How is evangelism to take place in our day?
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I ignore Sabbatarian legalism applied to the 7th or the 1st day of the week. I live under the New Covenant! I reject the idea of calling Sunday the "Christian Sabbath".
1. Nowhere in the New Covenant is there a command for Christians, New Covenant believers, to observe the sabbath. Jesus did not command its observance for Christians.
2. The sabbath is not mentioned in the Bible until you come to Moses and the Mosaic Law.
3. God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th day making it holy. Sunday is a rest day after 6 days of work. There is not a specific day of the week commanded in the New Covenant as the rest day, but Sunday, being the first day of the week when Jesus Christ arose from the grave, it is honored. It is the Lord's Day just as the communion is the Lord's Supper.
4. I am not an Israelite and the sabbath was given to Israel alone in the law, to no other nations -
"And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?" (Deut 4:8, RSV)
a. The law, including the "sabbath", was given on that particular day or time.
b. It was given to Israel alone, no other nations
C. Acts chapter 15 makes it clear Gentiles were not put under the Mosaic Law
5. Jesus came to fulfil the law and complete the law's requirements, Matt. 5:17,18
Jesus "abolished" the law, "by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,"(Eph 2:15, RSV)
Jesus nailed it to the cross, "having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:14, RSV) Read 2 Cor. 3:7-11
Compare the following two verses, one NT and the other OT -
"In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb 8:13, RSV)
compare with
"And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." (Exod 34:28, RSV)
** The sabbath was in the "ten commandments" that vanished away in Christ.
6. Paul specifically named the "sabbath" as something we are not to permit ourselves to be judged about, "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath". (Col 2:16, RSV)
"Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind." (Rom 14:4-5, RSV)
From Fausset's Bible Dictionary -
"The early church met to break bread on the first day (Act 20:7); it was the day for laying by of alms for the poor (1Co 16:2). No formal decree changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day; this would only have offended the Jews and weak Christians.
At first both days were kept. But when Judaizing Christians wished to bring Christians under the bondage of the law, and the Jews became open antagonists of the church, the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was tacitly laid aside, and the Lord's day alone was kept; see Col 2:16. Moses, the law's representative, could not lead Israel into Canaan. The law leads to Christ, there its office ceases: it is Jesus, the Antitype of Joshua, who leads us into the heavenly rest (Heb 4:8-9)."
1. Nowhere in the New Covenant is there a command for Christians, New Covenant believers, to observe the sabbath. Jesus did not command its observance for Christians.
2. The sabbath is not mentioned in the Bible until you come to Moses and the Mosaic Law.
3. God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th day making it holy. Sunday is a rest day after 6 days of work. There is not a specific day of the week commanded in the New Covenant as the rest day, but Sunday, being the first day of the week when Jesus Christ arose from the grave, it is honored. It is the Lord's Day just as the communion is the Lord's Supper.
4. I am not an Israelite and the sabbath was given to Israel alone in the law, to no other nations -
"And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?" (Deut 4:8, RSV)
a. The law, including the "sabbath", was given on that particular day or time.
b. It was given to Israel alone, no other nations
C. Acts chapter 15 makes it clear Gentiles were not put under the Mosaic Law
5. Jesus came to fulfil the law and complete the law's requirements, Matt. 5:17,18
Jesus "abolished" the law, "by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,"(Eph 2:15, RSV)
Jesus nailed it to the cross, "having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:14, RSV) Read 2 Cor. 3:7-11
Compare the following two verses, one NT and the other OT -
"In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb 8:13, RSV)
compare with
"And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." (Exod 34:28, RSV)
** The sabbath was in the "ten commandments" that vanished away in Christ.
6. Paul specifically named the "sabbath" as something we are not to permit ourselves to be judged about, "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath". (Col 2:16, RSV)
"Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind." (Rom 14:4-5, RSV)
From Fausset's Bible Dictionary -
"The early church met to break bread on the first day (Act 20:7); it was the day for laying by of alms for the poor (1Co 16:2). No formal decree changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day; this would only have offended the Jews and weak Christians.
At first both days were kept. But when Judaizing Christians wished to bring Christians under the bondage of the law, and the Jews became open antagonists of the church, the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was tacitly laid aside, and the Lord's day alone was kept; see Col 2:16. Moses, the law's representative, could not lead Israel into Canaan. The law leads to Christ, there its office ceases: it is Jesus, the Antitype of Joshua, who leads us into the heavenly rest (Heb 4:8-9)."
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This is getting the subject off the track.
However Christians meet on Sundays (the first day of the week) for two primary reasons: (1) Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, hence it is called "The Lord's Day" (Rev 1:10) and (2) Christ Himself instituted this day as the day of Christian worship when He waited eight days in order to meet with Thomas and elicit his worship. The New Testament is crystal clear that it is the first day of the week on which Christians met to worship, and this is confirmed by Justin Martyr in the 2nd century. It happens to be called "Sunday" (the day of the sun) but it is also the day of the Son. At the same time Paul revealed that the Sabbath days are "shadows" and the reality is Christ.
However Christians meet on Sundays (the first day of the week) for two primary reasons: (1) Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, hence it is called "The Lord's Day" (Rev 1:10) and (2) Christ Himself instituted this day as the day of Christian worship when He waited eight days in order to meet with Thomas and elicit his worship. The New Testament is crystal clear that it is the first day of the week on which Christians met to worship, and this is confirmed by Justin Martyr in the 2nd century. It happens to be called "Sunday" (the day of the sun) but it is also the day of the Son. At the same time Paul revealed that the Sabbath days are "shadows" and the reality is Christ.
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How is evangelism to take place in our day?
1 Peter 2:
9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
It is far more than just the speaking of words. When we walk in the light, they will see it.
Mark 2:17
“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
1 Peter 2:
9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
It is far more than just the speaking of words. When we walk in the light, they will see it.
Mark 2:17
“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
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This means everyone goes and makes disciples, including you and me.
The end hasn't come yet, so we must continue the work of evangelism.
A faithful evangelist once said, "There are only two kinds of Christians:
1. Those who talk about the lost.
2. Those who talk to the lost."
Consider Romans 10:14:
“How, then, can they call on the one in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”
In other words, how do you expect the lost to be saved if they've never heard the Gospel? This is where we come in. We are to simply share the Gospel with others and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
When I think of evangelists, I think of Billy Graham. Although he was a professional evangelist and preacher, he had others who weren't professionals right alongside him. He taught others to preach the Gospel and share their faith, making him a teacher as well.
Unfortunately, there are few pastors today who do the work of an evangelist. Instead, most are hiding behind their pulpits. Surprisingly, I don't take issue with this as long as the rest of us are allowed to perform the work of the Great Commission.
I have a few amazing resources in mind to help ease the burden of witnessing to others. They are written by pastors who make it their mission to share the Gospel on the streets of their cities. PM me if you would like that info as I am not allowed to link it here.
The end hasn't come yet, so we must continue the work of evangelism.
A faithful evangelist once said, "There are only two kinds of Christians:
1. Those who talk about the lost.
2. Those who talk to the lost."
Consider Romans 10:14:
“How, then, can they call on the one in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”
In other words, how do you expect the lost to be saved if they've never heard the Gospel? This is where we come in. We are to simply share the Gospel with others and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
When I think of evangelists, I think of Billy Graham. Although he was a professional evangelist and preacher, he had others who weren't professionals right alongside him. He taught others to preach the Gospel and share their faith, making him a teacher as well.
Unfortunately, there are few pastors today who do the work of an evangelist. Instead, most are hiding behind their pulpits. Surprisingly, I don't take issue with this as long as the rest of us are allowed to perform the work of the Great Commission.
I have a few amazing resources in mind to help ease the burden of witnessing to others. They are written by pastors who make it their mission to share the Gospel on the streets of their cities. PM me if you would like that info as I am not allowed to link it here.
