Does God Desire That All Should Be Saved?

Paul, when speaking about praying for leaders and rulers, says in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 -

"This is Good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth."

The question that came to mind as I read this is: Is it God's desire that all people (everyone who has ever lived or will ever live) to be saved?

If this portion of Scripture means that God's desire is that all people get saved, then doesn't that notion imply then that God's desired plan has failed when people reject him and are sent to hell? Can sin and creation somehow have power over the will of God? Can man's "free will" somehow overpower the will of God? If so, then we are serving a God who we can control and whom we can manipulate. What kind of God is that?

As we read this passage of Scripture, it is important for us to look at the context with which the writer is writing. Since he is exhorting the people to pray for their leaders and their salvation, instead of worshiping them, we can conclude then that what is meant by "all people" should be understood as "all kinds of people." This means that God is not a respecter of persons. In God's eyes, kings and servants are the same. It is God's desire to see a diversity of people come to know him.

Calvin says that God's desire for the salvation of all "means there is no people and no rank in the world that is excluded from salvation." However this doesn't somehow imply a universalism of salvation, but says that salvation is for all types of people: any race, any economic status, any denomination, etc.

Above all this, there remains one thing that God desires more than people's salvation, that being His Own Glory (Is. 48:11). R.C. Sproul says,

"The Lord is glorified when sin is punished in hell and so God's supreme desire is met even when people are not redeemed."

What is the application here for our lives? We must understand our role in this. We are not God, but are called to imitate Christ. We are to be very careful in this imitation, because we don't know the hearts of people. We are commanded to spread the message of the gospel with words, and show how those who have been transformed by such message, by our actions.

Belief in the sovereignty of God is not meat to stifle evangelism, but meant to fuel it. Meaning, when we understand that we are not in control of the "results" of evangelism, and will not be judged on results, it allows us freedom to proclaim the gospel to all, while trusting that God is in control of the transformation of the hearts.

In what ways are you/or are you not fulfilling the call to spread the message of the gospel? When you do share the gospel with others, are you trying to manipulate them to get the result that you want, or are you relying on the God to do what he does in the hearts of people?

Thoughts?

Three Standards Of Evangelism

I have been reading a book entitled, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community, written by Tim Chester and Steven Timmis. In Chapter 3, the authors lay out the process of evangelism in the context of community. For many this will be a drastic change of thought, and will challenge how they think about evangelism. However, I totally agree with their conclusions on the topic and wanted to share with you the three standards in which I (as well as the authors) believe will be most effective in carrying out the Great Commission, while obeying the Great Commandment.

1. Building Relationships: We should develop relationships with those who are not Christians. We should seek to love our neighbors (those around us) by inviting them into our lives in order to live life together.

2. Sharing The Gospel: We should love our neighbors, but with gospel intentionality. We should live life together with the desire and purpose to present them the gospel, not just with our actions but with our words as well.

3. Introduce People To The Church Community: This is not simply inviting them to our church gatherings. This is part of it, but not exactly what this is intended to mean. Within the church community we have people with different gifting. Maybe one is good at hospitality (cooking, entertaining, etc) and another is good at communicating clearly the goals and beliefs of the community. We come together over a meal at someone's house, and we begin talking about life and the one who is good at communicating the gospel can present the core beliefs of the community. This can be done in homes, restaurants, gatherings, small groups, etc.

Understand that this is not a specific formula but a lifestyle to be lived by the church. We have to move beyond our understanding the church to be a building, to a community living life together. Within this context trust is built, love is shown, needs are met, and the gospel is presented. This is the standard by which evangelism is to be most effective in our present world. This is precisely the way Jesus lived out his life, and how the early church lived out their mission in their context.

What are your thoughts? Is this helpful? How does your church perceive evangelism? How well do they live life with those around them?

Stagnation and Complacency

It astounds me as I look around at the world and see so much evil, see so many hurting and crying out for help. Then I take a look at the 'inside' of our churches and see people who appear to be so happy and satisfied in their lives. I begin to wonder just where the gap is. Are we missing something, or have we found something that takes away our desperation and needs, and offers us hope that those on the outside seem to be lacking?

I know that the Sunday School Answer to that question is: Those people within the church have found their hope and happiness in the only One who can provide it, Jesus Christ. This would be an acceptable answer, however, if this is true then shouldn't those who have hope, the key to all their problems, share the 'Good News' with those on the outside? Aren't they called by the One who provides this 'New Element' in life to go and share this hope?

The answer is, yes they should! The question still remains then: Why does it seem as though this is not happening in most places? Why do we not see people desperate to share this hope? Why does it seem like there is so much indifference in the body of believers? Where does God and His will and word fit into this picture?

The truth of the matter so it seems, is that there really isn't much room for Jesus in our Christianity. How can this be? Well, how much of what we do in our lives and in the life of our churches really has do with Christ? How many of us can say that Jesus is truly the Lord of and over our lives and our churches?

Stagnation seems to be spreading in the lives of our churches and those 'Christians' who fill them. We have adopted what seems to be a consumeristic approach to how we do church. We work on providing what people want. We try to offer 'programs' for every age group in our churches. We have changed or transitioned from presenting an uncomfortable and offensive gospel, to presenting a more comfortable and non-offensive tips to living life. This is tragic! We seem to tell people what we perceive to be what they want to hear. What we fail to do as pastors and leaders is to teach them what they need to hear. We fear that if we tell them the truth, they will be offended and leave. So we tend to cater to what they want instead of what they need.

What we then develop is a safe and comfortable place for 'Christians' to settle in and feel at home. In doing this, we are sending the message that life and church is about us, and begin to develop a complacent attitude about our current situation.

(Side Note: Church is not only about non-believers. Church is also a place where Christians are discipled as well. This was not the point I was trying to make, but I feel as though I need to clarify my stance.)

The problem with this is that life and church is all about God and His glory. The church should be a place where those who do not know Christ should feel comfortable and welcomed. However, when we create an atmosphere just for Christians, those who are not feel like outsiders instead of welcomed and wanted guests.

It is of utmost importance that we stop creating comfortable places for Christians and begin to allow Christ to be the Lord of our churches and our lives. We need to create an environment that says, 'Come as you are, filth and all, and meet our Lord Jesus Christ.' Instead of being complacent and indifferent, we need to be desperate. People all around us need a Lord who is much bigger than them and their current circumstances. The only way they will be introduced to this Lord, is if we Christians begin to invest in peoples lives, and offer them the hope that we have found in Christ.

We should move back to proclaiming the uncomfortable and offensive gospel in love, and challenge one another to not be discouraged but begin to follow Christ and go where He went. It is certain that others will come to know Him and in the process we will see spiritual growth in our own lives and the Kingdom of God will grow numerically. Most important is that if we were to approach life like this, God will be glorified and honored. That is our ultimate goal as followers of Christ.