I now send you, to open their
eyes…that they may receive forgiveness of sins… —Acts 26:17-18
{CHAMBERS} “This verse is the greatest example of the true essence
of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament. God’s
first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “…that they may
receive forgiveness of sins….” When a person fails in his personal Christian
life, it is usually because he has never received anything. […] When a person
is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift
from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and
promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is
salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able
to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely,
forgiveness of sins.”
{ELGIN} I was once asked how to explain how another Christian could
explain the Bible to a lost person. My
answer … “You can’t!” You can have them look the words up in a dictionary if
the don’t understand their meaning. After
all, they are ‘just printed words”, right?
But there is more to it the word of God than stories and words in the
English language. Did you know that in
Haitian Creole there is no word for “fox”?
(Luke 9:58) “Jesus replied,
“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay
his head.”” Instead, the word used is “shen”
which is dog. What! Then how can their Bible
be accurate? Listen. I probably have the
minority view on what I am about to say.
The important thing is not if it’s fox or dog. The important thing is that in order to
follow Jesus, it means giving up your life. (Luke 9:57-60) “As they were walking along the road, a man said to
him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have
dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He
said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and
bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you
go and proclaim the kingdom of God.””
(1 Corinthians 2:13-15) “This is what we speak, not in words taught
us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual
realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them
foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through
the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but
such a person is not subject to merely human judgments” Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born
again, spiritually, and Nicodemus, a teacher of the Law, did not understand
what Jesus was saying (John 3) The Bible is a spiritual book. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that it is God
breathed meaning the inspiration is from the Spirit of God not men’s contemplation
and wisdom. Salvation is not a mortal
decision – I have decided to follow Jesus – but it is a spiritual awakening and
spiritual transaction that is initiated by God and is very personal. It is a
mix of faith and grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)
And unless the Spirit of God is involved, it is impossible for someone to understand
the “true meaning” of the words in the Bible.
But .. that is not to say that God will not use those words as a
catalyst, in concert, with the working of His Spirit. So my answer to the original question should
have been …. It is important to expose the Lost to the Word of God, but it is
the Spirit and not you that will give understanding and only then. Our part is to lift Jesus up in word and deed,
and the Spirit convicts them of sin and draws them to the Father.
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