The Church in my parts was shocked to learn recently that a brother who has been trained by a prominent evangelism group to the point that he was flying to California to participate in helping train others how to share the gospel with the lost and he was often found in various local churches teaching people how to share their faith, he was arrested for sexual molestation of various women in his practice and was found guilty by the court and sent to prison leaving behind a devastated wife and young children to take care of themselves. At first, we thought the allegations were nothing but the enemy of our souls rising up against a strong brother who was seeking to preach the gospel to the lost. This man would pass out tracts, preach on the streets, and would be found sharing Jesus in almost any place he went. To this man, soul winning was a natural part of his life and he believed that disciples of Jesus should preach the gospel at all times.
And yet he fell.
I don’t know his heart today. I personally did not know the man but only through mutual friends did I know about him. I don’t know his heart nor whether today he is seeking the Lord. I pray that he is. This post is not about this man but simply about keeping Jesus as our focus and not anything or anyone else. Jesus, not prayer, not the Church, not soul winning, not Bible reading, not memorizing Scripture, not giving money – Jesus alone is our salvation. We must always keep that in mind. Arminianism does not save. Calvinism does not save. Lutheranism does not save. The Restoration movement does not save. The Baptist church does not save. Nothing saves but Jesus alone (Acts 4:12).
Our heart should be Philippians 3:8-11 where Paul the Apostle wrote,
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Our salvation, our righteousness, our hope – all this comes from Jesus Christ alone. It doesn’t come from being an evangelist or a preacher or an intercessor. Salvation is in the person of Jesus and not anything or anyone else. We must stay close to Him. We must make Him our ambition, our delight, and our passion.
Perhaps this man above stopped doing this. Perhaps he stopped loving our Lord Jesus. He got busy with “the ministry” and he forgot to love Jesus. He forgot how to sit at the Lord’s feet and learn from Him. So busy with life. So busy with teaching people how to share Jesus yet he didn’t really love Jesus anymore or maybe he was simply too busy to sit and glean from the Lord. I don’t know. Only God knows.
I only want to love Jesus. I know that apart from Him, I have no salvation (John 15:1-11). Jesus is my only cure for this sin that abides in me (Romans 6:23). The Lord Jesus alone bore my sins and died for me (John 5:24). Jesus alone is the one who is able to cleanse me from sin (1 John 1:7). Jesus is my faithful high priest who prays for me (Hebrews 7:25) as I abide in Him through faith.
Are you too busy to meet with Jesus and love Him a while? He is our salvation. He is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is the one that we should adore and love. The Father delights in us when we love His Son (1 John 5:1). Don’t be robbed of spending much time with Jesus and learning from Him. Stop and sit at His feet and praise Him for what He has done in saving us. Don’t get too busy that you miss the pleasure of being close to your Savior. This alone will keep you saved from the power of sin (1 John 3:7).
This is a guest post written by my friend, Seeking Disciple. To go to the original post complete with comments, go to:
http://arminiantoday.com/2012/06/30/even-soul-winning-is-no-safeguard-for-salvation/
BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.
And yet he fell.
I don’t know his heart today. I personally did not know the man but only through mutual friends did I know about him. I don’t know his heart nor whether today he is seeking the Lord. I pray that he is. This post is not about this man but simply about keeping Jesus as our focus and not anything or anyone else. Jesus, not prayer, not the Church, not soul winning, not Bible reading, not memorizing Scripture, not giving money – Jesus alone is our salvation. We must always keep that in mind. Arminianism does not save. Calvinism does not save. Lutheranism does not save. The Restoration movement does not save. The Baptist church does not save. Nothing saves but Jesus alone (Acts 4:12).
Our heart should be Philippians 3:8-11 where Paul the Apostle wrote,
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Our salvation, our righteousness, our hope – all this comes from Jesus Christ alone. It doesn’t come from being an evangelist or a preacher or an intercessor. Salvation is in the person of Jesus and not anything or anyone else. We must stay close to Him. We must make Him our ambition, our delight, and our passion.
Perhaps this man above stopped doing this. Perhaps he stopped loving our Lord Jesus. He got busy with “the ministry” and he forgot to love Jesus. He forgot how to sit at the Lord’s feet and learn from Him. So busy with life. So busy with teaching people how to share Jesus yet he didn’t really love Jesus anymore or maybe he was simply too busy to sit and glean from the Lord. I don’t know. Only God knows.
I only want to love Jesus. I know that apart from Him, I have no salvation (John 15:1-11). Jesus is my only cure for this sin that abides in me (Romans 6:23). The Lord Jesus alone bore my sins and died for me (John 5:24). Jesus alone is the one who is able to cleanse me from sin (1 John 1:7). Jesus is my faithful high priest who prays for me (Hebrews 7:25) as I abide in Him through faith.
Are you too busy to meet with Jesus and love Him a while? He is our salvation. He is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is the one that we should adore and love. The Father delights in us when we love His Son (1 John 5:1). Don’t be robbed of spending much time with Jesus and learning from Him. Stop and sit at His feet and praise Him for what He has done in saving us. Don’t get too busy that you miss the pleasure of being close to your Savior. This alone will keep you saved from the power of sin (1 John 3:7).
This is a guest post written by my friend, Seeking Disciple. To go to the original post complete with comments, go to:
http://arminiantoday.com/2012/06/30/even-soul-winning-is-no-safeguard-for-salvation/
BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.
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