Evangelizing the Church

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17)


Last Sunday I preached on our reading from Acts expanding the text in the Lectionary to include Phillip's mission to Samaria and his encounter with Simon the Magician. (Acts 8:4-25) Phillip's journey was followed by Peter and John's trip to impart the Holy Spirit upon those who had been baptized. Simon you may remember wanted to buy the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:18) I reminded my home congregation that we are always to be sending and always to be preaching. We should never assume that everyone in church has heard the good news of God's salvation. We should always put forth the whole counsel of God so that we are firmly grounded in Scriptural teaching. (Acts 20:25-31) Like Simon, the church is full of baptized members who are just not among God's elect. 

And the church is full of people who have not had their hearts circumcised by the hearing of the Word. (Acts 2:37-40) In my recent travels to Nigeria, my contacts were mainly clergy and lay workers. Our conversations were rich and I began to see the need for an outsider to be inside the Diocese where I will be working. Conversations in Nigeria are really no different than conversations in America. People talk as if they have the will to determine their own life but when things go wrong it's always Satan's fault. Somehow God is powerless (why do we call Him God Almighty?). But in reality God is sovereign and ultimately in control. We need to be reminded of this as too often we tell the non-Christian they can choose to follow Jesus selling them a bill of goods such as your life will be prosperous or all your troubles will go away. When we sell we expect people to buy a la Simon the Magician. And in another conversation I was trying to explain my divorce ultimately explaining that my ex-wife was not a Christian even though I met her in church. Yes, Jesus preached about hypocrisy (Gk: pretenders) just in case we wouldn't forget and the church shouldn't forget. To this young man, the idea goats were among the sheep or tares among the wheat seemed to be a novel teaching! The continual preaching of the whole counsel of God is a must. The failure to do so has resulted in the wackiness that pervades the church today. Just google TEC or  The Church of England and you will see what I mean. We can not assume everyone knows what sin is, what justice means, and why grace is so great! And it's free of charge. 

The state of the modern church can be summed up in this story told by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson:

"It is sad that a number of years ago, certainly within the lifetime of all of us present in this room, one of the royal princesses of the realm coming out of a cathedral service in England spoke to the dean of the chapter of the cathedral, and said to him, "Is it true, dean, that there is a place called 'hell?'" To which the dean apparently replied, “Madame, the Scriptures say so, Christian people have always believed so, and the Church of England confesses so.” To which she responded, “Then in God’s name, why do you not tell us so?”

Jesus came to save us from our sins that lead us to hell. The mission of the church is to proclaim this good news. If we do not keep this candle lit, then darkness surely will overwhelm us. 

I share all this because I have been spending a lot of time reflecting on my life and ministry lately as I await my return to Nigeria. When I recount what I have done and where I will be going I sense my calling has been and always will be to evangelize the church! Let none of us take for granted our calling to go out and make disciples of all peoples, both within and without the church.

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Why Do Mission Work

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:47)

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Mt. 24:14)

It is Jesus' desire that we bring the Gospel to all peoples, to the ends of the earth. It is The great Commission! (Mt. 28:19-20)

I remember a hymn growing called, "Christ for the World We Sing." It's included at the bottom of this post. It speak of the zeal to bring Christ so that others may not be left in despair.

What I learned from my recent trip to Nigeria is that while many have heard the Gospel, there are still many who have not heard it, especially in places of power. I am also concerned by the number who claim to be Christian and yet do not really know the cross. It is The Cross that saves us!

Upon my future return this February (2013) it is my prayer to share the cross with those inside and outside the church! Please pray that this is God's will. Christ commands us to take the Gospel to the ends of the world and His Second Coming is predicated on it!

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