Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The Antioch Effect: Christ is the ONLY WAY!

Point #2:  We must believe that Christ provides the only access to the Father. 

TRUTH:  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6
TRUTH:  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.

Hemphill writes in The Antioch Effect that if we believe this, with conviction we must share Christ with others.  The statistics show that there is a low percentage of Christians sharing their faith.  Worse than that, fewer Christians know what the Great Commission is and what it means.  Church, what is our responsibility to share?  Where is our conviction for the truth?  And where is our passion to share the gospel - the good news?

We have been complacent and comfortable for TOO LONG.  Most older churches in America are dying a slow death because of the Holy Huddle they are participating in every week.  Attendance is declining and even worse the number of baptisms go down every year in our denomination.  New church plants across North America are seeing explosive numbers of people confessing and believing in Jesus because they start with a passion of sharing the gospel.  The Great Commission is very real to them and they see the need to share.  

Are we willing to surrender to the command of the Great Commission?  Are we willing to give up our comfort and quit being ruled by our calendar to share the gospel with our friends and neighbors?
What say YOU?

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Antioch Effect: Building Blocks For Evangelism

The Antioch Effect written by Ken Hemphill gives good insight on the chapter "Passion for the Lost" and developing a solid theological foundation for evangelism in the local church.  I want to look at all 8 of them as the review will be good for me too....so here it goes:

Point #1:  We must understand the condition of the lost. 
Hemphill writes:   "Without Christ there is neither life, nor hope."  In most evangelical circles, we hear of the saved and the lost, believer or unbeliever, etc. to be able to identify what group you are part of when you are presented the gospel.  Preachers wind it up during the worship service so that with the invitation at the end of the service, you are challenged to identify what group you're in so that you can respond according to the invitation instructions.   If you're lost, you're invited to place your faith in Jesus Christ.  If you are saved, you should invite the Holy Spirit to revive/renew you or challenge you as the Scripture leads.  There are other invitation instructions, but what I speak of are the basic ones.  Because, without Christ there is neither life, nor hope. 

Hemphill writes about having a biblical understanding of the condition of the lost.  Do we truly know what Scripture says about rejecting Christ and the consequences of that rejection?  The best place for this is Romans 1-3, where it is very descriptive of the practice of one who rejects Christ.  Hemphill states the need for this understanding for the believer to be "moved" to do something about lostness because we have the message to share.  (2 Cor. 5 - the ministry of reconciliation)  Rejecting Christ is a crisis in our community, so then, how will God's people respond to this crisis? 

Will we stand by and let lost people, who don't know Jesus, die without the opportunity to hear the gospel?  Have we gotten too comfortable in our buildings with padded pews that our holy huddle has become what Christianity is all about?  Does this lost condition in our community/city cause us grief and anguish to be moved to do something?  Hemphill suggests that since the lost are not seeking God based upon what we read in Romans 3:11, we must become the seekers.

What will you/I do?