Skip to main content

MacArthur: To convince a man God can save I need to show him a man He saved.

By

1 Peter 2:11-12New International Version (NIV)

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.




Do you see how imperative it is that we live godly lives? We want unbelievers to examine us. They come initially to criticize, but if our behavior is excellent, the criticism of some might turn to curiosity. And if that curiosity turns to conversion, they’ll glorify God because of their salvation. Thus we’ve done our part in bringing God glory. You lead people to the credibility of Christianity and ultimately to conversion by the virtue of your life. So stay away from fleshly lusts and maintain excellent behavior. ...

 When those around us see us helping rather than exploiting, hear us talking with purity instead of profanity, and observe us speaking truthfully rather than deceitfully, our example will itself be a rebuke of selfishness, unwholesome talk, and falsehood. Simply refusing to participate in a dishonest business or social practice will sometimes be such a strong rebuke that it costs us our job or a friendship. Dishonesty is terribly uncomfortable in the presence of honesty, even when there is no verbal or other direct opposition. ...

 Making salvation attractive is a high calling, but we will fail in that endeavor unless we can demonstrate that we have indeed been delivered from sin. Rebuke of sin in others without an accompanying lifestyle of righteousness is the greatest hypocrisy. But lives characterized by purity, power, and joy reflect the order, beauty, and power of a saving God. When we make salvation beautiful, we make God attractive.

To convince a man God can save I need to show him a man He saved. To convince a man that God can give hope I need to show him a man with hope. To convince a man that God can give peace, joy, and love, I need to show him a man with peace, joy, and love. To convince a man that God can give complete, total, and utter satisfaction, I need to show him a satisfied man. When the world sees people who are holy, righteous, peaceful, joyful, and fulfilled, they see the evidence of God’s transforming power.

 At stake is the eternal destiny of unredeemed souls. Christians who are unholy lead unbelievers to slander God; those who are holy lead them to glorify God. The central issue in holy living is evangelism. A powerful church is not built on its strategy, but on the virtue and holiness of its people. What we believe is linked to how we live and how we live is directly linked to the effectiveness of our Gospel proclamation.

 .



MacArthur, J. (1996). Different by design (pp. 170–173). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Men stirred, boys exhorted, and Jesus exalted!

By
  Neh 8 v 13 (CSB)  13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law.  Notice the feel of the scene.       After that long day in the Word, it appears that the women and children were, understandably, exhausted and urged to stay home on this occasion.   And, among the men, there is a growing interest of “What else are we missing right now as it pertains to obeying God's Word?”.  So clear is the fact that the family heads, the men, came back to get more. The real sense of enthusiasm starts with the men here.  If you were an able-bodied man here, you stayed behind to get instructions so that you might be a good instructor at home. The text says these men came together  to study the words of the law .  That means to  give attention to and ponder.  This is the process of thinking through complex things, resulting in wise dealing and the use of good practical common sense. Here in
Post a Comment
Read more

Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

By
Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here.  I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions.  This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration.  I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him.   I assume he is a brother in the LORD.  Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern:  Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a  good and healthy example?  Let's think about it some together.  (Watch this clip below here first.) Context:  The clip was posted to stand on its own as if it were wise and sound on it
2 comments
Read more

Smith: "Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back...".

By
  Jonah 2:9 “Salvation belongs to the LORD!”  God’s dramatic intervention in the life of Jonah is full of hope—not only for those who seek God, but also for those who, like Jonah, have determined to shut him out.  Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back, leaving it up to us to decide if we want to come in.   But if God made salvation possible and then stepped back, refusing to interfere with our choice, then the entire life of believers would be about us—our believing, our serving, our following, and our choices to live a good life.  In the case of Jonah, imprisoned in the whale’s belly, God was claiming someone who was quite incapable of performing any redeeming work to compensate for his sin. God was not relying on Jonah to save Jonah. The message remains the same for each of us today: if you have trusted God for salvation, he has done more than simply make salvation possible; he has actually saved you. Colin Smith, “Jonah,” in Gospel Transformation B
Post a Comment
Read more