Title Ecclesiastes/I Corinthians 1:21
Contents Ecclesiastes/I Corinthians 1:21
Evangelism is not a 'method' to spread the gospel of Christ and the cross. It is a message in itself. 1 Corinthians 1 is 'What is the cross?', 'What are the methods and contents of the cross?', 'Why did God do this?' saying what to do
Why did God have to use the cross to save us? The reason believers ask why it had to be that way is because they do not understand the meaning of the cross.
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved,
It is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
“But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
power and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Conduction is becoming a technology these days. Publishers are devising ways to increase the odds of success. However, it should not be used in the sense of a method, but as an expression of our zeal. It's not that we're good at evangelism or that it's 'effective', but that it's actually our 'devotion'. It is our zeal and devotion for the gospel that God has given us, not the law that 'that's why evangelism goes well'. Because evangelism is 'foolish'. 'Evangelism asks us to have a 'how' so that we can best represent that by doing so we can't do it our way.
A typical example of this will be understood by looking at the case of Gideon in the book of Judges. In Judges 6, an angel of God appears to Gideon. Hearing a command given to him, Gideon proposes to accept it as he will offer a sacrifice to check whether it is a command from God or not.
“Gideon went and prepared a young goat, and made unleavened bread from an ephah of flour.
Put the meat in a colander, put the soup in a spoon, and bring it to him under the oak.
When they came, the angel of God said to him, "Take meat and unleavened bread, and take this rock.
Put it on it, and pour the soup on it. Gideon did so, and the angel of the LORD was in his hand.
He reached out the tip of the rod he took and set it on the meat and the unleavened bread, and fire came out of the rock and
The unleavened bread was burned, and the angel of the LORD left and was not seen (Judges 6:19-21).
The unleavened bread was placed on a rock and the soup was poured. After that, the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of his staff and threw meat and unleavened bread, and a fire came out. This part is very important. The fire did not come from Gideon, but from the rock. Gideon was simply a staff. In other words, the work was done by God, and Gideon was used as a staff. But how much do we think of Gideon as a hero? God lifted up Gideon, and he drew attention by moving his staff. His gaze was drawn to the rock, and the fire came from the real God. 'Evangelism' is like this.
Through our evangelism, we will draw everyone's attention to what we believe and what we preach.
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oh come It is not the way that something happens that a soul is regenerated. It is impossible unless God saves a life from heaven. In that work, God always uses us as a staff and draws attention through our evangelism. And God is commanding us to preach the gospel to make it happen.
It is not that the work of salvation is accomplished only if we do evangelism, otherwise God cannot. It is not a 'condition' under which we do this, but rather, He uses us and allows us to participate in God's redemptive work. That in itself is grace. So, evangelism is what we must do diligently. But evangelism is not a product of my level within my abilities. Evangelism is to show that God saved one soul today and used me for such a work, just as God called me freely and saved me only because he was compassionate and loving. And the best way to show that it is not in my hands but by the grace of God is also evangelism. We are to be used that way, and the method itself is evangelism, so we have to contribute in that way.
God saved so many people and works today, and He has pity on us. Let us know that you are doing the work of saving people from the seat of death. However, those who know evangelism as their own method despise those who have no fruit by doing evangelism, or mistakenly believe that they are the only ones who can be used before God. This delusion does not give thanks even after evangelism. You must have the attitude of an evangelist on the same level as a staff. If you know why God mobilized foolish methods in evangelism, there will always be thanksgiving instead of boasting. To put it in the extreme, evangelism is the worst way to save a soul.
Since evangelism is the most ordinary exhortation of ordinary believers without controversy, miraculous proof, or authority, it is actually the most powerless way to revive the dead by breaking the chains of sin and its authority. However, God is using this powerless, foolish method to testify that God is currently working on salvation.
“Behold your calling, brethren, that there are not many who are wise according to the flesh,
There are not many mighty, not many well-known, but God
He chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,
He chose the weak to shame the strong, and God
Do you choose things that are and things that are despised, and things that do not exist, to abolish things that are?
so that no flesh should boast before God.
Begotten of God and in Christ Jesus, Jesus is from God
He has been made to us wisdom, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, as it is written, Those who boast
so that it may be done, as it is said, “bring out in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
When God calls his servants, he does not choose the wise or the mighty. Because it puts the wise and the strong of the world to shame. 'It is not something that can be known by the wisdom and power of the world. You can get it only when God enlightens you with grace and gives it freely.' All of these conclusions must be known to those who have been saved.
Why is this so important? If you think that the salvation you have obtained and the gospel you have realized is due to your wisdom and power, prayer will disappear in evangelism. By crafting and refining their methods, they boast of their abilities, so they fight and compete with each other. The God who gives salvation neither asks for grace nor gives thanks.
God has compassion on us in that sense that he commands us to do evangelism today, and he is still opening the door of salvation. Who will change and be moved by my words? Even today, can't we just be complacent that God is breaking the chains of sin and calling out souls from darkness?