Q & A with Steve Part 2

On the Key Life broadcast, I ask for your questions--and get them. These questions are a compilation of your most "back to basics" questions and my answers as they originally appeared in our magazine. I hope that these answers are helpful. One reminder though: I don�t speak from Sinai!

The Christian Walk

Are there certain steps to spiritual growth?

Of course there are, but the steps are sometimes different for different Christians. You see, spiritual growth is needed in different areas for different people. For so many years, my primary relationship with Christ was an intellectual one. I became a Christian and believed the Christian faith for the same reason I believed in the multiplication table. I saw its truth and once one sees truth, one can�t unsee it.

The place where I need to grow (and where God has been teaching me) is in the area of an intimate walk with God. I needed to set aside my commentaries and theology books; I needed to be still and to "hear the soft sound of sandaled feet."

On the other hand, there are those Christians whose walk with Christ is primarily visceral. In other words, they have a natural and intimate walk with Christ. Often those Christians need to learn Bible doctrine and to grow in their ability to lean heavily on the facts of the Christian faith instead of on their feelings.

But, with all of that being said, there are, of course, the classical disciplines of the Christian faith such as Bible study, prayer, meditation, private worship and corporate worship with God�s people as well as regular participation in the sacrament of the Lord�s Supper.

More important than any of the above is the desire to grow in Christ. That only comes from Him. If a Christian doesn�t want to grow, that Christian won�t grow. So if growth is a problem it is usually not a problem of methodology; but rather, a problem of motivation--and motivation can only come from God as His gift.

One time a student asked Socrates to show him truth. Socrates took the young man down to the river and out into the water. There, he pushed the young man under the water until he was gasping for air. When Socrates finally let him up, Socrates said to the young man, "When you want truth as much as you just then wanted air, you shall have it."

The Psalmist wrote, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1-2). That kind of desire comes from God Himself and, once we have the desire, He will fulfill it. That is the true source of spiritual growth.

Do you believe that God will work His best for you during your life?

Of course I do. He�s promised in Romans 8:28.

The problem is that God and I sometimes disagreeabout what is best for me. I know that if I was more committed and more spiritual, we wouldn�t disagree, but I struggle sometimes.

Brother Lawrence has written: "God knoweth best what is needful for us, and all that He does is for our good. If we know how much He loves us, we should always be ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the sweet and the bitter. All would please that came from Him. The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable except when we see them in the wrong light. When we see them as dispensed by the hand of God, when we know that it is our loving Father, who abases and distresses us, our sufferings will lose their bitterness and become even a matter of consolation."

My head agrees with that...but sometimes my hand shakes when I realize that what is best for me is not often what pleases me. It�s sort of like spinach. If I�m hungry enough I�ll eat it. I know it�s good for me and will provide the essential vitamins I need...but I have never been able to develop a fondness for spinach.

Yes, God will do what is best for me. I suspect that some of what He has planned for me will be fun and enjoyable. After all, God doesn�t take delight in making His children miserable. But, He is my Father, and fathers know that if kids got only what they wanted and never what was needful...they would eat ice cream all the time!

The Father hardly ever checks with us about what is needful, but He loves us, He does what is best for us and we are called to trust Him. At the end of our lives, we should be able to look back, see His hand in everything (whether or not we liked it) and praise Him for it.


Bible Study/Prayer

I know what a blessing reading the Bible can be and how God�s Word stored in my heart can change my behavior. But, generally, it is with the greatest reluctance that I pick up my Bible and read it. Any good suggestions?

Try a different translation of Scripture. Try not to make Bible study the sole area of your devotional life. Read some inspirational classics as well--like Oswald Chambers� My Utmost For His Highest or Thomas � Kempis� The Imitation of Christ. When you read the Bible, don�t read it like a textbook; read it like a love letter. Don�t feel you need to read more than one paragraph at a time. Often our frustration in reading Scripture comes from the need to read it all as fast as possible. (One time I read the entire Bible straight through in a few weeks...and got very little from it.) Read a small portion and really concentrate. Don�t try to grasp too much in too little time. And always pray beforehand, "Lord, make it real." The Father delights in honoring that prayer!

Prayer is a part of my life that is in need of work. It does not come naturally or easily. What can I do?

Some suggestions: Try talking to God as a friend, writing your prayers out like a letter, or using the prayers of others. You can find God�s teaching on the subject in the Lord�s Prayer (actually the Disciples� Prayer) found in Matthew 6:9-13. Use this as your guideline. According to His teaching, the basic elements of prayer are praise--this should be central to your prayer life, confession--unconfessed sin in your life will hurt your communication with God, and petition--God is concerned with every aspect of your life and is attentive to your needs. Remember, as a Christian, you can talk to God as a child talks to his or her father. You don�t have to be formal; you don�t have to hedge and play games; you don�t have to pick and choose the right words. He is your loving Father.

I have prayed for years and my prayers have gone unanswered. One remains diligent, persistent, repents and turns away from sins and yet, no answer. Why?

I don�t know why, but God knows why. The essence of faith is to trust Him in whatever He decides.

Two observations though: First, Biblical prayer is marked by active persistence. The literal translation of Matthew 7:7-8 is "Ask and keep on asking; Seek and keep on seeking; Knock and keep on knocking. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; He who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; And to him who knocks and keeps on knocking the door will be opened." The principle is this: Pray all you can; persist all you can; do all you can. And then wait. When you have prayed, persisted and then acted, God will respond in some wonderful ways. It sounds like you have followed the first two steps of praying and persisting, but what about the third, acting on your prayers?

Second, God does not leave a prayer unanswered. When you pray (and it has been said often) you get one of three answers: "yes," "no" or "wait." If you thought Jesus promised that the answer was always "yes" you simply have not understood. It�s important that you trust God to do the right thing and accept whatever it is. The greatest act of faith for a Christian is to trust, after praying, that God knows best. If He is God and if He knows best, don�t dictate. Just trust Him. The prayer of relinquishment has great power, not in necessarily changing circumstances, but in enabling us to accept them.


The Body of Christ/The Church

Do you feel loved, accepted and helped in your walk with Christ by the Christian community?

Yes and no.

I have a tendency to think in negatives and to remember those whom, when I was going through a difficult time, when I needed an encouraging word and when my faith was faltering, didn�t seem to care. I have often said, quoting someone famous (I just can�t remember the name so you can attribute the quote to me), that the Church is the only army in the world that buries its wounded. While there is some truth to that...it isn�t all the truth.

As I was writing the above, the Father reminded me of all the brothers and sisters who have loved me, encouraged me and cared for me when I needed it. I think of a Sunday school teacher who encouraged me to go into the ministry and of the multitude of God�s family who supported me in that decision. I think of those who loved me when I had failed and sinned, of those who stood with me when I made a fool of myself and of those who provided support when I couldn�t support myself. I think of many men and women who gave me godly counsel, who encouraged me and allowed me to be human. The truth is that, at every point in my Christian walk, I have never been alone.

Of course, there have been times when I have felt alone. There have been some twits who were more interested in being right, being "spiritual" and being proper than they were in loving me when I was in trouble. But those, thank God, have been in the minority.

But there is another question that is implied in your question: Have I loved, accepted and helped my brothers and sisters when they needed it? Stuart Briscoe once visited a family thinking about joining the church where Stuart was the pastor. The husband/father said to Stuart, "What does your church offer my family?" "That isn�t the question," Stuart replied. "The question is, what does your family offer our church?"

In my mind�s eye, I see those Christians who don�t help, love and support their brothers and sisters because they simply don�t have enough gasoline. In other words, their own wounds are so deep and painful that it is about all they can do to keep their nose above water. Paul says, "Receive one who is weak in the faith" (Romans 14:1); "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak" (Romans 15:1); and "Now we exhort you, brethren--comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all" (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

I believe that, at any given time in the family of God, there are people who have the ability to help, love and support others and there are those who can�t or won�t. God calls those who have it to give it--and those who can�t give it, to receive it. I also believe that every Christian goes through times when he or she is called to give and times when he or she is called to receive. It is important that I not try to give what I don�t have or to receive what I don�t need.

What would you consider the main criteria for a "healthy church"? What difference does the church make?

A "healthy church" is one in which the Scriptures are taught, Jesus Christ is lifted up and exalted, and the Church�s mission is taken seriously.

The Church makes a difference because, as a Christian, you are simply incomplete without other Christians. The forces of the world are angry, consuming and strong. Without your brothers and sisters in Christ you will not last.

It is only within fellowship that a Christian experiences the fullness of God. In Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul is talking about the Church as a unified fellowship where "Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know that love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Jesus said that when two or three gathered together in His name, He would be there (Matthew 18:20). Without the "root" of the Church, you would die.

The Church contains much wisdom, experience and knowledge; in that, it serves as a corrective to your faith. The Church is also the instrument by which Christ accomplishes His purposes in the world. In witnessing, serving, helping, preaching, loving, changing, feeding, clothing, and healing, there is so much to do that only a fool would even attempt to begin without others. The Church must act as a body (1 Corinthians 12).

The Greek word for church is ecclesia, meaning the "called-out ones." You became a member of the Church when you received Christ as your Lord and Savior. The question is not whether or not you are a member; the question is whether or not you are going to fulfill your obligation as a member.


Doubts

Do you ever doubt your salvation?

No, not in the sense that I doubt what God has said about my salvation. Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost (Matthew 18:11). Jesus said that He came for the tired (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus said that He came as the physician for the sick and the sinners (Matthew 9:12-13).

So, given the fact that I am lost, tired, sick and sinful, I certainly qualify for salvation. When I came to Christ and accepted His gift of salvation (made possible by the cross, Romans 3:25, Colossians 1:19-20), He didn�t turn me away. In fact, Christ promised that if I--lost, tired, sick and sinful-came to Him, He would accept me (John 6:37).

Unless Christ lied...I�m saved. (If Christ lied, which He didn�t, we have a bigger problem than Steve Brown�s salvation).

But let me tell you what I sometimes doubt. Maybe "doubt" is too strong a word. Maybe a better word is "incredulous." At times I am incredulous that He would even bother with someone like me. My feelings are not dissimilar to the lyrics of the song, "The wonder of it all, the wonder of it all, that He would love me."

The people who ought to doubt their salvation, it seems to me, are those who think they have no reason to be incredulous. "Are you saved?" someone asks. "But, of course," they reply, "and God is quite fortunate to have me."

You see, the only requirement for having God accept you--for your being saved--is to be unqualified. Not only that, the only requirement for staying close to Him--for your being in the process of sanctification-is to continue to recognize that one is unqualified.

If that�s the qualification, I�m "home free" because of what He has done for me. As long as I remember His grace when I didn�t and don�t deserve it, I don�t doubt my salvation...I�m just surprised by it.

I am attending a university, doing undergraduate work. Questions, doubts and even emotional pain have swept over me. As the foundation of God�s Word being truth, as I�ve always believed, crumbled, numerous other areas of doubt began to plague me. These were in the areas of anthropology, science, the inconsistencies seen in those professing Christ and so forth. It is as if I am viewing the claims of Christianity as a non-believer for the first time in my life. What should I do?

One of the problems with our evangelical family is that we hide from the realities of doubt and questions. Because you are now dealing with these issues for the first time, they are horrible.

The intellectual problems you are facing right now have been faced and overcome by many others, including myself. I have read all the books you are now reading, encountered the same kinds of professors you are now encountering, and asked the same questions you are asking.

For every question you have, there are answers even if you haven�t discovered them yet. For every intellectual doubt, volumes have been written, even if you haven�t read them yet. Christian thinkers have fought the battles and won, even if you don�t know them yet.

It�s important you read everything ever written by C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton (even his mysteries), Dorothy Sayers, R.C. Sproul, Harry Blamires, Os Guinness, John Guest (In Search of Certainty) and Herbert Schlossberg (Idols for Destruction). Make a point to read them when you get time.

The alternatives to your belief in orthodox Christianity are so horrible that just the consideration of it becomes a great motivation for discovering certainty. Very few people consider the outcome of the world views they encounter. Every thought, every idea, every world view, and every philo-sophical presupposition has implications which can be good or bad depending on where one begins. I am not saying that one ought to decide truth on this basis. For instance, it would be wrong to say that something is true because some good things come from it (i.e. Some people are helped by the occult and Hitler did wonders for the economy of Germany). However, there is often a motivational factor in understanding implications that can make a big difference. Does a professor�s system lead to meaninglessness? Does the system make you anything more than a turnip?

Finally, learn to "fake it until you make it." Because I am so convinced that the orthodox Christian faith is true, and because I have been where you are and am now on the other side, I have no hesitation in recommending that you "hold to your course."

When John Wesley had no faith and went to his Moravian friend to ask how he could preach faith if he had no faith, his friend gave this advice (and it is the same advice I�m giving to you), "Preach faith until you have faith, and then, because you have faith, you will preach faith." Say to yourself, If I believed all of this, what would I do? How would I think and act? Then act and think accordingly. If the Christian faith were not true, this would be terrible advice. Because it is true, that is a road leading to its own confirmation.

R.C. Sproul in one of his books said, in effect, that belief is normal and unbelief is abnormal. Thus, when there is great unbelief it is usually not on the basis of intellectual arguments, but on the basis of some other factors altogether.

Are you angry with God? (It�s okay if you are.) Do you feel frustrated with your life situation? Is there a problem with a particular sin?

We are all sometimes "ticked" with God. He accepts our anger and it is okay. In fact, He is sometimes the only One who does understand it. Sometimes when life gets frustrating, we find ourselves saying something like, "How could God, if He really exists, allow my life to be this way?" It�s okay to feel that way too. God understands and His plan for your life is just exactly right. He doesn�t mind our frustration. And then we are all sinners and if there is a particular sin with which we can�t deal, sometimes that causes us to have doubts. That�s okay too, because God understands our sin, and He has forgiven all our sins (past, present and future) on the cross.

I don�t know you, but possibly watch that kind of anger factor (at God, at your parents, etc.), as well as the attractiveness of being free, or the attractiveness of a pagan friend or professor. That attractiveness can sometimes be quite proper and sometimes improper, but it is something to watch. Watch also the very human need for autonomy. I have found that a lot of my doubts have their root in my simply not wanting God to be God. If there is a God, He is in charge; if there isn�t, I am.

Remember that doubt is a process. You don�t have to settle everything yesterday. Take your time...there is no hurry. God isn�t dependent on your belief and He is perfectly willing to accept you, love you and keep you even when you doubt. Tell Him that you are having some great intellectual problems with Him and with the Christian faith. Then begin to check it out.


Satan & Evil

Describe Satan. How powerful is he-really?

Satan is real and powerful, but Satan has no power except that which is given to him by God. Satan is God�s lackey to perform the purposes God has ordained. Take a closer look at 1 Samuel 16:14 for example, "Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him." And in the story of Job (the first two chapters), remember that Satan had to first ask for God�s permission before he could even lay a hand on Job.

1 John 4:4 teaches that, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." Too much emphasis on Satan is simply inappropriate because Satan is a secondary character in the play God is directing. The 17th century theologian, Samuel Rutherford, had the right idea. Rutherford was sleeping when he heard a noise. He went out into his living room and who should he see, but Satan sitting in his easychair. Rutherford took a look at him, said "Oh, it�s only you," and went back to sleep.

Is Satan the cause of all evil in the world?

The Bible teaches that there are three sources of evil: the world, the flesh and the devil. In other words, the world itself is evil. That is why Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 that we are not to be "conformed to the world." If we take the time to honestly look inside our hearts, we are aware that things there aren�t so hot either (Romans 7:18). And, of course, the devil is a major cause of evil (1 John 3:8).

However, there is a sense in which all evil has as its source the devil himself. He is called the "ruler" of this present darkness. He is the original source of temptation and the "destroyer" of all that is good and righteous. It was the devil who tempted Adam and Eve, starting this whole mess, and when you read about bad things in the Bible, there is almost always a line to the devil.

The Bible is never Dualistic (i.e. two equal powers in a struggle for victory where the outcome is in doubt) however. The Bible teaches that God has ordained all that is and all that is (even the devil) has a purpose in God�s economy. The Christian must be careful in two areas. First, we must be careful not to give the devil too much of our attention. The devil loves to take our minds off God and direct them to himself. Secondly, the Christian ought to be aware of Satan and fight him properly (1 Peter 5:8-9). The Bible teaches that Satan is a defeated enemy (Colossians 2:15; Revelation 20:10). However, as someone has said, "The dragon has been slain, but his tail still swishes."


Pain, Struggle & Sin

As Christians, are we assured of happiness?

Are you crazy? If we are, then I�m doing something terribly wrong. Isaiah called Jesus "a man of sorrows" and I know that He didn�t do anything wrong. My unhappiness may be related to a failure to appropriate the promise of God. But, with Jesus, that wasn�t the problem. So, of course, we aren�t assured of happiness.

A lot of things make me happy. A lot of things make me unhappy. Most of those things didn�t change after I became a Christian. I have never liked jumping off buildings and, after I received Christ, that didn�t change. I love chocolate chip cookies. So, whenever one of my daughters or Anna makes chocolate chip cookies, I�m happy. After getting saved, chocolate chip cookies still made me happy.

That brings me to the point. Happiness is dependent on circumstances. If they are to my liking, I�m happy. If those circumstances aren�t to my liking, I�m unhappy.

Happiness isn�t the issue. Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). The first part of that doesn�t make me very happy. The second part doesn�t either, but it does give me joy...and joy is the issue.

Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). Joy, while related to happiness, is really something different. Joy isn�t dependent on circumstances. It is something that comes from God�s Spirit, from knowing that God is my Father and that He doesn�t make mistakes as well as from the realization that Romans 8:28 is true. Happiness, on the other hand, is related to what happens to me and whether or not I like it.

When I was a pastor on Cape Cod, I would sometimes go down and stand on the jetty, looking out into the ocean. I particularly liked doing that in a storm. Whenever I stood there, I realized that three feet under the churning ocean, things were as quiet as a summer, cloudless and stormless day. I think joy is sort of like that. It is something that doesn�t change with the storms. It is His gift...and nothing can take it away.

Now the question is this: Do I have joy all the time? No, I don�t. But, I could have joy all the time if I stayed closer to Christ. You see the bottom line is that joy is found in a person and His name is Jesus. The closer I move toward Him, the more joy (and sometimes even happiness) I feel. The more I move away from Him, the less I know joy.

Someone said that Jesus promised three things. First, He promised that we would get into trouble. Second, He promised that He would never leave us. And third, He promised that we would have joy. So, while we aren�t promised happiness, joy is a different matter.


Should God allow us lives without suffering?

I have been a pastor and Bible teacher for a whole lot of years and only rarely, if ever, have I encountered someone who didn�t have suffering in his or her life. The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign over our lives. If that is true, and it is, there are only three alternatives: God takes delight in the suffering of His people, God can�t help it, or God has a purpose for it. Again, the Bible clearly teaches that God has a purpose in our suffering. Paul�s "thorn in the flesh" is a good example of how God uses suffering (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Would you, if you could, take all suffering and hardship from your child�s life? When I asked that, at first I thought, "Of course I would because I want the best for my child." The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that some of life�s most important lessons can only be learned in hardship and suffering. I suspect that God knew that before I discovered it.

In the midst of pain do you continue to trust God?

Sometimes. Sometimes not. But I�m better. As some of you know, Hurricane Andrew was a difficult and painful time for me and for my family. Every time I think about whining, I think about what I learned going through that experience. I learned the deep spiritual lessons about tying the trusses down, being careful of contractors, paying off liens on one�s house and, more seriously, about death and about saying good-bye to someone I love very much.

Through it all, I learned a whole lot about trusting God. That wasn�t because I was so spiritual or because I�m a Bible teacher. It was because I didn�t have any choice. You will remember that, when the multitudes started leaving Jesus as His teaching became more and more difficult, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, "Do you also want to go away?" They replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:67-68). Trusting God in the pain (whatever the pain is) hardly ever happens because you do the right thing, follow the Biblical system or pray a lot. It almost always comes when you don�t have any choice.

I�ve quoted Ron Dunn a lot on this point. Let me do it again: "People are always saying, �Jesus is all I need.� You won�t know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you�ve got. When Jesus is all you�ve got, then Jesus is all you need." Emotional, physical and spiritual pain is horrible. There is very little good in it...except that it drives you to Him. When that happens, you find that He is there and that you can trust Him. Sometimes He doesn�t seem to be there. Sometimes the pain is so great that you can hardly hear Him. Sometimes you just want to give up. But you don�t have any choice...so you just sit there and wait.

That�s when He comes.

F.W Faber has written, "We must wait for God, long, meekly, in the wind and wet, in the thunder and lightning, in the cold and the dark. Wait, and He will come." Why do you wait? Because you just can�t do anything else. That�s how one learns to trust God in the pain.

Do your failures in life make you feel less of a Christian?

No, not really. When one has as few failures as I do, one is quite secure in one�s salvation...NOT!

Theologically, someone cannot be "less" or "more" of a Christian. One is either a Christian or one isn�t. Being a Christian is a forensic decree of God whereby I am declared justified. Nothing I do or don�t do in terms of failure is even relevant to whether or not I�m a Christian.

Yes, sometimes I feel less of a Christian because of my failure and sins but my feelings on the matter are irrelevant. Only the facts (i.e. the truth of what God has told me in His Word) have anything to do with reality.

Of course, Satan will, as the "accuser," often create havoc in the Christian�s life with those feelings. He will whisper, "Hey, if you were really saved, if you loved Christ and if you really belonged to Him, you would not have messed it up that bad." On those occasions, it is important for Christians to lean hard on Christ and on His promise that if we came to Him, He would never cast us out...no matter what (John 6:37). That is a fact and anybody who says differently is either a liar or mistaken.

One other thing: The truth is (and I almost hesitate to say it), my failures are often the very thing which cause me to feel that I�m a Christian. The Bible teaches that only the unqualified receive God�s unqualified love...and I am certainly unqualified. As Newton said, "I am a great sinner and He is a great Redeemer." Because that is true, my failure and sin (and this is one of the major purposes of God�s law) drive me to the cross of Christ. It is there where I find three important realities: First, I find His forgiveness and love when I expected and fully deserved His wrath and judgment. Second, I am filled with joy and praise for Him and for His grace and mercy. Third, I find a new motivation to cling to the Father, to follow Him and to be obedient to Him because I am constrained by His love.

And so, there are times when I thank God for my failures. It is only through them that I discover His love. If I never failed or sinned, I wouldn�t go to Him and, worse, I would think that any good thing which happened to me, happened by way of a reward for my perfection.

David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise" (Psalm 51:17). The truth is that my spirit is rarely broken and my heart rarely contrite when I have been successful. Unfortunately, brokenness and contriteness happen when I have failed and, in that sense, it is my failure which, if I allow it, causes me to "feel" that I belong to Him.

Does God measure our sin and hold it against us?

We�re all sinners...but, as Christians, the Father is working on us. This doctrine is called the Perseverance of the Saints. Take a look at Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." We�re going through a growing process.

Obviously, there are sins that need to be laid aside: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). A Christian just naturally wants to please God.


Our Christian Witness

Is sharing your faith important to your own walk with God?

Yes, it is, but I don�t think sharing one�s faith is easy for me or for most Christians. There are a number of reasons for that. First, there is the problem of pride. We are simply afraid people will think we are fanatics. The fact is, we care more about what people think about us than what they think about Christ.

Second, we are afraid of failure...and we already have enough of that. What if they ask a question for which we have no answer? What if they simply yawn?

Third, we really believe that people don�t want to hear. And fourth, we don�t really believe that it is true. We act under the rubric that it is better to hang on to what we�ve got than to risk and lose it. What we don�t realize is that there are some things that just won�t keep unless they are given away. Our walk with Christ is one of those things. It won�t die, of course, if we don�t share it, but it will get sick.

All of those reasons smell like smoke and come from the pit of hell. First, it really doesn�t matter what people think of you because, in not too many years, you are going to be dead and you won�t even leave a hole. Then it will only matter what God thinks of you.

Second, we are not called to be successful...only faithful. Witnessing isn�t leading people to Christ; it is simply pointing to Him. How others receive the One about Whom we give witness is their problem.

Third, the world, believe it or not, is waiting for a compassionate, honest and loving witness to Christ. Most people are guilty and afraid. Their lives are meaningless and, if someone has a legitimate answer to their questions, they will listen.

Finally, witnessing gives security in that to which we witness. Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." I believe that the commandment (i.e. to go and make disciples) is connected to the promise of His presence (i.e. I am with you). I have often found my own faith strengthened when I shared with others the reality of my own walk with Christ.

Do I always do it? No, sometimes I "duck" too. Sometimes I am afraid of what others will think of me. There are times when I think that others don�t want to hear; I am sometimes insecure with my faith too. But, to be honest with you, I am a lot better than I was. As I become more consistent, the Father becomes more real in my daily walk.

We are just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. That really isn�t such a hard thing to do. When those beggars find the bread, Jesus said that there is a lot of rejoicing in heaven. It�s a little bit better on earth too.

Is loving a non-Christian more important than witnessing to him or her? It�s certainly harder. So often, Christians present the Gospel with the attitude of "If you don�t receive it, you are going to hell... and I�m glad. You�ll get what you deserve for not agreeing with me about the Gospel."

I have an acquaintance who, instead of leaving a tip in a restaurant, leaves a Gospel tract. He says that the eternal destiny of the waiter/waitress is more important than money. (I would respect him a lot more if he stayed around and told them that.) How would you like to be the next person who presented the Gospel to that waiter or waitress? (Not me! I�ll pray for you though.)

I think the nature of this question sets up a false dichotomy. There isn�t a necessary separation between loving with the love of Christ and sharing with the power of Christ. They go together. In fact, if you witness without love...you have not given the whole Gospel. And if you love without witnessing, you have become a marshmallow. Witnessing and loving go together.

"For God so loved the world that He..." didn�t send a committee and He didn�t send a letter. God sent His Son as the greatest illustration of love and of information the world has ever known.

You see, witnessing isn�t just giving information about a man dying on the cross for our sins. Witnessing is when a person is loved so much by the Man who died on the cross that he or she just can�t keep quiet about it. It is manifesting His love in such a way that pagans ask questions for which the Christian has answers. In other words, loving them into the Kingdom.


Our Freedom in Christ

Does Freedom in Christ mean that we can sin and not worry about it?

No, it doesn�t...but the worry one experiences is different than what you might imagine. Most of the time, we worry about punishment, but Christ has already taken our punishment. Sometimes we worry about rejection, but God has promised never to reject us. At other times, we worry about losing the love of the one we have offended, but Christ has said that He will always love us. So, why worry? Well, there are a number of reasons the believer should worry about sin.

For instance, we should worry because sin is not God�s effort to keep us from having fun and living a fulfilled life. God calls sin, "sin" because sin will hurt us...and sometimes horribly. When a believer is obedient, the believer finds obedience to be the best route to happiness and fulfillment. "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies" (Psalm 119:97-98).

I�ve done it my way and I�ve done it God�s way. God�s way is the best. The reason the Jews see Torah as God�s greatest gift is because they know that God has revealed the best way to live.

Secondly, we should worry because sin, once we are aware of it, tells us that we have strayed from the Father...and that ought to worry us. "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds" (Psalm 7:9). God allows me to be tested for my benefit, that I might see how I am doing and how far I am from God. Sin ought to worry us because it points to a significant failure in our calling in life, to wit, to please God. It says to me that I have wandered away from home.

But perhaps the most important thing that ought to worry us about sin is that it is a violation of love. Paul said, "We are constrained by the love of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:14).

When I was growing up, I had a father who simply could not bring himself to harshly punish me or my brother. When I would be with my friends and we were doing something wrong, some of my friends would say, "If my father finds out about this, he will kill me!"

I never understood that. I always thought to myself, "If my father finds out, he will love me...and that is worse."

Freedom in Christ means that you will worry when you sin because you know that you have violated the most incredible love the world has ever known. As someone has said, "Jesus didn�t keep me from sinning...but He sure took the fun out of it."

I get the idea you teach that we are free to live out our freedom even at the expense of our brothers and sisters� consciences. What about 1 Corinthians 8:9-13?

Of course we ought to be aware and sensitive to the consciences of other Christians. However, we must also be very careful that their "consciences" do not constitute another form of manipulation. There are many Christians who want every other Christian to fit into a particular mold. It has nothing to do with the conscience. It has to do with power.

The passage in 1 Corinthians to which you refer is a good text, but we must not make it say more than it does say. I have heard that passage used in a thousand inappropriate ways. Paul was talking about a theological issue where meat was offered to idols and Paul is saying to believers, "Of course we know that idols are of no consequence, and that if we eat meat offered to idols, it is nothing. However, we must be careful that the weak or new Christian, seeing us eating that meat, think that we are worshiping a false god or that we no longer believe that Christ is the only way of salvation."

When that text is used to condemn brothers and sisters for a variety of non-theological issues, we have used it in an inappropriate and spurious way. The Bible is very clear on some issues which are revealed as always wrong (adultery, murder, etc.), and some others that are always right (love, compassion, etc.). Christians must never compromise the truth in those issues. When, however, we move into those areas where the Bible does not clearly reveal God�s mind in the matter, it is wrong to bind Christians with an inappropriate use of 1 Corinthians 8.