Crash the Future

Over the last 6 weeks I've been leading two different application groups for our church. The application groups have been part of a program we're doing this year at our church as we go through the book of Acts. These groups, in particular, are intended to aid people in Recognizing and Responding to the Holy Spirit. Over the 6 weeks we introduce different spiritual disciplines centered around Scripture. It's been a fun experience through which to lead two seperate groups of people. Each week we would journal and then come together to discuss things we saw in Scripture, circumstances, and conversations. As I have looked back over the last six weeks something hit me profoundly.

In the last few months (since mid-summer) God has been convicting me heavily about sharing my faith. It's as though I was regularly confronted with the need to share the gospel any time I would read Scripture. I would hear a sermon and the need to share the gospel would beat me over the head. Conversations I had with other believers would challenge me to step up in this area of my life. And that was really just the stuff that started it all.

In the last month and a half several cool but crazy things have happened in this area of my life. The end result is that I currently have several neat opportunities to talk about the gospel with various people. We just had a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses stop by. This was the third or fourth conversation we've had with these particular people. Today we were talking a bit about whether or not Jesus was God or claimed to be God. (They know I'm a pastor, but they keep coming back.) Likewise, three Mormon missionaries stopped by just a day or two ago. They'll be coming over for dinner with us in about a week and a half. They know that I'm a pastor as well, but Sarah let them know that we've love to let them practice their presentations on us, talk with them about Jesus, and discuss our faith. I think it has the potential to grow into a really cool dialogue, and who knows how God will use it. Additionally, I was emailed by a Roman Catholic gentleman in Missouri a month or so ago. He had some questions about how a "Scripture only" person would understand certain doctrines. We've since been emailing back and forth discussing various issues of Church history, doctrine, and the gospel. It's been an interesting exchange that seems likely to continue for quite some time yet. And finally, just this week I got an email from a friend of mine who is an atheist. We haven't talked about matters of God and faith in about a year, but he asked me a question, based on a recent sermon I preached, and we've been discussing it briefly the last few days. I have been VERY thankful for this last exchange, and it has also provided some food for thought.

My friend looked at Christians in general and is turned off by what he sees. In particular, he has a hard time believing that many of us actually believe that Jesus is the only way someone comes to know God. After all, he argues, how would our lives look if we really believed it? He wrote, "What would change in my life if I really believed what you say you believe? My answer would be, "Everything"... most Christians' answers, "Just enough." That pierced my heart because sadly its often true.

If I truly believe in the reality of God and Hell, and I truly believe that Jesus Christ is the only distinction between the two, then why am I sometimes hesitant to clearly share the gospel with someone. If I'm honest there's only two possible solutions. 1) I don't actually believe the truth of the gospel. or 2) I don't actually love other people. I'm just selfish and love myself, so I'm more concerned about their opinion of me than whether or not they ever truly experience life with God. Either option is rather disturbing. Option #1 means I'm a massive hypocrite. Option #2 means I'm self-absorbed and unloving. Either way, those aren't pleasant options.

I suppose the only right answer is that I'd better not try to sit on the fence. Either the gospel is true, or it's not. And if it is, then everything in my life should look different than it otherwise would. Which reminds me of a quote that I'll close with. (It's from Renovation of the Heart, by Dallas Willard, and I'm quoting from memory, so please forgive me if you know the quote and it's not worded exactly right.)

"We don't believe something merely because we say we believe it, nor do we believe something just because we believe we believe it. We believe something when we act as though it were true."