Evangelism Truth:
How Do We Evangelize? Part 3
l Can we share Christ in a way that strongly maintains our doctrines?
l Evangelism is more a sowing event than a reaping event
l God is responsible for results, but we can never become complacent to evangelize the lost
l Only the regenerate can believe
• The natural man is dead in his trespasses and sins, he must be regenerated before he can respond to the Gospel.
• Unregenerate man will resist the gospel message…
l Faith and Repentance is a Gift
l Grace gives us faith and repentance
l BUT, all over the Bible, God speaks to men in conditional language… “if you do this, I will do this…”
l How then can we speak of irresistible grace?
l 2 Chronicles 30:6-12
• God says to Israel, “You return to me, and I’ll return to you”, “Stop being resistant”, “Don’t stiffen your necks”…. some responded appropriately to God
• The hand of God was also on Judah…
• God gave them a heart to do it!!
l God Enables a Response
l The condition stands, they have to return, they have to yield… But God does not stand back and wait for us to return unaided by His grace.
Bottom Line: When a condition is given to man, we should never jump to the conclusion that God leaves us to ourselves to fulfill the condition he that He gave us!!
l Salvation is what God does!
l Conditional talk should not be taken to mean that God is depending on us to meet the condition…
l Call to repentance does not imply the unaided, un-empowered ability to do so
l Lazarus Illustrates Regeneration
Jesus told Lazarus to “come forth” and that Lazarus came forth out of the tomb. He had to be made alive because a dead man cannot hear or respond (Jn. 11:43)
l Regeneration immediately produces faith and repentance
Once regenerated, the immediate response is faith and repentance
l Regeneration Inseparable from Being Saved
• By His grace, God “made us alive” Ephesians 2:4,5
• Efficacious- always bringing forth the desired result
• God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into” His kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
l Psalm 3:8
“Salvation belongs to the Lord.”
l How do I Witness to my Catholic friend?
The RCC states that justification is received not by faith, but by baptism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph, 1992, that "...justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith."
l The Bible teaches that Justification=Declared “Saved”
Justification is the legal declaration by God upon the sinner where God declares the sinner righteous in His sight. This justification is based completely and solely on the work of Christ on the cross.
l Problem: the Roman Catholic church denies the Biblical teaching on Justification
l The Roman Catholic Church denies the reality of Justification by faith alone, they believe it is a process of performing the Roman Catholic sacraments
l Roman Catholics hold to the doctrine stated at the Council of Trent:
"If any one shall say that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in the divine mercy pardoning sins for Christ's sake, or that it is that confidence alone by which we are justified ... let him be accursed," (Canon 12, Council of Trent)
l We Believe the Bible that says that we are Justified by Faith
Because righteousness cannot come through the Law (through our efforts of merit), the Bible declares that we are justified before God by faith.
l Romans 3:28
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,"
l Romans 4:3
"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness,"
l Romans 4:5
"But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness"
l Romans 5:1
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"
l Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,"
l The Gospel for Roman Catholics
Catholics appeal to their works, in combination with the sacrifice of Christ as a means of being justified before God.
That is not the Gospel!
l The Council of Trent states the Roman Catholic doctrine:
"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Canon 14).
l What’s the Big Deal?????
The RC church makes justification something that is earned.
BUT, the Bible teaches we cannot earn justification or merit justification in any way. If we could, then Christ died needlessly.
l Galatians 2:21
"I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly"
l The RC Churches teaches…
Baptism is only the initial grace along the road of justification.
Once baptised, the Roman Catholic is to maintain his position before God by his efforts.
l The RC Priest Performs Baptism
For the Roman Catholic, faith (by grace) is not the instrument of obtaining justification; instead, it is handed out by the priest at baptism, and continually sought through the keeping of the sacraments.
l Even the catechism of the Roman Catholic church denies justification by faith alone:
l "No one can MERIT the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can MERIT for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods," (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), par. 2027).
l Grace is not something earned!
l The problem here is that the RCC is teaching us to "merit for ourselves and for others all the graces need to attain eternal life."
l Scriptures for explaining biblical doctrine to the Roman Catholic:
1. The Bible is the final authority
(Matt 4:4; Rom 3:4; John 17:17; John 8:32,36)
2. Mary was a sinner - not sinless
(Luke 2:21-24; Rom 3:10,23)
3. Mary needed a Saviour (Luke 1:47)
4. Jesus had brothers and sisters (Matt 12:46-50; 13:55,56; Mark 6:3; Gal 1:19)
5. There is no need to pray through Mary, or any saint (1 Tim 2:5)
6. Religion and the traditions of men cannot replace the gospel (Mk.7:7,10)
7. Salvation is not by works at all (Eph 2:8,9; Tit 2:5; Isa 64:5) no matter how good they are
8. Watch out for anyone who forbids people to marry or to eat meats (1Tim 4:1-3)
9. All pastors are certainly permitted to be married, it is considered normal (1Tim 3:2); Peter was married (Mt 8:14)
10. Baptism is NOT important to our salvation (1Cor 1:17) - it is only for after salvation.
11. Jesus hates the Rosary (Matt 6:7), and any other repetitious prayer!
12. There is no purgatory (2 Cor 5:8; Heb 1:3; 9:27; Rom 8:1) - either heaven or hell!
13. A person is justified only by faith alone in Christ Jesus (Rom 1:17; Gal 2:16)
14. Jesus finished paying for ALL of my sins on the cross (John 19:30)