Church Parking Lot Sale

My daughter, Marissa (left), and our friend, Hannah (right) were, umm, shall we say, fools for Christ, today. :-) Needless to say, they attracted a lot of attention from passing motorists. Fortunately, there were no traffic collisions resulting from these two feathered billboards.

So, why would two otherwise lovely young ladies hide their intrinsic beauty behind the alter egos of Donald and Daisy Duck? Well, they were helping (quite effectively, I might add) to draw attention to our church's parking lot sale. The purpose of the sale was two-fold: 1) to raise money for our church's Needy Family Fund; and 2) to share the Law and the Gospel with members of our community who ventured into our parking lot.

The day began at 5:00 AM with set-up. By 7:00 AM we saw our first customer. Throughout the day, literally hundreds of people visited our parking lot sale. Every person that made a purchase received a hand-written receipt and a Avoid Identity Theft gospel tract. Hundreds of gospel tracts, CD's, books, and DVD's were given away, today.

I set up my open-air display, which afforded me the opportunity to take several people through various intelligence tests, as well as The Good Person Test. All of which, of course, led to gospel conversations.

My friend (and Ten-Four Advisory Board member), John Howard, rolled out the Ten-Four Cooking Trailer. We fed lunch to more than 100 people. The price: a donation of any size to the Needy Family Fund. The Lord truly blessed the event. Between the parking lot sale and lunch, we were able to raise about $2,400 for the Needy Family Fund.

Throughout the day, people asked questions about the church (service times, ministries, beliefs, etc). Not only was it a blessing to have so many community members visit the church, but it was also a great blessing to see so many of my church family members working so very hard, with such loving attitudes. It was truly a special day for my church family.

My friend, Mike, had an interesting conversation with a man and his son. Part of what made it so interesting was what the man said to Mike when he approached the open-air display. "My wife was here earlier and told me I should come over here and take the 'Good Test.'" Apparently, his wife was one of the ladies with whom I spoke earlier in the day!

My last conversation of the day was with a lady I saw looking at the evangelism materials I had set out on a table. I assured her that everything on the table was free. She picked up one of just about everything.

I asked her if she had any spiritual beliefs. "I think I'm a Christian." She said somewhat sheepishly.

"What does it mean to you to be a Christian?" I asked.

She thought for a moment. "Oh. That's difficult to say. Could you start with an easier question?"

"Okay. Would you consider yourself to be a good person?"

"I'm not sure."

"Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?"

"A little."

I gently took her through the Law and helped her see that, by her own admission, she was a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderer at heart. When I asked her if God would find her innocent or guilty of breaking His Law, if she were to die today and stand before Him, she said, "I would be guilty."

"Do you think you would go to heaven or hell?" I asked.

"Hell."

"Does that concern you?"

She nodded her head. Behind her lightly colored sunglasses, I could see tears in her eyes.

"Would you like to sit down and talk?"

"Yes, but I have to leave for work by 1:30." (I would say good-bye to her at 1:31.) :-)

"This won't take long; and I think it is important that we talk about this."

She agreed and followed me to two chairs, under the shade of a tree.

I took the lady through the courtroom analogy. When I explained to her that the person who came into the courtroom to pay her fine represented Jesus and what He did on the cross, her eyes once again welled with tears.

I explained to her that she must repent and receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior in order to receive the free gift of eternal life. She said she understood. In addition to other materials, the lady held in her hand a copy of How To Live Forever Without Being Religious. I explained to her that the book contained the Gospel of John, which would be a great place for her to begin reading the Bible.

I saw Kathy, our pastor's wife, standing nearby. I called her over and introduced her to the lady. Together, we talked to the lady about our church's service time, as well as the women's Bible study that takes place every Wednesday night.

The lady seemed truly humbled by the Law and the Gospel. I hope she truly repents and received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And I hope we see her again.

I am so thankful to my Lord and Savior for today. His presence was obvious throughout the day. The glitches in today's mission were few and minor. He allowed us to not only serve others and work well together, but also to share (through tracts and the words that proceeded from our mouths) the Law and the Gospel with many people.

All day long the fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ was wonderful. I believe the Lord, through this evangelism and outreach effort, drew members of my church family closer to one another.

The event was scheduled to end at 2:00 PM. When the time came, we announced to our visitors that everything was free. Moments later, a man entered the parking lot. He told us that he would soon travel to Mexico and was looking for children's clothing and stuffed animals. We still had both a plenty.

He will pick up BAGS of clothes and stuffed animals tomorrow morning. So, the Lord, in His sovereignty and grace, is going to allow our church family to bless children in Mexico. How cool is that! :-)

All the glory belongs to the Lord--the Sovereign God and Holy One, for it is He who was faithful, gracious, loving, and kind.

The Depravity of Self-Glorification

Once again my local newspaper has taken an opportunity to glorify secular humanism and atheism, through the publication of a opinion page commentary. Click here to read the article.

What follows is my "Letter to the Editor" submission in response to the article.

~~~~~

Oh, for the days of Leon Worden, when there was some balance to the spiritual musings of The Signal’s columnists! But, those days are gone. Now, the readers of The Signal are fed a steady diet of secularism, agnosticism, post-modernism, paganism, and atheism under the auspices of political, satirical, and civic commentary. It is darkness, not light, that epitomizes the opinion section of The Signal, as the goal of the new editorial regime appears to be the glorification of the depravity of man. A case in point is Willy Gutman’s “Swan Song” article.

According to Mr. Gutman, his “greatest victory . . . has been one of self-conquest—reaching emotional and spiritual independence by shedding absurd beliefs, relying on [his] inner reserves of intellectual power . . .” Mr. Gutman went on to write: “Last I was a struggling agnostic for most of my life. I have since come out of the closet and breathed oxygenated air of emancipation by proclaiming my atheism.”

It is not with anger I pen this response. Not at all. I write these words with sadness, concern, and pity for Mr. Gutman and people like him. Tragically, like so many other professed atheists in the world today, Mr. Gutman does believe in a god. You see—Mr. Gutman is not really an atheist. His god is Willy Gutman. And in his inane effort to rely on his “inner reserves of intellectual power,” he accomplished that which he likely did not intend to accomplish. He validated the truth of the Bible. “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good” (Psalm 14:1). “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Romans 1:28).

Mr. Gutman and all others who insist on living within the delusion of self-glorification will one-day face the reality that there is a God. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us” (Isaiah 33:22).

Mr. Gutman may be “emancipated” from his belief in God, but he remains a slave—a slave to the sin of his own depravity and self-glorification. Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). I hope Mr. Gutman will one-day come to repentance and heed the instruction of the apostle Paul. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts” (Romans 6:12).

Mr. Gutman rightly closes his article by recognizing that his time in this life is “precious and fleeting.” Mr. Gutman’s only hope, and the only hope of those who share his humanistic and atheistic beliefs, is to shed his remaining “absurd beliefs,” recognize he has broken God’s Law, turn from and confess his sin before God, and receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior—recognizing that Jesus’ shed blood on the cross and His resurrection is his only hope for escaping the wrath of God to come. Only then will he truly be emancipated. Only then will he truly breathe the oxygenated air of spiritual life. But until then, he remains dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).

Behind the Scenes of Way of the Master Radio (11-06-07)

Kenny was our guest during the first hour of The Way of the Master Radio show. He was at the courthouse for a probationary progress report, stemming from a DUI case. By his own admission, Kenny had driven while under the influence of pain medication. Kenny struggled with pain medication dependency, as a result of a series of back injuries. He said that the struggle is now behind him.

My impression of Kenny was that he was a man who had been through a lot--both physically and emotionally. I found him to be a very nice man who seemed to have a humble spirit.

Kenny's conversation with Ray Comfort and Todd Friel seemed to go very well. As is my custom, once Kenny got off the phone I asked, "So, how did it go?"

"That went fine."

"Was there anything in the conversation that stood out to you?"

"Well, yeah. He reminded me that if you break any of the commandments, you are what the commandment is saying."

We talked for about fifteen minutes. Although Kenny professed to be born again, you will hear in the audio that Kenny believes a gospel that differs from the gospel of Scripture.

Listen to my conversation with Kenny.

Please pray for Kenny. Pray that what he heard today will be used by God to bring him to genuine repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was yet another good day of fishing at the courthouse.

"Passing On A Godly Heritage"

Would you trust this man (the one on the right) with your car? You would? Really? Okay, I would, too. How about the guy on the left? Umm, don't answer that.

My friend is likely familiar to those of you who appreciate The Way of the Master ministry. E.Z. Zwayne is the Vice President of The Way of the Master/Living Waters.

E.Z. preached yesterday at Calvary Chapel East Anaheim. His message, based on Ephesians 6:1-3, was titled "Passing On A Godly Heritage." I just listened to the message and I was both blessed and encouraged. If you are a parent (and I have been for 20 years) or if you one-day hope to be a parent, you should listen to this message.

Click here, then simply look for the message listed under November 4, 2007.

Thanks, E.Z., for sharing your heart, through the truth of God's Word.

If Faith Comes From Hearing, Then Who Have You Told? (Audio)

Click here to listen to the sermon.

Following the sermon, I had a very interesting witnessing encounter in the church kitchen, of all places. Read more.....

Last Words Ministry Radio

Todd Friel I'm not..... But, boy did I have fun this afternoon! I had about as much fun as one person can have in an hour's time, while wearing headphones. :-)

I was blessed today to serve as a guest co-host on the Last Words Ministry radio show. I joined Greg and Haydee for the hour-long broadcast. Today's show marked only the third time the show has been on the air.

The show airs every Saturday on AM 1580, in the greater Los Angeles area, from 2:00 to 3:00 PM (PST). The show is patterned after The Way of the Master radio show. You can call in and join the conversation (a non-emergent use of the word). The number is: 626-793-0900.

The Lord willing, and if the Last Words Ministry family will have me, I hope to appear on the show, from time to time.

Please pray for this ministry. Just spending a couple of hours with these brothers and sisters in Christ showed me what a genuine heart they have for reaching lost people, in a biblical way, with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you have any questions about the ministry, or if your would like to contact the Last Words Ministry team, click here.

Thank you Greg, Haydee, and the rest of the Last Words Ministry team, for allowing me to join you today. It was an honor, privilege, and blessing to serve alongside you.

Annual HOA Street Sale

This morning, our homeowners' association held its annual street sale. We rented two spaces and set up shop--not to sell our treasures (junk), but rather to give gifts to the people in our community. We gave away stuffed animals, soccer balls, and basketballs (all donated by Children's Hunger Fund). We also gave away Bibles, 2-in-1 CDs, Hollywood and God DVDs, Running Beyond Inspiration, How to Live Forever Without Being Religious, and of course, a bunch of our gospel tracts.

We set up our open-air display, which drew people to our location to take the Good Person Test. With the help of my brother-in-law, Ian, we shared the Law and the Gospel with people ranging in age from 9 to 70. Ian did a great job explaining the Law and the Gospel to some youngsters.

One lady saw the Good Person Test display and said, "I'm definitely a good person." I asked her if she was familiar with the Ten Commandments. She said, "Yes, and I keep them, too."

"Have you ever told a lie?" I asked.

"Yes."

"If you tell lies, what does that make you?"

"A liar."

"Have you ever stolen anything?"

"I don't want to take your test!"

She stormed off. I guess the exposure to the mirror of God's Law was a bit more than she could take. It was sad.

Here's one for the "It's a small world" file. A lady came by our space, and I handed her a Billion Dollar Bill gospel tract. She smiled and said. "Oh. I got a million dollar bill in the mail some time ago. Mahria and my girls' jaws dropped and they all fought back giggles.

You see, about a year ago I was laid up with a touch of pneumonia. Suffering from a touch of cabin fever as well, I had to do something to share the gospel with people. So I came up with this idea.

I went through the white pages and found addresses for people in my community. I wrote a letter (click here to read it), which included a Million Dollar Bill gospel tract. I must have mailed out three or four hundred of the letters while I was stuck at home. I always wondered who the people were that mailed the letter. Well, I got to meet one of the recipients, today. :-)

My last "mini" open-air of the day was with two moms and a half dozen kids (ages 7-10). One mom professed faith in Christ. The other mom quietly listened to the conversation. The entire group heard the Law and the Gospel. Take a listen.

We spent four hours bring the gospel to our community, during the street sale. One of the added blessings was seeing Mahria and Michelle (the shy people in our family) engaging people in conversation and handing out gospel tracts. Today was truly a family evangelism outing.

If Faith Comes From Hearing, Then Who Have You Told (Part 1 of 4)

Introduction

An entire theology and philosophy has been built upon a single sentence. Maybe you’ve heard it. “Preach the gospel always, and when necessary use words.” The statement is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi.

I did a Google search of the sentence and found 1,260 entries. It is a very popular statement. Pastors, ministries, and Christians around the world hold up this statement as a biblical mandate to live the Christian life as another, even preferable, form of evangelism. In other words, in lieu of bringing the verbal or written gospel message to lost people, the best thing to do is simply live the Christian life until people ask you what’s different about you. Sound familiar?

Regarding the popular sentence attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: he never said it. Catholic theologians and researchers have poured over the writings of Assisi, as well as the earliest biographies about the monk. No evidence has been found linking Saint Francis to the overused and misused statement.

However, unwilling to let go of their unbiblical, philosophical pearl, proponents of the statement have said, “While Assisi may not have uttered the words, the sentence captures the spirit of the monk.” Well, not if Assisi read and believed the Bible. If Assisi was a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, then he would have agreed with the Bible and not with the wisdom of men.

This morning we are going to ask and answer the following question. If faith comes from hearing, then who have you told? In order to prepare our hearts and minds to honestly answer this question, we are going to study Romans 10:17. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

The Gospel Must Be Spoken

The foundation upon which all evangelism is built is the gospel—the word about Christ. And that’s where we must begin. We must begin with the very source of one’s faith (which itself is a gift from God)—the gospel of Jesus Christ. All of Romans 10:1-16 is summarized in verse 17. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Salvation comes to those who hear the gospel, the word of (or about) Christ, and respond by faith.

So, what is faith? Well, one thing it is not is intellectual assent to whatever a person believes is true. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: “Assent to truth is regarded by some as being the whole of faith—but it is not. Faith also includes an element of confidence, a readiness to commit oneself to it.”[i]

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith this way. “Now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith, in a general sense, is the conviction of the truth about anything. Faith, in a spiritual sense can likewise be the conviction of the truth about anything. But faith is only as reliable as the object of faith.

If you are here this morning and you have placed your faith and trust in anything or anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ, then your faith is in vain and it cannot save you. Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, who alone is the Savior, you are a child of wrath; not a child of God.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that God exists and that He is the Creator of all things.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that there is only one God who is both Lawgiver and Judge; there is only One who can both save and destroy (James 4:12). God, and God alone, determines who will spend eternity in heaven, and who will spend eternity in hell.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that God and God alone has provided the only escape from His just and holy wrath, which He will justly execute against people who have sinned against Him and have done what is evil in His sight.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that while God is perfectly holy, righteous, and just; He is also merciful, loving, and kind. So merciful, so loving, and so kind that He provided Himself, through the person of Jesus Christ—God in the flesh—the sinless Lamb of God, as the only means of escape from God’s perfect judgment.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that forgiveness of sin and salvation from God’s wrath comes by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that the Word of God is true and that Jesus Christ is the Living Word—the same Living Word that said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that Jesus is the resurrected Lord, who is alive today and will return at the precise time of the Father’s choosing.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that those (and only those) who, by faith, have turned from their sin and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will receive the free gift of eternal life and spend eternity in perfect joy and fellowship with the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

For the Christian, faith is the conviction that the only eternally good news is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is what I’ve just shared with you, in the preceding series of affirmative statements. “True faith is not based on empirical evidence but on divine assurance, and is a gift of God.”[ii] Ephesians 2:8 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

A Christian does not come to faith in Christ because of what he or she has seen. Remember what Jesus said to his disciple, Thomas? “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).

No, a Christian comes to faith in Christ because of what he or she has heard. The apostle John wrote: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

The divine gift of saving faith comes by hearing, and not hearing just any message. Only one message is used by God to bring a person to repentance and faith, and that is the gospel. That is why the apostle Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Faith in Jesus Christ comes as a result of hearing a message, not by being entertained or moved by a method. The manner in which we bring the message to people can vary. But it is not our methods that save lives. Only the message, only the gospel has that power.

A church’s ability to entertain young people during a mid-week meeting or during a so-called “outreach” event or concert will never bring a single, young soul to repentance and faith. Oh, it might lure a lost, young person to come to church. It might convince a lost, young person to join the Christian club. But meetings and events, in and of themselves, will not save that young person.

A sad and glaring example of this truth was seen just a few weeks ago when a mega-church hosted a “Battle of the Bands.” The youth pastor who spearheaded the event was quoted the following day in the local paper. He said, “We just wanted to do something that would appeal to high school students and every kid that loves rock music . . . We want them to know God loves them for who they are, and God’s arms are wide open to them . . . We want them to realize that church may not be what they think. We’re trying to break stereotypes . . . They don’t have to come here and sit here bored listening to a long speech. We want them to come to church to experience something cool.”

Am I against large or small-scale outreach events geared toward young people, or any other people group, for that matter? No. But if the goal is to get kids to come to church so they can experience something cool, it is neither outreach nor evangelism, especially since more and more churches are not preaching the gospel from the pulpit. Spiritually speaking, such events are utterly powerless when the gospel is not preached. When the gospel is not proclaimed, such events are often man-centered, not Christ-centered.

Christ is never glorified when His gospel is set aside so that the world will think the church is cool. This event in particular, and such events generally, can be used to see people come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; but only if the gospel is clearly and unashamedly proclaimed.

Another method that is often stripped of any power or effect is the practice of friendship or lifestyle evangelism. Christians have been led to believe that if they live a holy and Christ-honoring life, unbelievers will see Jesus in us and be drawn to faith in Him.

It’s a nice sentiment; but, unfortunately, it’s just not true. Listen closely to how this sounds. “I’m going to live my life in such a way that people will see Jesus in me and come to faith in Christ.” In such a mindset, where does the power lie? It lies in the fallible, sinful Christian trying, yet often failing, to honor and glorify Jesus in his or her life. You will not see a single person anywhere in Scripture coming to repentance and faith by observing Christians living their lives. How arrogant of us to think that we, through nothing more than the example of our lives, can lead anyone to Christ!

Now, should we live our lives in such a way as to cause a lost and dying world to glorify our Father in heaven? Absolutely! Jesus told us to. During the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

However, the unbeliever is spiritually blind. “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). Paul also wrote: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

The only way a spiritually blind unbeliever is going to see that how we live is a reflection of the salvation we have received, through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ—by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone—is if we explain and proclaim what Jesus has done in our lives, as we share with them the Law and the Gospel. And, again, the reason they must hear the gospel is because a spiritually blind person cannot see the gospel.

And let’s be honest. How well are we really doing each and every day to live our lives in such a way as to bring obvious attention to our God and Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ? Isn’t it true that many times, many days in our lives we look more like the unbelieving world around us, than like our Lord and Savior? I know it shouldn’t be that way. And I know we don’t want it to be that way. And I know many of us are taking steps in order to grow and mature in our faith and godliness. But honestly, when comparing our physical lives to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which shines brighter? Which reflects more of the beauty and holiness of our great God and King? Which is more powerful—a life changed by the gospel that is still a work in process; or the gospel that changed the life?

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” The gospel is a message that must be spoken (in either verbal or written form) to be heard.

How Should We Speak The Gospel Message?

So, how should we speak the gospel message? While it is vitally important that we all come to the understanding that the gospel is a spoken and written message, that is not enough. And it’s not enough to know the content of the message. Millions of people around the world know the content of the message, but they are not saved. They have merely given intellectual assent to the truths of the message, but they have never turned from their sin and, by faith alone, received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Sadder still is the fact that more and more churches and Christians these days are living and speaking as though they have no idea what the true gospel message is. Just turn on so-called Christian television or read some of the writings of the emergent church gurus and you will see that there are many people who profess to know Christ, but have absolutely no idea what the true gospel message is.

No, in addition to knowing that the gospel is a spoken and/or written message, and in addition to knowing the true content of that message, we must know how to preach, proclaim, and share this all-important, all-powerful, life-saving message. So, for the rest of our time in God’s Word, we are going to focus on the how of gospel proclamation. The gospel must be spoken truthfully, boldly, and lovingly.


[i] Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn: God the Holy Spirit. Wheaton, Ill. : Crossways Books, 1997, S. 144
[ii] MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Heb 11:1

If Faith Comes From Hearing, Then Who Have You Told (Part 2 of 4)

The Gospel Must Be Spoken Truthfully

The gospel must be spoken truthfully. Proverbs 14:25 says, “A truthful witness saves lives, but he who speaks lies is treacherous.” Now, this proverb speaks about dynamics within the judicial system. But it has application in our present context.

As a deputy sheriff, I testified hundreds of times in court. And for twenty years I monitored significant cases throughout the American justice system. And what Proverbs tells us is true. One honest man or woman taking the witness stand can literally save the life of someone wrongly accused. No piece of circumstantial evidence, no piece of wrongly interpreted physical evidence has the power of words that proceed from the lips of one honest man or woman.

Sadly, what I saw all too often in the courtroom were liars applying, sometimes with great skill, their treachery in order to circumvent the integrity and power of the judicial system. Witnesses (albeit not all of them) lied. Attorneys (albeit not all of them) lied. More often than not such treachery was committed in an attempt to protect a criminal from rightful prosecution, not to see an innocent person convicted of a crime he or she did not commit.

Just as is the case in our earthly courtrooms, so it is true in evangelism. A truthful witness saves lives. A truthful witness, speaking the truth of the gospel, can be used by Almighty God to draw a person to repentance and faith in Christ, and thus save them from spiritual death and eternity in hell. Jesus said, “”If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31b-32).

But, again, as is the case in earthly courtrooms, in evangelism we must tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Many Christians struggle with this. Many Christians, if they speak at all to unbelievers about eternity, do not speak the whole truth.

They focus entirely on the love of God and the forgiveness of God and the grace of God, but they never bother to tell people about their sinfulness and the fact that by breaking God’s Law, not once, but every day of their sin-stained lives, they are God’s enemies and are facing, at any moment, God’s just, holy, and fierce wrath.

James wrote: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (John 6:24).

The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them” (Colossians 3:5-7).

He also wrote this to the Ephesians: “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Ephesians 2:3).

And he wrote this to the church in Corinth. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

John the Baptist said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

We must warn people about the reality and severity of hell. Why? We should warn people because that’s what Jesus.

Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “”You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (Matthew 5:21-22).

A little later in the sermon, Jesus said, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30).

While receiving the revelation of the new heaven and the new earth, Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, said this to His apostle, John. “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:6-8).

The recent firestorms are still fresh in our minds. You might even be able to smell the smoke all over again, just thinking about those few precarious days. Having spent two full days running from fire to fire, warning people of the pending danger, I can assure you that most people, while concerned, did not leave their homes until I, or another deputy, or a firefighter told them it was time to go. They did not flee from the flames that were moving very quickly toward their home until someone told them it was time to go. They saw the flames, but that wasn’t enough. They needed someone to tell them to leave.

Some people were awakened from a very sound sleep. For many of those who eventually lost their homes, had someone not cared enough about them to awaken and warn them, they would have perished in the flames. Before the good news of the gospel will make sense to people who are dead in their sin with no idea that God’s wrath abides on them, someone will have to tell them that they have sinned against Almighty God, they have broken His Commandments (His Law), they are facing God’s righteous and holy judgment, and they will experience the full fury of His holy wrath when He sentences them to eternity in hell.

Is God loving, merciful, gracious, and kind? Yes. But if that is all we tell people, then, at best (or at worst), we will convince people to make a false profession of faith in Jesus because they have been convinced that they can try Jesus on for size and that “accepting” Jesus will cost them nothing. Or they will blow off the message as foolishness because what they were offered was no better than what they believe they already have as they love the world and indulge their sin.

Having told people the truth about their own sin and the consequences for their sin, then we must call people to repentance. We are not telling people the whole truth if we are not calling them to turn from their sin. To tell people that God loves them just the way they are is heresy and will lead people to a false profession of faith. God loves us in spite of who we are, not just as we are.

To tell people that God loves them just the way they are is to imply that they can come to Jesus without turning from sin. While we should make sure to tell people that if they try to clean up their act before getting right with God they will never get there (because we are saved by grace through faith, without any works on our part whatsoever); if we fail to tell people to turn from their sin we are presenting them with a message that differs from the message of Jesus, Peter, and Paul.

Jesus preached, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

When Jesus was questioned about a horrific event in which Pilate had mingled the blood of slain Galileans with the blood of sacrifices, Jesus said, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-3).

In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus declared, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

In Peter’s second sermon, he said, “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:17-19).

In Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (a great example of open-air preaching, by the way), he said, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

Paul said this to King Agrippa. “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:19-20).

We must also tell people about the cross. There can be no authentic gospel presentation without talking about the cross of Jesus Christ. We are not telling people the whole truth unless we tell people about the perfect, sinless, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. If our message is laden with promises of what Jesus will do for them in this life, and we make no mention of what Jesus did on the cross so that they can have eternal life, then we are not speaking the truth. We’re no more than salesmen of a commodity, instead of ambassadors of the King.

Paul wrote to the Romans: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Paul wrote to the Philippians: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

If Faith Comes From Hearing, Then Who Have You Told (Part 3 of 4)

We must also tell people about the cross. There can be no authentic gospel presentation without talking about the cross of Jesus Christ. We are not telling people the whole truth unless we tell people about the perfect, sinless, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. If our message is laden with promises of what Jesus will do for them in this life, and we make no mention of what Jesus did on the cross so that they can have eternal life, then we are not speaking the truth. We’re no more than salesmen of a commodity, instead of ambassadors of the King.

Paul wrote to the Romans: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Paul wrote to the Philippians: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

We must tell people why Jesus went to the cross; namely, to take upon Himself the punishment we deserve for breaking God’s Law and sinning against Him. Jesus Christ, the sinless and spotless Lamb of God, the Son of the Almighty, was literally crushed under the full weight of God’s holy wrath. God’s wrath was poured out on God the Son. In doing so, Jesus Christ made the full and perfect propitiation (the payment) for our sins. He was the perfect and only possible substitute who could and did take our place on the cross.

The cross should have been our cross. It should have been our hands through which the nails were driven. It should have been our feet through which the nails were driven. It should have been our side through which the centurion’s spear was thrust.

Prior to repenting and trusting Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, it should have been us who had the crown of thorns mockingly smashed on our heads. Why? The reason is that before we received the free gift of eternal life, we claimed to be god, through our unbelief and disobedience. But Jesus was and is God! He didn’t deserve that crown of shame and ridicule, but He bore it willingly!

And for those who have not yet turned away from their sin and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, something far worse than six hours on a cross awaits them. God will pour out his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness; and the just penalty will be eternity, not a finite amount of time, in hell.

We must make sure people believe in the only real Jesus—the Jesus of the Scriptures. Jesus is God. He is not a god and the incarnation of Michael the Archangel, as the Jehovah’s witnesses believe. He is not the spirit brother of Lucifer, as the Mormons believe.

He is not a created being as all of the false religions of the world believe—including the two just mentioned. He is not merely a good teacher or a prophet. And He is not merely one path to heaven as the pluralists and ecumenicists would have us believe.

Jesus is Lord! He is God! He is the Alpha and the Omega! He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last! Jesus and the Father are one! He is the only Savior of mankind! He is the way, and the truth, and the life! And, as the writer of Hebrews so beautifully tells us, “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3)!

The god of Mormonism is a dead god, because he never existed. The god of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is a dead god, because he never existed. The gods of the Eastern religions are dead gods, because they never existed. The gods of the ecumenicists and the pluralists are dead gods and merely figments of the imaginations of God’s enemies.

There is only one God; and that one God is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is eternal and alive! He alone is the Lawgiver and Judge. He alone is able to both save and destroy. And we must tell people the truth.

We must tell people that Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords is risen indeed. Why? Well, this is what the apostle Paul told the Corinthian church.

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

And Jesus Christ Himself declared His resurrection. As the apostle John laid eyes on the risen Lord and fell at His feet like a dead man, Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the Living One, and I was (or more literally “became”) dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17b-18).

Yes, we must tell people the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Gospel Must Be Spoken Boldly

The gospel must also be spoken boldly. Proverb 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

So, what is true boldness? Well, here are a few things it is not—at least not here in the United States where there is yet any persecution on a life-threatening level. Boldness is not wearing Christian T-shirts. Boldness is not sporting “No Jesus, No Peace” bumper stickers. Boldness is not allowing your friends see you carry a Bible. Boldness is not loudly playing a Christian radio station or CD in your car.

Some may argue—some of you may argue—that these are small steps of boldness. Are they really? Considering how few professing Christians speak about Christ, may it not be more likely that these are as big a step as professing Christians ever plan to take and they are merely masks for the fear that keeps most professing Christians from taking a single step that would be counted by our Lord and Savior as truly bold?

I was listening to a sermon by Pastor James McDonald this week, and he gave this definition of boldness. “Boldness is openness or candor, especially in the face of hostility, without concern for the response of the hearer.”

When we wear Christian T-shirts and sport Christian bumper stickers, do we really do so without concern for the response of whoever may see us? Or is it that we want people to think we are a Christian, so long as they don’t respond by persecuting us? Are we concerned with what such a display may cost us, or are we merely concerned with how we look?

Is it that we truly want to testify for Jesus, or are we merely identifying ourselves with Jesus? Remember, it still does not cost a person his or her life to identify one’s self with Jesus, in this country—at least not yet. Millions upon millions of people identity with Jesus, but they don’t know Him as Savior and Lord

True boldness for Christ requires openly and candidly speaking about Christ. The Word of God affirms this.

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).

“But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:27-28).

“Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles’” (Acts 13:46).

“Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands” (Act. 14:3).

“And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8).

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20).

“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.

“For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed -- God is witness -- nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority” (1 Thess. 2:1-6).

The gospel must be spoken boldly if we are to bring God honor and glory in our evangelism efforts.

If Faith Comes From Hearing, Then Who Have You Told (Part 4 of 4)

The Gospel Must Be Spoken Lovingly

Finally, the gospel must be spoken lovingly. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). One of the most loving sermons ever preached was Stephen’s sermon, right before he was murdered by those to whom he preached. Let’s take a look at the end of Stephen’s sermon.

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:51-60).

By today’s man-pleasing standards, there are many within the American Church that would consider Stephen, the first Christian martyr, as intolerant, unloving, narrow-minded, and even mean-spirited. Why? It is because Stephen dared to call the people to account for their sin and call them to repentance. So much did Stephen love the people that with his dying breath he asked God to forgiven them for murdering him.

Are you willing to lay down your life to tell lost sinners the truth about their present, spiritual condition and their only hope for surviving God’s impending holy wrath and judgment? No? Then, my friend, you don’t really love lost people. Yeah, I know that stings. But what other conclusion can be drawn?

So many pastors, so many Christians have set aside love for the lost for a desire to entertain, please, and coddle the lost. Or their desire is to be loved by the lost, no matter what it may cost the unsaved in the end.

And the false converts among the American Church who either stands on this side of the pulpit or sitting in pews and chairs of American churches do the same thing but, sadly, their motives are less innocuous than that of the true believers who think they are helping unbelievers by shielding them from the truth. The false converts within the American Church do such things because they are inherently evil, which is evidenced by the way they knowingly and wantonly, for their own personal, financial and worldly gain, mislead people into the gates of hell.

Friends, the most loving thing you can ever do for a lost soul is willingly sacrifice your own comforts, safety, and reputation before a secular world—or even before the church—in order to tell lost souls the truth about the Law and the Gospel. The most loving thing you can do is set aside your fear of man because you care so much about the eternal destination of the souls of men. The most loving thing you can do is set aside your love of self and lay down your life, if need be, to see to it that lost people hear the Law and the Gospel.

Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Notice there is no caveat in Jesus’ words. There is no exception given for obedience. There is not a category of commands from which a believer can choose their favorite exemption. If we truly love Jesus, then we will keep His commandments—all of them—including evangelism.

Yes, we can love lost people in ways other than through evangelism. And we should. Some of you love in other ways that makes it clear to any discerning eye that you are gifted in the way you show love to others.

Maybe it’s through your prayers for others. Maybe it’s the way you selflessly serve others. I think of Zach McIntosh and the way that young man truly cared for the elder statesmen and women in our church, through his service and friendship to them. Maybe you do the same for your lost neighbors.

Maybe you love lost people through random, spontaneous giving—such as food for a homeless person you come across on the street. Maybe you’re the kind of person people turn to for a brotherly or sisterly, or motherly or fatherly hug. Maybe you’re the person who can be counted on for a word of encouragement.

Yes, we can love lost people in ways other than through evangelism. But if we truly love Jesus, then we will obey all of His commands—including the command to reach lost people with the Law and the Gospel—to go and make disciples of every nation. If we truly love lost, hell-bound people, we will go above and beyond performing acts of kindness toward them and speak the truth in love to them.

Conclusion

The proclamation of the gospel, the sharing of the gospel, must be a spoken message. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Lost people bound for hell must hear the gospel to believe the gospel. The gospel must be spoken truthfully, boldly, and lovingly.

So, if faith comes from hearing, then who have you told?

Think about the birth of your child or your grandchild. How many people did you tell? How quickly were you on the phone after you received word regarding the birth of the child? How concerned were you about whether or not the person on the other end of the phone wanted to hear the news? Think back. Nothing stopped you from sharing the good news regarding the birth of your child or grandchild. You made phone calls, you now can send pictures to the world via the Internet (and you know you do). You sent out birth announcements. You spared no expense to get the word out about your child or grandchild.

Do you remember your first car? Mine was a 1968 AMC Javelin. It was pearl white, with a black vinyl top. It was a V8 with only 7 V’s that worked. But it could fly! Remember how excited you were when you got your first car? Did you tell people about it? Did you show your car to your friends? Did it matter at all if your friends thought their car was better than yours? Come on. Be honest. Somewhere in a box maybe tucked away under a bed or a in closet, you have a picture of you standing next to your first car.

How about when you became engaged to be married? Did you tell anyone? Did you show off your ring? Did you call friends and family members? How about your neighbors and co-workers?

Maybe for some of you your wedding was a covert operation. But I would hazard a guess that most of you who are married told as many people as you could about your wedding. Did you worry about whether or not divorced people might get upset if you told them about your wedding? Were you at all concerned about what others thought about the institution of marriage? Be honest. You told whoever would listen that you were getting married.

Think about it. You would not hold your baby up in front of someone and say nothing. You would tell the person your baby’s name, age, birth weight and length, and everything else of importance about your baby. You wouldn’t drive up to a friend’s house in your new car and say nothing about your car. Even though the car is new, you know everything there is to know about your car and you are eager to tell people about it. You wouldn’t walk into a party with your new fiancé on your arm and not tell anyone that the person who was your boyfriend or girlfriend yesterday is now your future spouse.

So, “if faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” then who have you told? If you are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, is there anything more precious to you then the free gift of eternal life you have received by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone? If you are a genuine follower of Jesus Christ, then are there any of His holy commands you will not obey?

If you didn’t hesitate to tell people about the birth of a child or the purchase of a new car, or your engagement to be married, then why would you not tell people about the name that is above every name, including the name of your child or grandchild? Why would you not tell people about the eternal treasure that no moth or rust will ever destroy? Why would you not tell people about how you have been chosen by God to be part of the Bride of Christ? Could it be that you do not love Him as much as these? Could it be that you do not love Christ as much as you love the world, the things and people in the world, or your own life? If this is true about you, then you must examine yourselves! Test yourselves to see if you are even in the faith!

If you are here this morning and you entered this place of worship knowing in your heart that you are not right with God, let me assure you that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. And you have heard the word of Christ throughout this morning’s sermon.

Unless you repent of your sins against God, unless, by faith, you turn from your sins and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will remain not a child of God, but a child of wrath, until the day He sentences you to eternity in hell as the just punishment for your sins against Him.

The good news (and I’m glad to tell you the good news) is that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to earth 2,000 years ago. He was born of a virgin and He lived a perfect sinless life. He died a horrible, undeserved, bloody death on the cross. There, He suffered. He was literally crushed under the weight of His Father’s wrath—the wrath you rightly deserve for your sins against God. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the death sentence you deserve for every time you have broken God’s Law. Three days later, He rose from the dead, forever defeating death. He is alive today. And He is returning soon!

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” And so I’m telling you, I’m begging you, please, turn away from your sins, ask God to forgive you, and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is the most loving thing I will ever say to you. This is the most loving thing anyone will ever say to you.

And Christian, I ask you the question one more time. If faith comes from hearing, then who have you told?

People Were Stunned :-)

That's right. That was the overwhelming reaction to our "Reverse Trick-or-Treating" effort tonight.

A dozen people from my church family (pictured above) joined me for a 2-hour walk through the neighborhood surrounding our church. Each time we knocked on a door and we told the person who answered that we didn't want any candy, but rather wanted to give them something, they said, "You wanna do what?" They were stunned, amazed, and (for the most part) appreciative.

Toward the end of the evening I think we were all getting a little giddy. At a couple of houses, when the person came to the door, they were immediately met with an enthusiastic chorus of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." :-)

We distributed at least a couple of hundred tracts. We only had one lady refuse to take a tract, but everyone else took them with a smile on their face.

Behind the Scenes of Way of the Master Radio (10-31-07)

When I was a kid and my dad asked me if I wanted to go fishing, I was usually out the door with gear in hand and to the car, before my dad finished his sentence. Such was the case when Hip-Hop from Way of the Master Radio called me today and asked if I could "pinch-fish" on today's show.

So, it was back to the Santa Clarita Superior Courthouse for me and Amanda (my trusty camera person and 13-year-old daughter). When we first arrived, there were very few people out and about. But I keyed on one young man as he walked out of the library. He was carrying a paperback book in his right hand. I watched him as he walked toward the courthouse and made himself comfortable on the courtyard steps. He settled in to read his book.

I moved a little closer and behind the young man. I peered over his shoulder to see what he was reading. Since he was Hispanic, I wanted to see if the book was in English or Spanish. (I'm going to take Spanish at the local community college, starting next semester, so I can learn how to communicate the gospel to a very large people group in our area.) The book was in English. The title of the book: "Perfect Poison--A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine."

I try not to contact people to early before the segment begins. I don't want them to get bored or "chicken" while waiting to get on the phone. But I had a sense that this young man was the one for the first hour, so I contacted him, introduced myself, explained what I was doing, and asked if he would like to be on the radio. Without hesitation, he agreed. His name was Eloy (19).

Listen to Eloy's conversation with Ray and Todd. Before putting him on the phone, Eloy told me he considered himself to be a good person. But within moments of giving him the phone Eloy readily admitted to Ray that he deserved hell.

I had a great conversation with Eloy following his time on the radio. Eloy was very humble. Listen to our conversation.

After we said good-bye to Eloy, Amanda just looked at me and said, "Wow." I took my little girl by the shoulders and said, "Honey, it's so important that you understand something. The Lord allows us to serve Him. He allows us to do what we do, here, at the courthouse. He allows us. It is a privilege to share the gospel with people like Eloy. What we're doing is not work. It's hard sometimes, but it is not work. It's a precious gift. Eloy might come to repentance and faith. And if he does, God allowed us to bring him the gospel. Honey, what I want for you and your sisters is to share in the great joy I'm allowed to experience every time I share the gospel with someone."

Amanda put her arms around me and gave me a wonderful hug. We watched Eloy as he walked away, and we prayed that he would come to genuine repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a beautiful capstone to a wonderful witnessing encounter.

Adam (22) was our guest for the second hour. Like Eloy, he was at the courthouse for a "criminal matter." But unlike Eloy, Adam was not humble--at least not outwardly. Due to time constraints, I didn't have a chance to conduct a follow-up conversation with Adam.

Ray and Todd's conversation with Adam was interesting. He told Ray that he was certain about his innocence regarding his court case. Yet his court case had already been adjudicated and he was at the courthouse for a progress report. While his case was settled without judicial penalty, he was not innocent. And when Ray took him through the Law, he continued to assert his innocence--but this time before God's courtroom.

Sadly, Adam's self-righteousness had blinded him to the truth that he was not right with God. He was only right with God in his own mind. It was, however, good to hear that Adam was thinking about reading the Bible. Adam said many of the "right" things, but is he saved? While I have my doubts, only God knows for sure.

It was another good day of fishing! :-)

Behind the Scenes of Way of the Master Radio (10-30-07)

There were a lot of fish in the pond, at the Santa Clarita Superior Courthouse; but not all of them were biting. I received a lot of "no thank you" responses from people I asked to be on the show. But each person who said no received a million dollars for allowing me to take a moment of their time. :-)

The Lord also gave me the opportunity to put the gospel into the hands of a couple of "off-the-streeters." For those unfamiliar with the term "off-the-streeter," allow me to explain. An "off-the-streeter" is a person who has been hired by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department as a recruit. While these young men and women await their academy assignment to begin, they work in administrative positions (shuffling papers, running errands, menial tasks, etc)--aka. "off-the-street" positions.

That was probably more information than you either wanted or needed, but anyways.....

As Amanda and I walked through the civic center complex looking for candidates for today's show, we saw two young men, seated at a table, selling small stuffed animals to raise funds for the local sheriff's department youth athletic league. Yes, I bought one. :-)

I had seen the young men around the station, but we had never been formally introduced. I let them know I was their chaplain (Yes, recruits are people in need of love and support, too.) After some small talk, Amanda and I walked back to our car. I pulled a couple copies of my book out the trunk, signed them, and returned to the "off-the streeters." I handed them the books and said, "Here's a gift for you. Chapter One is proof that if I can make it through the academy, you guys shouldn't have any problem."

Our guest for the first hour of the show was Joshua (pictured above). Joshua is 20-years-old. His reason for being at the courthouse was to take care of a speeding ticket. Joshua considered himself to be a good person. And he was rather matter-of-fact in his assertion that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.

I put Joshua on the phone with Ray and Todd. Once the conversation was over, I asked Joshua my standard opening question. "So, how did it go."

With some nervous laughter, Joshua said, "Very interesting. I wasn't expecting to go through that today."

I won't spoil the rest of the conversation for you. Click here to listen to my conversation with Joshua. He makes some very interesting observations about his generation, while coming to the realization that his generation's perspectives regarding life, truth, and eternity does not get them off the hook when it comes to facing God on Judgment Day.

I found my conversation with Joshua to be an encouraging affirmation that this generation can be reached with the Law and the Gospel--sharing the truth the way Jesus did.

Our guest for the second hour of the show was Tim (pictured to the left with his friend, Jessica). Unlike Joshua, Tim did not appear to be humbled by the Law. Tim was mired in his post-modern mindset--so much so that we never did get to the gospel. My conversation with Tim was brief (he had to get to court), but I think you will find it informative.

As a deputy sheriff, I spent most of my adult life watching and reading people. Sometimes I was watchful to make sure the person with whom I was speaking didn't try to kill me. Other times, particularly during interrogations, I was watchful because the look on a person's face or their body language often gave me insight into the veracity or fallacy of what the person was telling me.

Check out this picture of Jessica. Take a good look at the expression on her face. I've given this photo the title, "I'm Not Buyin' It." This was the look Jessica gave Tim as he tried to justify some of his points of view regarding his character and beliefs.

Although Jessica wasn't buying what Tim was saying, she had her own set of beliefs that were every bit as "out there" as Tim's--maybe even more so. While Tim was on the phone with Ray and Todd, I asked Jessica if she believed everyone will go to heaven. She said, "yes." When I asked her if Hitler was in heaven, she hesitantly said, "Maybe. I think so." She suggested that even though Hitler was responsible for the slaughter of millions of people and took his own life to avoid being captured and held accountable for what he did, he might have been sorry. And if he was sorry, he might have gone to heaven. Yikes!

Unfortunately, Tim's court appearance cut our time short. But I left them each with a half-dozen tracts, a copy of How To Live Forever Without Being Religious, and a copy of the Hollywood and God DVD.

Joshua, Tim, and Jessica--please pray for them. Pray that the Lord will bring all three of them to genuine repentance and faith.

It was another good day of fishing. :-)

My Testimony

The following is an excerpt from my book, Take Up The Shield.

I graduated from the sheriff’s academy on September 18, 1987. My first assignment was a medium-security jail facility. What a culture shock! I had led a pretty sheltered life up to that point. Nothing in my experience, or during my time in the academy for that matter, could have prepared me for life inside the jail. I quickly learned that the rules there were similar to the animal kingdom. It was survival of the fittest with the strong preying upon the weak.

I worked very hard in the jail to prove myself as a competent deputy. In a month’s time, I often made more than twenty felony arrests of inmates for weapons and drug charges. Remember, these are people who are already incarcerated. I was told that there were a couple of months in which I made more arrests than entire shifts at some of the slower patrol stations. I was completely consumed by my work. I lived it. I breathed it. I looked at each day in the jail as my preparation for the day I would work the streets. That was my ultimate goal—to be the best street cop in the department. And the inmates I guarded served as a means to that end. My only concern for them was how they could provide me with my next arrest stat, or what they could tell me about life on the streets.

A sergeant, who had been one of my firearms instructors in the academy, took me under his wing. He soon made me a training officer for newly assigned deputies, so I thought his interest in me was strictly professional. He was considered a “cop’s cop” who had “been there, done that,” having worked some of the toughest streets in the county. Known for his no-nonsense approach to police work, he had the stories to back it up. He was “old school,” and that impressed me. However, the sergeant was concerned with more than just my career path. He was concerned about where I would spend eternity. Eternity was a subject I hadn’t thought much about.

My early years were spent in one of many small steel-mill towns in western Pennsylvania where the predominant religion was Roman Catholicism. The predominant ethnicity of the area was eastern European (Czech, Polish, etc.). Being of Italian extraction, my family attended the Roman Catholic Church downtown with other Italians, instead of one of the several parishes that dotted the hillsides surrounding our home.

I dreaded going to church, especially catechism classes. The nuns were unfriendly. The priests were intimidating and unapproachable, and they often spoke in a language I didn’t understand. Sunday, as far as I was concerned, was a day God created so that kids like me could play baseball. In fact, the other six days of the week were made for the same activity. As James Earl Jones said, while playing the role of a blind former Negro League baseball great in The Sandlot, “Baseball was life. And I was good at it.” But as an Italian kid growing up in western Pennsylvania, you went to church, like it or not.

I grew up believing what I had been taught: that Jesus was the Son of God, that He came to earth and was born of a virgin, that He died on the cross, and that He rose from the dead. But I also grew up believing all Italians went to heaven.

I believed that heaven was a real place. I believed that hell was a real place (which was any place not within walking distance of a baseball field). I believed that if I did more good than bad in my life, when the time came, I would be able to talk God into letting me into heaven. After all, God must be a reasonable guy. But what I thought of God as a “person” soon soured.

When I was about nine or ten years old, my younger sister was very ill and missed her first confession. In the Catholic Church, confession was an important and necessary step toward receiving her first communion. In order for her to advance with the rest of her catechism class, she needed to go to confession before her first communion. For whatever reason, we were unable to go to our parish. My mom dressed my sister in her pretty communion dress and told me to walk her down the hill to a nearby parish so that the priest could hear her first confession.

That was the last thing I wanted to do. The priest at the parish down the hill was a scary guy. For some reason, he didn’t approve of my friends and me playing baseball in the vacant lot adjacent to the church. (It probably had something to do with the stained glass windows we broke from time to time with our deep drives to center field.) In any case, the last thing I wanted to do was come face to face with that parish priest.

But, being a young man of courage, I did what I had to do. I took my sister by the hand and walked her down the hill to the church. That’s where my courage stopped. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and told my sister to walk up and knock on the door of the church. I had knocked on the door and run too many times before to knock on the door and actually wait for someone to answer. “Ding-dong Ditch” was another popular game among the kids in my town.

My sister made her way up the stairs. The doors looked even bigger with my little sister walking toward them. I told her to hurry up and that I would be waiting for her outside when she was done. My sister knocked on the door. I hoped against hope that no one would answer. My hopes were dashed when I heard the door creak and I watched, petrified, as it slowly opened.

My sister looked up at the priest who stuck his head out the door. She told him that she was there to have him hear her first confession. He looked at her with no love or compassion in his eyes, and he said, “Go away. Your kind is not welcome here.” He closed the door leaving my little sister standing alone at the top of the stairs.

I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I remember thinking, What kind of God has a guy like that working for Him? I walked my dejected little sister home. That baseball season, I swung for those stained glass windows with a little more determination. I never wanted to go to church again. As far as I was concerned, God was like that old priest—mean and unapproachable. But, believing He was still God, I tried not to tick Him off too much.

My family soon moved away from Pennsylvania. Within a couple of years, my mom and dad divorced. I was beginning to doubt if God had any control whatsoever over what happens on earth. And I was mad at Him. What did I ever do to Him? I thought. So I stopped thinking about Him altogether.

Instead, I found a new god—sports. After my parents divorced and things were tough at home (and they often were), I escaped into sports. When I was sad or lonely, I found comfort in sports. When I needed encouragement or clarity of mind, I found it in sports. When I needed to hear how good I was, I heard it from those who watched me play sports.

But by the time I turned 15, I no longer found myself at the front of the pack, at the top of the heap of my sports world. Other kids, the really good athletes, were passing me by. The recognition I once received was now going to others. My god was turning its back on me, the same way God had turned His back on me so many times (so I believed).

So, I gave up on sports, just like I gave up on God.

For the next several years, I tried to fill the void that the absence of sports left in my life with other things and with other people—namely people of the opposite sex. Along the way, I thought about giving God “another shot,” but quickly dismissed such ideas as foolishness.

Then I met the woman who would become my wife. Besides being beautiful and kind, she didn’t expect me to spend my entire paycheck (such as it was) on her. She genuinely seemed more concerned about what she could do for me than about what I would do for her. That was a switch. That kind of relationship was new to me.

She was also very committed to her church. She considered the people in her church to be an extension of her own family. That too seemed novel to me. Being curious, and wanting to get the girl, I agreed to go to church with her. I found that the people were friendly enough. The pastor was friendly enough. After awhile, I even started singing in the choir. I wore a robe with a big cross on the front. God had to appreciate that. Maybe this would be my ticket back into God’s good graces.

Three years later, my wife and I were married. Like singing in the choir, I thought for sure that marrying a churchgoing woman would bring me closer to God. I thought that God would use her to fill the void in my heart. And, for the better part of a year, it seemed like this would be the case. But, once the newness of married life started to wear off, I began to sense that familiar emptiness returning to my heart and mind.

Frustrated with myself and with God, I thought, All right. If going to church and singing in the choir aren’t enough, if marrying a wonderful woman isn’t enough, then maybe I need to get a better job. I saw a recruitment ad in the local newspaper for the sheriff ’s department. I had never considered being a cop before I saw that ad. I thought, What better way to get God’s approval than working in a profession in which I get to fight evil and save the world? My wife did not share my enthusiasm. I applied anyway.

During the application process, we learned that my wife was pregnant. I was hired by the Sheriff’s Department, and was ready to begin my academy training. I thought for sure that God was smiling on me now. Six days later, on March 17, our first child, was born.

I had a beautiful wife. I belonged to a church. I was beginning a great career. And now I had a new baby. What more could God expect of me? I was doing everything I had been told a good person does. He had to approve of me now. I was beginning to see God as good and loving for the first time in many years. Unfortunately, this view would be short-lived.

My daughter was born in the evening. I remember showing her to my dad and hearing him say that he was proud of me. Once I made sure that my wife and baby were okay, I had a little dinner and went home. Needless to say, I was a bit excited. I couldn’t sit still, let alone go to sleep. So, around midnight, I called the hospital to check on my family. My family. Boy, did that have a great ring to it.

When a nurse answered the phone, I proudly introduced myself as my little girl’s daddy. She asked me to wait a minute and put me on hold. Another nurse picked up the line a minute or two later. “We think you should come back down to the hospital. Your daughter isn’t doing well. We’re not sure what’s wrong with her. And your wife is very sick. You should get here as soon as you can.”

To this day, it brings tears to my eyes as I remember the myriad thoughts that went through my mind as I hung up the phone. One thing I recall very clearly is looking up, raising a clenched fist toward the ceiling, and yelling, “Where are You now, God? Do You hate me so much that You’re going to hurt my family?”

My daughter spent the first two weeks of her life in the intensive care unit. The list of her medical problems seemed endless, and included a heart murmur, jaundice, underdeveloped kidneys, a curvature of the spine, and several other medical issues. This precious little girl who, just hours before, was declared to be perfectly healthy, was now fighting for her life. And my wife was suffering from a very high fever and dangerously high blood pressure.

I spent every free moment at the hospital. Since the academy had not yet started, the Sheriff ’s Department was understanding and gave me the time off I needed. I remember sitting in a rocking chair next to my daughter’s bed. I held her in my arms, crying when she cried—wanting to make all of her fear, pain, and discomfort go away. I promised her that I would never let anyone hurt her. And when I said “anyone,” I included God.

My daughter’s health slowly improved and my little family made it through my time at the academy. But we weren’t out of the woods yet.

If work was stressful, my home life was even more so. My daughter’s medical problems seemed never ending. She was seeing specialists for almost every major organ of her body. The constant trips to doctor’s offices and hospitals—never knowing for sure what was wrong with our baby—put a great deal of strain on my relationship with my wife. We had moved so I could be closer to work, but we were now far from our families. We weren’t going to church. We had no friends. We never went out because we were constantly dealing with our daughter’s illnesses.

I think one reason I put so much effort into my work as a deputy sheriff was to dull the pain from everything else that was going on in my life. Controlling the inmates became an outlet for the lack of control I was feeling at home. My wife had no such outlet. My family was a mess. My marriage was a mess. Work was hardening me to the world and everyone around me. I was even starting to treat my wife like the inmates I loathed. Throughout it all, I was angry with God. I did everything I could to be a good person—no one could accuse me of not being a hard worker—but no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake the feeling that God had turned His back on me.

One night at work, I overheard the sergeant talking to a group of deputies about his faith. Remember, even though I was ticked off at God, I still believed in Him. I walked up to the group and added my two cents to the conversation. “I’m a Christian,” I said. “I sing in the choir.” The sergeant looked at me and said two words: “That’s nice.”

I walked away feeling like a complete hypocrite. In my heart, I knew I wasn’t really a Christian. I didn’t even know what it meant to be a real Christian, but I knew I wasn’t one. I didn’t think prayer would make me a Christian. As far as I was concerned, prayer had never accomplished anything. So, once again I poured over my mental laundry list of things I had done in an attempt to get closer to God. The only thing I could think of that I hadn’t yet tried was reading the Bible.

Not being an avid reader, I figured I could just start at the end of the book to see how it all ends. I lived on “Cliff Notes” in high school. So I opened a Bible to the Book of Revelation. I began to read about beasts coming out of the water, dragons, and bowls of judgment. I closed the book thinking, That’s the god I know—always angry about something. The next month or so was a time of deep reflection and spiritual struggle.

Finally, God brought me to the realization that there was nothing I could do to earn His love and acceptance. I could never be good enough to merit a place in heaven. And God allowed me to see that there was yet one thing I had never done in all of my feeble attempts to draw closer to Him. I had never surrendered my life to Him.

The Lord opened my eyes to see that sports had never really been my god. My attempts to fill the so-called void in my heart with my wife and child, and a career as a deputy sheriff only served to mask the truth about my heart. God showed me that I was my god. Up to that point, my interest in Him was only to the extent that it pleased me. I wrongly saw God as being responsible for serving me, for making me happy.

For the first time, I saw my behavior and my attitudes toward God and others not as shortcomings and mistakes, but for what they really were—sin. I realized that my sin—even one sin, no matter how slight in my own mind—was enough to warrant His righteous judgment and the sentence of hell for all eternity.

I thought of Jesus dying on the cross for my sin. Once I understood that “the wages of sin is death,” I saw His sacrifice in a way that I had never seen it before. His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection was now so much more than the historic event I had learned about as a child in catechism. That horrific, magnificent moment in history was now very personal. It was personal because I now realized that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, didn’t simply die on the cross. He died on the cross for me. He loved me so much that He sacrificed His perfect, innocent, sinless life in order to provide me with the only way to eternal life.

God was no longer an unknowable entity sitting in yonder heaven. He was my God. He was my heavenly Father. He loved me enough to send His Son to die on my behalf. My God was loving, holy, righteous, and just. He extended to me the free gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ—not because I earned it or could ever deserve it, but because He is perfectly gracious and merciful.

On September 4, 1988, while lying alone on my bed, I cried out to God to forgive me and save me from His just and holy wrath, which is the consequence of my sins against Him. I surrendered control of my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I asked Him to change my life and show me how to live for Him, instead of for myself. And He was and is forever faithful. He heard my prayer and answered, extending to a sinner like me the free gift of eternal life—a gift that is given by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.