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Who can deny that much modern evangelism has become emotionally manipulative, seeking simply to cause a momentary decision of the sinner's will, yet neglecting the biblical idea that conversion is the result of the supernatural, gracious act of God toward the sinner?
Mark Dever
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (80)1.3K
Other Quotes from the Author & Topic
If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. Sermons of Rev. C.H. Spurgeon of London ... - Page 333
We are to preach the gospel to all and leave the results to one.
You can scare people toward
God, but you can't scare anybody into loving
him. Fear can be helpful, but is never
decisive.Facebook
You simply cannot nuance someone into the Kingdom.
There's no way to sanitize and PR the gospel into something that has no inherent offense—the aroma of death lingers to the lost no matter what soft-word-air-freshener you hang on it.
And trying is often the road to compromise.https://twitter.com/Brian_Sauve/status/1775497224992240054
In the New Testament the words "elder," "shepherd" or "pastor," and "bishop" or "overseer" are used interchangeably in the context of the local church office.The Church: The Gospel Made Visible (Kindle Locations 1386-1387). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell.
According to the Bible, converting people is not in our power. And evangelism may not be defined in terms of results but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (79)
If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. Sermons of Rev. C.H. Spurgeon of London ... - Page 333
We must not offer people a system of redemption, a set of insights and principles. We offer people a Redeemer.
It would upset us, but would we think it unloving if a doctor told us we had a potentially fatal cancer? And would the doctor not tell us if the cancer could be eradicated? Why then do we not tell unsaved people about the cancer of sin and evil and how the inevitable penalty of eternal destruction can be avoided by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
The man who can take deep interest in politics, or field-sports, or money-making, or farming, but none in the conversion of souls, is no true Christian. He is himself "dead" and must be made "alive again." He is himself "lost" and must be "found."Gospel of Luke Commentary
The final responsibility of the congregation does not contradict or undermine the elders' general leadership, but it provides an opportunity to confirm it when it is right and to constrain it when it is in error. This position is called elder led...The Church: The Gospel Made Visible (Kindle Locations 1474-1476). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The church is distinguished and contained by the right administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper. It should also be noted that this latter mark presumes and implies the practice of church discipline.The Church: The Gospel Made Visible (Kindle Locations 745-746). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
While every true local church is part of this universal church and is an entire church itself, no local church can be said to constitute the entire universal church. Therefore, Christians must exercise care in their assumptions about the correctness of doctrines or practices that may, in fact, be peculiar to their own time or place.The Church: The Gospel Made Visible (Kindle Locations 682-684). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The power of evangelism comes from holy, transformed lives lived out in the world, and the proclamation of the glorious reason for that transformation -- the gospel of Jesus Christ coming out of the lips of credible lives.
Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community, a negative influence by arresting its decay and a positive influence by bringing light into its darkness.. For it is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of truth.Message of the Sermon on the Mount (64-65)
The Savior emphasized that God Himself is the determinative factor in salvation. We who witness for Christ are not ultimately responsible for how people respond to the gospel. We are only responsible to preach it clearly and accurately, speaking the truth in love.Gospel According to Jesus 3e(117)
Much of contemporary evangelism is woefully deficient when it comes to confronting people with the reality of their sin. Preachers offer people happiness, joy, fulfillment, and everything positive. Present-day Christians are taught that all they have to do is find a person's psychological needs then offer Jesus as a panacea for whatever the problem is. It is very easy to get a response, because people are looking for quick solutions to their felt needs. But if that is all we do, it is not legitimate evangelism.Gospel According to Jesus 3e(95)
you are not loving your neighbor as yourself if you're not trying to persuade him toward the greatest and best aspect of your own life - your reconciled relationship with God. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (48)
The fall did not leave people neutral toward God but at enmity with him. Therefore we must not pretend that non-Christians are seekers by the simple virtue of their having been made in the image of God. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (56)
Have you heard it said that the doctrine of God's choosing some for salvation (the doctrine of election) undercuts evangelism? It didn't in Paul's life. As he later wrote to Timothy, "I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (2 Tim.2:10). The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (104)
We need to know what "sales" we can "close" and what "sales" we can't-not so that we won't preach the gospel, but so that we won't allow the gospel that is preached to be molded by what finally gets a response. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (109)
If you think that the gospel is all about what we can do, that the practice of it is optional, and that conversion is simply something that anyone can choose at any time, then I'm concerned that you'll think of evangelism as nothing more than a sales job where the prospect is to be won over to sign on the dotted line by praying a prayer, followed by an assurance that he is the proud owner of salvation. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (110)
The Christian call to evangelism is not simply a call to persuade people to make decisions, but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (112)
Evangelism and theology for the most part go separate ways, and the result is great loss for both. When theology is not held on course by the demands of evangelistic communication, it grows abstract and speculative, wayward in method, theoretical in interest and irresponsible in stance. When evangelism is not fertilized, fed and controlled by theology, it becomes a stylized performance, seeking its effect through manipulative skills rather than the power of vision and the force of truth. Both theology and evangelism are then, in one important sense, unreal, false to their own God-given nature; for all true theology has an evangelistic thrust, and all true evangelism is theology in action. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Page 71)
Top Authors
1. Charles Spurgeon (113)
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2. J.C. Ryle (108)
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