Big Numbers?

Do You Want Big Numbers?

how do you grow church numbers

How do you grow Church numbers?

I cannot imagine a congregation of the Lord’s people who would not want their numbers to increase. In the book of Acts we find growth. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41) “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47) “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” (Acts 5:14) It seems clear to me that the early church grew, and I believe there are some fundamental reasons why.

  1. Starting in Acts, chapter two, the apostles preached the gospel. Paul stated it best in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
  2. The gospel they preached was without compromise. Paul told young Timothy to preach “in season, out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). This simply means to preach the truth without fear or favor. The gospel they preached was Christ – centered. These New Testament preachers were not self – promoters. The church at Corinth had a problem understanding the difference between the preacher and the message of Christ. Paul wrote to them concerning this in First Corinthians: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I baptized in mine own name.” (1 Corinthians 1:10 – 15). Paul was not worried about how many people he had baptized. He saw the difference in promoting Christ and promoting himself.

There are other ways to increase your numbers, but they certainly would not be legitimate.

  1. You could go the entertainment route. The main problem with this approach is that we simply have no authority to do it. I am sure we could have bigger crowds if we were to have plays, music shows, and such, but, typically, when the “fun and games” are gone, so are the people.
  2. You could soften the preaching, but, this, too, is not in accordance with God’s plan.
  3. You could campaign for members from other congregations, but this is unethical, unfair, and only gives the illusion of growth, not true growth. We find none of this type of growth in the New Testament church.
  4. You could adopt an “open – door policy.” This could be carried out by accepting people without expecting true conversion. Some churches will accept people without regard for the words of our Lord in Luke 13:3: “I tell you, Nay: but, except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” You could take into your membership a couple in an unscriptural marriage, but this would violate Matthew 19:9.

I love the Lord’s Church and want to see growth, but not for my own ego. I simply want to preach the word and let God give the increase rather than doing unscriptural and unethical things to draw big crowds.

Rick Tincher

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God’s Promises

Staggering Promises

gods promises will never fail hes a promise keeper

God’s Promises will never fail. He’s a Promise Keeper.

When Paul said that God “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17), he laid the foundation for all that is involved in hope. Hope enables us to see the invisible. The apostle also said, “Hope that is seen is no longer hope” (Rom. 8:24). We do not walk by sight, but by a faith rooted in what God has promised. Things we are unable to see physically are seen through the eyes of faith as clearly as though they did. This truth is best understood by looking at Abraham’s hope.

God’s promises to Abraham were staggering, but not to Abraham. How was it possible that a man well beyond the age most men have children and a woman whose age gave no hope of ever giving birth would be parents so late in life? Yet, when God promised this would happen, “Abraham staggered not at the promise of God” (Rom. 4:20, KJV).

God’s promises are staggering to most. Atheists mock our faith by saying, “Do not give me my pie in the sky by and by. I want my pie before I die.” The ancients said, “Let us eat, drink for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32). This view of life might bring momentary “pleasure,” but the future is filled with hopelessness. His promises are also staggering to those with weak faith, but Abraham’s faith was strong (Rom. 4:19).

God’s staggering promises allow the faithful to ignore external circumstances. In the midst of adversity, many turn their attention to their problems, but this was not the focus of the hope on which Abraham made life’s choices. The Bible said that he did not consider the “facts” and did not waver in unbelief (Rom. 4:19-20). Instead of looking outward, he looked upward. The hope that governed Abraham is the same hope we have when we anchor our faith in Christ.

God’s staggering promises are tied to the nature of God. Abraham knew that what God had promised He was able to perform. Throughout the Bible, the faithfulness of God is affirmed eleven times, but it is implied in every dealing mankind has with Him. God says it, and that settles it! When we embrace His faithfulness our view of life and its problems are drastically changed.

God’s promises have never failed, not even one time. When the Jews had conquered Canaan, the Divine record said, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Josh. 21:45). Not even one word! This is why we can anchor our hope in the Lord and trust every single promise He has made. Anchor your faith in Him, and then when you come to the end of your life, you can look back and know that not a single word of all his promises have failed!  Anchor your hope in Him!

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Corinthian Division

Learning from Corinthian Division

Today, in most communities, you do not have to look hard to see division in the Church. There are typically 2-3 or more congregations in any selected town when there was once one. How did this occur? For our discussion, it is really irrelevant, but none the less, sad. Typically, the resulting congregations have little interaction to none between one another and view the Christians in the other buildings in a jaded light as if they were not the Lord’s Children, our brothers and sisters, at all.

are growth differences causing division

Are growth differences causing division?

Division in the Church is no just tied to the external. There is frequent division within as well. By verse 10 of I Corinthians chapter 1, Paul is expressing his concern over the division in the Corinthians Church. He desired them to be of one mind. I knew a preacher once who believed everyone in the building believed the same exact thing. When confronted with the idea that that harmony did not exist, he demanded to know names! Though we desire harmony in all things, one cannot force growth. The Corinthian Church had spiritual gifts and an Apostle of Christ to come to proper instruction, yet, their unity was not complete.

The Corinthian letter starts with the mention of division, then the letter expresses where this division (from the teachings of Christ) is occurring. Chapter one through four discusses the foolishness of men’s teachings versus the need to rely on God. Chapter five examines willful, defiant sin and notes it is not appropriate to be patient with such, but to separate ourselves from it. Chapter six discusses the Christians defrauding one another. Chapter seven examines disfunction in the marriage. Chapters eight through ten detail the harming of other Christians by putting a stumbling block in their way even in matters of conscience. Paul calls upon the Corinthians to remember the example of sinful Israel and to avoid such worldliness. Chapter 11 further examines separation from the law of Christ even to the extent of improperly taking the Lord’s Supper. In chapters 12 through 14, it is seen even the Spiritual Gifts given by God to strengthen the early Church, were being improperly viewed. Paul establishes these things would end, but faith, hope, and love should be embraced. Finally, the pinnacle of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus Himself, is discussed in Chapter 15. There were some Christians that were denying the resurrection of man!

Now consider these verses from the first Chapter and 16th Chapter of Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1:1-3 – Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 16:20 – All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

In a letter written to address the division of the Corinthians from the Word of God, divisions which caused fractions within the local congregation, how is it that Paul refers to these sin committing people as the Church of God, Sanctified, Saints, and Brethren? Notice Paul even sends greetings from other congregations of the Lord’s Church? Should they not be shunning interaction with every disagreement? Should they not be dropping any relationship with these people leaving only one sided discussions of scripture until the other yields? The Corinthian letter gives us only one such example of separation. The chapter 5 example of the man who had his father’s wife was a sin so obvious that even the Gentiles (world) understood it to be wrong. Yet, the man continued in the sin. Separation was imperative! Yet, I ask you to consider how many differences there are yet in body of Christ as we continue to grow and mature. Perhaps it’s time that a bit more patience is had with growth issues. Perhaps greeting and loving those brothers and sisters who are desperately trying to do the right thing but are not completely harmonious with His Word, will better aid their development. Are we the judges of the exact time an individual has enough growth and study to embrace a certain teaching of scripture? We certainly are judges of our brothers and sisters (I Cor. 5:12). We are Keepers of one another’s souls. However, have we been busier growing and sharpening our Christianity with our brothers and sisters, or busier murmuring against them while we avoid interaction with them? Are we still pointing to the one time or two times we tried to study with them, or are we busy trying to continually study with them? Are we avoiding entire congregations due to the attitude of one or two people, or are we approaching our brothers and sisters one by one striving to find unity with God?

My fellow Christians, I ask you not to every turn an eye to sin, I simply ask you to recognize the attitude we extend to our brothers and sisters when we believe there is a difference as to how we view scripture. Is the difference because through our earnest study we see the issue differently? Then lovingly study more. Is the difference because of willful sin? Then we have authority to separate. I suggest to you that separation occurs far more for improper reasons than proper ones and this ought not be.

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A Good Samaritan’s Love

A Good Samaritan’s Love

I know that Luke 10:25-37 holds a special place in the hearts of many Christians. When we consider the love and mercy demonstrated by the Good Samaritan in the story that Jesus told a certain lawyer, we are even today able to glean many necessary and valuable lessons. Please consider just a few of these with me.

Love involves the activity of service. Love motivates one to be busy doing something—love serves! We find the word “do” three times in this passage (10:25, 28, 37). Now, if we go back and look at the question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” and the answer, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…and thy neighbor as thyself,” then we see that love does! Jesus said, “This do!” (10:28, 37). There is the activity—we often think about love as being an emotion or sentiment, but that is not what the Bible discusses when it talks about love. It talks about love that is active—it does something—it is not just a feeling or emotion. That is the reason that we can love our enemies (cf. Matt. 5:44), because it is not an emotion. I would have a real problem if loving an enemy involved an emotional love, but when it involves doing and showing concern for his welfare, I can do that—I can do good things to him, although he may be an enemy.

Love is practical. The lawyer asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” That is a theological, religious question. Look what Jesus did—He took that question out of the temple and just put it down on the rugged road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and said, “There is your answer.” How many of us would think about finding the answer to a religious, controversial question outside of the church building somewhere on the roadside? Jesus said that the answer to the question is down on the road! In other words, He was saying that it was practical, and we should learn about this. If Luke 10:27 is active in our lives, then it means that there is activity outside of the church building—the activity of loving God and loving neighbor puts us down on the roadside where people are in need. More of us may be as this lawyer than there are those who are as this Samaritan. I am afraid that I have been too many times as the lawyer and not enough as the Samaritan. In addition, one of the significant things characteristic of Luke is that all the way through, the people to whom he refers are relatively unimportant as far as specificity—in other words, the people involved are unnamed. This is one of Luke’s “certain” men as Christ describes (Luke uses this word “certain” 43 times in his gospel). Thus, the gospel of Christ is not selective about for whom it is intended—it is for everybody! Love is practical!

Love sees things differently (10:33). The priest and the Levite saw exactly the same man in the same condition as the Samaritan did, but they saw something different from what he saw. Is that not a strange thing? Love sees things differently!

Love is costly. The flexibility of his schedule cost him some time. He went through some expense and effort (10:34-35). He saw that the innkeeper was paid—that is cost! David knew this valuable lesson (2 Sam. 24:24), and we are to learn it, too!

Therefore, there is much to learn from a Good Samaritan’s love!

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Led of the Spirit

Spirit Led

In Galatians 5:16-18, Paul wrote,

how exactly are you spirit led

How exactly are you spirit led?

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

I have serious doubts as to whether Paul is contrasting the lust of the flesh with the Holy Spirit. I realize the word “Spirit,” is capitalized, which alludes to the Holy Spirit, but I also realize that this is nothing more than an opinion of translators, and they have been incorrect a time or two. Rather, I believe the context dictates that Paul is discussing the conflict between one’s flesh (the outer man) and one’s spirit (the inner man). We are a dual-natured person (2 Cor. 4:16); as such, Satan seeks to use one’s flesh as a means of dominating his mind and spirit by doing what the flesh craves instead of his spirit, instructed by the word of God, controlling his flesh.

For example, when Paul said, “I buffet my body” (1 Cor. 9:27 ASV), he was alluding to himself personally as a Christian whose flesh was constantly struggling to gain the advantage so that he wanted to do what the flesh wants and not what his spirit knew best as guided by the gospel. Thus, when one allows his inward man to control him, then he does not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

In fact, the denominational concept is that the Holy Spirit dominates and controls one’s life. If the Holy Spirit controlled the flesh personally, then how could one ever sin? The Holy Spirit would be guilty of falling down on His job and allowing one to sin! Yet, one sins whenever the flesh affects and controls the inward self—heart and mind (cf. 2 Cor. 1:12). The flesh influences his mind and thinking to the degree that it controls the way that he acts. Thus, one must be sure that he does not allow the flesh to get the upper hand and control him so that he does whatever the flesh desires instead of what the mind, directed and influenced by the gospel of Christ, tells him what to do. Therefore, the influence of the gospel in one’s mind and heart should dominate and control one’s life.

In fact, the ever-growing danger in the church today is that brethren are talking about the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit helping people overcome sin. Some say it helps them overcome carnality. I heard of one man who enumerated six or seven things that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit enabled him to do. As a result, it is only a matter of time before they end up accepting the impossibility of apostasy. That is a strange development! How did people in the Old Testament live holy lives without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? How did they manage to live and serve God faithfully? They did so through the teaching of the law, the prophets and the instructions of God (Ps. 119:11). Why do we think it is any different today?

What did Paul mean when he said, “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31)? There is a battle that is ongoing, seeking to keep the flesh in check by the continual study of the Bible and by filling our minds and hearts with it (Ps. 119:11). If one keeps his mind and thoughts filled with the word of God, then he keeps the flesh in check. When he does not, then the flesh gets the upper hand and leads him into sin by fulfilling the lust of the flesh.

In Romans 7:7-20, Paul even said that they fought this same battle under the Old Testament. Today, as we are living under the new covenant, it is only through being in Christ and the provisions that God made for everyone in Him that one is able to do what he ought to do. One’s own spirit is to be in control of his flesh, leading him. This is why “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21) are serious matters. This is what it means when Paul says that we are “led of the Spirit.”

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