John 3:30

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

savior

How to witness to someone who’s recently lost someone

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The other day, a Facebook friend asked, “How would you share Christ with a cousin who has just experienced the tragedy of his/her mother having committed suicide?”

I wrote her a note and thought it might encourage others. It has been slightly edited for “blog-worthiness.”

Dear friend:

I DO agree that there are different ways to approach people, etc.

But generally speaking, I would say the way to witness to your cousin AND EVERYONE is:

With the fear of God and a love for the person’s soul, show them what God’s Word says about their life, their death and their eternity. Tell them what the Word says Jesus did for sinners and what they must do to be saved.

The Holy Spirit will take care of regenerating their heart, and they will either reject you, get saved, or reject you and maybe later get saved.

As long as you are honest, stick to God’s Word, and express as best you can your real love and compassion, you’ve done your part. I am tempted also to “alter” the message sometimes to “soften” the blow. I have witnessed to so many people, especially FAMILY who come to a realization and say something like, “OK, so you are saying Grandma is in Hell?”

As painful as it is, I’ve had to tell people that there are GOOD people (from man’s eyes) who have likely gone to Hell because of their sin before God. But as Jesus points out in the Rich man and Lazarus parable, we may surmise that those in Hell honestly wish for their brothers and family to hear the real truth while there is still time for them. Luke 16:27-31

Luke 16:27-31 ESV And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house– 28 for I have five brothers–so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'”

By God’s grace, I’ve stayed true to His Word and allowed people to know where I stand…which is simply ‘whatever the Bible says.’ I am not ashamed of this stance; I’m only ashamed of my own selfish fear of rejection.

Keep in the fray, I’m proud of you.

Michael

An open letter to Christian brothers who ‘play Santa’

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An open letter to Christian brothers who ‘play the Santa Claus’ game. This is a letter I sent a dear brother in 2010. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife told their young daughters about ‘Santa Claus’ and were quite grateful for my admonishment. I hope you will find it helpful.

I don’t understand why a Christian family would play the Santa Claus game with their kids. First of all, Jesus IS ENOUGH; you don’t need to make Christmas ‘more fun’ or ‘more magical’ or anything like that. Secondly, I feel Santa takes away from the focus on God’s glory…he is a form of antichrist in a sense…taking the place of Christ.

Finally, and most importantly to me, I cannot imagine ‘doing Santa’ with my kids without LYING to them and breaking God’s commandment. I cannot stand on the street with a good conscience and ask people if they are liars and tell them to fear God, when I myself still practice lying.

God GAVE YOU BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN and it is your responsibility as a man to lead them. These kids look at you as a picture of Christ, and your honesty with them will permeate through their lives. It is built into their brains to trust you and rely on you to be honest with them. This is for a reason, and at least a part of that reason is to be a picture for them of your Father who is in Heaven.

I love you brother, and I know we all have some different ways we do things, but I feel strongly about this, and that the best thing for your children is JESUS and a Dad who is willing to stand up for that no matter what the cost.

I pray that you take my note with love and affection for me brother, as I have love and affection for you. I trust that you understand how hard it can be to confront a brother, and maybe risk you being mad at me. But your daughters’ eternities and the glory of God are more important to me than people liking me.

I trust that when we each base our lives on Scripture, we will be able to still encourage each other in the faith.

In Christ alone. Merry Christmas!

Michael

Put the ‘X’ back in Xmas

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I’m sure you’re thinking, what a strange name for a post. You probably think I’m the type of guy who always puts the “Christ” in Christmas. In fact, if I was you, I’d guess that Michael Coughlin is the type of guy who spells the late December holiday, “CHRISTmas.”

Well, sometimes I do spell it CHRISTmas. In fact, I always spell out the word. Here is an interesting video that may help people to understand some things about the name of Christ, particularly in the Greek. There are some people out there who are really judgmental of others who abbreviate Christmas:

It’s always about the heart, isn’t it? My pastor abbreviates “Christmas,” also with Greek letters. He does it for economy. The same reason we type LOL and things like that.

I WILL NOT abbreviate specifically because before I was saved I intentionally wrote XMAS IN ORDER TO exclude Christ from Christmas. Yep. I was “that guy.” I actively enjoyed seeing the letter X replace Christ and I was annoyed and angered by the “put the Christ back in Christmas” people.

So in a sense, it matters NOT how it originated, essentially because all things are lawful…I mean, we can take something that the devil meant for evil and use it for good if we wanted to anyway…

But it does matter why that person or corporation uses the “X.” I do believe if we asked everyone who abbreviates with an X, why they do that…you’d have a nice mixture of responses. And I do believe there would be at least some portion that intentionally excludes Christ and replaces with an “X” out of a sort of malice. It is for these people’s sake, and my own conscience that I don’t put the “X” in Christmas.

I’m sure there’s more that can be said, but there’s my 2 cents. I’m happy to know I can abbreviate and thanks to Mike and my own pastor I am now less ignorant than I was just 1 week ago about the whole deal.

Merry CHRISTmas, everyone. 😉

3 John 1:4

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3 John 4 – I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

What is truth? (John 18:38) If we are looking for a scriptural basis for the answer to this question (and, by the way, we are), then my mind immediately takes me to John 17:17: ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.’ Jesus is speaking to the Father in Heaven in this passage. He is not saying, “your word is a truth.” He was declaring God’s Word to be truth. Literally.

Here’s another scripture to contemplate concerning truth:

Psalms 119:160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

John is advanced in age at this point. He is leaving his final legacy, for the Christians that remain in the world, through his letters. He has spent the final 5 or 6 decades of his life waiting for the return of the Savior. I can only guess that in his old age, even though he certainly awaited the imminent return of Christ, he must have started to believe he would taste death.

Put yourself in his place for a moment. You spent a few years of your young adulthood walking with Jesus. You witnessed the miracles, the teaching and the compassion He had. You spent countless hours of alone time with him. You are so confident of His love for you, a love you know you do not deserve, that you call yourself the disciple that Jesus loved throughout the biography you wrote.

Aware of the hopeless state of the world and sinners without Christ, you’ve now spent your life spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and discipling others: “teaching them to obey all that [He] has commanded.” Matt 28:20

Ultimately, let me put it this way. The apostle John must have understood the ravaging effects of sin better than almost anyone who ever lived. Seeing firsthand the power of God in Christ to heal, the transfiguration, the crucifixion and the resurrection could not have allowed John to be lazy in his Christianity. This is my opinion, but I do not believe John could have been lackadaisical in his Christian life. I cannot imagine a John with besetting sins. I do not imagine John indulging in his Christian liberty so he could ‘enjoy sin for a season.’

No, my dear Christian reader. John desired holiness. He longed for the holiness of Jesus Christ until his death and was utterly aware at all times that Jesus paid for the sins of those who would believe. No Christian who believes that Jesus paid for every sin should want to enjoy the pleasure of sin. This is called grace-abuse and is condemned by Paul. (Romans 6:1-2)

So John is looking at his children in the faith, those men (and women) who he has led to the Lord or has been teaching the apostle’s doctrine. John sees them walking in the truth. There are two components to this I find striking: walking and truth.

James says to be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer only. James 1:22-23 It is important to understand that justification by grace through faith is not an excuse to act any way we want. The regenerate man will have an aversion to sin. A forgiven creature will walk in obedience…not to produce salvation, but as the fruit of salvation. So first of all, it is important to know that John’s spiritual children are walking. They are doing the work of God. They are working. They have energy and are putting forth effort to please the Lord and fulfill His commands.

Secondly, they are walking in truth. Back to the earlier paragraphs, “thy Word is truth.” John 17:17 God’s Word is truth. It is the only basis for truth. Denial of God’s Word has been the source for more heresies, false scientific beliefs and pain and suffering in this world than any other single event. Ignoring God’s Word is as dangerous as denying it, by the way; look at Eve in the garden…she chose to believe things outside of God’s Word, contradictory to God’s Word…and the result was disastrous. You cannot be indifferent about the bible any more than you ought to be contrary to it; you must believe it.

So John has NO GREATER JOY than to hear that his children walk in the truth. He is HAPPY because he knows these believers are actually doing the work of God. They are really being obedient to God’s desires. They are worshiping in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24

This is a vital point. There are many today who are worshiping God in spirit. People who are emotional about God. People who really want to serve something outside themselves. A good example is the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this program, men and women are encouraged to rely on the god of their own understanding in order to quit drinking. Tens of thousands of people have found hope for their life. They’ve gotten jobs and families back, and they’ve started to be productive members of society, especially compared to their old selves. But at what cost? By being taught to trust the god of their own understanding, these men and women have been led into idolatry: sin they readily enjoy as the fulfillment of the lust of their own heart…but this is quite contradictory to the biblical gospel which commands people to repent and believe the gospel.

When you have worship with spirit, but without truth, you have idolatry. When you have worship with truth but no spirit you have cold orthodoxy… or nothing but religious ritual.

As well as doing the correct work of God, walking in truth includes a description of what you are NOT doing. As a Christian walking in truth, you ought NOT be sinning. You ought NOT be violating the very commandments of God, the violation of which put Jesus on the cross. Yes, walking in truth is not just doing God’s work part of the week and enjoying secret sin the rest. It requires a life dedicated to Christ-likeness, self-denial and sin eradication!

Are you walking in the truth? Do you walk in the Word of God? Do you test your actions and your thoughts against the Word of God? Or do you worship the way you want to worship? Do you choose your activities and trust that God will approve of you because you are sincere?

I’m afraid this is a problem for many Christians as well as non-Christians. We don’t expect non-Christians to walk in truth, but if you are saved by grace through faith today, you do not have an excuse. You’ve been given revelation from God in the bible, the Holy Spirit to guide you and teachers to help you. Do not be like the world. Worship God the way He wants. Walk in the truth.

Trust me, if you do, you will be the cause of much rejoicing.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

1 Peter 3:15

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1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

I think this verse can best be broken down into three parts. The first part, “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” I want to note that the word “but” may not be the best translation, in fact it is a different Greek word than in 1 Peter 3:14. You could use moreover or and just as easily and I think it makes more sense in the English.

What does it mean to sanctify something? The word for sanctify comes from the same root word that is used to describe the spirit of God. ‘Holy Ghost’ is a common description in scripture, or Holy Spirit ; the idea behind this modifier is that God’s spirit is set apart, clean, chaste, and pure. It is the same word translated saints in the New Testament. You are a saint today if you’ve been set apart by God for His purpose. Many accuse us Christians as being holier than thou ! I believe there is good reason for this, WE ARE. It is a verifiable fact that the saints of God are holier than those that are outside the fold of the body of Christ. In fact, when someone senses that you are holier than they are, it is not a bad thing, necessarily. What we want to avoid is having an arrogant attitude as the result. We should direct all praise and honor to Christ, for it is His imputed righteousness that we have that makes us holy. And it is only by His grace that we are made pure in His eyes and have the discernment to talk to others about sin and holiness.

Next, I’ll focus on the last part of the verse, “with meekness and fear.” Or in the ESV, “with gentleness and respect.” It is our self-abasing humility and God-exalting preaching, teaching and exhortation that will protect us from the sin of pride. Follow me for a minute:

Imagine you are drowning, you’ve ventured far enough from the shore that you cannot survive…there are others with you. You, as well as most of the others, are a very good swimmer. You all believe if you just keep swimming, you’ll eventually reach safety. You’re not even tired.

Then a boat appears in sight. You look and see ‘those people.’ You know the type: the ones that cannot swim. They always need a crutch, because they are not as strong and intelligent as you. Then one of them declares to you that you are drowning. That the shore you believe you will reach is too far for anyone to swim to! You’re not sure exactly how he knows, or why you’ve started to believe him, but you do. He throws you a life preserver and you grab hold with all your life and are pulled onto the boat safely. Suddenly it hits you: all your old swimming partners are not in the boat! Quickly, desperately you call to them with this new knowledge! Your goal isn’t triumph or pride, but rather, an earnest desire that others know the truth that has been revealed to you! You don’t stand on the boat in haughtiness, lording it over swimmers that you were so smart to get on the boat. You realize your own intelligence was keeping you in the water! Your own strength wasn’t enough, even though you proudly relied upon it previously. No; you are nothing but a garden-variety swimmer, destined for self-destruction until another reached out to save you. You plead with your old friends and colleagues because you care. You are so confident that you are in the ‘right’ boat that it doesn’t bother you when they say you are weak and stupid; that the ship you are safely being carried in is nothing but a crutch upon which you lean.

Of course this little allegory was meant to prove a point. True followers of Jesus Christ: those with a God-exalting theology, will be unable to evangelize without meekness and fear. Christians who personally identify with ‘garden-variety’ sinners of this world must be kept from pride. Keep an eye on Jesus at all times (Sanctify Him in your heart): this will make you humble as you accept His grace daily and try to pass it on to others! Gentleness, meekness, respect and humility…quite possibly the most mocked characteristics of our day. Not the qualities you would expect to hear uttered about a world leader or a successful businessman in the 21st century…but qualities of the king of kinds and lord of lords!

Finally, the middle portion of the verse: “and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you for a reason of the hope that is in you.”

There are two aspects to “being ready.” One aspect is the idea of simply being available. You must plan that you may need to ‘defend your faith’ each day so that you are mentally prepared to do so. There’s nothing quite like going to a doctor’s appointment, thinking about your own ‘stuff’ and then someone asking you a question that requires an answer from your faith. Or being at a party or soccer practice or at work and the topic of religion or evolution or death arises. Do you become a deer in the headlights at those times? Dear Christian, you must pray the Lord will prepare your heart; as well, you must be striving for holiness.

The second aspect of being ready has to do with actually being prepared to explain the scriptures. Read the following two scriptures to encourage you to the importance of being able to do this:

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

I believe God has called us to study the scriptures so that we can answer some of the hard questions that might arise. We preach Christ crucified, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have explanations for things that we know the world will protest! Shall we be prepared to explain (as least basically) why we do not believe in evolution? Should we be able to tell people why there is disease and suffering? Can you? Are you able to tell people why you trust Christ? Are you prepared to explain to someone why you don’t believe a Christian needs to, nor can do any works in order to obtain salvation? Do you know enough about other religions like Catholicism, Islam and Mormonism, for example, to be able to take someone of those faiths through the differences in your beliefs?

Study to show yourself approved, so that you may be prepared to lead others toward Christ. We are already perceived as fools for believing the gospel and the Word of God; let’s not give our detractors more ammunition by not being able to answer their protests intelligently. We may not impress those that are still in the flesh, but God is always your audience, and He deserves our best effort at getting to know Him! Keep with it; He is always with you and His spirit will guide you.