no longer necessary for revealing the truth of God. However, the Bible proclaims, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isa 40:8 NASB) therefore
2. The word of God is unreliable and untrue. If the Bible is obsolete, then it is untrue! The writer of Hebrews boldly proclaims "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb 13:8-9 NASU) Therefore the choice must be made. Wherein is the truth? It is either found in the Word of God, or it is found in the mind of man. If the message of Jesus Christ has become irrelevant, then it was never relevant. Should this be the case, I suggest that
3. The Christian faith is fraudulent. If the Bible is untrue at any level, then it is completely unreliable at every level! If Jesus Christ is NOT the same yesterday, today, and forever, then He is simply an ever-changing creature like all of us. As such, He cannot be divine, He cannot be the Son of God, He cannot be the sacrifice for our sins, and He cannot be the Savior or the World. In other words, if "The Message" has become irrelevant, then Jesus is irrelevant too!
I do not believe this to be the case! Global Evangelism Ministries is a cross-cultural ministry, which operates on the front lines in compassionate yet confrontational mass evangelism through a network of indigenous ministry teams around the world.
We do this because we fully believe that Jesus Christ is the only solution for the human problem. In a world filled with ever-changing words and leaders, we are committed to our task. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel" (Mark 16:15 NASB) and we will obey.
In my opinion the greatest tragedy in the modern church is the failure to preach the gospel. Too many pulpits and classrooms are filled by people talking about the gospel rather than actually preaching the gospel. Talk about the gospel, while academic and socially acceptable, will never transform a human life. Only a personal encounter with the Living Lord Jesus can accomplish this.
Read again our mission statement: As God enables us, we will take the message of Jesus Christ into all the world and help people seek His Kingdom by preaching the Gospel message that calls for a decision which spiritually transforms people, churches, and cultures. rdm
Question: Does the current action by Russia have significance in the church today?
Answer:We are living in a rapidly changing world. As I write this, the world, while trying to focus on the Olympics, is being drawn into another global conflict, as Russia continues her attack on Georgia. Certainly the old Bear is rearing her head again!
It should not be surprising that Russian wants Georgia back. Take a look at a world map and you will understand why! Once Georgia is back under the control of Russia this "end-time" brawler will have a nearly clear path toward Israel (through the puppet of Iran.)
Even a casual reader of the Bible can clearly see that the world is racing toward the end of this age! While I can not and dare not attempt to identify the time of the return of the Lord Jesus, I can and will say that all the key players for the end-time scenes are aligning themselves. Furthermore, I can affirm with absolute certainty that we are closer today than we have ever been to the coming of the Lord Jesus!
What does this mean for Global Evangelism Ministries? It means that we must move with more conviction and diligence than ever before in our efforts to share the gospel with as many people as possible. I trust you will continue to remember GEM in your prayers and support. rdm
always tried to answer them honestly. A dear friend suggested that we begin to answer some of the questions for our friends on the web and after prayer and discussion with some of our trusted colleagues, we have decided to provide this ministry.
