Here I go with another flip side observation. “Oh you are just picking all the things that used to believe in and do and preaching against them now?” Well, thats not really the case but if you want to believe that what do I care. Sorry!
I can’t help it. It’s just my makeup I guess. It is my knack to teach doctrine through disproving traditions and many human elements that have slipped in under the radar into our ways of service and worship.
Now, lets all get together and go pass out some tracts. Have you ever heard or participated in such events with your church? There is a danger with such things as gospel tracts, tract blitzes and track bombings.
I’m not opposed to tracts, but there is the danger of people handing out a million papers to a million people and never opening their mouth to actually witness. I have seen tracts evolve from a form of opening conversation to more of a “just read this and God bless” and many go on there merry way with their conscience appease that they did something for God. It’s all very Catholic of us isn’t it. The same as a confessional crutch. I know people who feel miserable about themselves unless they fulfill some daily or weekly quota.
In large groups, public outreach operations, especially amongst youth groups there is this tendency to “one-up” the other that leads more to one becoming a nuisance more than a testimony. I have seen this hundreds of times in several different places. Gospel tracts used in such manners turn in to gospel trash.
Young people comparing the amount of tracts they passed out with others. Comparing themselves among themselves. They pick this trait up from their churches, parents, ministry cohorts and their preachers. This is brought about through churches who don’t prepare their “elders”, or preacher boys to properly witness to the lost and to reason with cults and fellow Christians about doctrinal truths. They would rather just throw them out here and have this appearance of much labor and God working. When do we have time to train these young converts about such things. We throw them into a life of servitude, not even knowing their master.
I have hear men preach or question others, “Have you passed out a tract today?” We ought not to have a quota of tracts to pass out, by rather praying for the Lord’s guidance each day you are among the world, as to who he would have you take the word to. Fundamentalist will call you a sissy and a compromiser if you take this approach so be prepared, but we don’t do this in this way for the brethren. If they want to follow deluded men like Finney and Hyles and all their evangelistic nonsense, they can go right ahead.
The world can put up with a pushy salesman the same way they put up with the pushy street preachers, and the million number tract club. Any salesman can have a pitch and even make a sale, even when the consumer doesn’t know what he or she really got. A person can easily be pressured into making a decision to avoid ridicule, or to simply be left alone. You can get someone to repeat words, or convince them of a thing, but God needs to draw them, he needs to knock, they need to open.
Colosians 4:1-5
1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
People will ask. Let your speech be always with salt, seasoned with grace! Thats how we are to be. Tracts or leaflets are highly prevalent among cults as well, and often our own material is viewed as similar cultish material, at times, giving a false appearance before you ever open your mouth. This is why it is important to not only give tracts, but to open our mouths.
We should be bold in our witnessing. We should attempt to build relationships. By doing so, by establishing report, Christ will be brought up in conversations more comfortably, and less abruptly. They will wonder why you live like this or that and may inquire of Christ, instead of being presented with a condescending “go reach all the heathen in the area” attitude.
Many 19th century Christians and Baptist were strongly opposed to tract societies for these reasons. Many American Baptist in the 1830’s saw many things being newly used to propagate the great commission and the revival spirit taking the Churches by storm thanks to Finney, and Carey. They wrote a address that listed their grievances. It was called “The Black Rock Address”
Tracts claim their thousands converted. They claim the prerogative of carrying the news of salvation into holes and corners, where the gospel would otherwise never come; of going as on the wings of the wind, carrying salvation in their train; and they claim each to contain gospel enough, should it go where the Bible has never come, to lead a soul to the knowledge of Christ. The nature and extent of these and the like claims, made in favor of tracts by their advocates, constitute a good reason why we should reject them. These claims represent tracts as possessing in these respects a superiority over the Bible, and over the institution of the gospel ministry, which is charging the great I Am with a deficiency of wisdom. Yea, they charge God with folly; for why has he given us the extensive revelation contained in the Bible, and given the Holy Spirit to take the things of Christ and show them to us, if a little tract of four pages can lead a soul to the knowledge of Christ?
While I do not agree to the letter with the Black Rock Address and certain things contained therein, they do have many valid arguments. I have a friend who once said to me, having not always believed so, that he now believes it takes hours to truly convey a understanding gospel to someone. There are exceptions to this, but I agree and understand! It is not a light matter, and we treat it to lightly.
The lust for numbers and productivity has eliminated the sincereness in Christians the prayer and real time it actually takes with out witnessing. We are busy carrying about, comparing about, labouring about, all so we do not seem to be without! Who has time in todays modern churches with family, work, and the pressure of making every meeting, and every special meeting to devote time to friends and family outside of your immediate life.
Who has time to correspond, or write a letter to a person you’ve been dealing with? The focus is now the earthly church, the buildings, the working of the ministries, filling the pews, the congregationalism, the assembling etc.
Who has time to feed the “bible hunger” that a new convert has? Who has time to write men in the jails that we have preached too. Who has time to follow up on the 100,000 we yell at a year in our towns. A visit, a phone call, a true sincere letter from the heart. That would go farther than you showing up every week on a street corner, no matter how much of a “passion for souls” you claim to have. That is another dangerous phrase that gets thrown around, a passion for souls, soul winning, on fire for God, all that stuff
What happens after the gospel tract. Often, you see no discipleship. We lead them to God in these blitz’s and give them a tract with the church address, not understanding their life, family, or knowing anything about them, and leave. Then we wonder why they aren’t in church. The fault lies with our own doing. We know all the verses to trash, tear, rip, slice, dice, cut, wound, and so on. Music, Entertainment, hobbies, personal likes and dislikes. These things are harped on all the time. We constantly hear, “By their fruits ye shall know them” stripped of it’s context so men can question sincerity and salvation in others. So they can separate themselves.
There is often no growth with these weaker brethren because we run them off before they learn anything do to being thrown in ministry opportunities or before they can grow. The focus in mass evangelism, get involved, hard core, swat team for Christ, God’s green berets, God’s elite, don’t question the man of God, don’t disagree with the preachers who are SO BOLD for the Lord. “They obviously have God on their side”. “If God be for us, who can be against us”, right?
Just utter mass confusion in the body of Christ. This is a very accurate description. Why have we adopted failed systems, or methods of operation from Catholicism, Protestantism, and all the offspring of the Reformation. Because of the character of the men that pulled out of these things, we go back to our church fathers, but neglect the epistles of Paul out of convenience, ease and money.
What about the New Testament? What about carrying on the affairs of the Church the way that it was revealed to Paul? It’s done in foreign countries, why won’t it work in America? It will never work here on a large scale. To many men unwilling to give up position and power. Why do you think missionaries are glad to stay away from America after the leave our churches here? Why do you think they hate furlough and can’t wait to get away from us spoiled, blind American Independents still clinging to traditions and observances?
Because of all this and our methods in evangelizing for productivity you have loose standards, saved men and women that can’t deal with cults and may fall into them due to being unfounded scripturally. Heresy prevails, false assurances, re-treads, people leaving the church because money is being preached about to often. People leaving the church because they see the obvious misappropriation of funds, but they can’t fight against the brethren for fear of being called a pharisee or a meddler. Christians are not stupid, they can tell when they are being lied to. Just sayin...
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