THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

A farmer settled in Africa and heard of others that had made millions through the discovery of diamonds. The African continent was rich in diamonds and he could hardly wait to sell his farm and search for diamonds himself. The farmer sold his farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the vast African continent searching for those “gleaming gems” which brought such high prices on the markets of the world, but without success. Finally, years later, as an old man, broke and desperate, he threw himself over a bridge and drowned.

Meanwhile, the man who had bought the farm was plowing and cultivating the land, working with what he had, and he found a large and unusual stone. This particular field was literally covered with them. He wasn’t sure what they were so he took one of them to an expert to have it examined. It turned out to be a diamond of enormous value! Today, it is one of the world’s riches diamond mines.

Imagine, the first farmer sold his farm for practically nothing in order to look for diamonds elsewhere. If he had only taken the time and study to find out what diamonds looked like in their rough state, and first thoroughly explored the land he presently owned, he would have had the riches that he sought – right in his own back yard!

I believe each of us, at this very moment, is standing in the middle of our own acres of diamonds, if we would just take the time and have the patience to first thoroughly explore the circumstances in which we now find ourselves. Don’t you see? Right now, the contacts, friends, neighbors, loved ones, and business associates, that we know and see regularly, are the riches that we seek in their rough state, literally right in our own back yards. “Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35).

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, they went out day or night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station, so that it became famous. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding areas, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of their work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the new members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in an enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they re-decorated it beautifully and furnished it as a sort of club.

Less of the members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do their work. The mission of life saving was given lip service but most were too busy or lacked the necessary commitment to take part in the life saving activities personally.

About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, some of them had black skin, and spoke a strange language, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s life saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal pattern of the club. But some members insisted that life saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the life of all various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. They evolved into a club and yet another life-saving station was founded. If you visit the seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but now most of the people drown.

While there are many kinds of evangelism and even many methods within each kind, evangelism has only one message and purpose. Yet, each of these may be described variously.

1. What the message is. Evangelism is the telling of God's good news, the gospel. The definition of evangelism must be specific in identifying which Gospel is to be told. True evangelism must have the gospel of God as its message. No other message is adequate since no other gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and only in this gospel is the righteousness of God revealed (Romans 1:16-17).

The message of evangelism is called many things in the New Testament. It is called the "gospel of God" (Romans 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:2,8,9; 1 Timothy 1:11) because God is the ultimate source of it; the "gospel of Christ" (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 9:12; Galatians 1:7) because Christ is the subject, object and very life of it; the "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) because it is the medium of God's grace to man; the "gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15) because through it man makes peace with both God and self; and the "gospel of your salvation" (Ephesians 1:13) because it brings salvation home to us. It is this gospel and this alone which must always be the message of evangelism.

2. What the message is not. Human philosophy, the tradition of men, and the rudiments of the world (the elements which belong to the sphere of material things) cannot take the place of the gospel in evangelism (Colossians 2:8). All of these are "persuasiveness of speech" (Colossians 2:4), "vain deceit" (Colossians 2:8), and "falsely named knowledge" (1 Timothy 6:20). They degrade Christ who is to be exalted. They are opposed to "the word of the truth of the gospel" (Colossians 1:5), as both wisdom and knowledge as revealed in Christ (Colossians 2:3). The "social gospel" which aims at social betterment in "the life that now is" and places little emphasis on the need for the death of Christ for man's salvation is no part of the message of evangelism.

1. To reconcile men to God. The greatest need man has is to be reconciled to God. The word "reconcile" means to change from enmity to friendship. The one thing that stands between man and God is sin, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6: 23). God who did no wrong and has no need of being reconciled to man took the initial step to bring man, the offender, back to him. He "commendeth his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Christ's death not only abolished the law which was contrary to us, but it made it possible for us to be reconciled unto God in one body (Ephesians 2:13-16). The "word of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18) is the "word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19) by which sinful men are brought back into friendship with God. The process of telling the "word of reconciliation" is the "ministry of reconciliation'' (2 Corinthians 5:18). Thus, to reconcile men to God by "the word of the cross" is the primary purpose of evangelism.

2. To save self. When God called Ezekiel to be a watchman to the house of Israel He told him his blood would be required at his hand if he failed to warn the wicked, or the righteous man who turned to iniquity. Only by giving them adequate warning could he deliver his own soul. (Ezekiel 3:16-21).

In principle, at least, what was true of Ezekiel is true of every Christian. The souls of the lost whom we fail to warn will be required at our hand. Every person is responsible to the limit of his possibilities. We must reach as many as we can. "How many" we shall be able to save will be determined by our abilities and our opportunities, and how well we meet up to our responsibility. How many of us can say, with Paul, "I am pure from the blood of all men" (Acts 20:27)? One thing for sure, only by "holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:16) can we deliver both ourselves and them that hear us (1 Timothy 4:16). Christians cannot save themselves without saving others. Our own salvation, then, is a very important purpose of evangelism.

The message of evangelism is adequate in every way to meet the spiritual needs of man (Cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The purpose underlying the telling of the message is sublime and unequalled. Evangelism could have no greater message or purpose. (Truth Magazine XIV; 30, pp. 7-8, June 4, 1970)

A story is told of a man making his way across a mountain in a terrible blizzard. He became colder and weaker with each step. His body ached and became numb. He staggered and almost fell, but he plunged on in a daze. Again, he stumbled, and failing to stop his fall this time, he said, “This is the end.” But in falling, his hand struck the prostrate form of another man who had fallen in the storm. He arose to his knees and began to chafe the hands of the unconscious man and rub his face until he revived.

He saved another’s life, but in doing so, he saved his own. The exercise kept life in his own body and both survived. How many Christians are there who are freezing to death spiritually? How many who could save themselves by saving others?

We are indeed saved to save others, and in doing that we save ourselves, or keep ourselves saved. We are ministered to that we might minister to others, and in ministering to others we are benefited as much as they – perhaps more so. Unless we have a desire to share the joy of salvation with others, it is doubtful that we have truly received that joy. Unless we are truly concerned about the lost and want them to have forgiveness, peace and hope, there is every reason to question our own condition.

As Christians, we should be sowers who sow the Word of God in the hearts of men and women. As Christians, we should go out into the “streets and lanes of the city”, out into the “highways and hedges”, and constrain lost souls to come to the feast of God’s kingdom. Christians are those who come to Christ, learn of Him and who then go, and tell others of the Lamb of God.

Jesus said to Peter, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32). Paul told Timothy, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).

2. How many people do I NOW have my heart set on to win to Christ? _________________

3. To what extent have I gone to try to win these people? _____________________________

4. Approximately how many hours (or minutes) per week do I average talking to people about the Lord? ____________________________

5. How often do I pray for certain individuals to obey the Lord, or to be restored to faithful Christian duty? ________________________

6. Do I every pray FERVENTLY that I might become a better soul winner? ____________

7. Do I SINCERELY TRY to help that prayer be answered? ___________________________

8. Am I generally embarrassed to converse with people about Christ? ___________________

9. Do I know enough Scripture to help one become a Christian? ___________________

10. Do I honestly feel that I am my brother’s keeper, and that his salvation may depend LARGELY upon me? ___________________

11. Have I offered the excuse, I DON’T KNOW HOW,” for not doing personal work? _______

12. Do I think I can every really learn how until I try? _________________________________

14. Has it ever occurred to me that many will die and go to God unprepared while I’m wasting time thinking I don’t know how? ___________

15. Am I interested enough in Heaven, and does it mean enough to me that I earnestly desire others to go with me? __________________

16. Does a checkup list like this help me to do better? ______________________________