Pastoral Reflection
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Praise the Lord Trinity! I pray that you and your family have experienced the awesome and sustaining power of our Amazing God in substantial ways during this past week, and you have come ready to enter His gates with thanksgiving in your heart and praise on your lips. Let me also express my gratitude to our guest worshipping with us today. You are welcome here at the Trinity Church, and I pray God’s richest blessings upon you and your families.
Trinity, God has never told us to change the world. The world system is incurably sick and headed for destruction. God has told us to spread the gospel message to individuals and when a person responds in the right way, his life is truly transformed by the grace of God. It is better to think of the world as a sinking ship like the Titanic. It is hell-bent, hell-bound and doomed to destruction. Many, yes most, will perish. It is our job to “throw out the life line” and seek to “rescue the perishing” as we herald the good news. David Hunt maintains that The Great Commission does not involve exerting a Christian influence upon society. We are not to
change society, but to convert individuals.
There is much talk today about changing the world for Christ. There is no Biblical teaching or example to support that popular slogan.
What saith the Scripture?
“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”
(Mark 16:15). This says that we should bring the gospel to the unsaved. It does
not
say that we should bring the unsaved to the gospel. It does
not
say, “Go...and invite every creature to come to church.” Rather we are told to “go into all the world” because that is where the unsaved are. We are to take the gospel to the unsaved. There are many churches today that take the other approach. Their ministry is based on the philosophy that we need to bring the unsaved to the gospel. They thus see the local church as an evangelistic center, a place where the unsaved can be brought in, bused in and even bribed in by way of gimmicks so that they can hear the gospel.
Is the purpose of the local church to be primarily that of a SOUL-WINNING STATION or a SOUL-BUILDING STATION? In the world our emphasis should be that of
evangelism,
but in the church our emphasis should be primarily that of
indoctrination.
In the world we should be
reaching them (Missions)
; in the church we should be
teaching them (Ministry).
The saints need to be indoctrinated in the church; the indoctrinated saints need to be evangelizing in the world. In saying all this, we do not in any way want to discourage God’s people from inviting the unsaved to church services or bringing the lost into the assembly of the saints. We need to do more of this. We certainly thank God for every sinner who attends the local assembly of believers, hears the gospel message and receives Christ as his personal Savior.
When the local church is functioning as an edification/indoctrination center according to God’s pattern, then the unsaved person who enters such a place will be deeply convicted:
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you
(I Cor. 14:24-25). May God help us to be this kind of Church Family, manifesting the awesome Power and Life of Jesus Christ.
Trinity Let’s put the God back in Gospel!!!!!!!!!!!
Dr. John D. Tolbert
Senior Pastor
One Hundred Years of Reaching a City to Touch the World
