Part Three:
The Multiplied Life

Preface

We live in a self-centered, consumer-oriented world that looks at life, religion included, primarily from a selfish point of view. And this world viewpoint all too easily rubs off on Christians. A large portion of the Christian community sees the blessings and provisions God has given us in Christ as designed strictly for our own personal happiness and comfort. Our tendency today is to make satisfaction and personal comfort our religion. As Packer notes:

We show much more concern for self-fulfillment than for pleasing our God. Typical of Christianity today, at any rate in the English-speaking world, is its massive rash of how-to-books for believers, directing us to more successful relationships, more joy in sex, becoming more of a person, realizing our possibilities, getting more excitement each day, reducing our weight, improving our diet, managing our money, licking our families into happier shape, and whatnot. For people whose prime passion is to glorify God, these are doubtless legitimate concerns; but the how-to books regularly explore them in a self-absorbed way that treats our enjoyment of life rather than the glory of God as the center of interest.¹⁰³

By contrast, Scripture teaches us that even the comfort we receive from God is to enable us to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves receive from Him (2 Cor. 1:3-4). In other words, like our Savior who came not to be ministered to but to minister, the Christian life is to be other oriented.

In keeping with this focus on ministry, one of God’s objectives for the church is that we might allow Him to reproduce Himself in us as good stewards of His abundant grace. A steward is a manager, not an owner. He is one who manages the property of another. God is the owner and we are the managers of the various stewardships He has given. This includes the whole of life, of course. But to be good stewards of His grace, we must know the precise areas of stewardship for which God is holding us accountable. Scripture breaks this down into a number of areas. For instance, children are a gift from God and one of our most important stewardships. According to the creation mandate of Genesis chapter one, we are also to be good stewards of His creation. But for the purposes of this study, we will limit our focus to four areas.

1. The stewardship of time—redeeming it for eternity.

2. The stewardship of talents—discovering and developing our spiritual gifts and natural talents for the blessing of others and for God’s glory.

3. The stewardship of God’s truth—multiplying ourselves through evangelism and discipleship.

4. The stewardship of our treasures—laying up treasures in heaven through financial faithfulness.

Each of these subjects are obviously worthy of an entire book and many have done just that. However, in keeping with the goal of laying a foundation for Christian growth, some sections will be somewhat limited though a considerable amount of space will be devoted to evangelism and discipleship.

¹⁰³J. I. Packer, Keeping in Step With the Spirit, Fleming H. Revell, Old Tappan, NJ, 1984, p. 97.

Multiplying the Life Through Evangelism and Discipleship

Introduction

The Treasure of God’s Truth

2 Timothy 1:13-14 Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

In challenging Timothy to guard the message God had given him to communicate to others, the Apostle Paul defined that message as “that good thing entrusted to you” (2 Tim. 1:13-14). Here the Apostle reminds us that this message, the message about the Lord Jesus that brings men into a vital relationship with the eternal God of the universe, is both a treasure and a trust. Obviously the only message that brings men into the kingdom of God, reconciles them to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), and gives them eternal life and life more abundant (John 10:10) is truly a treasure beyond measure or a pearl of great value (Matt. 13:44-46). The message of the Gospel is the most valuable thing a person can possess, but as something so intrinsically valuable, it also needs guarding. Why? Because there are many peddlers walking about with a false gospel seeking to pawn off one of Satan’s many counterfeits on a gullible public (Gal. 1:6-9; Jude 3-4).

But while it is to be guarded, it must not be hoarded. Indeed, it is a message that must be shared or communicated clearly and accurately to others. In that sense, it is also a trust entrusted to us to commit to others. So, in 2 Timothy 2:2, Timothy is charged with the responsibility of entrusting what he had learned from Paul to other faithful men who in turn would teach others and so on, and so on.

This is the ministry of spiritual multiplication. Note that there are four generations represented here. Paul to Timothy to “faithful men” to “others also.” This is very simple, but the results are awesome. If you win just one person to the Lord each year and train that person to walk with Christ and become productive himself, and then the two of you do the same thing with two more people (just one apiece) the next year so that you continue to double your numbers each year thereafter. Do you know who many people would have come to Christ after continuing this process for twenty years? By the end of the twentieth year, your ranks will have grown to 1,048,576.¹³⁷

The Problem We Face

It seems that a lot of people have the idea that making disciples (winning souls and building them in Christ) is a job for only a special cast of people like missionaries, pastors, and youth workers and that their job is simply to support them or pay them to do the work of ministry. There are a lot of things that have led to this like the minister/laymen mentality, but the point is, this is a totally erroneous idea and one that is certainly not biblical. Rather than grasping the concept of every believer a ministering priest (1 Pet. 2:5-10), too many have become simply spectators rather than team players. In other words, 2 Timothy 1:14 and 2:2 give us God’s game plan for the body of Christ and most believers can be involved in this to some degree if they were only available. One of the primary roles of the so-called pastor or the pastor-elders is that of player-coaches who train or equip others to do the work of ministry for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).

Ephesians 4:12 does not describe three things that the pastors are to do as the KJV might lead some to believe, i.e., “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ,” The Greek text would be better translated as “For ( pros) the equipping of the saints unto ( eis) the work of ministry unto ( eis) the building up of the body of Christ” (My translation). Paul’s intention is to describe an equipping ministry that develops others with a view to ministry which in turn is designed to produce a body that grows qualitatively (spiritual growth toward Christlike maturity), quantitatively (people coming to Christ), and organically (people being plugged into ministries—elders, deacons, teachers, etc.).

Becoming good stewards of the treasure of God’s truth is not just something for a special few, but a calling for all of us as believers in Christ.

Early Church Growth

After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ and the coming of the Spirit of God at Pentecost, what happened to the church? It grew by leaps and bounds and with great power. The events are recorded for us in the book of Acts. At first we see just the 11 disciples gathered with the Lord, then 120 in the upper room, then 3000, and shortly after that, the Lord added 5000 more to the church.

This was not simply addition, but multiplication through the ministry of the body of Christ with almost whole communities turning to the Lord and being added to the church, the body of Christ.

The growth of the church did not stop there. Through the centuries, the Church of Jesus Christ has continued to grow, and the awesome thing is it has grown among alien cultures, among hostile religions, and among both primitive and cultured and educated peoples. With this growth all over the world, the church has grown and triumphed in spite of traitors, apostasy, persecution, famine, sword, Bible burnings, the lions’ den, burning at the stake, and you name it.

As the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.^"

It is evident that the Church has grown in many different ways, but as Wyn and Charles Arn point out, “… there has always been one way it has grown better, faster, and stronger than any other. From its beginning, through the centuries till today, one unique way has been more responsible for the Church’s growth than any other. It is about this way—and the important implications it has for you and your church”¹³⁸ that this series on evangelism or making disciples, the great mission of the church, is all about.

The Church Today

The mission for the church has not changed. The mission given to the early church is still the mandate for the church of the twentieth century. Yet things are not well even though the potential for evangelism and discipleship world-wide has never been greater. Around every church and Christian home in every community, there are winnable people just waiting to be won. But, how well do we understand our mission, the means available to us, and the biblical method that works so well, but is so often ignored?

Statistics tell us that only about 7% of the church are trained to do the work of evangelism and only about 2% are actually doing the work of evangelism. Two men who have considerable experience in evangelism and discipleship and who have traveled all across America conducting seminars, holding consultations, conferring with church leaders and laity, and feeling the pulse of America are Wyn and Charles Arn. In their book, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples, they point to a number of characteristics that mark the church in America.¹³⁹

(1) “Reaching non-Christians is a low priority for most congregations and individuals.” What was once the heartbeat of the early church has diminished enormously as a priority in the minds of most Christians.

(2) “The biblical concept of ‘lostness’ has disappeared from the conscience of most churches and most Christians.” We have lost the sense and burden of Jude 23, “others save, snatching them out of the fire.”

(3) “Most evangelism methods are relatively ineffective in making disciples.” Local congregations often “import a program or formula that has seemingly been successful, but in reality, these programs are only short lived. They too often involve a 15-minute Gospel presentation under artificial conditions with little knowledge of the person or consideration of their unique needs” (p. 9). Such approaches tend to see people as notches on the handle of their gospel gun. Such approaches often lead to keeping score.

(4) “Evangelism focuses more on decision-making rather than on building relationships and discipleship-making …” That brief verbal commitment is seen as the ultimate response to the Great Commission. Unfortunately, there is often a great gap between ‘getting a decision’ and ‘making a disciple.’

(5) “Making disciples is interpreted only or primarily as spiritual growth,” but too often it’s a growth that is self-centered and lacks certain elements that are essential to true biblical maturity, namely teaching people to reproduce themselves in others as disciple-makers themselves.

(6) “Evangelism methods are too often simplistic.” They rely too much on canned presentations rather than on building relationships and caring for people as individuals (lifestyle evangelism) that builds bridges to the Gospel by genuinely loving people.

(7) “Evangelism is much discussed, but little practiced.” It is a part of the doctrinal statement or on the bulletin, the subject of seminars, and videos, but it’s not really a part of the lifestyle of the average believer or member of the congregation.

So, what’s wrong? With the greatest message in the world, a message that gives life in place of death, why are we failing to spread the good news and fulfill the Great Commission? Clearly the church needs training, but more importantly it needs the right motivation to become the people it was called to be, a people proclaiming the excellencies of our God and salvation in Christ.

Using God’s Word as the source for discovering the Master’s plan and with the hope of becoming a means of motivation, challenge, and instruction, this series on evangelism will fall into four major categories:

• Understanding Our Mission (Matt. 28:18-20)
• Understanding Our Means (Acts 1:8)
• Understanding Our Method (the oikos or network principle)
• Understanding Our Message

Though one of the great thrusts of these next few lessons will be on evangelism, it is not just a series on evangelism. To limit it to evangelism is to miss the complete mission of the church and perhaps leave us with the impression that our goal here is to enlist everyone for a program to train a team of people to go out and knock on doors with a canned evangelism approach. As it has just been pointed out, this is part of the problem.

¹³⁷ Christopher B. Adsit, Personal Disciple-Making, Here’s Life Publishers, San Bernardino, CA, 1988, p. 332-333.

¹³⁸Wyn and Charles Arn, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples, Church Growth Press, Pasadena, CA, 1982, p. 6.

¹³⁹Arn, pp. 7-11.

Understanding Our Method

The Household ( Oikos) Principle

As Christians and as a Church, the Lord has given us a commission, the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. Our commission is to make disciples by going into all the world, by leading people to Christ and then baptizing them, and then by teaching them to obey the Lord. This means we need to reach out to non-Christians with the message of the Gospel, but the very mention of that causes us to experience a parade of fears. The fear of what it might cost us, the fear of rejection, the fear of being thought odd, the fear of what to say, the fear of questions we can’t answer, the fear of how to present the Gospel, the fear of alienating someone, and on the list goes.

We know we need to go forward with the message of the Savior and we want to, but the question is how? How do we go forward effectively so more and more people who have trusted Christ as Savior become anchored in the Word and then become reproducers themselves in a way that is continuous, contagious, and compelling?

Most churches and Christians really want to see people come to Christ and grow, but the problem comes when we try to translate this into specific plans, plans that work on a continuing basis. What can we as churches or individuals really do that is significant? Do we put together an evangelistic committee? Do we start a visitation night so we can go from door to door and hit people cold turkey? Do we call in specialists for an exciting life-changing witnessing clinic or conference to teach us how to witness? What do we do?

Is there a biblical method and pattern that we can follow that will help us? I think there is. It is an approach that is not new though it has been gravely neglected in favor of other approaches that are far less effective and harder to execute. It is a process not a method. It is natural to the way society functions and operates and has for centuries. It is a process that builds on the natural “webs” of relationships which exist in every church. It is a process that has been called, “The Master’s Plan.”¹⁴⁷

The Master’s Plan is an application of New Testament principles which, by the way, coincide with insights of modern research by both church growth specialists and contemporary anthropologists concerning the way we are able to most effectively influence others. People are influenced the most by three universal units of societies’ social systems. These are (a) common kinship, (b) common community, and (c) common interests. As we study the New Testament, we find that the apostolic church used the interlocking social systems of common kinship, community, and interest as the vehicle for reaching the world with the Gospel.

The basic thrust of evangelism in the New Testament was not individual evangelism, it was not mass evangelism, and it was definitely not child evangelism. Then what was it? It was what has been called Oikos Evangelism.¹⁴⁸

Before we define and describe what oikos evangelism is and how and why it works, let’s be reminded about the spiritual dimensions of evangelism and ministry lest we put too much emphasis on the plan of evangelism rather the spiritual principles by which men are reached for the Lord.

The Forces of the Harvest:
The Spiritual Principles at Work in Evangelism

As the Bible uses analogies to teach spiritual truth, so it also uses analogies to portray the process of reaching men for the Lord. These include pictures taken from the harvest—the seed, the sower, the soil, and reaping the harvest. The soil is the human heart, the seed is the Word of God, the sower is the believer with the seed of the Word, and the reaping is when a person comes to Christ by faith. Based on this analogy, there are four things involved in the process:

Preparing the Soil

The soil of the human heart must be prepared. This is done through:

(1) Walking by the Spirit (Acts 1:8; 4:31; Eph. 5:18)

(2) Praying for four things: (a) for laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2); (b) for open doors or opportunities (another analogy) for the Word (Col. 4:3); (c) for courage to share the Gospel at the right time (Eph. 6:18; 4:29); and (d) for clarity: the ability to make the Gospel clear (Col. 4:4)

Living to Demonstrate the Power of Christ

Simply put, the problem is this: You can’t give away what you don’t have. If we as Christians lead lives of frustration, neurosis, moral lapse or failure, strife and division, we cannot expect to be too effective at convincing others of the truth of the Christian faith. (Cf. Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15-17.)

Sowing and Watering the Seed

We have the responsibility to share the message, to communicate the truth of Scripture in accord with specific needs knowing and believing that the Word is alive and powerful and will do the work God has sent it to do (Isa. 55:8-11). While a good testimony is essential and is often used by God to give an open door for the Gospel, no one can be saved without hearing the Gospel message. (Cf. Mk. 4:1-20, 26-29; John 4:35-42.)

Reaping the Harvest

The harvest is people receiving Christ by personal faith. Evangelism is a process that brings a person to a decision to trust in Jesus Christ, but evangelism is not just a decision. In our work with people, we become a part of the process of preparing, sowing, watering, or reaping, but we can’t hurry the process. We must learn to care about people just as did the Lord. Then, when the right time comes, as led by the Spirit, begin to tell them about the person and work of the Savior. We must remember that, in the final analysis, God uses the Word and the transformed life, but it is the Spirit of God alone who can break through the barriers of the blindness and hardness of the human heart to bring a person to faith in Christ. (Cf. John 4:35-42.)

The ( Oikos) Principle Explained

What is oikos evangelism? Oikos is the Greek word most often translated house or household in the New Testament. But let’s be careful and not assume we know what that means. In the culture of New Testament times, oikos described not only the immediate family, but it included servants, servants’ families, friends, and even business associates. One’s oikos was one’s sphere of influence, his/her social system composed of those related to each other through common kinship ties, common tasks, and common territory.¹⁴⁹ The New Testament oikos included members of the nuclear family, but extended to dependents, slaves and employees. The oikos was the basic social unit by which the church grew.

An oikos was the fundamental and natural unit of society, and consisted of one’s sphere of influence—his family, friends and associates. And equally important, the early church spread through oikos—circles of influence and association. With only a moment of reflection, we begin to realize a significant difference of thrust, tone, and tenor between much contemporary evangelism and early church outreach.¹⁵⁰

As we turn to the New Testament, Scripture focuses us on the household (family, friends, and associates) in the spread of the Gospel to mankind. The Gospels, Acts, and Epistles illustrate that the link of communication from person to person was the oikos. Here was the bridge used regularly as a natural means for spreading the message of Jesus Christ.

The following passages are illustrations of Oikos evangelism

• Mark 5:19. “Go to your home and to your people ( oikos) and tell them …”
• Luke 19:9. “Today salvation has come to this household ( oikos).”
• John 4:53. “… and he himself believed along with his entire household ( oikos).”
• Mark 2:14-15. We can’t be certain, but “his house” probably refers to Levi’s. If so, Levi invited his friends to come and meet and hear Jesus. Here is a typical household bridge—the inclusion of associates within the confines of Levi’s own home.
• John 1:40-45. The Apostle Peter came to Christ as a result of someone in his oikos. And Nathanael came to Christ because his friend Philip told him about the Savior.

Following Christ’s resurrection and ascension, it was this same pattern of the Gospel moving through the oikos which caused the early church to explode. Noted church historian Kenneth Scott Latourette has observed that, “the primary change agents in the spread of faith … were the men and women who earned their livelihood in some purely secular manner, and spoke of their faith to those whom they met in this natural fashion.”¹⁵¹

• Acts 10:22f. Cornelius invited his relatives and close friends (his oikos) to come to his own home to hear Peter tell about the Lord.
• Acts 10:15 and 31. Here two households came to know the Savior through the influence of Lydia, a business woman, and the jailer at Philippi. When most people read about these two incidences, they normally think of just the immediate family. It was probably much more.

It seems that Oikos evangelism is the God-given and God-ordained means and key for naturally sharing our supernatural message. This is the way the early church spread and it is the way the Gospel is most naturally shared today. Research and statistics back up this claim.

Research Statistics

Before we look at these statistics, remember that the Great Commission is not simply evangelism, but making disciples; reaching people, pulling them into the church, and building them up in Christ to become reproductive believers.

(1) Campus Crusade

Research conducted by The Institute for American Church Growth shows that of the hundreds of thousands of so called “decisions” from the Here’s Life emphasis, 97 out of every 100 were never incorporated into a church. Somewhere they were lost by the wayside.¹⁵²

(2) Billy Graham Crusade

Statistics taken in connection with the Billy Graham Crusade in Seattle back in 1976 are also very enlightening. Some 434,100 persons passed through the gate to attend the crusade and 18,136 walked down the aisle. Of the 18,136, 53.7% went forward for rededication, not salvation. 30.6% went forward for conversion, and 15.7% was unknown as to the purpose. Only 7% of those who went forward for conversion, had become associated with a church when the research was done several years later.

(3) Institute for American Church Growth

Research from a questionnaire taken by The Institute for American Church Growth showed that when over 4000 people in 35 states and three countries were asked why they became part of a local church, 75% to 90% responded that friends and relatives were the “door of entrance.”

The conclusion is clear … churches encouraging and equipping their members to reach the existing webs of friends and relatives, and then building them into the fellowship of the local church will experience the greatest results for their time and effort.¹⁵³

We are not saying that we should limit our concerns just to our oikos. The Great Commission says “go.” We start in Jerusalem—our home base—then branch out. We begin with our oikos, but then we need to expand our oikos by loving concern so as to begin and grow new relationships. How can we begin new relationships to expand our web? Here are some ideas from Common Ground.¹⁵⁴

Relationships begin with common ground (such as summer soccer league) but they are built on communication and shared experience.

Perhaps the most important aspect of communication is conversation. You can develop good conversational skills by understanding these three levels of conversation.

Level One: General— Be in touch. You can usually begin a conversation with anyone on this level. Such things as current events, sports, or the weather are natural and easy ways to begin a conversation. It can be as simple as Bill’s comment about Sally’s good soccer play.

The key to being a good conversationalist on this level is to be in touch with your community. The way to be in touch is to read, listen, and watch. A local news paper or radio station is an excellent source of information on what is happening in the community.

Level Two: Personal— Be Interested. The key in this area is to be interested. Listen for clues as to what is important to the person to whom you are talking. Janet discovered that Arlene opted not to work outside the home until the children were in school. This says something about what is important to Arlene and Ron. When you are in someone’s home take notice of the surroundings. If you are in their office, what sort of plaques or curios do you see. Again this will indicate what is important to this person. What is important to them is something that is easy to talk with them about.

Level Three: Crucial needs— Be Informed. Crucial needs deal with the critical issues in a person’s life. The key to having an eternal impact in a non-Christian’s life is to be informed. Everyone has a world view that shapes and directs their every attitude and action. Most people are not willing to reveal themselves on this level. however, when a relationship begins to build it is not uncommon for there to be opportunities to explore spiritual issues.

If we were just using and developing our oikos, our growth would be phenomenal through the laws of multiplication.

The following statistics conducted by the Institute of American Church Growth of Pasadena, California illustrate why people come to Christ and get involved in a Church. The research shows that “Webs of common kinship (friends and neighbors) and common associates (special interests, work relationships, and recreation) are still the paths most people follow in becoming Christians today.”¹⁵⁵

Over 14,000 lay people have been asked the question: “What or who was responsible for you coming to Christ and your church?” One of eight responses were given, but the key issue is what percentage of people came to Christ and the church through each category listed. Here are the results.

The conclusion is clear. The great majority of people in these studies can trace their “spiritual roots” directly to a friend or a relative as the major reason they are in Christ and their church. Let me ask you a question. How about you? How many of you came to know Christ and got involved in your church or both through the oikos principle?

There seems to be no question where we should be placing our emphasis and focus. The real question is, are we? Regardless of what method we say we believe in, it is meaningless unless we are using it and using it under the motivation and power of the Spirit of God. We must be using the harvest principles we briefly mentioned at the beginning of this study.

Just why and what makes the Oikos principle so effective?

Foundational Principles of the Plan

In The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples, the Arns discuss a number of principles which they describe as the cornerstone of disciple-making for the local church. I have summarized several of these in what follows.¹⁵⁶

Principle Number One: Disciple-making is most effective when it is an intentional response by the local church to the Great Commission.

As it pertains to the things that direct and shape our lives, there are two things that tend to characterize the church today and both are often true at the same time. Rather than purposefully following the Lord and resting in His provision, we tend to be a driven people, driven by the wrong forces. Remember, the Lord does not drive. He leads. If you feel driven, you can bet it’s not the Lord, but some conscious or unconscious faulty force that’s driving you. We are driven by the desire to succeed but usually for the wrong reasons. We want to impress, to get ahead, to be accepted, to be important, to out-do someone or to play “king of the mountain” be it spiritual, material, or whatever.

But second, while driven, we also tend to go with the flow of the world and its values and objectives. Like small sticks in the midst of a swollen and raging stream, we are swept along without well-defined biblical, personal goals. Intentional, purposeful living with a view to reaching people for Christ is a key component in our availability to fulfill the Great Commission. Living intentionally with a view to making disciples is a response to our Lord’s command. It is an act of obedience which acknowledges His lordship.

To be effective and mature servants, those who take the Great Commission seriously, (a) we must know who we are, (b) we must have an identity derived from God and His standards, and (c) we must know why we are here. We must have a sense of God’s destiny and purpose for our lives, i.e., we must serve with a view to doing God’s will no matter what, and fortified by a view to heavenly treasures and rewards, not those based on earthly goals (1 Cor. 4:1-5; 2 Cor. 4:18; 5:9; Matt. 6:19-21).

Principle Number Two: Intentionality in evangelism is most effective when focused on the oikos (natural networks) of existing Christians.

As we have seen, our webs of common ground: common kinship, common friendship, and common associates are the means by which most people become Christians. This forms the solid foundation which allows God’s love and salvation to flow naturally and intentionally.

Here are eight important reasons why identifying and using natural networks of relationships should be the foundation for the outreach strategy of every church:

1. It is the natural way churches grow;
2. It is the most cost effective way to reach new people;
3. It is the most fruitful way to win new people;
4. It provides a constantly enlarging source of new contacts;
5. It brings the greatest satisfaction to participating members;
6. It results in the most effective assimilation of new members;
7. It tends to win entire families;
8. It uses existing relationships.¹⁵⁷

Principle Number Three: Disciple-making is most effective when based on and permeated with love and caring.

It is more effective because when we are motivated by love we are going to put forth more effort to reach out to people. It is also more effective because it produces the kind of tangible, specific actions that have a greater impact on those we love and care about. When our efforts are based on genuine love rather than legalistic motives or peer pressure, we see people and treat them as people with needs. They are no longer just a notch in our evangelistic belt. Loving or caring for people means building relationships and spending time with people.

Principle Number Four: Disciple-making through the oikos method is most effective because each Christian has a part in responding to the Great Commission.

Anyone can do it! Any church member who can identify an unchurched friend, relative, neighbor, or associate can be a disciple-maker. The average church member has between seven and nine friends and relatives outside of Christ and the Church. Newer Christians and members of newer churches average twelve. Older Christians and members of older churches can list an average of four unchurched friends and relatives.¹⁵⁸

This kind of participation has a lot of side benefits. It contributes to the overall spiritual health and vitality of each person involved. It gives a sense of purpose and meaning. It causes believers to have to rely more on the Lord and to seek His power and work in their lives and in the lives of those they are seeking to reach.

Participation in the process of disciple-making may be as worthy for its role in the maturity of the Christian as it is in reaching the non-Christian. A Christian remains spiritually immature if he/she is not actively involved in the greatest task the Master called us to do. … Christlikeness can hardly be an achievable goal if there is no participation in the basic reason for Christ’s mission.¹⁵⁹

Principle Number Five: Disciple-making, as with all aspects of ministry, is most effective when it is a “team effort.”

One or a few simply cannot have the outreach or do what a team of people committed to outreach can do. All the believers in any local church have a far greater outreach potential than just a few.

Perhaps the most important reason the “team effort” works through the oikos principle is the friendship factor. Research indicates that in most cases, new Christians who soon “drop out” of active church involvement never made new friends in that church. Evangelism based on the oikos concept and that works through the church as a team brings people to Christ and into the church through the “friendship factor.”

Principle Number Six: Disciple-making is most effective when unique needs and individual differences are recognized and cared about.

One of the things that hinders our outreach and effectiveness with people is our failure to treat them as individuals. We must realize people have different needs and come to Christ in different ways and for different reasons (see Paul’s commitment to get involved with people where they were in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Yes, everyone needs Christ and all must put their faith in the person and work of Christ, but the process to this varies dramatically according to various needs and the circumstances of people.

Here are some important questions and factors that are helpful in reaching people for the Lord.

• What is the level and depth of my relationship with this person? Do they trust me? Can they discern I care about their needs? Have I built rapport with them?
• What other Christians does he/she know well?
• What are his/her understandings of Christianity? What are his/her misunderstandings?
• What are his/her problems and how can I show that Christ can help them deal with their problems?
• How receptive is the person to becoming a Christian?

A study of the Gospels reveal that Christ Himself was a powerful demonstration of meeting people where they were. He addressed the unique needs of each person and presented the Gospel in a relevant and meaningful way. When he was with the woman at the well, he talked about living water; when he was with fishermen, he talked about catching fish; when he was with people familiar with the agricultural world, he talked about sowing seed. He often began with the hurts and needs and interests of people. He found and used common ground to perk their interest.

Compared to a total stranger, church members involved in reaching their web are better able to understand the individuality of each person, the needs he/she may have, and the appropriate ways to introduce how Jesus Christ can bring them into a relationship with the living God who alone can meet their needs (cf. 1 Cor. 9:22, “To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some).

Principle Number Seven: Disciple-making through the oikos principle is most effective because it builds on a natural and continuing process.

Continuous disciple-making requires prudent stewardship of church members’ time and energy. It requires an evangelistic process that renews rather than exhausts laity. It requires a process that is a natural part of life, rather than a contrived event. It requires a process that is not dependent on volunteers, but occurs because people have a vision of their purpose and can use it in the normal process of life.

When does disciple-making become a natural part of the Christian’s life?

(a) When it builds on natural human relationships. A natural survey asked the question: “What do you enjoy doing most in your spare time?” The answer, from seventy-four percent of the people surveyed, was “spending time with family and friends.”¹⁶⁰

God made people to enjoy other people. He made the family and the relationships that result. The family is the basic organizational structure and God uses this natural human network of family and friends to most effectively spread the Good News.

(b) When it builds on the need to love and be loved. Both Christians and non-Christians need caring and love. The oikos method responds to this need in the lives of both church members and the people in their web of influence. In the disciple-making process, Christians learn how to strengthen relationship with non-Christians and communicate God’s caring through their own caring.

(c) When it becomes part of the entire organizational structure. Effective, continuous disciple-making does not translate into a program to be adopted, organized, and carried out by a few select members of an evangelism committee or calling team. It becomes a process which becomes a natural part of each organization in the church body.

(d) When it is self-perpetuating. Effective disciple-making can’t help but be self-perpetuating. Indeed, not only does it continue, but the process naturally enlarges. It happens when one person (in a member’s web) comes to Christ, and then that new member has his/her own web of relationships of friends and relatives outside of Christ. It is a natural process of multiplication.

Seven Steps For Making Disciples

Each day most people come in contact with people with whom they have an on-going relationship that has been established, many of whom are unreached with the Gospel or, if saved, they are not growing in the things of Christ. These people make up our oikos, our network of friends and family. This becomes our extended family and we have a responsibility to them. Read through the New Testament and you will quickly discover that the Gospel spread through relationships. When Andrew heard about the Savior he first went and found his brother Simon Peter. Philip immediately contacted his friend, Nathaniel. Matthew held supper for his friends, other tax collectors. And what did the woman at the well do? She immediately went back into the city and told her friends. It seems obvious that the most effective method of evangelism is to go to those with whom we already have something in common.

How can we go about reaching them? The Arns suggest seven steps for reaching these people with the Gospel which I have also drawn from their excellent book, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples.

1. Identify Your Extended Family, Your Network.

Analyze the regular contacts you have with people in your day-to day life. Consider the people in each of the following groups: common kinship, common friendship, and common associates.

Those people who are related biologically or through marriage constitute the common kinship area of your Extended Family. One person’s immediate family may be composed of a spouse and children. For another, it may include parents, brothers, or sisters. Other family members, such as cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and grandparents may be part of an Extended Family

Close friends are also part of your Extended Family. Through common friendship, you can identify people with whom you share plans and experiences, joys and sorrows. These are friends with whom you regularly communicate in person or by phone. … Those you invite over for a backyard barbecue or social event, those you look forward to being with, are all part of the common friendship segment of your Extended Family.¹⁶¹

Obviously, there are other categories of people with whom we come in contact in the course of our everyday life, people with whom we share family news, or discuss current events, or sports, or cooking, or gardening. All of these are a part of our Extended Family. Our need then is to identify and make a list of a number of these people (6-10) and recognize that this comprises our network, our Extended Family.

2. Develop a Personal Profile of Each Extended Family Member.

Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a point to become a personal friend to every dignitary he met. Before the foreign leader came to visit, the President would study the person’s hobbies, special interests, and areas of personal concern. When the diplomat and the President met, they first talked on an official, political level. But then the conversation often changed. The President would praise the diplomat for any special achievements he had made, direct the discussion to the diplomat’s own hobbies or interests, and listen attentively as the person spoke. Through expressions of genuine interest, Roosevelt built friendships that endured a lifetime.

Knowing a person on a level beyond biographical details of age, marital status and occupation is part of effective disciple-making.¹⁶²

From a heart of love, this is simply a matter of developing common ground as a bridge for caring for people and developing a relationship through getting to truly know them in their concerns, burdens, and interests. In the process of this, we also learn something about their spiritual life and beliefs. Are they interested in spiritual things? What do they understand about the Bible, about Jesus Christ, and the Christian life? Do they understand who Jesus really is as declared in the Bible? Have they trusted in Christ as their personal Savior according to the Scripture? If they are not a believer in Christ, a point of information important to your profile of them is why are they not a believer?

You may not know the answer to all these questions. If not, this is an important place to begin the disciple-making process—simply getting to know the person in a more meaningful way.¹⁶³

3. Focus Your Efforts.

As you review the list of names in your Extended Family, you may want to identify several people with whom you have a natural, warm relationship. They are people with whom you get along well. You enjoy doing things together and have a variety of common interests. … These people should be ones you feel to be potentially receptive to the Gospel and who could easily find a home in your congregation.

The number of people you can focus on may differ according to the amount of time you give to consciously sharing God’s love. A busy executive, for example, may have time to work effectively with only one or two people at a time, whereas a retired person could easily focus on six or more non-Christians in their Extended Family.¹⁶⁴

The issue is to prayerfully study your Extended Family and begin with those with whom you might naturally have the greatest rapport much as Andrew first sought out his own brother, Simon Peter (John 1:40-41). Generally, with others, we need time to build friendships, to demonstrate Christ’s love, and to develop their trust. Of course, sometimes God opens the door of a person’s heart without such a process, and we need to be open and receptive to such opportunities, but by-in-large, it is our Extended Family that becomes the most receptive since they best have a chance to see God’s love and character at work in our lives.

4. Develop a Disciple-Making Plan.

Scripture’s admonition to plan carefully is particularly applicable to making disciples: “Any enterprise that is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts” (Pr. 24:3-4, Living Bible). Introducing non-Christian friends and relatives to Christ, and directing their attention to the opportunity of new life, demands our best efforts. Yet often we tend to run ahead in our evangelistic methods without first considering insights that might increase our effectiveness.

Our disciple-making plans need to begin with meeting people at their point of need. Paul said, “I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Effective plans for communicating the Gospel need to recognize the unique ways hearers perceive and personally relate the Good News to their lives and needs.

Christ’s approach to introducing the Kingdom to people was highly individualistic. It was often based on events with which the listener could readily identify. He met people on their own ground. He respected them as individuals with unique interests and needs. He asked the woman at the well for a drink of water. He told stories about sowing and harvesting to people who understood such things.¹⁶⁵

As we build bridges, develop a profile of the person(s), and put together a plan for reaching them, we need always to bear in mind that in the final analysis, reaching a person for Christ, or motivating someone to move forward in their walk with Christ, is dependent on the ministry of the Spirit of God. Our basic trust needs to be in Him, not in our plans.

5. Work the Disciple-Making Plan.

As you begin to implement the steps of your disciple-making plan (Step 4), be sensitive and aware of the events in your Extended Family member’s life. There could be a right time and a wrong time, a right way and a wrong way to communicate Christ’s love.

Here are some suggestions for developing skills in effective communication with Extended Family members:

A. Attentive Listening. A prominent theologian once said “The first duty of love is to listen.”¹⁶⁶ Almost everyone is born with a capacity to hear. However, the ability to listen must be deliberately learned and cultivated through practice …

What is “attentive listening”? It is concentrating on what the other person is saying rather than letting our mind race ahead to what should be said next. Attentive listening is putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. It’s seeing things from their perspective rather than our own. Attentive listening is empathetic, comprehending, and non-judgmental.

Another element of attentive listening is your body language—eye contact, an encouraging nod, and understanding smile. A study in communication effectiveness showed that words alone carry only about seven percent of the communication message. The tone of delivery contributes thirty-three percent. Yet the non-verbal aspects—the body language—comprises fifty-five percent of the communication process.¹⁶⁷

Attentive listening has no “hidden agenda.” Listening is not geared toward turning the conversation to spiritual matters at the first opportunity. Rather, attentive listening seeks to understand the non-Christian friend’s dreams and ambitions; to discover his needs and his problems; and to develop a level of understanding that builds a mutual respect and personal empathy.

B. Relating to Needs. God’s love is the greatest need-meeting resource on earth. Be alert to the unique areas of need in your Extended Family members. A close and meaningful relationship includes mutual sharing of experiences … happiness, sadness, success, failure, irritation, disappointment. It is around the personal experiences of life that the importance of faith and fellowship in the church often become apparent. Points of need in your own life, or the lives of your Extended Family members, provide a natural point for demonstrating your Christian faith, relating your experiences to theirs, and discussing the solution Christ has provided you. “I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us…” (Isa. 63:7, KJV).

C. Identifying Receptive Periods. God’s love and caring is especially appropriate during significant changes in lifestyle (such as marriage, birth of a child, new job, retirement, etc.), or incidents of stress in our Extended Family members’ lives (death of a spouse, divorce, family crisis, injury, etc.). These times are called “periods of transition.” A period of transition is a span of time in which a person’s or family’s normal, everyday behavior patterns are disrupted by some event that puts them into an unfamiliar situation. The more recent the transition-producing event in the person’s life, the more receptive he or she will be to a new lifestyle which includes Christ and the church.¹⁶⁸

Consequently, it is important to stay in close touch with your Extended Family members and respond immediately in a time of transition. Being aware of these periods of transition in our non-Christian friends, and responding by showing them the caring love of Christ and the Church, can be an important step in seeing them become new Christian disciples.

The antithesis of this receptivity principle is also a factor in your disciple-making activities. That is, Extended Family members in a personally stable situation, with few complications or unusual interruptions in their life, are generally not as open to becoming disciples. Often the only way to reach an Extended Family member not presently open to the Christian faith is to be alert to a “period of transition” when their receptivity will increase, then respond in love by sharing Christ’s love.

D. Appropriate Timing. A fourth important point in effectively responding to your Extended Family member is that of timing. When you communicate God’s love and the Christian experience can be as important as what you communicate. The most effective witness is at the appropriate moment. For example, when Fred explained his difficulty with their daughter to Chuck in the gym, it was an appropriate moment for Chuck to relate how his faith guided him in similar circumstances. The timing was ideal for Chuck to communicate the church’s support and suggest a Christian alternative to Fred for an important question he was facing.

E. Understandable Language. Sharing the realities and benefits of Christ in everyday language, in the context of our everyday experience, gives a credibility and relevance to the Christian faith that is uniquely important to an Extended Family member. As you mention your faith, and the difference in your life because of it, speak in words and phrases the person will understand. Sharing your own experience helps your non-Christian friend sense that your relationship with Christ has an important influence on your attitudes and actions in everyday circumstances. Paul told the Christians at Colossae: “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyon.” (Col. 4:5-6).

Each of the areas mentioned above will help you understand and respond more effectively to the unique concerns of your Extended Family member.

6. Pray Regularly and Specifically for Each Extended Family Member.

“The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness” (Jam. 5:16).

Prayer must be at the very heart of the disciple-making process. The importance of regular prayer for specific members of your Extended Family cannot be overemphasized. It is a crucial part in the process of making disciples. If this vital step is overlooked, the chances of ever seeing your Extended Family member come to Christ and the church are slim.

After you have identified each person in your Extended Family by name, as part of your daily prayer life, pray for each of them specifically and for their needs. Ask God for the opportunity to let His love for them be experienced through you.

Do you remember the definition of “caring”? “Allowing God’s love to flow through you to people, especially those in your network of relationships.”

Through prayer, we express our specific concerns for each person in our Extended Family. We should pray according to their unique needs, attitudes, and situations. It may well be that the person in our Extended Family has never before been held up to God in prayer. What a thrill to be the first one to have that privilege! And it is impossible to talk daily with the Lord about a person and not become genuinely concerned about them and aware of caring/sharing opportunities you have with them.

One of the most important activities of a church organizationally committed to helping members disciple their Extended Family is regular prayer offered by Christians for each other’s Extended Family members. Rev. Wayne McDill, a pastor in Portland, Oregon, has correctly observed that “greater strength can be brought to bear in your prayers as you involve others in praying for your friend.”¹⁶⁹ Jesus provided a promise at this very point “Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you” (Matt. 18:19).

Each lay person involved in making disciples should pray not only for the non-Christians in his/her own web, but for specific people in other members’ Extended Families. Sharing prayer concerns, asking God for a sense of awareness to opportunities that arise, and thanking Him for answered prayer are important parts of each person’s role in making disciples.

7. Accept Your Accountability to Others and to God.

A final major step in the disciple-making process is to meet regularly with other Christians similarly involved in the process. As you discuss goals and individual experiences in regular meetings, you will find an important sense of support, fellowship, and accountability.

No member’s caring relationships with Extended Family members will be quite identical. Thus, sharing individual successes and failures can provide rich learning experiences for every church member involved. One person’s insights sharpen another’s understanding. And the probability of each member continuing as an active disciple-maker is vastly increased when he/she is part of such a regular group.

In these meetings, members share their prayer concerns for each person in their Extended Family. These concerns become the subject of intercessory prayer for the entire group. Likewise, experiences of answered prayer are shared with the group and expressed in praise and thanks to the Lord.

Praying for fellow church members is an encouraging and enabling aspect of these times together. Thanking God for the opportunity to demonstrate His love and Word through a caring witness helps members keep their disciple-making ministry at the forefront of their Christian lives. As Christians ask God for guidance, wisdom, insight, and sensitivity, they build a confidence and self-worth in being ambassadors of God’s love. These times of prayer together are a mutual expression of dependence, anticipation, and assurance of God’s ability to direct His people.

Church members may want to become prayer partners with one another. Each agrees to pray for his/her partner and the people in his/her Extended Family. The disciple-making process is strengthened immeasurably as each Extended Family member is daily held up by others before the Lord in prayer.

Your Opportunity …

A denominational leader has observed, “If you and I are to enjoy our disciple-making opportunities, we need to take our witness out from behind the walls of our church building and into our neighborhood. … Life’s greatest satisfactions are found as we witness to what Christ is doing in our lives while we engage in the normal activities of the day.”¹⁷⁰

Is it possible to see the lives of friends, relatives, and associates really change as they encounter the miraculous love of Christ? Can you, as an “ordinary layman,” have a meaningful and purposeful role in reaching these people with Christ’s love? The answer is a resounding, affirmative “YES.” You can do it! In fact, you are probably the best person able to show these Extended Family members the burden-lifting power of Jesus Christ.¹⁷¹

Developing a Plan to Reach Our Oikos Network

I will do little more than mention each of these for most of them pretty much speak for themselves. Again, I am indebted to the Arns and their book, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples.¹⁷²

Caring

Nothing we do will have a greater witness and impact like showing the love of Christ, really caring for the Extended Family. But what do people usually think of as the most vital ingredients to a powerful witness? Usually high on the list are things like being articulate, a debater, and a very outgoing kind of personality. God’s call is to become a channel of His love to others.

Strengthening Relationships

How do we strengthen relationships with people? By getting involved in their lives through common ground experiences. Think of how much the Lord impacted people while sitting with them around the dinner table or other relational experiences. We need to look for opportunities to do those things that are in keeping with our Christian standards that will allow us to strengthen relationships. This includes sports, garden clubs, backyard barbecues, lunch, coffee breaks, helping a neighbor with a project like building a fence, planting a garden, and a host of other opportunities.

A helpful research study¹⁷³ identified two hundred forty (240) new Christians presently active and involved in their churches. In addition, a second group of 240 people were identified who could be classified as “drop-outs” (they had made a recent decision but had since lapsed into inactivity). A third group of 240 people were identified who had been presented with the Gospel message, but had chosen not to make a positive decision. In individual interviews with these 720 people, each was asked to classify the person who had presented the Gospel into one of three categories: “Friend,” “Salesman,” “Teacher.”

The results of the study provided some startling conclusions: The people who saw the church member as a “friend” were almost all now Christians and active in their churches (94%). On the other hand, those people who saw the church member who presented the Gospel as a “salesman” often made an initial decision, but soon dropped out in large numbers (71% later dropped). Finally, those who saw the church member as a “teacher” generally tended to not respond at all (84% said “no thanks”). The implications are clear. The non-Christian person who perceives your relationship as one of a “friend” is far more likely to eventually respond to Christ’s love than the person who sees you either as a “teacher”—instructing on doctrine, sin, and morality; or as “salesman”—manipulating them toward an eventual decision.

Your greatest resource in developing a meaningful and caring friendship is in simply being yourself—natural and unmasked. The phrase “I’m not perfect, just forgiven” reflects a healthy attitude in recognizing the shortcomings each person has …¹⁷⁴

Using Other Members of the Body

The Christian life is a teamwork enterprise and requires the input and help of the body of Christ with its varied and gifted members.

One important resource for disciple-making found in your church is other church members, particularly your close friends. Encouraging and building personal relationships between your Extended Family members and other Christian friends in your church is a highly effective way to introducing your non-Christian friends to the variety of ways Christ works in the lives of people.¹⁷⁵

How do you help such relationships flourish between your Extended Family members and others in the congregation? Informal social gatherings at your home, or group outings to special events can include both Christian and non-Christian friends …¹⁷⁶

Enhancing Our Witness

Paul told the Colossians to season their witness as with salt (Col. 4:5-6).

Jesus, in teaching His disciples to be fishers of men, used many different models. From Nicodemus, the religious ruler who was told he needed to be “born from above” (John 3:3), to the woman of Samaria who was offered water of eternal life (John 4:14), to the thief on the cross who asked only to be remembered when Christ came into His kingdom (Luke 23:42). Each situation presents different needs, portrays different relationships, uses different words, brings a different response. Each situation was unique.¹⁷⁷

While our approach should vary with individuals and circumstances, certain elements need to be present in our witness, especially as it pertains to the message of the Gospel. The following provide some of the common denominators that need to be present.

(1) Man’s Condition: Scripture stresses that all men are sinners and separated from God because of sin (Isa. 53:6; 64:6; Rom. 3:9-23).

(2) God’s Solution: God’s solution for man’s predicament is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the focal point. The goal is to bring people to see their need to put their trust in Jesus Christ who died in their place and was raised to authenticate His person and work (John 3:16-18, 36; Phil. 3:8-9; Rom. 3:23-26; 1:4; 4:25-5:1).

(3) The Starting Point: The models of evangelism in the New Testament were different because they began with the various personal needs of individuals even though the ultimate needs were the same—turning from self-trust to Christ in personal faith. The Lord ultimately pointed people to Himself as the solution to their need, but He started with whatever their problem was and used that as a beachhead to show His love and to point them to Himself as “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

(4) The Instrument God Uses—People: God could reach people by many means, but He has chosen to use human beings (mere earthen vessels) to be the instruments of His light (2 Cor. 4:5-7). Conversions do not take place in a vacuum. Philip was there to interpret the Scripture for the Ethiopian. Peter was there to help Cornelius. Paul was there to help Lydia. When people in the New Testament came to faith, they came through the influence and help of others.¹⁷⁸

(5) The Message: If we do not get the message right according to the Scripture, we end up preaching a false gospel which is not really a gospel at all. The Apostle Paul was deeply concerned that we know and preach the true message and not distort the Gospel of Christ (see Gal. 1:6-10). The message is the message of grace, the message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. The next lesson will be devoted to this very issue.

Patience

We need patience and dependence on the Spirit of God in seeking to bring people to a point of decision about faith in Christ. In our sales-oriented society where people are taught the need to close the sale, we should not take it upon ourselves to force a decision. Understanding the Gospel and coming to faith in Christ is a work that can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:14; 1 Cor. 3:6-7; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).

Illustration of Evangelism (John 4)

Scripture describes believers as partners with the Lord and with one another. We share together in His life, but we are also to share together in His enterprise here on earth. We are His representatives who are to share His love and plan of salvation from sin’s penalty and power with a lost and dying world. But for this to occur, we must truly share in His life and have His vision. We must see what He sees and as He sees.

John 4 and the story of the Lord’s encounter with the woman at the well in Samaria is a classic passage on evangelism, not only for the model it gives us of one of the ways the Lord shared His life with others, but because it also challenges us to grasp His vision in this passage, He told the disciples, “look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest!” It is a call for us to see as Jesus sees. In this passage the Lord will illustrate and model the four important factors of evangelism and outreach discussed in this study.

• He was controlled by the Spirit—“He had to go through Samaria.” Our Means
• He utilized, and the passage illustrates, the oikos principle. Our Method. But the Lord shows us that while evangelism involves a method, it is primarily a spiritual process of sowing and reaping.
• He demonstrated keeping the message pure and clear. Our Message
• He was controlled and driven by the Father’s mission. Our Mission

The First Necessity

The first necessity was passing through Samaria (John 4:1-26). Christ was controlled by the Spirit (our Means).

(1) Wearied At The Well

God uses our humanness as opportunities (John 4:1-6). Jesus found and used common ground that rose out of His own humanity and what He had in common with the woman. He used His thirst as a bridge for crossing the gap that existed between Himself and this Samaritan women. What exactly is common ground?

Common ground consists of shared areas of interest, background, or concerns—anything that people might hold in common that will serve as the basis for developing a relationship that will form a basis for earning credibility to share the Savior. Common ground is the key to beginning and growing relationships. But we often do not see the common ground opportunities because we just aren’t looking, we lack vision, or because we are blinded by our own prejudice as were the disciples who marveled that Jesus was speaking with this woman (4:27).¹⁷⁹

Verses 1-4. Since it was not yet time for the cross, the Lord withdrew from Jerusalem to avoid unnecessary confrontation with the Pharisees. His objective was Galilee. He had two routes open to Him. He could go straight up through Samaria to Galilee or He could go around Samaria through Perea east of the Jordan.

But the text tells us (vs. 4) “But he had to pass through Samaria.” “Had” is the Greek word dei, an impersonal verb meaning, “it is necessary, one must.” It reflects a sense of determining constraint exerted by the will of God. It carries the idea of both a logical and a spiritual necessity arising from the Father’s purpose for Jesus. He must pass through Samaria. The question is why since this was not the normal course for a Jew who went out of his way to avoid going through Samaria. Let me suggest two reasons.

First of all it was necessary because He was driven and directed by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been preparing a village for the Gospel of Christ. The Holy Spirit was the agent and power behind all that Jesus did (Matt. 4:1; 12:18-21, 28) and throughout the New Testament. He is likewise the agent and power behind all effective evangelism (Acts 1:8). Note the following illustrations:

• It was the Holy Spirit who led Philip to the Ethiopian.
• It was the Holy Spirit who sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.
• It was the Holy Spirit who directed Paul away from Asia to Macedonia.

If we are going to be a people involved effectively in evangelism, we must be a Spirit-controlled, Spirit-led people.

Second, the Lord had to go through Samaria because of the prevalent attitude of prejudice toward Samaria and Samaritans found in the Jewish community of which the disciples were obviously a part. This needed to be corrected. Christ came for all the world, for the despised and outcasts. If His disciples were to carry on His ministry after He departed, they must have His vision and purpose. So the Lord went through Samaria to both reach this village with the Gospel and to teach the disciples some important lessons.

Verses 5-6. Being wearied from travel, hot and thirsty, the Lord pulled in at Jacob’s well for water and for rest. He was there for human reasons, but it was precisely this humanness that became a common ground, the bridge or avenue for contact with others and a means of reaching out to people in need of His life.

We need to capture this. We have many things in common with people all around us and each of these can become contact points if we will just become caring and sensitive to them as people; if we will just open our eyes and see the fields white unto harvest.

(2) Witnessing at the Well

God wants to use us to love and win people to Himself (John 4:7-26; cf. John 17:18).

To demonstrate Jesus’ varied approaches in evangelism, His approach with the woman at the well is often contrasted with His encounter with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a cultured, powerful, and righteous Jew. This woman was an unknown and immoral Samaritan peasant. But the Lord cared for and led both to know Himself as the water of life.

• This encounter reminds us the Lord cares about everyone (He came to save sinners and that includes all of us regardless of religious background, race, gender, or character).
• This encounter shows us how the Lord used common ground to break down cultural barriers, demonstrate personal interest in others, and ultimately win a soul to the Savior.

Verse 7. His request for water. Note how He broke with cultural and religious convention and prejudice and used the common ground of their need of water to capture her attention and stimulate her curiosity so He could establish a base for reaching this woman with the message of who He was and what He could do for her.

Verse 8. The absence of His disciples. They were absent at this point, but this would become a training aid on their arrival.

Verse 9. Her response. She was startled at His request. He was breaking with Jewish prejudice. Edwin Blum writes:

The NIV margin gives an alternate translation to the Greek sentence with the word synchrontai (“associate” or “use together”): the Jews “do not use dishes Samaritans have used.” This rendering may well be correct. A Rabbinic law of A.D. 66 stated that Samaritan women were considered as continually menstruating and thus unclean. Therefore a Jew who drank from a Samaritan woman’s vessel would become ceremonially unclean.¹⁸⁰

Verse 10. The Lord’s Reply—His answer was somewhat an enigmatic saying to cause her to further think.

It was as if He had said, “Your shock would be infinitely greater if you really knew who I am. You-not I-would be asking!” Three things would have provoked her thinking: (1) Who is He? (2) What is the gift of God? (3) What is living water? “Living water” in one sense is running water, but in another sense it is the Holy Spirit (Jer. 2:13; Zech. 14:8; John 7:38-39).¹⁸¹

Time and my purpose in this study will not allow me to pursue it, but this passage is loaded with principles of personal evangelism. Our purpose and one of the emphases of the passage, if not the primary one, is one of catching the vision of our Lord—seeing as Jesus sees. People who need Christ are all around us. We rub shoulders with them nearly everywhere we go, but somehow we become blind to them as objects of God’s love and blind to the fact God wants to win them to the Savior through us—you and me (John 17:18).

Christ’s purpose in the world is to become our purpose, the all-consuming and driving force of our lives. But for this to occur, we must have His vision, we must see as He sees, care as He cares, and become devoted to that which He is devoted. Jesus was wholly concerned with God, and because of that, He was wholly concerned with people.

So, being led by the Spirit of God, the Lord used this event to pass on a vision to help the disciples and us see as He sees. He wants to heal our eyesight and give us a 20/20 vision for the world that begins with us in our everyday encounters. We tend to be far sighted. We can see the need for missionaries in Africa (the far picture), but when it comes to our oikos, our neighbors, work buddies, the kids on the block, or the runaways downtown, we have blurred vision. We just see blobs moving about. We don’t see them as hurting people in desperate need of the Savior and His love.

In a men’s discipleship training class that I was teaching a number of years ago, one of our men asked for prayer regarding his job which had become very difficult because his supervisor had become very overbearing and hard to work for. The prayer request was for the elimination of the irritation. But I suggested that the change in his supervisor’s behavior could have been because he was hurting and that maybe God wanted to use him to minister in this hurting man’s life. I suggested that, in dependence on the Lord, he might look for an opportunity to ask his supervisor if he was okay. He might tell him that he hadn’t seemed like himself lately and ask if there was anything he could do. That night we all prayed for the supervisor and my friend tried this very approach during the next week and came back to class the following week excited because it not only changed the working conditions, but it opened up a great opportunity to share Christ with his supervisor. I was simply seeking to impart the vision of fields that were white unto harvest.

The Second Necessity

The second necessity is passing on a vision (John 4:27-38).

(1) The Disciples’ Astonishment

In this encounter with the Samaritan woman, the Lord was breaking with convention and going against both Jewish and Samaritan prejudice. Note the woman’s response in John 4:9. The Greek text is emphatic. “How can you—a Jew—ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?” “You” and “me” are emphatic by word order and immediately sets Christ off from her both as a woman and as a Samaritan woman. Her words were words of surprise and scorn. Lightfoot quotes a rabbinical precept, “Let no one talk with a woman in the street, no, not with his own wife.”

But we might ask how did she know Jesus was a Jew and how did the disciples know she was a Samaritan? Edersheim, the great Jewish historian, points out that “the fringes of the Tallith of the Samaritans are blue, while those worn by Jews are white.”¹⁸² Perhaps also by facial features and by accent.

The point is, Christ, whom the disciples viewed as a rabbi, a teacher of the Law, was talking with a woman in public and one who was a Samaritan at that! This astonished them, yet because of their respect for the Lord, no one questioned him about this.

What they saw as madness, He saw as ministry. So what does this teach us about ourselves? It reminds us how our culture and personal prejudices against others because of dress, character, color of skin, cultural differences, or personal differences whatever they might be, can literally blind us to their needs and to our responsibilities as ambassadors of the Gospel. Such people have become invisible to us.

Concerning the problem of seeing those who have become invisible to us, Frank Tillapaugh has the following to say:

One of our Lord’s constant frustrations was that his followers did not see what He saw. All they saw in Zacchaeus was a despicable little tax collector. But Jesus saw someone who needed a friend and, more than that, someone who needed deliverance from his sin.

At Jacob’s well one day, Jesus’ followers saw a Samaritan woman who looked as though she had been through the mill. But He saw a precious, hurting human being who could be the key to spreading the gospel in Samaria. Over and over again He saw what was invisible to those around Him. …

A major task for the local church body then is to help one another see hitherto invisible segments of our society. Thousand of refugees, for example, can melt into a major city and hardly be noticed. Even though they still receive mention occasionally in the media, most people, including those in our churches, scarcely know they exist.

We need to condition ourselves to see what Jesus saw. It doesn’t come naturally, even for the believer. We need to ask ourselves as we move about the city, Who are these people? What is their contact point with the gospel? Is there something God would have me do?

One possible means of making ourselves aware of the needs of the city is to take “seeing-as He-saw” field trips. For example, go sit in the emergency room of the publicly financed hospital in your community, preferably between 11:00 P.M. and 5:00 A.M. Watch as people come in with gunshot wounds, knife wounds, drug overdoses or battered bodies. Listen as they grope to give their addresses or the name of their next of kin. Sometimes they don’t even know their own names. Then, remember that their names are a part of the “whosoever” in John 3:16.¹⁸³

(2) The Invitation of the Woman

Having met the Savior and having become confident of who He was, the woman left her water pot and rushed into the city to spread the news (John 4:28-30). Isn’t this the kind of response to knowing Christ that we should all experience?

Many people are convinced that Christianity is true and that Jesus is the Savior, but somehow it doesn’t have the binding consequences on their lives that it should. Because of poor spiritual pediatrics or spiritual help and growth, it’s simply business as usual. Note verse 10. If we really know the gift that God gives us in Christ and who He is, the Lord and Savior, if we are really abiding in Him daily, how can it continue to be business as usual? How can we continue to live without dramatic and binding life-changing consequences? If we are not experiencing life-changing consequences it is either because we haven’t truly come to know the Savior, or we are not abiding in Him and experiencing His life through the control of the Spirit.

This provided a wonderful example of instruction for the disciples and for us.

(3) The Instruction of the Savior

In John 4:31-38 we see Christ’s declaration about purposes and values (vss. 31-34).

Verse 31. Eating is a normal necessity of life and one that provides pleasure and enjoyment by God’s own creative blessing for mankind. Because we enjoy it, most of us make sure we don’t miss a meal. But in the process of this, and because of our carnal bent, we tend to become preoccupied not only with eating and its pleasures, but with all the details of life. As our Lord warned in Matthew 6:31, we tend to be anxious over what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what we shall clothe ourselves.

Verse 32. The Lord’s answer did not mean that He did not need food or enjoy food from the standpoint of His humanity. He did. What it means is that there were other forces and aspirations that were His greatest motivations and that guided His life.

God has “provides us with all things for our enjoyment,” the Apostle Paul tells us (1 Tim. 6:17). These things, however, are not to consume us or possess us or distract us or bind us or blind us to God’s vision and purpose for our lives (cf. 2 Pet. 1:8-9).

Verse 33. In this verse we see both the misunderstanding and perplexity of the disciples. They completely missed His point. They thought He was talking about physical food when in essence He was referring to spiritual concepts and objectives.

Verse 34. By the words “my food” the Lord was saying that which nourished His soul, which sustained Him, which kept Him going, and which turned Him on, was doing the will of God and accomplishing the Father’s purposes for His life. Do you see what He is saying to us? Ministry to this woman had fed His own soul because He was doing that for which He had been sent into the world. Pursuits that have as their objective the world’s pot of gold, whether wealth or health, or power or success, cannot satisfy. Life must consist in more than the things we possess (Luke 12:15, 23).

(4) His Exhortation

In verses 35-38 we have Christ’s exhortation about seeing, having vision.

Negative: “Don't you say …” This probably represents a rural proverb used in connection with planting and the harvesting. First you plant (prepare the soil and sow the seed), and then four months later, you reap. The process of waiting four months is true in cultivation and harvesting of grain, but it is not true in relation to bringing people into the kingdom of God. God’s plan of harvesting souls involves an entirely different plan of action. It involves a different spiritual process that means people are ripe for the harvest now.

What God’s people need is vision and spiritual perception. If God’s people would look around, they would see people with spiritual hunger. Some have thought the Samaritans in their white garments coming from the village (vs. 30) may have visually suggested a wheat field ripe for harvest.

Why did the Lord make this statement to the disciples? Because this represents our tendency. We tend to treat the harvest of souls into the kingdom of God like the farmer treats the sowing and reaping of his harvest. We tend to put off God’s present purposes for our lives and to live a schizophrenic life. We may see the needs, but we make excuses and say, “They are not ready for the Gospel.” We may have an attitude that is so typical for much of the church today. It’s the perspective: We are saved from sin’s penalty and confident of the future kingdom, being in glory with the Lord, but in the meantime, we are working hard for a piece of the rock and our part in fat city.

The effect of this is distraction and blindness as to our real purpose in life and the place God’s purpose should occupy in our lives. In his book, Why Settle for More and Miss the Best, Tom Sine has a chapter entitled, “Discerning Half Truths and False Visions.” If we are going to avoid the rat race of the world that puts us on a course that causes us to miss God’s purpose and the very best, we need the right perspective.

So note our Lord’s next words and counsel.

Positive: “I tell you, look up and see” In other words, learn to see as Jesus sees, develop God’s vision to guide you.

Without God’s perspective, His vision to sift out the false visions of the world that place people on a gerbil wheel of fruitlessness (without the right values and purposes for life) we become blind and insensitive to the needs of people all around us. We develop tunnel vision which limits the potential of ministry opportunities that surround us.

So, what happens without God’s viewpoint? It results in spiritual dullness, personal unhappiness, unfulfilled lives, and numerical stagnation. It results in a people who become occupied with themselves, who become complainers in the church, and in general, nit pickers. Or, it results in the religious cushion syndrome.¹⁸⁴ (Compare Heb. 10:24-25 with Tit. 2:14; 3:1, 14.)

What exactly is our problem today? False visions that lead men and women to feverishly work to climb to the top of a mountain that cannot satisfy. And in the struggle up this mountain for the goodies of this world, we not only hurt ourselves, our health and spiritual lives, but we stay oblivious to those around us in need as we climb this barren mountain.

(5) His Explanation

In verses 36-38 we have Christ’s explanation.

People usually make contact with God in the same way we screw a light bulb into an electrical socket … step-by-step and stage-by-stage. We turn the bulb a little at a time, until contact is made and the light goes on. People are normally prompted to turn their attention toward God in the same gradual manner. They are nudged and prodded by God and circumstances, again and again, until contact is made and Christ’s forgiveness and love light up their lives.¹⁸⁵

Jesus spoke of this process, as did the Apostle Paul, under the figure of sowing and reaping (cf. John 4:37-38; 1 Cor. 3:6-8).

The important principle in reaching men and women for the Savior is a process that is going on at all times. It is a process that involves soil preparation, sowing, watering, and reaping, but the fields are always white to harvest. There are those out there, sometimes the most unlikely, that are ready for reaping like the woman at the well and this Samaritan village.

We need to relax about this through understanding our responsibility. Certainly, the ultimate goal is to lead people to the Savior, but we must recognize this involves a process and never see people simply as an evangelism project. Our job is to love people as people, to reach out to them, and as we have opportunity share the riches of Christ. We are to sow, water, and reap, but in the final analysis whether we are sowing, watering, or reaping, only God can lead them to Himself. The fields are white. Some are ready for harvesting and some are not, but as Christians, God wants us all to be involved in the process.

A Pattern for Evangelism Acts 2 and 4

In a world portrayed by Scripture as dark and full of people described as blind and walking in darkness (John 3:19; 12:35; Rom. 13:12; 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:8; 6:12; Col. 1:13), in a day that is described as evil and full of demonic powers dedicated to man’s deception (Eph. 5:16; 6:10-13; Rom. 16:18; Eph. 5:6; 2 Thess. 2:3), it is so easy to lose our way, become deceived, disoriented, and lost in the many delusions of our times.

Thus, the Bible has much to say about light and sight (or vision). God’s people are challenged to walk in the light and to watch carefully how and where they are walking. This certainly includes the need to understand and live in the light of our purpose and mission as the people of God. We need to sharpen our focus, or as the Lord put it in Matthew 6:22-23, we need clear vision, a single eye for the kingdom of God and God’s purposes, or our lives will be full of darkness. In John 12:35 the Lord said, “The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”

The point is that both members and church leaders can lose sight of their mission, their calling and purpose in the world as disciple-makers and change agents. As Richard Lovelace put it:

… Pastors gradually settle down and lose interest in being change agents in the church. An unconscious conspiracy arises between their flesh and that of their congregations. It becomes tacitly understood that the laity will give pastors special honor in the exercise of their gifts, if the pastors will agree to leave their congregations’ pre-Christian lifestyles undisturbed and do not call for the mobilization of lay gifts for the work of the kingdom. Pastors are permitted to become ministerial superstars. Their pride is fed and their congregations are permitted to remain herds of sheep in which each has cheerfully turned to his own way.¹⁸⁶

So what happens? Churches lose the elementary principles of faith and vision that stimulate and motivate God’s people to qualitative and quantitative church growth and outreach.

The goal of this part of Understanding Our Method, is for us to get a glimpse of the vitality of the church in Acts in some of its early chapters, hopefully, as a motivation to examine our life together as a part of God’s people. As a preparation, let’s first take a look at the theme, purpose, and place of Acts in the Bible, and then look at patterns of early church life from some of the key verses in these chapters.

The theme of Acts is given for us in 1:8. As a historian, Luke summarized his first work on the life of Jesus Christ in Acts 1:1-3, but then sets forth the theme of his second volume through the words of the Lord in 1:8. But while 1:8 is the theme, we must not forget that 1:1 is both a reminder and a warning that the ministry of the Spirit is to be viewed as continuing the ministry of the Lord Himself through His people.

In effect, 1:8 is the outline of the book showing the spread of Christianity as a work of the Lord through a Spirit-empowered church. These are like concentric circles:

Purpose of Acts

• To give a record of the spread of Christianity through a witnessing church from the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to Paul’s arrival and ministry in Rome.
• To reveal patterns of church life which become both examples for spiritual vitality and warnings of things that can kill the vitality and missionary purpose of the church today.
• To furnish principles for missionary work and church growth.

Place of Acts in the Bible

This gives us a clear picture of the place and emphasis of Acts. The facts of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, which constitute the Gospel, need to be propagated, proclaimed, and spread to the ends of the earth.

Patterns of Church Life Found in Acts

(1) Acts 2:41-47

Verse 41. Numerical Growth: In keeping with the theme of the book of Acts, we have in the center of this section an emphasis on the adding of souls to the body of Christ. This is a result of the events of Pentecost and the preaching of Peter (2:1-36). But contrary to what our Pentecostal brethren teach, Pentecost would be recorded for us as Luke has done, but it would not be repeated. Speaking with other tongues—actual languages unknown to the speakers but understood by the hearers—would occur until the cessation of that gift before 70 A.D. in keeping with its purpose as a special sign to the Jews (1 Cor. 14:20-22), but without all the phenomena of Pentecost (1 Cor. 13:8).

The question naturally arises, how will the church continue to have a dynamic witness to the world? Through the Spirit, of course. But what are the essential characteristics and ingredients for maintaining a Spirit empowered or controlled church?

Verse 42. The Pattern of Early Church Life: It is not by accident that Luke immediately takes us to the pattern of worship and life in the early church. He seems to make a connection between numerical church growth and its spiritual growth. If there was to be real spiritual growth and the continuation of numerical growth, a certain pattern of life was essential. So, Luke begins to describe the early church by telling us that the believers in it were distinguished by their devotion to the Apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, and to worship in the form of observing the Lord’s table and prayer.

The words “continually devoting” are from the Greek word proskartereo which denotes a steadfast and single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action (cf. 1:20 and 6:4). In this word we see the earnestness, commitment, zeal, and faithfulness of the early church to assemble and fellowship together around the things of Christ. They were deeply involved in the things of Christ. But what is involvement? Someone has said that idealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem. The church must get involved with God and with others if it is to truly impact the world.

There are four areas of involvement: (a) with God, (b) with family, (c) with other Christians, and (d) with non-Christians. Involvement includes: love, faith, spontaneity, vulnerability, and accountability.

I know of no more potent killer than isolation. There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health than the isolation of you from me and us from them. It has been shown to be a central agent in the etiology of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, mass murder, and a wide variety of disease states.¹⁸⁷

In Webster’s dictionary, we find that being involved means “to draw in as a participant, to relate closely, to connect, to include.” It means fellowship, being partners together in an enterprise. Their fellowship was the reality of the unity of faith and love and joy that so characterized these early believers.

Verses 43-47. The Pattern of Daily Lifestyles and Values: Note an important connection: Within the community of believers there was a spirit of unity in commitment and rejoicing and generosity. Outside, they enjoyed good will or favor from the people with the Lord adding to the church daily.

Verse 43. “Everyone” may well refer to more than the Christian community and is contrasted to “all those who believed” in vs. 44. It thus calls attention to the impact the early Christians were having on their community because of the authenticity of their walk with the Lord and the way it was changing their lives.

Verses 44-45. First, we see involvement: as believers, they were together (lit. unto the same place). In this we see a new commitment for fellowship with believers. Second, they possessed a new value system. This was all voluntary and based on their love for each other, their love for the Lord, and the single-minded perspective of heavenly treasure. This new value system not only led to generosity, but to new priorities in the use of their time with each other in the pursuit of spiritual things.

Verse 46. We find the favorite meeting place of the early believers was in the temple at the eastern edge of the outer court called Solomon’s Colonnade. There, they met formally and carried on their worship, teaching, discussions, and praise. Then, they took their meals in their own homes (lit. “by households” or “in various houses”). They met formally to study and worship together in the temple and then they would meet together in various homes for food and closer fellowship.

We also see they met daily or day by day. This text does not command every day meetings. They may have alternated between the temple and their homes, but the point is they were consistent and they joyfully assembled together for worship, encouragement, and fellowship. All of this was to a large degree the product of their sincerity of heart. Above reference was made to their single-minded perspective. This is evident in the “common consent” of verse 46 and in this phrase, “humble hearts.” “Sincerity” is aphelotes, “without a stone, even, smooth.” It means sincerity, singleness, without that which causes one to stumble as perhaps in Hebrews 12:1 and Matthew 6:19-22.

Verse 47. “Praising God” is a further matter of perspective and singleness of mind. They were a church that exalted the Lord by praise. Indeed, they lived by praise because their trust and hope was in the Lord and not in the details of life—fame and fortune, and power and pleasure. I am reminded of Psalm 34:1-4.

A further outcome of all of this is found in the rest of Acts 2:47, favor with all people and the numerical growth of the church by the work of God.

(2) Acts 3:1-26

In this chapter we have recorded the miracle of the man lame from his mother’s womb which is followed by another message by Peter. This is a message to Jewish people, but it would be well to note verse 26. In this we see the nature and character of the true blessing of God, to turn us from our wicked ways.

But what are wicked ways? Too often we have a distorted view of this. We tend to unconsciously see the wicked or sinful as people who sin differently from us. We often think of drunkenness, murder, drugs, fraud, lying, stealing, pornography, and maybe even gossip and criticism. But what about spiritual apathy, false values, pursuits, and priorities that keep us from fellowship, praying together, from the study of the Word, and ministry?

(3) Acts 4:1-12

Persecution began to break out because of the jealousy of the religious leaders who had rejected the Lord. But the church thrived in the midst of persecution while today the church is, for the most part, dying in the midst of luxurious living. Our preoccupation with comfort, pleasure, and independence is killing our witness in the world. Either our pursuits keep us from seeking the kingdom of God or they blind us to those in need of our ministry.

Regardless of the persecution, Peter boldly proclaimed the Lord as the sole source of salvation (Acts 4:12).

(4) Acts 4:13-14

What kind of men did the Lord use in the early church who literally turned the world upside down? While literacy was high among Jews of the first century, theological disputations required rabbinical training. Since the Apostles had no such training, they were thought incapable of having the ability to carry on theological discussion. But here were Peter and John, whom the council observed to be “unschooled, ordinary men,” speaking fearlessly and confidently before the Jewish supreme court and senate. Their judges could not but wonder at these ordinary men having such a mastery of biblical argumentation. So, they had to fall back on the only possible explanation—“these men had been with Jesus.” Nothing speaks louder than authenticity!

(5) Acts 4:23-31

The church’s response to the release of the Apostles was a spontaneous outburst of praise, practical application of truth, and petition.

Most significant is the fact that these early Christians were not praying for relief from oppression or judgment on their oppressors but for enablement “to speak your message with great courage” amid oppression, and for God Himself to act in mighty power “through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” The concern was for God’s Word to go forth and for Christ’s name to be glorified, while they rested their circumstances in God’s hands. What a pattern and an example for us!

Verse 31 gives us the effect: As an evidence of the sure answer of God to their prayer, the place was shaken. This does not seem to be an earthquake. Whatever it was, it may picture the shaking up of our lives that we all need through the work of God in our hearts—new concerns, new priorities, new values, new commitment, and new sources of trust versus our old strategies for living. They were all filled with the Spirit. Note the “all.” They were given boldness to speak and represent the Lord.

(6) Acts 4:32-37

Going back to the theme of 2:42-47, Luke again illustrates the nature and character of the life of the early church. He gives examples of that which made it so effective in its mission to the lost, the single-minded generosity, the unity of mind and heart, and commitment of the people as a whole, with Barnabas as a specific example.

Verse 32. “Of one heart and mind” is the root of what was happening here—Unity. But what does that mean? One happy family? No! We might compare two oxen at work pulling a plow. They may be the best of buddies, but if one is lazy or does not have his mind on his purpose, there is no unity nor the ability to do what they were designed to do.

“And no one said …” is the fruit. Again, this is not calling for Christian socialism as chapter 5 verses 1 and following clearly shows. It simply demonstrates the single-minded devotion and values of the early church. They were not divided in their allegiance.

Right in the midst of this description, as though to emphasize that meeting the physical needs of the group was not the primary consideration, attention is called to the public witness borne by the Apostles to “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” Above all, this was a witnessing community, and for this reason it enjoyed “abundant grace” from the Lord.

(7) Acts 5:1-11

In these verses Luke gives an example of the kind of thing which could and would kill the impact of the church in its calling and mission, the greed and deceit of Ananias and Sapphira.

Verses 1-2. “Now a man named Ananias” (His name means “God is gracious”). Luke uses the verb nosphizo, “kept back, purloined, put aside for oneself.” In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX) it is used in Joshua 7:1 of Achan’s sin. Perhaps Luke meant to draw a parallel between the sin of Achan as Israel began their conquest of Canaan as the people of God (they too had a mission to the nations as a priesthood nation [see Ex. 19:4-6; Deut. 4:6-7]) and the sin of Ananias and Sapphira as the church began its mission to the nations (Acts 1:8).

“Satan” (Greek, ho Satanas; Hebrew, ha satan) was originally a common noun meaning “adversary” (1 Kings 11:14; Ps. 109:6), but later it became a personal designation for the angel who accuses and opposes God and His people (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7), and tempts man to evil (1 Chron. 21:1).

We see four things in Ananias and his wife that pose a warning to us, things that are devastating to not only our walk with the Lord, but to our witness and mission in the world. (a) We see greed or covetousness, caused by (b) a false hope or trust—trusting in the uncertainty of riches, a form of idolatry, (c) hypocrisy, a false front, wanting to appear more generous than they were, and (d) a false source of significance, seeking the praise of men for their self-worth and impact rather than resting in their new acceptance in the Lord.

As we reflect on these verses, isn’t there a call here for an evaluation of our personal values, our sources of trust, our priorities, and pursuits? Don’t we need to ask ourselves, what am I seeking from life, from my career, from my ministry, from my family, from my church?

Am I looking to any of the four deadly desires of the heart for my security and significance, the desires of fame, fortune, power, and pleasure and all that these are supposed to supply? Each of these are like heavy weights or entangling vines that cripple our capacity and ability to run the race that has been set before us (Heb. 12:1-2).

Has Satan been successful in deluding us to seek from such futile things what only God can give? Are they keeping us from the pattern of fellowship and gathering together we see in the early church?

¹⁴⁷ See Win and Charles Arn’s excellent book, The Master’s Plan for Making Disciples, Church Growth Press, Pasadena, CA, 1982.

¹⁴⁸ Arn, p. 37f.

¹⁴⁹ Arn, p. 37.

¹⁵⁰ Tom Wolf, “Church Growth America,” Jan/Feb. 1978, p. 13.

¹⁵¹ Arn, p. 39.

¹⁵² Statistics from Campus Crusade’s “Here’s Life America” conducted in the late 1970s.

¹⁵³ Wolf, “Church Growth America,” p. 7.

¹⁵⁴ “Common Ground,” September, 1990, produced by Search Ministries, 101 W. Ridgely Rd. St. 5-A, Lutherville, MD 21093 (301-252-1246).

¹⁵⁵ Arn, p. 43.

¹⁵⁶ Arn, pp. 58-79.

¹⁵⁷ Arn, p. 60.

¹⁵⁸ Arn. p. 62.

¹⁵⁹ Arn, p. 64.

¹⁶⁰ According to Syndicated News Report KFWB, Los Angeles, June 4, 1981.

¹⁶¹ Arn, p. 83.

¹⁶² Arn, pp. 84-85.

¹⁶³ Ibid., p. 85.

¹⁶⁴ Ibid.

¹⁶⁵ Arn, p. 87.

¹⁶⁶ Paul Tillich, The Friendship Factor, Augsburg, p. 109.

¹⁶⁷Albert Mehrabian, “Communicating Without Words,” Psychology Today, September 1978, p. 53.

¹⁶⁸ W. Charles Arn, “How to Find Receptive People,” The Pastor’s Church Growth Handbook, Pasadena Church Growth Press, Pasadena, CA, 1979, p. 43.

¹⁶⁹Wayne McDill, Making Friends for Christ, Broadman, Nashville, 1979, p. 96.

¹⁷⁰ Roland E. Griswold, By Hook and Crook, Advent Christian General Conference of America, Charlotte, NC, 1981, p. 97.

¹⁷¹ Arn, Master’s Plan, pp. 87-95.

¹⁷²Ibid., pp. 98-123.

¹⁷³Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr., “Research for the Growing Church,” Church Growth America, January/February 1981, p. 10.

¹⁷⁴ Arn, Master’s Plan, pp. 104-105.

¹⁷⁵ Ibid., p. 107.

¹⁷⁶Ibid., p. 108.

¹⁷⁷ Ibid., p. 110.

¹⁷⁸ Ibid., pp. 111-112.

¹⁷⁹ For excellent insights on common ground ideas, contact “Common Ground,” a division of Search Ministries, 101 W. Ridgely Rd. Suite 5-A, Lutherville, MD 21093 (301-252-1246). They have bulletin inserts with great ideas for motivating and helping Christians grasp the vision for common ground.

¹⁸⁰ Edwin A. Blum, “John,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, the New Testament Edition, Editors, John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983, p. 285.

¹⁸¹ Ibid.

¹⁸² Hershel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of the Four Gospels, Vol. 4: The Gospel of John, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1968, p. 98.

¹⁸³Frank R. Tillapaugh, The Church Unleashed, Regal Books, Ventura, CA, 1982, pp. 48-49.

¹⁸⁴ C. John Miller, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1986, p. 20.

¹⁸⁵Don Posterski, Why Am I Afraid to Tell You I Am a Christian? pp. 54-55.

¹⁸⁶John Miller, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, p. 19 quoting Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, InterVarsity, Downers Grove, IL, 1979, p. 207.

¹⁸⁷Charles Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1982, p. 29.

Common Assaults on the Gospel

By assaults we are talking about additions to the message of faith alone in Christ alone. All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are responsible to be His representatives. We are ambassadors of Christ who are to give testimony to the person and work of the Savior.

Even though household evangelism still seems to be the most effective method, other methods are used effectively. When it comes to the message, however, there is only one message (or Gospel) that we may proclaim and remain faithful to the Bible. Unfortunately, confusion abounds with respect to the content and presentation of the good news of God’s grace in the person and work of Christ.

Our message is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the message of salvation through His person and work. That sounds simple enough, but it is not nearly as simple as it sounds. The simple message, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” has been assaulted from early on. Since the message is crucial to salvation, since anathema is pronounced on those who misrepresent it or change it (Gal. 1:6-9), we need to know the message. If we are to be true to the Bible and to the grace of our Lord, we need to be able to share the Gospel clearly and avoid the distortions.

Outside the doctrines related to the Person and work of Christ, there is no truth more far-reaching in its implications and no fact more to be defended than that salvation in all its limitless magnitude is secured, so far as human responsibility is concerned, by believing on Christ as Savior. To this one requirement no other obligation may be added without violence to the Scriptures and total disruption of the essential doctrine of salvation by grace alone. Only ignorance or reprehensible inattention to the structure of a right Soteriology will attempt to intrude some form of human works with its supposed merit into that which, if done at all, must, by the very nature of the case, be wrought by God alone and on the principle of sovereign grace.¹⁹⁸ (Emphasis mine.)

From the early days of the church, the church has faced the problem of those who wanted to add to the message. In Acts 15:1 we read these words: “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to observe the law of Moses.” Verse 5 tells us that these were men from the sect of the Pharisees who had believed. They were members of the church and so, from within its own ranks, a controversy broke out concerning the exact nature and content of the message of the Gospel.

The Gospel by nature is a God-centered, grace-centered message which offers salvation as a free gift, a gift without cost, through faith in God’s work through His Son rather than by man’s work or works whether religious or moral (1 Cor. 1:30; John 4:10; Acts 8:20; Rom. 11:6; 15:15-18; Rev. 21:6). The nature of the message, the condition of man (dead in sin and born spiritually blind [Eph. 2:1; 1 Cor. 2:14; John 9:39]), and the activity of Satan (2 Cor. 4:4; John 8:43-45) make this a difficult message to accept. Man naturally thinks he must add something to his salvation for it to be bonafide.

As a result, certain accusations are often leveled against faith alone in Christ alone: it is sometimes called “cheap grace” or “easy believism.” But this is nonsense. The claim of “easy believism” so often aimed at those who preach “faith alone in Christ alone” is a misnomer. Simple faith is not easy for mankind who wants to add something to the work of God. Furthermore, salvation in Christ is free, but it’s not cheap. It cost God the death of His Son, the Lord Jesus.

This study will be devoted to some of the more common ways the Gospel is being assaulted or perverted, very often, by well-meaning and sincere people. This is no new problem. As mentioned above, it was a problem in the early church starting in Acts 15 and it has been a problem throughout the history of the church. When I was in Seminary in the mid-sixties, one of my professors, Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, taught a brief series on this in the church where my wife and I were attending in Dallas, Texas. It was an issue then, it is still a serious issue today, and it will continue to be an issue until the Lord returns.

While the debate over the issue of “faith alone in Christ alone” is not new, it has recently been brought to the forefront by the writings and preaching of John MacArthur, especially by his book entitled The Gospel According to Jesus in which he attacked the writings of: Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary; Dr. Charles Ryrie, author of The Ryrie Study Bible and a number of other books including Basic Theology and the book, So Great Salvation, which was written as an answer to MacArthur’s book setting forth a clear presentation of the free salvation position; and Zane Hodges, former professor at Dallas, who is a strong proponent of the free grace salvation position and author of Absolutely Free and The Gospel Under Siege. Other well-known proponents of the lordship salvation position are Dr. J. I. Packer, well known for his books, Knowing God, and Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, and Dr. James Boice, author of Foundations of the Christian Faith.

While MacArthur’s books and preaching have created a furor of controversy with a number of debates resulting, it has had a good result in that it has caused the church to more clearly study and define issues and passages that are fuzzy to many people, and to defend the faith against these errors of evangelism or common assaults on the pure Gospel of God’s grace which is faith alone in Christ alone.

Assault 1:
“Believe and Repent of Your Sins”

In this assault, repentance is conceived as a separate act and is consistently added to believing as a human requirement for salvation. In other words, rather than seeing repentance as a synonym for believing, one is saved by repenting (which in this view means a turning from sin) and by believing (putting one’s trust in Christ).

Few issues are of more vital interest to whose who believe in heaven and hell than the question of what man must do to gain entrance into heaven. Answers to this question nearly always include a reference to repentance. Throughout church history nearly every theologian has taught that repentance is essential for salvation from hell. However, several disparate understandings of repentance have been advocated.¹⁹⁹

The Word “Repent” in English Translations

• In the NASB, some form of the word (repent, repentant, repented, repentance, etc.) is found 73 times with 56 of these occurring in the New Testament.
• In the ASB, some form of the word occurs 103 times with 61 in the New Testament.
• In the KJV, some form of the word occurs 112 times with 66 in the New Testament.
• In the NIV, some form of the word occurs 74 times with 55 in the New Testament.
• In the New KJV, some form of the word occurs 72 times with 58 in the New Testament.
• In the RSV, some form of the word occurs 99 times with 59 in the New Testament.
• In the New RSV, some form of the word occurs 72 times with 57 in the New Testament.

Clearly, repentance is a prominent concept of Scripture, but it is obvious from the difference in the above numbers that the words of the original are not always translated in the same way by the translators of the different versions because some of the translators didn’t believe our English word repent always conveyed the right idea. Why? Because of the misconceptions about this word. In fact, because of our preconditioned ideas about this word, very often “repent,” is not the best translation at all.

Important Questions to Ask

The issue facing us is what exactly does it mean to repent? And related to this are other important questions and issues. What are we to repent of and for? Does it mean to feel sorry for something? Does it mean to feel sorrow for sin? Does it convey a resolve to turn from sin? Ryrie writes:

Since many consider sorrow for sin and repentance to be equivalent, the question could be worded, What is the place of repentance in relation to salvation? Must repentance precede faith? Is it a part of faith or a synonym for it? Can one be saved without repenting?²⁰⁰

Basic or Generic Meanings

Many, if not most, terms have basic or generic meanings that must be understood within their context. In other words, the context is vital to a proper understanding of most words. Within the context most terms make immediate sense. Without the context you either misunderstand what is meant or you are left wondering. Two common English words we use regularly will illustrate the point. If we say someone opened the trunk, we could mean the trunk of a car, an elephant’s trunk, the trunk of a man’s body, a tree trunk, or something you store things in. Or if we say, someone walked on the bed, it could mean the flower bed, a bed of leaves, the bed we sleep in. The ingredient needed to make the meaning of the word clear is the CONTEXT. The following are two scriptural illustrations:

Salvation

The Word “salvation” is the Greek, soteria and soterion. The basic, unaffected meaning of the word salvation is “to rescue” or “to save, deliver.” But we must ask a further question about this basic meaning if we are to understand its meaning in a particular context: To be rescued from what? In Philippians 1:19 Paul uses the word “salvation,” soteria, to mean rescue from his confinement in Rome. Except for the KJV, most versions translate this word “deliverance.” In that text salvation does not mean rescue from eternal damnation but deliverance from his present confinement in Rome. But, of course, in other contexts salvation does refer to being rescued from eternal condemnation [Acts 4:12] (Ryrie, p. 92).

Compare also Luke 1:71 referring to deliverance from Gentile domination, Acts 7:25 referring to rescue from Egypt, but Acts 13:47 by the context refers to salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life.

Redeem

Concerning the word “Redeem,” Ryrie writes:

What does it mean to redeem? It means “to buy or purchase something.” To purchase what, one must ask, in order to tailor this generic meaning to its use in a particular passage? In Matthew 13:44 a man redeems a field; that is, he buys it. This use has no relation to the redemption our Lord made on the cross, though the same word is used of the payment He made for sin when He died (2 Pet. 2:1). The basic meaning remains the same—to purchase—whether the word refers to paying the price for a field or for sin.²⁰¹

Compare also Matthew 14:15 (buying food); 21:12 (buying in the temple); 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23 (Christ purchasing our redemption or salvation on the cross).

The basic meanings of these words remain the same, to save whether from a physical disaster or from eternal judgment, or to purchase whether to pay a price for a field, buy something in the market, or to pay the price for our sin. It’s the context, however, which makes the difference as to the exact meaning.

Obviously, the same principle must be applied to the word repentance. The first question is, what is the basic meaning for the word repentance as it is used in the New Testament? For many people, repentance carries with it two ideas: (a) sorrow for sin, and, based on that, (b) turning from sin and going in a different direction.

These two ideas, sorrow for sin and turning from sin, are then added to believing in Christ, or it is explained that this is what faith in Christ means. In other words, you must feel sorry for your sins, turn from your sins, and trust in Christ for salvation. Then, added to all this is often a fourth—there must be a willingness to continue to turn from sin or you cannot be saved or you are not really saved.

The Meaning of Repentance in the New Testament

The Greek Words in Question

Since our English word is a translation of the Greek of the New Testament, we need to look at the original language. “There are two New Testament Greek words which are translated repentance in the modern English translations: metanoia (and its verbal counterpart metanoeo) and metamelomai. The former term is so translated fifty-eight times in the New Testament; the latter only six times.”²⁰² This study will be concerned primarily with metanoia.

Metamelomai means “to regret, change the mind” and may connote the idea of sorrow, but not necessarily. It is translated by “regret, change the mind, and feel remorse” in the NASB and NIV, and in all but one of the passages where it is used, the primary idea is a change of mind (cf. Matt. 21:29, 32; 27:3; 2 Cor. 7:8; Heb. 7:21).

Metanoia, the primary word, without question, means “a change of mind.” It refers to the thinking of people who thought one thing or made one decision and then, based on further evidence or input, changed their minds. So, the basic sense is “ a change of mind.” This is its meaning and use outside the New Testament and in the New Testament. It is a change of mind that leads to a different course of action, but that course of action must be determined by the context. In a context that deals with forgiveness of sin or receiving eternal life as a gift from God, the course of action is a change of trust because one now sees Jesus as the only means of salvation from sin.

Ryrie writes:

Sorrow may well be involved in a repentance, but the biblical meaning of repentance is to change one’s mind, not to be sorry. And yet that change of mind must not be superficial, but genuine. The presence or absence of sorrow does not necessarily prove or disprove the genuineness of the repentance.²⁰³

That sorrow does not necessarily prove or disprove the genuineness of repentance is clear from 2 Corinthians 7:9-10. Sorrow may lead to a genuine change of mind, or as in the case of Judas, it may not. The point being that sorrow and repentance are not same thing.

But again, the nature of the change and what is changed must be determined by the context. So, another question must be asked. About what do we change our mind? Answering that question will focus the basic meaning on the particular change and issue involved.

The Object of Repentance

Many today make repentance and faith two distinct and necessary requirements for salvation. In his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J. I. Packer writes:

The demand is for repentance as well as faith. It is not enough to believe that only through Christ and His death are sinners justified and accepted. … Knowledge of the gospel, and orthodox belief of it, is no substitute for repentance … Where there is … no realistic recognition of the real claims that Christ makes, there can be no repentance, and therefore no salvation.²⁰⁴

Is this what the Bible really teaches? Believe and repent are never used together as if teaching two different requirements for salvation. When salvation from eternal condemnation is in view, repent (a change of mind) and believe are in essence used as synonyms. Lewis Chafer wrote:

Too often, when it is asserted—as it is here—that repentance is not to be added to belief as a separated requirement for salvation, it is assumed that repentance is not necessary to salvation. Therefore it is as dogmatically stated as language can declare, that repentance is essential to salvation and that none could be saved apart from repentance, but it is included in believing and cannot be separated from it.²⁰⁵

Roy B. Zuck writes:

Repentance is included in believing. Faith and repentance are like two sides of a coin. Genuine faith includes repentance, and genuine repentance includes faith. The Greek word for repentance ( metanoia) means to change one’s mind. But to change one’s mind about what? About sin, about one’s adequacy to save himself, about Christ as the only way of salvation, the only One who can make a person righteous.²⁰⁶

In Luke’s rendering of the Great Commission he uses repentance as a single requirement in the same sense as believing in Christ (Luke 24:46-47). As Dr. Ryrie says of this verse, “Clearly, repentance for the forgiveness of sins is connected to the death and resurrection of Christ.”²⁰⁷ The repentance comes out of the recognition of one’s sin, but the object of repentance is the person and work of Christ, or faith in Christ. Interestingly, in Luke 8:12 he uses believe alone, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.”

A comparison of other passages clearly supports the fact that repentance often stands for faith in the person and work of Christ. Compare Acts 10:43 with 11:17-18; 13:38-39 with 2:38. Also, note Acts 16:31 which uses “believe” alone.

The stated purpose of the Gospel of John is to bring men to faith in Christ (20:31), yet John never once uses the word repent, not once. If repentance, when used in connection with eternal salvation, is a separate or distinct requirement from faith in Christ, then John does not give the whole Gospel. And if you can believe that, you can believe anything. Speaking of the absence of John’s use of repent in His Gospel, Ryrie writes:

And yet John surely had many opportunities to use it in the events of our Lord’s life which he recorded. It would have been most appropriate to use repent or repentance in the account of the Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus. But believe is the word used (John 3:12, 15). So, if Nicodemus needed to repent, believe must be a synonym; else how could the Lord have failed to use the word repent when talking to him? To the Samaritan harlot, Christ did not say repent. He told her to ask (John 4:10), and when her testimony and the Lord’s spread to other Samaritans, John recorded not that they repented but that they believed (vss. 39, 41-42). There are about fifty more occurrences of “believe” or “faith” in the Gospel of John, but not one use of “repent.” The climax is John 20:31: “These have been written that you may believe … and that believing you may have life in His name.”²⁰⁸

What about Acts 20:21? “… solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Some would say, “Doesn’t this passage teach that faith and repentance are not synonymous and that repentance is a separate requirement?” NO! Paul is summarizing his ministry in Ephesus and what he solemnly proclaimed to both Jews and Greeks, specifically, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The two words, repentance and faith, are joined by one article in the Greek text which indicates that the two are inseparable, though each focuses on a different aspect of the one requirement of salvation, namely, faith in Christ.

We can legitimately translate it like this. “Solemnly testifying … a change of mind about God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance, metanoia, focuses on changing one’s mind about his previous conception of God and disbelief in God or false beliefs (polytheism and idolatry) about God (see 1 Thess. 1:9). On the other hand, belief in Christ, as an expression of a change of mind, focuses on the new direction that change about God must take, namely, trusting in Christ, God’s Son, as personal Savior.

It has also been suggested that in this summary Paul is emphasizing the distinction between the particular needs of Gentiles and Jews. Gentiles who were polytheistic needed to change their minds about their polytheism and realize that only one true God exists. Jews needed to change their minds about Jesus and realize that He is their true Messiah.²⁰⁹

Uses of the Concept of Repentance in the New Testament

A Synonym for Eternal Salvation

Metanoia is sometimes used through a metonymy as a synonym for eternal salvation. A metonymy is a figure of speech by which one name or noun is used instead of another to which it stands in a certain relation. These involve a metonymy of cause for the effect. The CAUSE is a change of mind about Christ and His Gospel. The EFFECT is eternal salvation.²¹⁰ (Compare 2 Pet. 3:9, 1 Tim. 2:4, Luke 5:32.)

A Non-Saving Repentance (metamelomai)

Under this category we might also include repentance in the sense of remorse, regret with the use of metamelomai. This aspect of non-saving repentance is a repentance or change of mind that does not lead to eternal life or the spiritual blessings sought. Two examples are Judas (Matt. 27:3) and Esau (Heb. 12:17). Compare also Matt. 21:28-32.

A Salvation Repentance

Salvation repentance is a change of mind that results in eternal salvation. This involves a change of mind about self, about one’s sinful condition and inability to save oneself combined with a change of mind about Christ, that He is the Messiah Savior and the only one by whom man can find salvation (Acts 2:38; 17:29-31). Salvation repentance means a change in confidence; it means turning away from self-confidence to confidence in Christ, faith alone in Christ alone. The irony of all of this is that any other viewpoint is really not biblical repentance because it virtually borders on faith in oneself. “In this use metanoia occurs as a virtual synonym for pistis (faith).”²¹¹

A Christian Experience Repentance

This is a change of mind regarding sinful behavior. An illustration of this kind of repentance is found in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11; 12:21; Revelation 2:5, 16, 21; 3:3, 19. By Paul’s use of lupeo (to distress, grieve) and metamelomai, 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 clearly illustrates that metanoia does not mean to feel regret, but involves a change of mind.

For though I caused you sorrow ( lupeo) by my letter, I do not regret ( metalomai) it; though I did regret ( metalomai) it— for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful ( lupeo), but that you were made sorrowful ( lupeo) to the point of repentance ( metanoia); for you were made sorrowful ( lupeo) according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow ( lupe) that is according to the will of God produces a repentance ( metanoia) without regret ( metamelomai), leading to salvation; but the sorrow ( lupe) of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow ( lupeo), has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter (2 Cor. 7:8-11, NASB).

Wilkin writes:

On some occasions metanoia is used in contexts where the change of mind in view is clearly indicated as having to do with one’s sinful practices. For example, in Luke 17:3-4 Jesus taught the disciples that they were to forgive all who sinned against them if they came and indicated that they had changed their minds regarding their sin. In this case and others like it “repentance” would be a good translation choice.²¹²

Conclusion

Ryrie writes:

To return to the main point of this chapter: Is repentance a condition for receiving eternal life? Yes, if it is repentance or changing one’s mind about Jesus Christ. No, if it means to be sorry for sin or even to resolve to turn from sin, for these things will not save. Is repentance a precondition to faith? No, though a sense of sin and the desire to turn from it may be used by the Spirit to direct someone to the Savior and His salvation. Repentance may prepare the way for faith, but it is faith that saves, not repentance (unless repentance is understood as a synonym for faith or changing one’s mind about Christ).²¹³

In the third of a series of excellent articles on the meaning of repentance, Wilkin writes:

I wish we could retranslate the New Testament. It would make teaching and preaching passages using metanoia simpler. It would eliminate the confusion many have when they read their Bibles and see the word repent…

In most cases when the English word repent occurs in the New Testament it is translating metanoia. Metanoia is not the equivalent of the Old Testament term shub. It certainly does not mean “penance.” Nor does it normally mean “repentance.” Rather, in the New Testament it retains its pre-Christian meaning of a change of mind. The English reader thus generally needs to read “change of mind”—not turn from sins—when he sees the word “repent” in the New Testament. The context must be consulted to determine the object of a person’s change of mind.

The only times repent is actually a good English translation is when the object of metanoia is sinful deeds. A change of mind about sinful behavior is equivalent to repentance.²¹⁴

Assault 2:
“Believe Plus Make Christ Lord”

Similar assaults would also include “faith plus commitment” and “faith plus surrender to God.”

The late H. A. Ironside tells the story of a lady missionary who, over a period of time, led a little Irish boy to the Savior.

Brought up a Romanist, he thought and spoke of penance and confessional, of sacraments and church, yet never wholly leaving out Christ Jesus and His atoning work.

One morning when the lady called again upon him, she found his face aglow with a new-found joy. Inquiring the reason, he replied with assurance born of faith in the revealed Word of God, “I always knew that Jesus was necessary, but I never knew till yesterday that He was enough!”

It was a blessed discovery, and I would that every reader of these pages had made it. Mark it well; Jesus is enough! “He, of God, is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.” “Ye are complete in Him.” “God hath made us accepted in the beloved.” These are only a few of the precious declarations of Scripture which show clearly that Jesus is indeed not only necessary, but enough.

You see, it is not Christ and good works, nor Christ and the church, that save. It is not through Christ and baptism, or Christ and the confessional, that we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins. It is not Christ and doing our best, or Christ and the Lord’s Supper, that will give us new life. It is Christ alone.

Christ and … is a perverted gospel which is not the Gospel. Christ without the “and” is the sinner’s hope and the saint’s confidence. Trusting Him, eternal life and forgiveness are yours. Then, and not till then, good works and obedience to all that is written in the Word for the guidance of Christians, fall into place. The saved soul is exhorted to maintain good works, and thus to manifest his love for Christ. But for salvation itself, Jesus is not only necessary, but He is enough.²¹⁵

The Apostle Paul told Titus, “Here is another way that our people can learn to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.” (Tit. 3:14). Peter likewise challenged his readers to produce good works (cf. 2 Pet. 1:8-11). So it is entirely possible, indeed, if Christians do not diligently draw on their resources in the Lord, they will become unfruitful. Furthermore, the fact that the exhortation of Romans 12:1 occurs in the twelfth chapter and not in the third chapter of Romans clearly shows one can be a believer and still fail to be committed to the lordship of Christ. It shows commitment to the lordship of Christ is not a part of what is needed to be saved. If it is, then it seems the Apostle had a lapse of memory and left it out. The facts are, however, no one is ever totally committed to the lordship of Christ. There is always room for improvement.

But some say that in order to be saved, I must not only believe, I must also surrender to Christ’s lordship or I cannot be saved or I haven’t had a real work of grace in my life. Advocates of the lordship salvation position believe that a person must surrender every area of his or her life to Christ’s absolute control in order to be saved. It is believed that one cannot receive Christ as Savior from sin without also receiving Him as Lord of one’s entire life. Why is this view promoted? Very often, it is promoted because of concern over so many people who claim to be Christians, but give very little evidence through a changed life. I share their concern, as should every Christian, but the solution is not adding to the Gospel message as an incentive to Christlike living, but the communication of other Christian truth like the sanctification truths and the consequences of sin in the believer’s life.

Concerning the belief that we should add surrender to the Gospel message, we need to ask an important question. Since no one is ever 100% committed, how much commitment or surrender is enough to be saved? Is it 5%, 10%, 20%? Is it okay to be a little bit committed, but not a lot? Is that the idea? Doesn’t all sin fall short of the glory of God? Isn’t that why Christ had to die for our sins in the first place?

Some proponents of the lordship position will answer, “you must be willing to submit even though no one is ever totally committed.” Again we need to ask, “how willing?” Do you see what we get into when we think like this? The Scripture just does not teach such an idea! Yes, it calls upon the child of God to commit his or her life to Christ as Lord, but not as a means of receiving eternal life. The Bible teaches that salvation comes by faith alone through Christ alone. Of this subtle tendency, Chafer/Walvoord write:

In presenting the Gospel it is a subtle temptation to urge people not only to believe but also to surrender to God because of course this is the ultimate objective of their salvation. However, in explaining the terms of salvation this brings in a confusing human work as essential to salvation which the Bible does not confirm.²¹⁶

The Lordship Salvation View

While there are variations within the lordship camp, all the lordship salvation proponents seem to believe in three things:

1. The condition of eternal life is more than trusting in Christ

One or more of the following are also conditions of eternal life: turning from sins, being willing to turn from sins, total surrender or committing one’s life to Christ, obedience, and persevering in the faith. Some include baptism in their list of conditions.

2. The condition of perseverance

Another idea that is promoted is if you do not persevere, then either you were not really saved, or your faith was only intellectual, or you lost your salvation.

Undoubtedly because of the strong emphasis in Scripture on faith or believing in Christ for salvation (about 150 passages in all), proponents of the lordship persuasion find themselves in a quandary. They will often redefine saving faith as consisting of several aspects which include some form of works as evidence of real faith. This forces them into a very contradictory position. Note the contradictory elements in the Doctrinal Statement of a church that teaches lordship salvation. The statement about faith is prefaced with the following:

Although there are several aspects that saving faith involves, the Scriptures clearly teach that it is not a work, but is itself solidly based on God’s grace.

But then faith is defined in such a way that it includes works. According to the Doctrinal Statement saving faith includes:

• Knowledge of the Facts—Faith must be based on the content of the Word of God.
• Assent to this Knowledge—A person must agree that the facts of Scripture are true.
• Repentance—There must be a turning from sin and turning towards God.
• Submission to Christ—There must be a subjection to the person and will of Christ with a desire and willingness to obey.

While new life should result in change or good works, works in the Christian life like turning from sin are a product of fellowship with the Savior or the Spirit-filled, Word-filled life. They are the result of abiding in the vine. Initial faith joins a person into the vine, but it is abiding that produces the fruit. This is why Jesus challenged His disciples to abide. Without it, we become unfruitful.

3. The promises of the Word are not sufficient for assurance

For assurance of salvation, one holding to this position must also look to his works. They say believers cannot have 100% assurance of salvation merely by looking to the promises of the Word. In fact, many if not most in this doctrinal camp say that 100% assurance is impossible since no one’s works are perfect and no one knows if he will persevere.

Mike Cocoris, a former Dallas Seminary classmate of mine, writes of a conversation he had with a lordship proponent:

Recently a Lordship Salvationist and I engaged in a lengthy discussion concerning the question, “What must I do to be saved?” At one point I asked him, “If I led someone to Christ tonight, could that person go home, lay his head down on his pillow, and know for sure that he was going to heaven?” The man with whom I was talking replied emphatically, “No!”²¹⁷

But this is contrary to the clear statement of 1 John 5:11-13.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life. 13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (emphasis mine).

Care is taken to give lesser weight to John’s Gospel than to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the New Testament epistles in formulating the gospel or the doctrine of salvation. This is very strange since the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, deal primarily with discipleship, and since John specifically tells us the purpose of his Gospel is that people may believe in Jesus Christ that they may have eternal life (John 20:31).

The Free Grace Salvation View

The sole condition for eternal life is personal faith in Jesus Christ alone as one’s Savior. Christ is enough! This means faith in the person and finished work of Christ as the God-man who died for our sins is the sole basis of one’s salvation. None of the faith plus someone’s add-ons are conditions for eternal life. It is nonsense to speak of a free gift which costs us something or gives us something to do to get salvation (Rom. 4:1-6; 11:6).

The promises of the Word of God, based on the finished work of Christ, are sufficient for assurance of salvation (cf. John 6:37-40). While one’s works can have confirmatory value and demonstrate the condition of our walk with the Lord, they are not essential for assurance. Any believer can have 100% certainty of his salvation if he will look to the promises of the Word like 1 John 5:11-13.

The Gospel of John is given a great deal of weight in formulating one’s view of the Gospel and how one is saved. Why is this? Three major reasons: (a) Because of John’s explicit statement about the purpose of his Gospel (20:31), (b) because of his repeated use of “believe” (found some 98 times), and (c) because of the absence of any other condition. Not all of the uses of believe in John have reference to believing unto eternal life, but a large number do.

Finally, because salvation is by grace alone through the finished work of Christ (Rom. 4:1-5; 5:19; 11:6), free grace salvationists believe salvation or eternal life can never be lost (Rom. 8:32-39; John 6:37-40; 10:28-29).

Arguments Against the Lordship Position

A subtle form of legalism

This position is a subtle form of legalism and a direct attack on the free gift emphasis of the Gospel message so prominent in the New Testament. Proponents end up diluting the concept of salvation as a free gift.

In his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J. I. Packer writes, “It is not enough to believe that only through Christ and his death are sinners justified and accepted, … In common honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything.” I have a great respect for this man, but this is a flat contradiction. Just compare Paul’s argument in Romans 4:4-5 and 11:6.

Writing with regard to Packer’s statement, Bob Wilkin writes:

Frankly I find this view of the gospel appalling. It is gibberish to speak of a free gift which costs us everything. It is absurd to suggest that we should show an unbeliever all of the things which believers are commanded to do and not to do in Scripture and then have them promise to do the former and not to do the latter from now on faithfully. Such a gospel is not a free gift. It is an earned wage. Romans 4:1ff. and approximately 150 other passages which condition eternal salvation upon faith alone in Christ alone contradict such a view.²¹⁸

Salvation by works

Ultimately, the lordship position leaves people trusting in their own record or performance and merit and not that of Christ. In the final analysis, under such a view, people are saved by their works, but the New Testament emphatically states that men are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5).

Roy Zuck has a good illustration on this point:

If I offer my wife a gift and then tell her it will cost her something to get it, it is no longer a gift. Salvation is a gift from God. But if someone says a person must commit, surrender, obey, forsake all, or deny self in order to receive that gift and be saved, that implies that salvation is not a gift after all.²¹⁹

Passages used to support lordship salvation can and should be explained in connection with discipleship or rewards in the kingdom—in these passages, it’s not entrance that is in view, but inheritance or rewards (2 Pet. 1:10-11).

Salvation versus Sanctification

In other words, salvation is confused with sanctification or conversion with consecration. As Zuck writes:

The lordship view does not clarify the distinction between sanctification and justification, or between discipleship and sonship. It mixes the condition with the consequences. It confuses becoming a Christian with being a Christian.²²⁰

These passages deal with the consequences of sin on fellowship, physical health, inheritance in the kingdom or rewards or their loss, but not on entrance into the kingdom of God.

An illustration is Luke 14:16-33. First, when those invited to the banquet find excuses not to come (a reference to unbelieving Israel), the servants are told to go out into the highways and hedges and compel people to come the banquet. The banquet is a picture of the kingdom (vss. 16-24). In other words, there are no requirements. Entrance is free. However, in the next section, verses 25f, the Lord shows that in order to be His disciple, one must be willing to count the cost. This is not a call for salvation, but a declaration of what is involved in being His disciple. Furthermore, the emphasis is not so much that Christ would not let such a person be His disciple, but that such a person who had not counted the cost would not be able to be His disciple: when it came time to make those tough decisions, they would not be willing and able to do so because they had not dealt with their values and eternal priorities.

No room for carnality

The lordship position rules out the concept of carnal Christians (1 Cor. 3:3).

The lordship position leaves no room for spiritual regression in a believer’s life or it is minimized. The fact is the Bible is full of examples where believers fell into sin and in some cases stayed in that condition for some time. David is a classic example. Lot, who is called a righteous man (2 Pet. 2:7), was actually one whom I would not want to use as an example to follow.

With the lordship salvation view, there is ultimately no room for the carnal Christian; only Christians who act in a carnal way. This is precisely the statement of John MacArthur in his book, The Gospel According to Jesus.²²¹ Concerning 1 Corinthians 3:3f and MacArthur’s view, Ryrie writes,

Notice that Paul does not merely say that Christians “can and do behave in carnal ways” (quoting MacArthur); he plainly states, “You are carnal.” How then can one charge that “contemporary theologians have fabricated an entire category for this type of person—‘the carnal Christian’ (again quoting MacArthur). Obviously, such a designation for some Christians is not a fabrication; it is a scriptural teaching.”²²²

Clearly then, the text of 1 Corinthians 3:3 and the condition of the Corinthians as they are described in the book of 1 Corinthians shows the contrary. MacArthur is begging the question.

Misunderstands salvation passages

The lordship position misunderstands salvation passages which use “Lord” as a call to surrender one’s life to Christ’s lordship (Rom. 10:9).

In relation to Christ’s lordship, there are two aspects. There is first of all the objective. This recognizes the fact that Christ is God, the sovereign Lord of the universe. Then, there is the subjective which involves personal surrender of one’s life or commitment.

Does Romans 10:9 call for the objective fact or the subjective commitment or both? Concerning this question, Everett Harrison writes:

“Jesus is Lord” was the earliest declaration of faith fashioned by the church (Acts 2:36; 1 Cor. 12:3). This great truth was recognized first by God in raising his Son from the dead—an act then acknowledged by the church and one day to be acknowledged by all (Phil. 2:11). … Paul’s statement in vv. 9, 10 is misunderstood when it is made to support the claim that one cannot be saved unless he makes Jesus the Lord of his life by a personal commitment. Such a commitment is most important; however, in this passage, Paul is speaking of the objective lordship of Christ, which is the very cornerstone of faith, something without which no one could be saved. Intimately connected as it was with the resurrection, which in turn validated the saving death, it proclaimed something that was true no matter whether or not a single soul believed it and built his life on it.²²³

Romans 10:9 is calling for the need to confess that Jesus is God. In this context Paul quotes the Old Testament a number of times and is dealing with Jewish unbelief, not lordship issues. “Lord” (the Greek kurios) certainly is used as the equivalent of Yahweh in the Old Testament. It is calling for the acknowledgment that Jesus is the “I Am” of the Old Testament and therefore God.

That Paul refers to confessing that Jesus is Lord is also supported grammatically.

The passage should not be translated as does the NASB, “Jesus as Lord,” or as the KJV, “the Lord Jesus,” but as the NIV, “Jesus is Lord.” This involves a fine point of Greek grammar involving the use of what grammarians call the “double accusative of object-complement” where one accusative is the direct object of a verb of “calling, designating, or confessing,” and the second accusative is the complement that makes an assertion about the direct object. Some grammarians would call the second accusative a predicate accusative.²²⁴ Generally, the first accusative is the object and the second is the complement, but, as here in Romans 10:9, this is not always the case. Since Jesus is a proper name, even though it follows the noun Lord by way of word order, Jesus functions as the direct object of the verb confess, and the other accusative, Lord, is its complement.²²⁵ So the confession that is required is that “Jesus is Lord,” i.e., Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament.

Obviously, when a person confesses that Christ is God there is an underlying recognition or awareness that Christ has the right to rule one’s life, but the passage is not calling for a subjective commitment to Christ’s lordship in order to be saved. Instead, the passage is saying that for a person to be saved, he or she must acknowledge, believe, that Jesus was also God, God come in the flesh, the God-man and so the only one able to save.

Not all Scripture is relevant

The lordship position rules out a large portion of the epistles as being relevant like Romans 6 and 12.

If being a true believer includes commitment or total surrender, then why do we have these passages which were written to believers? If they were written, as it is claimed, simply to challenge us to more commitment, then how much is enough to be saved? Again we must ask the question, is it 10% or 50%, etc.? Where and how do we draw the line? The Bible say, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” This is to be the goal, but does anyone ever measure up? And if so, for how long?

These passages in Romans and many others show us that saved people, true Christians whom Paul thought of as saved, do not settle the matter of the personal, subjective lordship of Christ until after they are saved. Paul deals with the Gospel and the how of salvation in Romans 1-3, but he doesn’t deal with lordship or commitment until chapters 6 and 12. If commitment or surrender to the lordship of Christ was a part of the Gospel, then the Apostle either didn’t know it or was careless in his responsibility. We know neither of these could be the truth for he wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit.

Our good works are not always measurable and observable by men, not even by ourselves—especially when it comes to motives (1 Cor. 4:4-5). Further, unbelievers can and do point to their good works, but they are unsaved.

The issue of divine discipline

It is contrary to those passage which teach Christians can be disciplined unto physical death while still viewed as saved (1 Cor. 5:1f; 11:28f; 1 John 5:16-17).

These are passages written to Christians about Christians who were clearly not living for the Lord and would be disciplined as God’s children, in some cases, even unto physical death, yet they are still viewed as saved. Of course, these passages are usually applied to unbelievers by those in the lordship camp.

Assault 3:
“Believe and Be Baptized”

The Baptismal Salvation View

Baptismal regenerationists, as we might call them, are not simply promoting water baptism as an important responsibility for a believer in Christ. This position says that unless one is baptized with a view to salvation, i.e., unless he or she is trusting in baptism for salvation along with belief in Jesus Christ, he or she is lost. Simply believing in Jesus Christ does not save. Belief alone is not enough. In fact, some maintain, as I was once told by an advocate of this view, that even if you have been baptized, it has no value unless you were baptized with a view to salvation and trusting in the baptism to save you.

The Free Grace Salvation View of Water Baptism

Water baptism is a ritual act that symbolizes a spiritual truth or reality. It is a public confession which portrays one’s faith in the person and work of Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit which joins the Christian into union with Christ and identifies him or her with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection unto new life. Baptism in water, a ritual, portrays that which is real, the baptism by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13).

The ritual itself cannot save, but the truth it represents does bring deliverance first from sin’s penalty through one’s faith in Christ, and then deliverance from the power of sin as one appropriates the power of Christ’s death and resurrection by faith (Rom. 6:1-14).

Arguments Against Water
Baptism as Essential for Salvation

It Is Contrary to the Emphasis in John

While some form of the word “believe” is found some 98 times in the Gospel of John, it is tremendously significant that this Gospel which is written that men might have eternal life and be saved (John 20:31) does not once mention baptism.

What about the Lord’s words to Nicodemus in John 3:5? Can the “water” refer to water baptism as an essential part of regeneration? Regarding this passage Ed Blum writes:

Various views are given to explain Jesus’ words about being born of water and the Spirit: (1) The “water” refers to the natural birth, and the “Spirit” to the birth from above. (2) The “water” refers to the Word of God (Eph. 5:26). (3) The “water” refers to baptism as an essential part of regeneration. (This view contradicts other Bible verses that make it clear that salvation is by faith alone; e.g., John 3:16, 36; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5.) (4) The “water” is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). (5) The “water” refers to the repentance ministry of John the Baptist, and the “Spirit” refers to the application by the Holy Spirit of Christ to an individual.

The fifth view has the merit of historical propriety as well as theological acceptability. John the Baptist had stirred the nation by his ministry and stress on repentance (Matt. 3:1-6). “Water” would remind Nicodemus of the Baptist’s emphasis. So Jesus was saying that Nicodemus, in order to enter the kingdom, needed to turn to Him (repent) in order to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.²²⁶

But even if Blum is correct, repent, especially in view of the emphasis in John, is a synonym for believing in Christ.

Rather, it is better to understand that the Lord intended Nicodemus to think in terms of Old Testament passages like Ezekiel 36:25-27 and the cleansing and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The Greek has only one preposition with both nouns, “water” and “Spirit” connected by “and” ( kai). We can translate “of water, even the Spirit.”

This fits with Titus 3:5, “…through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,” (See below for an explanation of Titus 3:5.)

It Is Contrary to the Teaching of Paul

Romans 4:1-12: Verses 1-6 clearly show how a man is justified by faith apart from human works. Then, in verses 7-12 Paul uses Old Testament circumcision to illustrate the fact salvation has always been the same in every age. Men of every age are saved by walking in the steps of Abraham. He shows that Old Testament saints were justified by faith alone before circumcision was ever instituted.

But the truly important principle is that circumcision is to the Old Testament believer what water baptism is to the New Testament believer.

The following parallels are instructive:

The point is, people are saved by faith alone apart from any kind of law, ritual, or ordinance.

Colossians 2:11-12. This passage also illustrates the above parallel. Circumcision in verse 11 is one “not… performed by human hands.” It is a spiritual work of God. It follows by the natural parallel that the baptism of verse 12 is the spiritual work of God, one made without hands. It is the baptism accomplished by the Holy Spirit of which water baptism is only a picture. The rite of circumcision of the Old Testament and the ordinance of baptism in the New Testament both illustrate the work of God for man through Jesus Christ. The rituals are only pictures of the real which alone saves through faith alone.

1 Corinthians 1:14-16. In this passage the Apostle somewhat de-emphasizes water baptism. The Apostle can hardly be said to have viewed baptism as indispensable to the Gospel message. Not only was it his practice not to baptize his own converts, but he shows us here that water baptism as necessary for salvation is not a part of the Gospel as is faith. The Gospel message is that Jesus Christ, the God-man Savior, died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and that we can receive eternal life as a gift through faith. If baptism was necessary to be saved through the Gospel, Paul could hardly have said “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel …”

Ephesians 2:8-9. Baptism is clearly a human work that man does. Here the Apostle clearly declares that the basis of salvation is God’s grace through faith alone.

Titus 3:5. We should immediately be suspicious of an interpretation which understands the “washing” here to refer to any human ritual or work because of the emphasis of verse 5a. No mention is made here of faith perhaps because the emphasis is totally on what God has done rather than on any kind of religious or ritual work that man could possibly do—including water baptism. Unfortunately, some see the words “washing of regeneration” as a reference to baptismal regeneration even though this context is prefaced by, “He saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done …” Can this refer to water baptism? Not on your life! Why?

• The immediate context is emphasizing that salvation is a work of God and not man.
• Water baptism, no matter how you slice it, is a religious work. If water baptism is the basis of our regeneration, then it is a work of our righteousness or a righteous act produced by us.
• The passage is telling us that regeneration results in a spiritual cleansing, the forgiveness of sin and this is part of the rebirth work of the Holy Spirit. We can translate the last part of verse 5 as “by the washing produced by regeneration, even the rebirth produce by the Holy Spirit.”²²⁷

It Is Contrary to Luke 23:43

The thief on the cross was saved by faith alone. He obviously could not be circumcised or baptized. The principle applies regardless of whether one wants to argue that he was still in the Old Testament economy. He was saved by faith alone. The corresponding ritual or ordinance for the Old Testament period was circumcision, yet the thief on the cross was neither circumcised nor baptized, but he did get saved.

Answers to Passages Used to Support Baptismal Regeneration

Mark 16:16

First, there is a manuscript problem. The older and what many believe to be the better manuscripts do not contain verses 9-20. So there is some question as to whether these verses were a part of the original manuscript of Mark. First, it is theologically unsound to try to build a doctrine or support one on verses where there is a manuscript problem.

Second, assuming that these verses were a part of Mark’s Gospel, does this passage teach that baptism is essential for salvation? Verse 16b, “but the one who does not believe will be condemned.” answers our question. It is the unbelief that results in condemnation, not the failure to be baptized. Furthermore, “baptized” could be a reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).

Water baptism is an evidence of one’s faith and a public testimony of what one believes. For this reason Mark included the concept of baptism with belief. But since it is not water baptism that saves, since belief is the issue, he quickly added the last half of verse 16.

Acts 2:38

First, we should recognize there are two possible grammatical ways this passage may be understood. The preposition “for” (Greek, eis) in the clause “ for the forgiveness of your sins” can mean “with a view to, in order that,” (pointing to purpose), or it can mean “on the basis of, because of” (pointing to result) as it is used in Matthew 12:41, “they repented when (on the basis of, as a result of) Jonah preached to them.” This simply shows that Acts 2:38 can mean “Repent, and each of you be baptized … as a result of the forgiveness of your sins …” Rather than saying, “Repent and be baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins,” Peter was saying, “Repent, and on the basis of receiving forgiveness, be baptized.”

Chafer/Walvoord have a good explanation of this difficult passage:

As previously mentioned, in Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, he included baptism along with belief as a way of salvation (Acts 2:38). It should be remembered that as baptism is mentioned in Scripture, sometimes it refers to real baptism, that is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which occurs at the moment of faith and in other cases to the ritual of water baptism. It is possible to take this verse in either sense. If it refers to real baptism, then Peter was saying that if the Jews believed and had this belief confirmed by being baptized into the body of Christ, they would be saved. Or if it refers to water baptism then Peter was saying that that ritual was an outward confirmation of their faith. In any case immediately afterward, Peter baptized 3,000 (v. 41), who were by this token publicly aligning themselves with Christ and indicating that they were leaving their former Jewish confidence in the Law.

For Jews to confess Christ publicly was a real problem because they often lost their families, their employment, and their wealth. For their faith to be confirmed by water baptism in this case made clear that they were genuinely saved. In any event ritual baptism does not save, and the reference to baptism in verse 38 does not suggest that water baptism was a requirement for salvation. The many instances in which faith is mentioned as a condition of salvation without reference to baptism should make this clear. Even Peter himself later said that forgiveness of sins is based on faith alone (10:43; 13:38-39).

In Acts 19 some Jews in Ephesus had been baptized by John the Baptist but had not put their trust in Christ. When they were informed that it was necessary for them to believe in Christ, the Scriptures recorded, “On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 5). This again makes clear that water baptism in itself does not save but is a token or evidence that a person has put his trust in Christ.²²⁸

Acts 22:16

There are two commands (Greek imperatives) in this verse, but only one brings about the removal of sin, “callingon his name (Jesus Christ),” i.e., telling God you believe and trusting in His Son. The sentence, “Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name” should, according to Greek grammar, be divided into separate clauses with a semicolon placed after “be baptized.” “Get up, be baptized (clause one); and have your sins washed away, calling on his name” (clause two). Baptism cannot wash away one’s sins. It is calling on the Lord, telling God you believe in His Son which is simply a way of expressing one’s faith in Christ.

1 Pet. 3:18-21

In this passage, Peter tells us that baptism is prefigured by the deliverance of Noah’s family by water (cf. 3:20). Saving by baptism, therefore, is symbolic here, not actual. Peter quickly adds two statements lest he be misunderstood. Salvation in this passage is not based upon water baptism, but upon “the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” It is not based upon “the washing off of physical dirt.”

Assault 4:
“Believe and Confess Christ Publicly”

The late Dr. Chafer wrote regarding this issue:

The ambition to secure apparent results and the sincere desire to make decisions for Christ to be definite have prompted preachers in their general appeals to insist upon a public confession of Christ on the part of those who would be saved. To all practical purposes and in the majority of instances these confessions are, in the minds of the unsaved, coupled with saving faith and seem, as presented, to be of equal importance with that faith.²²⁹

Two passages are often used in order to justify public confession, Matthew 10:32-33 and Romans 10:9.

Matthew 10:32-33

Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

Does this passage call for the public confession of the Savior as a part of the Gospel message and as one of the requirements for salvation? If so, the 150 plus passages in the New Testament that call for simple faith in Christ would have to be wrong. Rather, the Lord was challenging, not unbelievers, but His own disciples with regard to the commission He gave them to go to the lost sheep of Israel (vss. 1-15). Such a task, due to the hostility of the religious leaders of Israel and the world in general (vss. 15-20), especially in the days of the Tribulation just before the return of Christ (vss. 21-23), would put them at risk of persecution. So there is the warning that if people maligned and persecuted the Savior, the disciples too could expect persecution (vss. 24-25). He then encouraged them against fear (vss. 26-31), challenged them to confess Him before men, and warned them against denying Him before men (vss. 32-33). This challenge and warning in this context refers to the commission of the disciples and, by application, to the responsibility of believers (those already saved) to be witnesses of the Savior.

To deny Christ before men would indicate that either (a) the one denying Christ was not truly saved, in which case, they would not be owned by Christ as one of His in His work as advocate before the Father, or (b) evidence that they were out of fellowship and operating in fear rather than in faith, in which case Christ would deny them rewards at the Judgment Seat ( Bema) of Christ (1 Cor. 3:12-15; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:11-13). Peter, who denied the Lord during His trial before the High Priest (Matt. 26:57-75), is a good illustration of how believers may deny the Savior.

Romans 10:9

This is perhaps the primary passage used to defend adding the need of confession, so the focus here will be to give an overview of Romans 10:1-21.

The Prayer and Desire for Israel’s Salvation (10:1)

In these verses we see the subject of the passage—the salvation of Jewish people. However, it obviously has application to the subject of leading men and women to Christ.

The Problem of Israel’s Self-Righteousness (10:2-3)

It is essential to note that the verses in question, verses 9-10, are often used to teach men must make some kind of public confession to be saved, perform a human work. These verses are set in a context where Paul shows this is precisely the problem with the nation of Israel as a whole: the problem of trying to do something to gain the favor of God. So rather than supporting public confession as a work that men do, the context supports the opposite conclusion.

The Provision of Righteousness Through Faith Alone (10:4-8)

(1) Christ’s Termination of the Law for Righteousness (vs. 4). Christ brought an end to the Law as a means of righteousness or acceptance with God. The purpose of the Law was to show man’s sinfulness. But a further outworking of this is that neither the Law nor any works system can gain merit or favor with God. The reason is seen when we compare Romans 8:1-3. All systems of law are dependent on man’s weakness to fulfill them and man always falls short and misses the mark (Rom. 3:23).

(2) Moses’ Declaration About Those Who Practice the Law (vs. 5). If a person seeks acceptance with God by keeping the Law, he must live by it, i.e., he must perfectly obey it or he becomes condemned by the Law itself (cf. Jam. 2:10-11; Gal. 5:3; Rom. 2:25 with Rom. 3:19-20; 7:7). Since no man can fulfill the Law, all men miss the mark and become condemned by the Law which finds man guilty (2 Cor. 3:6, 7, 9; Rom. 7:10-11).

(3) God’s Initiation of Salvation by Grace Through the Message of Faith (vss. 6-8). Regarding these verses Ryrie writes: “Quoting Deuteronomy 30:12-14, which emphasized the initiative of divine grace and humble reception of God’s word, Paul applies this truth to the Gospel, which is near, ready for a man to take on his lips and into his heart (Rom. 10:9).”²³⁰ Note carefully that this word which man is to take on his lips and into his heart Paul defines as “the word (message) of faith which we are preaching.” The message is not one of works, but one of faith in God’s work brought down to man in grace. But what exactly is this message of grace?

Paul’s Description of the Grace Message (vss. 9-13)

(1) The Message Described (vs. 9)

“Confess,” homologeo, means “to agree with, say the same thing, acknowledge.” As the context will show, the confession here is not to men, but to God and involves, as an outworking of faith in Christ, acknowledging to God one’s faith in Christ as God come in the flesh. It involves agreeing with God’s witness about Jesus as God’s own Son. Literally the text says, “the Lord Jesus,” but as explained above, it means acknowledging that Jesus is God. The passage is talking about acknowledging the deity of Christ and thus the fact of the incarnation (cf. 1 John 2:22-23; 4:2, 15 which uses the same word, homologeo). This passage is not calling for submission to Christ in the sense of lordship salvationists.²³¹

“And believe in your heart …” This is the root—believing in the fact that God raised Him from the dead. Here we have the finished and efficacious work of Jesus Christ, His death for sin, authenticated by Christ’s resurrection. Remember, the resurrection declares that Jesus is God’s Son and that His death successfully dealt with man’s sin. Perhaps the point here is that this belief in Christ, that He is the God-man Savior, causes men to confess their faith to God in a prayer for salvation as the context will show (vss. 12b-13).

(2) The Message Explained (vss. 10-13)

“For with…” Note the word for. This introduces this section, verses 10-13, as an explanation of verse 9 and the words “confess” and “believe.” Note that Paul now begins with “believe,” not “confess.” He began verse 9 with “confess” because of the order of the Old Testament quote used in verse 8—mouth and then heart. But with verse 20, Paul reverses the order and deals with “heart” and “believe” before “mouth” and “confess” because this is the main issue.

In this he uses a chiasm, an arrangement of the clauses, in such a way that they bring out the most important and central element of the passage.

Overview of Romans 10:8-14

The Priority of Preaching the Faith Alone Message (vss. 14-17)

Since the issue is faith in the work of God for man in the person and work of Jesus Christ, there is an important question that must be answered. How can men turn from their religious works, as with the Jews, so they may come to Christ by faith alone? Only through the work of evangelism through believers who understand the message and go out proclaiming the glad tidings of God’s gracious gift.

Note the emphasis: The Jews by-in-large rejected the message of grace because of their works mentality. Nevertheless, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ, i.e., the telling of the story about the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only means of salvation.

Assault 5:
“Believe and Do Good Works”

Another assault on the Gospel message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone is “believe and do good works.” The idea promoted is that one must both believe and do good works in order to be saved. If the good works are not present, then, either (a) you were never saved, you never really believed, or (b) you lost your salvation, or (c) you never got saved because you lack the good works required.

Some would argue that we are saved by faith alone, but if faith is alone (if there are no works), then you are not saved, your faith was only an intellectual faith, not a heart faith. In this view faith is usually redefined to include turning from sin and surrendering one’s life to Christ. Assurance then, in the final analysis, is based on one’s works or record rather than on the work of Christ and the sure promises of the Word like 1 John 5:11-13 and John 5:24.

In the final analysis of the works viewpoint, works are added to faith in Christ in order to be save. This means SALVATION BY WORKS AND ASSURANCE BY WORKS.

The Argument

The argument is that genuine faith always results in good works. Because of new life imparted to believers via spiritual regeneration, and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life, those who have genuinely believed the Gospel message about the person and work of Jesus Christ will, as a general rule, produce some fruit, sometime, somehow. Jesus said:

John 6:56-57 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me.

As the context suggests (vss. 50-57) eating His flesh and drinking His blood refer to the initial act of believing in Christ. This results in the gifts of regeneration and eternal life (vss. 50-51, 54, 58). But it also means the believer is brought into a new relationship with the Savior so that he abides (remains) in fellowship with Him (vs. 56). But it is this abiding or fellowship which is the cause for fruitfulness or good works in the life of the believer (John 15) and not just the presence of new life.

The Lord was speaking of a general maxim, of what is generally true. He was not stating an absolute—that which will always be true in the life of the believer. Many quote this passage and say, “See, true believers will abide and bear fruit and so prove they were really saved.” I believe that view is wrong because the Lord knew some Christians would not abide or remain in fellowship with Him, and the proof of this is John 15 where He commanded the disciples to continue to abide. If it is not possible to stop abiding, lose fellowship with the Lord, and thus stop bearing fruit, why would the Lord warn His disciples about this possible failure? This is what He does in John 15:1-6.

As a general rule, every Christian will bear some fruit, somewhere, sometime, somehow. But having said that, there are a few points of caution we need to make that affect the concept of good works or fruitfulness and their use as proofs for salvation and assurance.

As John 15 and many other passages of Scripture teach, the general maxim that believers will bear fruit does not mean that all believers will be fruitful or that a believer will alwaysbe fruitful (compare Paul’s and Peter’s admonition to good works: Titus 3:14; 2 Peter 1:8). Both of these passages indicate that a true believer might be unfruitful. These exhortations would be meaningless otherwise. The same principle applies to the Lord’s admonition for us to abide in Him that we might be fruitful.

Though the following remarks bear on the lordship/mastery issue, they also apply here since these two issues (good works and lordship) are really tied together. How much fruit or good works do believers need to prove they are saved? How do we measure the amount of works or fruit necessary to be sure we are saved in the lordship/mastery or believe/works sense of the term? “Or how do we quantify the amount of defection that can be tolerated without wondering if I have saving faith or if I in fact lost what I formerly had?”²³²

Ryrie writes:

The lordship response, in spite of its stringent demands on the nature of what the view calls saving faith, must either say (1) that a disobedient Christian loses his salvation, or (2) that some leeway exists for disobedience within the Christian life. Since many lordship people hold to the security of the believer, they opt for the latter.

So we read a statement like this: “A moment of failure does not invalidate a disciple’s credentials” (John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1988, p. 199). My immediate reaction to such a statement is to want to ask if two moments would? Or a week of defection, or a month, or a year? or two? How serious a failure and for how long before we must conclude that such a person was in fact not saved? Lordship teaching recognizes that “no one will obey perfectly” (Ibid., p. 174), but the crucial question is simply how imperfectly can one obey and yet be sure that he “believed” in the lordship/mastery salvation sense? If “salvation requires total transformation” (Ibid., p. 183) and I do not meet that requirement, then am I not saved? Or if my transformation is less than total at any stage of my Christian life, was I not saved in the first place?²³³

Here then is a key question: “How imperfectly can one obey or be without works and yet be sure he is saved if works are the criterion for proof of saving faith and eternal life?”

On the other hand, if salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone and one’s works are a proof of the nature of one’s fellowship and maturity, then his works regardless of how small or great, become a criterion for blessing now and rewards in eternity. They concern not my entrance into heaven, but the nature of my inheritance in heaven.

We reap what we sow, but the harvest is not a matter of heaven or possession of eternal life, but blessing versus discipline now, and rewards versus loss of rewards in heaven (Heb. 12:7-13; 1 Cor. 11:28-32; Rom. 8:12-13, 17; Gal. 6:7-9; 1 Cor. 12-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-10).

Ryrie writes,

My understanding of what fruit is and therefore what I expect others to bear may be faulty and/or incomplete. It is all too easy to have a mental list of spiritual fruits and to conclude if someone does not produce what is on my list that he or she is not a believer. But the reality is that most lists that we humans devise are too short, too selective, too prejudiced, and often extra-biblical. God likely has a much more accurate and longer list than most of us do.²³⁴

A person’s fruit will not necessarily be outwardly evident. A person’s fruit may be private or erratic, and just because we do not see someone’s fruit does not mean that some fruit is not there. Furthermore, we may see a man’s fruit, but we cannot see his heart. We don’t know what motivated his works. The works may have been motivated by selfish desires, by his desire to impress, or to be accepted rather than by the Spirit and by love.

Many unbelievers (those who profess no faith in Christ) will demonstrate all kinds of good works like helping the poor, ministering to the sick, caring for their family, self-control, and working for the benefit of the community in other ways. Does this prove they know God? No! Does it save them? No! While works may give evidence of new life and fellowship with the Lord, it is still never a proof because there are too many variables that we just cannot see.

According to Scripture, bonafide fruit in the life of the believer is the result of pruning and abiding, of the work of God as the Vinedresser, and the response of the believer through fellowship and faith. When our Lord said, “without Me you can nothing,” He was not saying believers could produce no works, but that there could be no bonafide fruit—works that were the result of new life and the power of the Spirit.

Witnessing for the Lord is a good work, but in order for it to be fruit it needs to be the product of His life working in us. Compare John 15:1-6; 26-27; Acts 1:8 with Matt. 7:13-28 and the warning about false prophets who sounded and looked like sheep, who witnessed and did other things in the name of Christ, but had not built their lives on His truth, i.e., on Christ.

If a person gives a cup of cold water to a thirsty man, it may be:

• The result of fellowship with the Lord and so also of salvation.
• The result of a works-for-salvation mentality like with the religious Pharisees.
• The result of a desire to be accepted by others or to impress people. In this case it is a good work, but not the fruit of the Spirit or of fellowship with the Lord. Motives are important and say a lot about the source (1 Cor. 4:5; Jam. 4:3).
• Or it may be the result of natural human compassion.

If a man claims to be a Christian by the things he does and says: he goes to church, prays, and says he knows the Lord, but refuses to help someone in need when it is within his power, what does this indicate about the man? It could indicate the person is not saved—but not necessarily. Remember, many who do not know Christ help the poor. But refusal can also indicate the person is out of fellowship and not walking by an active faith in the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 John 3:16-17; Gal. 5:22-23; Jam. 2:15-17).

What’s the point? Works do not necessarily prove a man’s salvation. Then what are some of the values of a person’s good works?

The Value of Works (Fruit)

Because of the many variables and the problems outlined above, works are not designed to be the fundamental means of assurance of salvation. Assurance is based on something more absolute—the work of Christ and the Word.²³⁵

• Good works glorify God especially when our motives are right and He is the source of those works because we are abiding in Christ (1 Cor. 4:5; 6:20; 2 Cor. 9:13; 1 Pet. 2:12; 4:16).
• Good works witness to others of God’s love and of the truth of the claims of Christ. They can give evidence of the authenticity and power of the Gospel (2 Cor. 6:3-6; 1 Thess. 2:1-12; John 13:34-35).
• Good works minister God’s love to men (1 John 3:17).
• Good works promote peace and order in society (Rom. 13:1-4; 1 Pet. 2:14).

So let’s not compromise the Gospel of grace by adding anything to what man must do other than believe the message of God’s saving love in Christ. Let’s all be challenged as believers to grow in Christ, to submit to His lordship, and allow Him to change our lives as we walk in fellowship with the Savior. Let’s also remember that one of the evidences of salvation is the discipline of the Lord (Heb. 12:5f).

Thoughts on James 2:14-26

James 2:14-26 is one of the key passages used to support the need of adding works to faith in Christ. The thinking is something like this: “We are saved by faith alone, but real faith is never alone, or the faith that saves is never alone,” and James 2:14-26 is used to support this position. Does James 2:14-26 support this position?

There are three views on this passage:

(1) James is contradicting the Apostle Paul and teaching salvation by works.

(2) James is teaching that real or genuine faith will produce works and fruitlessness is a sure sign that a person is unsaved. “That faith” in 2:14, the kind of faith that is without works and fruitless, cannot save from hell.

MacArthur writes,

The Bible teaches clearly that the evidence of God’s work in a life is the inevitable fruit of transformed behavior (1 John 3:10). Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save (Ja. 2:14-17). Professing Christians utterly lacking the fruit of true righteousness will find no biblical basis for assurance …²³⁶

(3) James is writing about the problem of the dead, inoperative faith of a Christian whose faith has lost all of its vitality and productivity because of his or her failure to walk with the Lord in the Word.

There is no question that this is a difficult passage, but much of its difficulty stems from our own preconditioned thinking, theological bias, the nature of English translations, and our understanding of certain words like “save,” “salvation,” “soul,” and translations like “that faith” in vs. 14.

There is no question that faith without works is in some way defective, but that does not mean that the person is unsaved or that their faith in Christ is not real. Scripture teaches that faith begins as a grain of mustard seed and must grow. If it is not fed and nourished by the Word and fellowship with the Lord, it becomes stagnant, the soul becomes hard, and the life becomes unfruitful.

Over and over again the Scripture posts warning signs for believers against the dangers of unfruitfulness (Tit. 3:8, 14; 2 Pet. 1:8).

The wasteland of barren living was therefore a real and present danger which the New Testament writers faced with candor. In no way did they share the modern illusion that a believer could not enter that wasteland, or live there.²³⁷

James’ Relation to Paul and His Theology

That James is not writing to refute or contradict the doctrine emphasized so strongly in Paul’s epistles is seen from two facts: (a) James was written very early, before the epistles of Paul that emphasize justification by faith without works. James was written in 45 A.D. and Galatians and Romans in 49 or 55 and 58. (b) That James and Paul were in harmony and believed in salvation by faith apart from works is clear from Acts 15:1f and Galatians 1:18-21; 2:9.

The Context and Thrust of James

The Recipients: Unquestionably, James was written to believers, to those whom James considered as saved. He was not questioning their salvation. This is apparent from the following:

• He identifies them as brethren in every chapter for a total of 15 times in this epistle (1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, etc.).
• He refers to his readers as “firstfruits of all he created” (1:18), a reference to regeneration or the new birth as a gift from God (1:17).
• As a warning against partiality he refers to their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2:1).
• He also speaks about “the fair name by which you have been called,” a reference to the name Christian because of their faith in Christ and association with the Christian community (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16).
• He teaches and challenges them in ways that could only have application or meaning to genuine believers: (a) In 1:2-4 of the goal of trials to mature one’s faith and character; (b) In 1:5-8 and 4:2-3 he speaks of their privilege of prayer and of the need to pray in faith with right motives to receive answers for wisdom and to meet their needs; (c) In 1:12 of the promise of the crown of life; (d) In 1:20 of achieving or producing righteous character which has its origin in fellowship with God, i.e. God’s righteousness; (e) In 1:21f of receiving the engrafted Word which, like a mirror, is able to expose us and bring about much needed change; (f) And in 4:5 of the jealous concern of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers to keep us faithful to the Lord, the Groom of the bride (cf. 4:4).

The Problem and Concern

While James knew his readers were born again, he also knew how they desperately needed to take in the Word and respond to its truth. The facts of the epistle show that though they were religious and orthodox in their faith, they were carnal, worldly, and legalistic. Legalism always nullifies the power of Christ in believers’ lives. It means they are trusting in their own ability and good works to be accepted with God and to feel significant.

As is clear in the epistles of Paul, this does not mean they were unsaved or only professing Christians. But it does mean they were unfruitful because they were laboring under the weakness of their own ability.

They were begotten of God (1:18), they were brethren (1:2, 16, 19, 2:1), they had faith in Christ (2:1), but they were religionists as is evident by James warning in 1:26 and by the following facts: (a) they were hearing the Word though not applying it (1:22-26); (b) they were meeting together as an assembly of believers (2:2); (c) they prided themselves on having the Law (2:10-11); and (d) some were wanting to be teachers in the assembly and were priding themselves on their mature wisdom (3:1-2).

So, while they had real faith in Christ for salvation (2:1), they were not experiencing the liberty and deliverance that should accompany salvation. Their faith in Him for daily living was dead and inoperative just as with the Christians in Galatia. Like the Galatians, they had fallen from a grace/faith way of life under the power of the Spirit (Gal. 5:1-5).

Again, they were external religionists who were seeking to live the Christian life by their own ability and this had neutralized the power of God. They had some religious works in the form of certain religious activities as mentioned, but they lacked a moment-by-moment vital faith fellowship with the Lord in and through: (a) the mirror activity of the engrafted Word (1:19-25); (b) through the ministry of the indwelling Spirit (4:5); and (c) through drawing near to God in honest confession and humble brokenness before God (1:21; 4:7-10).

While being religious externalists, they were being dominated by man’s wisdom and strategies for handling life rather than by God’s wisdom, the wisdom of the Word which they needed to apply personally (1:2-27). They were controlled by that which is earthly, worldly, natural, demonic (1:13-16; 3:13-18; 4:1-4).

As a result, while religious, they were lacking in bonafide Christlike other-oriented works. They were under God’s discipline and perhaps on the verge of discipline unto death (cf. 1:21; 2:14; and 5:14-15, 19-20).

The following illustrates the failures of their inactive faith which failed to appropriate their wealth in Christ: (a) They were frustrated by trials (1:2-4). (b) The rich were trusting in their riches (1:10-11; 5:1f). (c) The poor were complaining of their lack (1:9). (d) They were ignoring those in need (1:27; 2:15-17). (e) They were guilty of sinful attitudes which were manifesting themselves in sins of the tongue—in fighting, quarreling, and criticizing (3:2-4:2, 11f). (f) They were guilty of favoritism (2:1f). (g) They were guilty of putting their business ahead of the Lord (4:13-17).

The Key Words of James 2:14f:

(1) Faith: James is not talking about a real versus a false or spurious faith, one which only claims to be real, but really is not. These were brethren (vs. 14), true believers with real faith in Christ for salvation. But as for their daily walk, their faith was dead, inoperative, and unproductive. Faith, in order to work and be productive, must have a valid object and be energized by fellowship with the Lord; it must grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 3:18). Their faith had a valid object for salvation from sin’s penalty, but not for the Christian life and victory against the power of sin. Again, compare Paul’s argument in Galatians and in Colossians. See also Matthew 6:30; Colossians 2:6; Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:13.

(2) Save: In James 1:21, James speaks about the Word’s ability “to save your souls.” Compare also 2:14 and 5:20. We need to be careful that we do not misunderstand this. The modern English translation has for many only one religious meaning—“to be saved from hell.” But this is not what James meant nor what his readers would have understood. By context, this meant “to save your life” from God’s divine discipline and the self-made misery of walking out of fellowship. Five times James uses the word sozo, “to save,” which means:

• to save or deliver from peril, injury, suffering, or physical death (Matt. 8:25; 14:30; 27:40, 42; Mk. 13:20; Jam. 4:12; 5:20).
• to heal, restore to health or strength (Matt. 9:22; Mk. 5:24; Jam. 5:15).
• to save or deliver in a spiritual sense from the penalty, power, and presence of sin (1 Cor. 1:21; Jam. 1:21; 2:14; 1 Tim. 1:15). Used of the past, present, and future aspects of salvation. Some passages could refer to all aspects of salvation, past, present, and future.

We simply cannot limit this word to mean salvation from hell. James is clearly saying their faith, in the condition it was in, could not save or deliver anyone from the things that were dominating their lives. But he is not talking about salvation from hell. Why should he? This does not fit the context as demonstrated above. He did need to warn them, however, about the bondage and futility of legalism and dead orthodoxy, and about the consequences of sin—the loss of rewards and divine discipline even to the point of death (1:15, 21; 4:12; 5:1-4, 7-8, 9, 14-16, 20).

(3) Soul: Soul is psuche which is translated “life” or “lives” as often as it is translated “soul” (43 versus 47 times in the NASB). In some cases (as in James 1:21) it would be better to translate it with the English word “life” or “lives.”

(4) Works: James is speaking of deeds and actions which are the product of a vital, growing, productive faith in the indwelling Spirit (Jam. 4:5) and the engrafted Word (Jam. 1:21). Paul, by contrast, speaks of dead works which are done apart from faith, which proceed from the flesh and which are done to gain merit with God.

(5) Justified: This is the Greek, dikaioo, which has two uses: (a) To declare or pronounce righteous and refers to the imputation of righteousness through faith in Christ (Rom. 5:1). (b) But it may also mean to show to be righteous (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:35; Rom. 3:4; 1 Tim. 3:16).²³⁸ James uses it in this way in 2:21.

Conclusion

Hodges sums up the issue for the book of James and writes,

James … understood how easily Christians, who knew the great truth that God accepted us on the basis of faith alone, could fall into the error of downplaying good works altogether. He understood how readily doctrinal correctness could take precedence over practical, everyday obedience. In short, he knew the danger of dead orthodoxy.

One of Satan’s methods of assault is to get us to lock up our shield of faith into our theological armory so that we never employ it on the field of combat and everyday life.

Too often Christians go about proudly proclaiming their theological position, their orthodoxy, and ungraciously denounce those who believe differently. They talk like theologians and behave like enemies at war.²³⁹

In his little epistle, Jude calls upon the Church to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). For us today, the faith refers to the body of revealed truth that has been handed down in the Scripture. It concerns the great fundamental truths of Scripture concerning subjects such as God, Jesus Christ, man, salvation, the Bible, and things to come including the personal return of the Lord.

This body of truth is called the faith because it must be received by faith, and because “the faith” contains the Gospel which is a message of grace offering man a salvation that is free, without price, one that is to be received by faith rather than by human works.

But from as early as Acts 15, the church has had to contend against assaults on the Gospel wherein people have tried to add some form of human works to faith alone whereby we could gain salvation like works of the Law, or circumcision, or its counterpart for today, water baptism. Truly, the Gospel of God’s grace in Christ is under siege and we need to be able to contend for the faith.

¹⁹⁸ Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, Dallas Seminary Press, Dallas, TX, 1948, p. 371.

¹⁹⁹ Robert N. Wilkin, “Repentance and Salvation,” Part 1, The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 88, p. 11.

²⁰⁰Charles C. Ryrie, So Great Salvation, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1989, p. 91.

²⁰¹Ryrie, p. 92.

²⁰² Bob Wilkin, “Repentance and Salvation,” Part 3, The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, Vol. 2, No. 2, Autumn 89, p. 13.

²⁰³Ryrie, p. 92.

²⁰⁴J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, InterVarsity, Downers Grove, IL, 1961, pp. 72-73.

²⁰⁵ Lewis Sperry Chafer, Vital Theological Issues, Roy B. Zuck, General Editor, Kregel, Grand Rapids, 1994, p. 119.

²⁰⁶“Kindred Spirit,” a quarterly publication of Dallas Seminary, Summer 1989, p. 5.

²⁰⁷Ryrie, p. 97.

²⁰⁸ Ryrie, p. 98.

²⁰⁹Ryrie, p. 98.

²¹⁰Wilkin, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 18.

²¹¹Ibid.

²¹²Ibid.

²¹³ Ryrie, p. 99.

²¹⁴Wilkin, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 20.

²¹⁵ “The Grace Evangelical Society News,” Vol. 4, No. 10, Oct. 1989, p. 4, Taken from The Sword of the Lord, Feb. 3, 1989.

²¹⁶ Lewis Sperry Chafer Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, Abridged Edition, John F. Walvoord, Editor, Donald K. Campbell, Roy B. Zuck, Consulting Editors, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL, 1988, p. 195.

²¹⁷ “Grace Evangelical Society News,” June-July 1988, p. 1.

²¹⁸ “Grace Evangelical Society News,” June-July 1988, p. 3.

²¹⁹ Kindred Spirit, Summer 1989, p. 6.

²²⁰Ibid.

²²¹John F. MacArthur, Jr., The Gospel According to Jesus, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1988, footnote 2, p. 97.

²²² Ryrie, p. 61.

²²³ Everett F. Harrison, “Romans,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, 10:112.

²²⁴ A.T. Robertson and W. Hersey Davis, A New Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Harper & Bros., New York, 1933, p. 219.

²²⁵ Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1996, p. 187-188.

²²⁶ Edwin A. Blum, “John,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, the New Testament Edition, Editors, John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983, p. 281.

²²⁷ We have two parallel phrases which are genitive constructions in the Greek text: 1) “washing of regeneration” and 2) “renewing by the Holy Spirit.” “Regeneration” and “Holy Spirit” are both in the genitive case. There are several uses of the genitive case in Greek, but with nouns of action like washing and renewing, the noun in the genitive points to the thing to which the action is referred, either as subject or object of the verbal idea. Question: Are washing and renewing objective genitives or subjective genitives? If subjective, they produce the action as is evidenced by the translation of the NASB and the NIV, “renewing/renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Paul is writing of a renewing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, and not vice versa, i.e., “a renewing which produces the Holy Spirit,” an obvious absurdity. Both of these clauses are preceded by only one preposition “by” ( dia), and are connected by “and” ( kai). This would suggest two things: (1) Because of the parallel arrangement, we would expect both genitives to be the same, either objective or subjective, and since the second phase can only be a subjective genitive, “a renewal by the Holy Spirit,” so must the first, “a washing by regeneration.” (2) The “and” ( kai) is ascensive or explicative meaning “even,” or “namely,” so that the second clause is a further explanation of the first. We could render it grammatically, “the washing produced by regeneration, even (or namely) the rebirth accomplished by the Holy Spirit.” Regeneration results in a spiritual cleansing, the forgiveness of sin and this is part of the rebirth work of the Holy Spirit.

²²⁸ Lewis Sperry Chafer Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, p. 194-195.

²²⁹ Lewis Sperry Chafer Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, Kregel, Grand Rapids, 1993, p. 378-79.

²³⁰ The Ryrie Study Bible, NASB, Moody Press, Chicago, 1976, 1978, p. 1716.

²³¹ See Assault #2, for a discussion of this verse as it pertains to the word “Lord,” or see Ryrie’s, So Great Salvation, p. 70-72.

²³² Ryrie, p. 47.

²³³ Ryrie, p. 47-48.

²³⁴ Ryrie, pp. 45-46.

²³⁵ See Part 1, Lesson 2, Assurance of Salvation.

²³⁶ MacArthur, Jr., p. 23. Compare also MacArthur’s statement on page 170.

²³⁷ Zane Hodges, Absolutely Free, Redencin Viva, Academie Books, Zondervan Publishing House, p. 120.

²³⁸ G. Abbot-Smith; A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 3rd ed., T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 116.

²³⁹ Hodges, p. 122-123.