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INTRODUCTION
Christ in Comparison from the First to Twenty-First Century
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John. 1:1) Jesus stated himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation. 22:13) Jesus’ name is never-ending and filled with power and authority. One can see him still present in the twenty-first century as he was in the first. However, mankind has become too comfortable in their sin for too long. To establish the first century in comparison to the twenty-first, is too much to cover that it is condensed into small pieces and both pro and cons will be elaborated. Firstly, communicating evangelism in action is vital and is still continually done even as the generations change. For the Bible states, “…The everlasting God, the
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Lord,The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.”(Isaiah. 40:28). Secondly, the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Bible states, “…The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark. 1:15) The Kingdom of God is to be preached and understood that it is not in talk but power, “ For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” (1 Corinthians. 4:20). Lastly, the current church is described and seen as a pro and con in many ways. There are churches who are truthful and follow the freedom of Christ, on the contrary there are churches that exist for man-pleasers and the flesh. The Bible states, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew. 24:24). Concluding, Christ is still present, very much alive and seen as
he was in the first century church down to the twenty first century church. COMMUNCATING EVANGELISM IN ACTION The book of Acts is well known as the book of action of course, it is. However, in many other books such as, the books of Timothy reveals many action and practical ministries of the first century church. One important action that is still done in the twenty-first century is Evangelism. Evangelism is defined as the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ and describes the individual as militant or crusading zeal (Webster). Evangelism is not just a calling for specific people. According to Strongs Concordance, Evangelizing is truly the preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ known as the Gospel (Strongs G2099). To truly have a desire to share such uplifting words of God require truth in it. One cannot share the joy and love of God if they themselves have not experienced it first hand or if they do not have that character in Christ. To begin with, the life of Paul from the first century is truly authentic and wholesome as he is exposed and filled with the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, Paul is seen as a horrible man to the early believers. However, that changes as he encounters Jesus and is healed of his blindness and filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts. 9:18). Furthermore, as it goes on the Bible states, “ Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20) Paul was so ‘on fire’ for Christ he could not care less about the judging looks and comments he would receive, he found his freedom and comfort in Christ that he instantly started evangelizing - preaching the Good News - to all, no matter what was said such as, “…Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests” (Acts 9:21) Instead of becoming weaker he grew stronger, "But Saul increased all the more in strength…Jesus is the Christ.” ( Acts 9:22). For this reason also, is the answer to why the New Testament was not written earlier, “…delay was that they, and indeed all the early Church, were so busy evangelizing the world, so absorbed in their active service…that literary work of any kind was crowded out. “ (Stewart. 8). Concerning this, the word had such revival power that they immediately had to share the Good News in action. Put simply, it was no longer about them as an individual, it was about Jesus, the Son of God. Similarly, the twenty-first century has continued evangelism through many testimonies and accounts of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Many of which begin to testify and evangelize to close relatives and co-workers. This is because there is a drastic change in their characters and spirits of course, in a positive and effective way. Also, this is known as a revival in their spirits to spread the good news because they actually have it to share. However, There is a negative to the twenty-first century church where the flesh is accepted and some think that it is the Pastors duty to evangelize. Additionally, there are some who evangelize without being freely open to it, they are forced by religious bindings that are enforced through fear through their leaders. According to the word, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians. 5:13) they are free and not subjected to the flesh to love, serve and share with one another. Moving on, communication is a vital principle among brothers and sisters. Merriam-Webster defines communication as, “to convey knowledge of or information, make known, to reveal by clear signs” (Webster) when evangelizing and communicating to unbelievers, one must understand that it is the Holy Spirit on the inside that reveals and helps, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit..He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John. 14:26) communication with the Holy Spirit was key in the first century church because they had no scriptural backup. In addition, They relied and communicated with Holy Spirit to finish the scriptures because they, “…felt a call to save the story of Jesus for unborn generations.” (Stewart. 9) and continually through that communication it transcended and communicated to the hearts if men and women of the twenty-first century. If it wasn’t for communication through evangelism the truth of Jesus would not have survived the centuries, according to the word it states, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans. 10:17) if the word is not spoken, it cannot be heard (Capps. 31). Technology has advanced miraculously throughout the centuries and similar to the evangelists using the great roads, “Along these imperial lines of communication…the missionaries of the gospel came marching; and everywhere their message spread like wildfire.” (Stewart. 17) the evangelists of the first century used the connecting roads to branch out and the roots all leading to Christ. Additionally, it states, “Christ’s men could never have evangelized the world as they did if it had not been for the Roman roads.” (Stewart. 17). Likewise, the twenty- first century church has a major advantage for evangelism called communication through technology. Contacts with one another have multiplied (Stewart. 18) if anything happens, the other side of the world is informed of it almost instantly (Stewart. 18). Instead of using technology for the enemy, most of the current church uses it to evangelize to the unsaved, and cause a stirring into the hearts of man who are most-likely to watch. Concluding, evangelists are everywhere. One does not need to go specifically in the church for an evangelist. In the first century Jesus himself had chosen Matthew tax collector, “ In what unlikely places Christ finds his evangelists and ambassadors” (Stewart. 11) in a place of hate and a profession labeled as dishonourable Jesus had not judged and chosen Matthew from his pure heart. Similarly, in the current century there are many bringing souls to the kingdom through the name of Jesus in such unlikely places and revival to nations. All in all, communicating evangelism in action is key in furthering the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ.
The church has a problem. The eternally relevant message with which she has been entrusted no longer readily finds a willing ear. According to Henderson, the solution lies in first understanding how our world thinks and then, beginning where people are at, bring them to see "the functional relevance for their lives of the actual relevance of our message". In high school speech classes, we were taught to "know your audience." As a careless high schooler, I didn't really care what she meant, but it eventually made sense (once I actually decided to think about it). You wouldn't use sock puppets to explain math to accountants; you wouldn't use in-depth power-point presentations to explain math to first graders. With this in mind, why do many Americans still try to talk about Jesus using the methods used thirty years ago? Why do we use Christian "jargon" to explain Christianity to those outside the faith? Henderson contends that modern American Christians must change their approach to sharing the faith in order to fit modern America. The pattern of Henderson's book is straightforward: he examines a particular aspect/mindset/value of modern Americans; he then gives ideas about how a Christian might share Words of Eternal Life with such an American. Henderson's writing is both straightforward and enjoyable. He gets right to the heart of the American mindset, then illustrates it with descriptions from scenes from popular movies, personal anecdotes, jokes, etc. In all, Henderson does the modern Christian a great service in writing "Culture Shift." Jesus told Christians to tell others about him ("Go, therefore, and baptize all nations...") and Henderson can help us along the way through this book
Fundamental to the Christian faith is the concept that the God of the Bible is a personal and active deity. Empirical and biblical evidence specifically directs the diligent researcher to the irrefutable verification that the Bible portrays God as dynamically involved with His creation. Scripture expresses His love and desire is that all humanity comes to know Him (2 Pet. 3:9 [KJV]). Furthermore, the Bible teaches that the Christian believer has a vigorous and personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5, 8:26-28). The contemporary pastor equipped with holy doctrine and intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit, becomes a conduit to declare the message of Christ to the world.
The debate of the destiny of the unevangelized is an issue that both Calvinist and Arminian continue to study. They attempt to answer questions similar to, “what about those who have never heard the gospel?” “Will they be judged simply for living in some faraway place where no missionaries have been?” “What about the people who lived before the time of Christ?” These questions are based on the exclusive claim of Christianity that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. There are four views that have strived to answer these questions. There is the restrictive view, universal opportunity view, postmorten evangelism view and inclusivist view. Each stance offers a Biblical argument, however not every view can be correct. In effort to answer the question, this paper will review each position and explain why of the four views; universal opportunity makes the most theological sense and in no way conflicts with the great commission.
Religion changed drastically between the 4th and 14th centuries. From worshipping many gods to the idea that there is only one true God, from Paganism to Christianity to Islam, there have been a wide range of religious preferences over a vast area of space, time, cultures and land. Religious ideas, theologies and doctrines evolved into what we know these religions to be today, but we often do not think of how they came to be the way they are.
The misconception of what God wants us to do with our lives is shown in today’s youth. An example of this is simply looking at the effects of life today. Children and adults everywhere are turning against one another and resulting in violence. Typically, when asked to describe a Christian words like self-centered, hate, and hypocritical flash through the mind as qualities. This is where the stereotypical response is wrong. Being a Christian does not mean the feeling of hatred towards everyone who sins is present, or that every action is hypocritical to what is being said. Christians often go as the unheard group of people due to the disbelief in what is said. Consequently, the persecution of God’s Word happens daily when the heart of one of His children dies without ever knowing Him. A Christian does not mean that life is perfect and that going to church every Sunday makes a person one. In reality, attendance at church, but not grasping to the message being told serves no purpose at all. The confusion and contradiction of various definitions of what a Christian is one way the Word of God is dying along with the world around
...e of salvation and stand up for the teachings of Jesus. It seems as though some churches are compromising in order to entice people into worship. They have allowed Gnosticism to influence the people with a worldview of Christianity (158). God’s message does not change over time; it remains the same message given to the early church at Pentecost. I understand that the method of presenting the gospel might be different over the centuries, but not the fundamental message itself. The church at any time in history should be filled with the Holy Spirit, able to be a witness to Christ and his gospel.
God’s promise of salvation continues today and forever. Jesus took away our condemnation to sin and replaced it with freedom in Him. “Salvation is by grace, which means freedom from sin by the indwelling, fortifying, cleansing life of the Spirit, and not by works of the law” (Willard, 88). We obey God’s commands not to get into heaven, but because we love Him. Christians today love others and serve God because of the desires of the Spirit. With the freedom in Christ, we are to love and not do what the flesh wants. No Christian is perfect, but by living and walking by the Spirit, we are freed from the condemnation of the law and of the
Those who were followers of Christ began to raise the question about the person and work of Christ. Understanding this epoch of time opens the door for believers to comprehend the religious system and our roles as modern Christians in today’s society. When we as Christians can see how our historical roots connect to our personal beliefs. We strengthen our theological foundation and we develop into a persuasive witness in own
E. P. Sanders (Jesus and Judaism 1985, London, SCM Press) speaks of the kingdom in terms of ‘time present’ and ‘time future’. He tells us that Jesus used a deliberately ambiguous expression to make his listeners think. He also suggests that the gospel authors emphasised different kingdom characteristics on different occasions. As we read the gospels we see that the kingdom is present with Jesus and his disciples in their words and actions. We can sense this mounting excitement in the early chapters of the Synoptic gospels. The news about Jesus spreads rapidly; great crowds come to see him and the people are amazed. The time is right; there is a sense of the kingdom as a present reality. Jesus urges his followers to seek the kingdom with righteousness and all things shall come about in their lives (Matt 6:31-33). But, at the same time, the kingdom is not yet fully realised. It is also ‘time future’ and in the process of realisation. People must choose to believe, to follow, to act, to live under God’s laws, even if they are slow to understand –Luke 12:54-56. When they do accept God’s ways and act in accordance with them, then the kingdom will be realised – Luke 12:35-36.
It is the beliefs above that has shaped the theology of Christianity, bringing about the writing of many creeds that Christians still value today. It is what distinguishes the many denominations and unites them as well. With each passing generation it seems that Christianity is continually losing its popularity amongst the young people. Christianity is relevant in today’s society. Churches today should greatly value the historical aspect of Christianity as a religion. If certain values and principles of Christianity have withstood the test of time then this should reassure Christians of the validity of their beliefs. Young people today are interested in the theology of the bible they value the message of Jesus Christ. It is the “religious” aspects that many are fed up with. People are frustrate with the church because of the corruption that has occurred over time and its inauthenticity at times. To some it appears that the church is more concerned with appearances then actually fulfilling the work of God. This generation needs church leaders that embrace the historical roots of Christianity. And someone who isn’t afraid to be teach the raw and passionate message that is the gospel. Getting at the core of what it truly means to be a
...t addresses the mission of the Church, saying Christians do not only have a future hope, but a present hope. Jesus “was not saving souls for a disembodied eternity but rescuing people from the corruption and decay of the way the world presently is so they could enjoy, already in the present, that renewal of creation which is God’s ultimate purpose – and so they could thus become colleagues and partners in that larger project” (p. 192).
God has ordained that Revelation is transmitted to all people, to all generations, and to remain intact forever. This mandate is performed by the Church through evangelization. However, the desire to proclaim Jesus Christ, to “evangelize” and to lead others to the “fiat” of faith in Jesus Christ, which at the same time arouses the need to know this faith better, does not come from human inspiration. It springs from the loving knowledge that Jesus Christ has of us.
This essay is to explain what evangelism is contextualising it with the bible; the contemporary world exploring what it really means and the purpose of it.
...aul stated, the fullness of time had been reached in a myriad of respects to allow for the rapid spread of the gospel message and its subsequent acceptance and proliferation. The government had been established, relative peace reigned, the infrastructure was developed, the current philosophies and religions were failing to provide ultimate meaning, and the language was fairly universal. The kindling had been prepared to rapidly ignite and flame high once the missions from Jerusalem began. Once that flame had been lit, nothing would ever stop it. Christianity and Judaism are the only religions to survive to the present day from that time period. “For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His out-stretched hand, who can turn it back?” Clearly, the Lord advances His purposes according to His timing, and history stands witness to this.
Evangelism is one of the key component for changing people’s lives. McRaney states, “The word evangelism comes from a combination of Greek words for “good” and “messenger.” Evangelism involves bringing the goods. Kent Hunter reminded us that “when Christians witness, they tell how Jesus Christ has changed their own lives. The change in their own lives gives them the desires to share the Good News with others.” Christians must share their testimony to people and spread the gospel so that they can bring lost souls to Christ. God has commissioned every Christian to evangelize so that people will learn about Jesus Christ and accept Him as their personal savior. Matthew 28:19 states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Christians are required to spread the Gospel throughout the world and can no longer just attend church. Christians must plant seeds and water the seeds so that lost souls will be saved.