With Boldness, With Clarity - Another Story from the Tedwoth Estate

Ministers of the Gospel Series - Part 3

In part one of this series we learned from the story of Edward Studd - his conversion and following passion to see souls saved. Now we are going to hear about three of his sons. All of Mr. Studd's oldest boys were away at college when their father was converted. Thus, when he invited them to meet him in Town for the day, "they thought he was going to take them to a theater or some other show. They got a shock when the discovered it was, "God Talk!" He took them to hear D.L. Moody.

"Before that time," C.T. Studd said later, "I used to think that religion was a Sunday thing, like one's Sunday clothes, to be put away on Monday morning. We boys were brought up to go to church regularly, but, although we had a kind of religion, it didn't amount to much. It was just like having a toothache. We were always sorry to have Sunday come and glad when it was Monday morning. The Sabbath was the dullest day of the whole week, just because we had got hold of the wrong end of religion. Then all at once I had the good fortune to meet a real, live, play-the-game Christian. It was my own father. But it did make one's hair stand on end. Everyone in the house had a dog's life of it until they were converted. I was not altogether pleased with him. He used to come into my room at night and ask if I was converted. After a time, I used to sham sleep when I saw the door open, and in the day I crept round the other side of the house when I saw him coming." - C. T. Studd as quoted by Norman Grubb in C.T. Studd Cricketer and Pioneer

C.T. Studd had no interest in the gospel message. Despite his father's dogged pursuit of his soul, he simply didn't care to have any more religion. He was safe, in his own opinion, and couldn't be persuaded to consider the danger that still threatened him  - or so it seemed. In the two year period between Edward Studd's own conversion and his untimely death, all of his three, oldest sons discovered for themselves what it meant to be born again. Though Mr. Studd sowed seeds in their hearts it was not he who reaped that harvest.

Every weekend Mr. Studd invited men down to his house to preach the gospel to the crowds of people that he himself invited in. On one particular weekend, when all three of his sons were home, two such men were staying at the house. One they liked quite well but the other was a "milksop" in their opinion. Thus, they determined to be rather rotten to him. On one afternoon, they took Mr.W out riding. They could easily see that he didn't have a very sure seat and so they took the opportunity to make the ride as miserable as possible. The next afternoon the preacher got them back - in a way. Charles Studd recounted the event as follows:

"As I was going out to play cricket, he (Mr.W) caught me unawares and asked,

"Are you a Christian?"

"I am not what you call a Christian." I said. "I have believed on Jesus Christ since I was knee high. Of course, I believe in the Church too." I thought, by answering him pretty close, that I would get rid of him; but he stuck as tight as wax and said,

"Look here, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." You believe Jesus Christ died?"

"Yes."

"You believe He died for you?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe the other half of the verse - "shall have everlasting life?""

"No," I said "I don't believe that."

"Now don't you see that your statement contradicts God? Either God or you is not speaking truth, for you contradict one another. Which is it? Do you think that God is a liar?"

"No."

"Well, then, aren't you inconsistent, believing one half of the verse and not the other half?"

"I suppose I am."

"Well, are you always going to be inconsistent?"

"No," I said, "I suppose not always."

"Will you be consistent now?" I saw I was cornered and I began thinking, if I go out of this room inconsistent I wont carry very much self - respect. So I said,

"Yes, I will be consistent."

"Well, don't you see that eternal life is a gift? When someone gives you a present at Christmas, what do you do?"

"I take it and say "thank you.""

"Will you thank God for this gift?" Then I got down on my knees and I did say 'thank you' to God. Right then and there joy and peace came into my soul. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible, which had been so dry to me before, became everything." - C. T. Studd as quoted by Norman Grubb in C.T. Studd Cricketer and Pioneer

It was not until the boys got back to college that they realized that Mr.W had brought, not just one, but all three of them to the Lord in a single afternoon. The man, though not a very skilled rider, proved excellent at the task of winning souls! Could the same be said of us?

As Christians we all share in this calling. The commission that Christ left was as much for you and I as for Mr.W. Yet many of us feel unequipped to carry out this task; unskilled in the art of saving souls. The good news is that we are not required to save souls - that is the work of our Lord Himself (which we will look into further in next weeks post). We are required, however, to preach this gospel, both through action and in word. Thankfully the ability to do this job well is not reserved only for those with a gift for preaching. 2 Peter i.3 tells us that, God's "divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue." We can safely assume, therefore, that He has provided that which is necessary to do the work that He asks of us.

In letters that he wrote to the believers of the early church, Paul asked them to pray for him as he preached the gospel. He wanted them to pray that God would open a door for the word, that he would be given words, and that he might declare the gospel boldly and with clarity.

"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." (Colossians iv. 4)

"and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." (Ephesians vi. 19 - 20) 

Mr.W, and even the apostle Paul, needed God to equip them to spread this message. Paul's two prayers were answered and ours can be as well!

Although there are many things that can be learned about the effectual deliverance of the gospel, there are two things in particular that characterized the words of these men. They spoke with clarity and they spoke with boldness. 

1. Clarity

To make the gospel clear we must first identify our audience. When we preach the gospel we are teaching people what God has done to save them, how He accomplished it, and why. Thus, we are playing the role of a teacher. Regardless of the subject, a good teacher prepares by learning about their student. They seek to discover what the student does or doesn't know, what they may have misconceptions about, and even how they learn best. This gives them the information they require to help that student learn. So in ministering the gospel, our fist step should be to understand the person we are witnessing to.

"Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. " (Colossians iv. 5- 6)

It takes humility to listen before you speak. To be willing to learn when we are ready to teach. Sometimes we don't want to take the time and at other times we are afraid to ask about someone else's beliefs because we don't know how to properly speak to them. We don't want to get started on a different belief system and be unable to find our way back to the gospel. Yet we cannot abandon listening because it is a very important first step. How can we hope to change a person's belief when we refuse to hear what it is that they believe? C.T. Studd had grown up going to church, he knew what God's word said and yet he was neglecting to believe in the gift of eternal life. If Mr.W had not taken the time to ask Charles questions he would have merely repeated the same story that C.T. had already heard so many times and done nothing to alter the state of the young man's soul. 

In the parable of the sower (Matthew xiii. 1 -23, Mark iv. 1 -20, or Luke viii. 4 -15), Jesus explained that people's hearts are in different states. Some are ready, some are distracted, some are hardened, and some are not prepared to suffer for their faith. Because of this the 'seed' of the gospel will not always be received in the same way. The gospel needs to be spoken into each of these circumstances, regardless of where the person is at, but how we present it should be adapted to serve them. Jesus did not explain the gospel in the same way to the rich young ruler as He did to the Samaritan woman He met by the well. He knew the people and answered them according to where they were at. 

There are two sermons in the book of Acts which can serve to demonstrate this point for us. The first is found in Acts ii. when Peter preaches to the crowds in Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit has come upon the believers at Pentecost. In his message, Peter makes several references to scripture, he speaks of Jesus as someone who they knew, and he speaks of God without specifically identifying who He is. This he was able to do because of who his audience was. They were Jews who worshiped the one, true God - the God of whom Peter spoke. They had known Jesus and when Peter quoted God's word they knew what he was referencing and they believed in the authority of those scriptures. Because Peter knew his audience, what they already believed and what they had yet to understand, he was able to go straight to the work of Jesus and His perfect fulfillment of the prophecies. When Paul spoke in Acts xvii. the people did not have this previous understanding. They were idol worshippers, who were unaware as yet of the ministry of Christ. If they were going to understand the gospel Paul needed to go back to the very beginning and establish who and what he was talking about.

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. " (Acts xvii. 22 - 23)

Paul started his explanation not from scripture but from the context of their beliefs. Making use of the opportunity that God had given - in that they had an alter to an unknown God. From this point he was able to teach them of the God who they truly did not know. Earlier in Acts xvii. we are told that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who first talked to Paul did not understand his preaching of Jesus and His resurrection. Without changing the life - saving message of the gospel, Paul adapted it so that his audience might understand it better. Both Peter and Paul spoke to their audiences with an understanding of where they were coming from. In Paul's case this took some learning. He had to observe the beliefs of the people of Athens and we may have to listen to the beliefs of others as well. Yet this effort allows us to speak the message of salvation in a way that will be  valid to the ones we are speaking to. 

Once we have clarity as to how we aught to speak, we also need to be clear in speaking the gospel message itself. It is easy to feel at a loss as to where you should begin - there is so much that a new believer needs to know! Yet if we pause to think about it, the gospel message itself is not a complicated one. There are many verses in the Bible that state it in just one or two sentences. For example:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John iii. 16)

"For Christ also died once for sins, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter iii. 18)

"And you who were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, by cancelling out the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians ii. 13 -14) 

Although there is more to be told, it is good to begin with the simplicity of Christ. Knowledge cannot be attained all at once; it must be learned in lessons. So while we must not change the gospel message we should realize that we may not be able to explain the entirety of what Christ accomplished all at once. When we attempt to, it is easy for both us and the one who we are trying to teach to become confused. Paul, speaking to the Corinthians, said, "When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians ii. 1 -2).

2. Boldness

The Miriam Webster dictionary gives two definitions for boldness that can be applied to the task of witnessing. The first is to be 'fearless before danger.' This harkens back to the lesson we learned from the story of the Waldensians, last week. Fear is a great deterrent in witnessing. Though it can have many causes, they all share the same solution - perfect love casts out all fear. God's love toward us is perfect and unwavering even in the midst of trials. It enables us say as the Psalmist did, "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalm cxviii. 6). In addition to this, God can impart to us a selfless love for others. A love that 'does not seek it's own', but causes us to be more concerned with the eternal fate of those who do not belong to the Lord than with any harm that could threaten us. In 1 Timothy i.7, Paul encourages Timothy saying, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 

The second definition of being bold is to 'overstep the boundaries of propriety (socially acceptable conduct or speech)'. At first glance that may not seem like a form of boldness that would be beneficial for us to apply. But in a society, like ours, which has deemed that it is unacceptable to speak of God's gift of salvation in a public setting, or to care enough for the soul of another to ask them to reconsider their views, the boundaries need to be overstepped. 

"So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts iv. 18 - 20)

When the culture tells us not to do that which God has told us to do we obey God! Yet when we even against severe opposition we must remember that this kind of boldness also requires God's love to be effective. Our boldness must come only from a humble desire to win their souls. 

"A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy ii. 24-26)

Boldness and clarity are two characteristics that should be present in each one of us as ministers of the gospel. They are both gifts of God for which we can ask Him and according to His perfect design they work together to temper each other and aid us as 'fishers of men'. However, they find their proper function only when moved by the love God has for us and by the love which He has given us for the souls that are lost. I pray that God will grant you the ability to both make the gospel clear and declare it boldly! 

In Christ

quiana