How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 4

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 4

The Gospel that Jesus preached can be found in Mark 1:14-15, “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, and 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝; 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥.”

Repentance is central to the Gospel message, because the Gospel is about the revealing of His Kingdom, represented by Jesus and demonstrated by His works.

The word “repent” means “to change one’s mind, with reference to acceptance of the will of God.” A genuine change in a person’s mind will produce a change in his life and conduct.

One must turn away from his former belief (which translates to his life and conduct) and believe in the New & Living Way (Heb 10:20) under the Kingdom. That is repentance.

The idea of repentance is not new in the Bible. The Bible is not many different stories put together by different people. It is ONE CONNECTED STORY inspired by God through different people. If we don’t understand how they are correlated, we will definitely interpret passages out of context.

The Hebrew understanding of repentance is represented by ‘shuv’ and ‘nacham’, which means ‘to return’ and ‘to feel sorrow’ respectively. Throughout the Old Testament, you can see that repentance always includes sackcloth and ashes (to feel sorrow), and returning to God.

Before Christ came, God already spoke through various prophets, calling His people to repent and return to Him (Joel 2:13; Hosea 14:1; Zech 1:3; Neh 1:9; Jer 3:12; 3:14; 3:22; 4:1; Isa 31:6; Mal 3:7). His voice had been echoing through the prophets He sent before He sent His own Son (Matt 21:33-44).

His original intent & purpose for humanity is found in Gen 1:28. That is what living under His kingdom would look like. That is what earth would look like if Adam had trusted and obeyed Him.

Romans 3:23, however, was the result of Adam living apart from His kingdom (distrust & disobedience), thus, all of humanity needs redemption (Rom 3:24-26).

If we don’t understand why God wants the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom to be preached, we will not understand why repentance is central to the Gospel and why repentance is such good news.

Having said that, it is one thing to repent and believe in the Gospel, it is another to continue in obedience towards the King. Jesus’ disciples failed to walk it out until the Day of Pentecost.

This is why Jesus had to be crucified, died, raised and ascended, without which, no one is able to live out the Kingdom.

In the next part, we will look at the continued message of the Gospel that His disciples preached after His death, resurrection and ascension.

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 3

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 3

The gospel that is influenced by culture has gotten many to make the decision to receive Jesus, but not necessarily born again because they are not willing to submit to His reign and do His will.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧." - Matt 7:21

The context was for the Jews who didn't have a relationship with God. But its principle applies to "Christians by profession/name" who do not have a relationship with God.

The Gospel that is influenced by Scriptures must be seen in the person of Christ. What exactly is the Gospel that Jesus preached?

Jesus came into Galilee, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝, and saying, “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, and 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝; 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥.” - Mark 1:14-15 (See also Matt 4:12-17)

What is the Gospel that Jesus preached?

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝."

What is this time that is fulfilled? Letting the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures, we can see in Matt 4:12-17 that Jesus was pointing to Himself as the coming Light for the world.

What is the purpose of His coming as the Light? To declare that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝. See also Luke 4:43. The Greek word for 'kingdom' means '𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.'

Throughout Jesus' life on earth, He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom with the proof of its works (Matt 4:23; 9:35; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2). The works confirmed the reality of His kingdom message ------ "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞!"

Note: There is more context to this, because He was addressing the Jews who believed that the Messiah was going to come and establish Israel's kingdom. But the Messiah did not come to do what they expected. He came to establish the Father's Kingdom. There's a lot more to cover, but we will focus on the main message.

But if it is 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. - Matt 12:28

Make no mistake. Signs and wonders are to prove the reign of His Kingdom. They are not meant for you to become popular, rich, be puffed up, and be put on the pedestal. That's stupidity. Because it's NOTHING to do with you. God is simply confirming His own Kingdom message. Because when His world penetrates our world, righteousness, peace and joy reign (Rom 14:17).

The Gospel that Jesus preached requires repentance and believing that His kingdom is here ------ His Kingship. Some believers associate repentance with negativity. That's because of wrong understanding. God is gracious indeed. But repentance is actually good news.

Apostle Paul said that it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance (Rom 2:4). If you see how good He is to establish His kingdom on earth, and how much the world benefits by living under His reign and kingship, you will repent. That is grace ----- giving you an opportunity to step/return into His kingdom when you are already heading to and living in hell.

In the next part, we will continue talking about the Gospel of the Kingdom, because what Jesus preached is truth but no one has the power to follow it until He dies.

P.S: There is one school that focuses on repentance, while the other that focuses on redemption. The Gospel is both. It is incomplete when it only focuses on one aspect.

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 2

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 2

Having witnessed to thousands of individuals for more than 10 years in the streets, I have heard all kinds of 'gospel' being shared. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.

I had shared the gospel with a certain race that believes in polytheism. Almost 95% of the time, they would say "Yes" to believing in Jesus. Few years ago, I decided to change the way I share the gospel with the same race, in order to test out the truth. I said that "Jesus is the only Way to the Father. He is the true God. All yours are not. So to believe in Him, you have to renounce the rest."

Immediately, I got a "No" as their responses. It is presumptuous to think that we can get anyone saved with a diluted gospel, especially those who believe in polytheism. If you try to reach someone who believes in monotheism, you will realise that they understand the gospel message better and they are much more likely to reject your message because they already have one god whom they believe in.

It is extremely presumptuous to reach another culture/race with a diluted gospel and think that they are saved. The Americans, in general, are doing that and I have seen/watched/heard so many of them (including popular public figures) doing that over and over again. They are not getting people saved. They are just clocking another testimony and letting the people add one more 'jesus' into their lives without repentance (returning to the only One who created them).

Have you realised that we seldom follow up with those whom we claim to have 'born again' in the streets? Some of us did that and we came to the realization that they did not really comprehend the Gospel when they said "Yes" to Jesus. It was a moment of impulse made because of power encounters.

Disclaimer: There is nothing wrong with God-encounters. I love it. But they are tools and means to the Gospel of the Kingdom. They are not an end by themselves.

Albert Einstein says that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

We have to constantly re-evaluate what kind of Gospel we preach in the streets in order to make disciples and fulfill the Great Commission.

A gospel message that does not include His Kingship is incomplete. We are not receiving Jesus into our lives ----- that's not salvation. We are giving our lives to Him and living under His reign. Read the whole book of Acts and you will see that none of them received Jesus. They gave their lives to Him.

There wasn't a debate on baptism like the modern church. Baptism is the proof of their repentance (Matt 3:8; James 2:26). Baptism does not save someone. But it proves salvation. If one is saved and understood the Gospel message, he will want to go for baptism.

To understand the Gospel of the Kingdom, one must look at the Gospel that Jesus preached, since He is the exact representation of God (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). We will look at it in the next part.

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 1

How To Get Someone Saved Wrongly Part 1

Being in street outreaches for a number of years and having personally witnessed to thousands of individuals as a lifestyle, I have heard all kinds of 'gospel' being preached and various kinds of 'salvation'.

There are so many ways to get someone saved out of context; in other words, to be saved wrongly. This results in 'salvation' that is not genuine, and/or sets the person to have a wrong expectation of what Christianity means.

From my personal outlook, it is better to present a full Gospel and have someone reject the message, than to present a diluted gospel (which isn't really the Gospel of the Kingdom) and have someone accept it readily (but still not genuinely saved).

Romans 10:13 says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

We love to take one Scripture out of context and apply it as a shortcut. We live in a microwave generation. Everything must be fast and instant. The reality is that whatever takes time to brew usually produces a better result (i.e. brewed coffee certainly wins instant coffee hands down).

"𝐎, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝! 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬? 𝐘𝐞𝐬? 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝!"

Applying Romans 10:13, we think that someone who simply confesses Jesus is saved. I'm here to break that hope. He is not saved. Because even the demons called on Jesus (Mark 1:23-24).

Salvation/sinner's prayer came out of Romans 10:9. But without proper understanding, it can, again, be taken out of context. Praying a sinner's prayer does not get anyone saved. You can say that the person made a decision to know Christ, but not yet born again.

Faith that only involves confession without works is not yet complete (James 2:26; Matt 7:23). While Matt 7:23 was written to the Jews who had no relationship with Jesus, the principle applies to someone who claimed to have faith in Christ, but without works.

In my zeal to get someone saved in the past, I had misunderstood the Gospel of the Kingdom. I had gotten many 'saved' in the streets (when they are perhaps, not really saved because of an incomplete Gospel). But in recent years, since I understood the Kingdom, I have changed the way I present the Gospel.

The church, in general, is still getting people 'saved' without a complete message. For we are largely influenced by the Western culture ----- the American gospel. It produces pew-warmers who have no desire to do the works of God. One can truly question if these people are saved or not.

Just because one says that he believes in Christ alone doesn't prove that he is saved. Salvation is simple, but not shallow.

In the next part, we will look deeper.

Transformation Begins From Mind Renewal

Transformation Begins From Mind Renewal

It is our job to do the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2). It is God's job to do the transformation (2 Cor 3:18).

If you don't do the former, God can't do the latter.

I'm not saying that God cannot sovereignly touch a few people supernaturally and transform them. But that is not the normal way. Otherwise, everyone would have to beg God to somehow pick them and touch them to transform them. That would put everyone on an unequal playing field.

Thank God that He has reserved mind renewal for every single believer. That is the normal way. That is the Way of living. Every believer has an equal playing field in the kingdom because of identity and sonship.

As a believer with the Holy Spirit, it is not God's fault when we are not transformed. It is our fault for not getting our mind renewed since He has provided every resource for us to be transformed.

The laziest mindset of a believer is to think that God should be the one to change us and thus, we can remain passive about it. God has done His job by sending Christ to kill our old man and the Holy Spirit to put in us a new Man.

'Work out your salvation' (Phil 2:12-13) requires us to be active and be participating in the renewing of our mind. If we remain as spiritual infants, it has nothing to do with God. It has to do with our refusal to change.

Love Requires Obedience

If you love Me, keep My commandments. Love requires obedience and is proven by obedience.

People often associate obedience with the negatives. That’s because we were trained to obey out of fear of punishment/consequence. That’s a kind of obedience that comes from doubt.

The Word teaches otherwise. We are to learn obedience out of trust. Since God is love, true love results in trust. We trust Whom we obey because He first loved us.

You can’t tell if a person trusts God based on obedience. But you can certainly tell that a person doesn’t love God by his disobedience.

Wash One Another’s Feet

Wash One Another’s Feet

I have read this passage so many times, but little did I realise the intent of Christ until today when I read it again.

What does it mean to wash one another’s feet? It was a cultural and social act in those days but it is not applicable today. Because our feet don’t literally get dirty and dusty (depending on where you live). Our hosts in homes do not have the culture of washing the feet of the guests either.

However, there was a biblical principle that Christ was teaching His disciples.

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. - John 13:14

The context of washing one another’s feet must be studied within the context of the passage in John 13. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, but Peter told Jesus not to wash his feet. Jesus answered, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.”

Jesus continued, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” - John 13:10

Since all the 11 disciples were already clean (except for Judas), washing the disciples’ feet does not refer to humility or being made righteous in Him. It refers to fellowship (Read: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me”). The word “no share” in Greek refers to “no fellowship.”

Why did Jesus have to wash the feet of His disciples and regard that as fellowship? Because we are IN the world but not of the world, we can be contaminated / entangled with the issues of the world. Being in fellowship with Him keeps us free from sin.

If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. - 1 John 1:6

Jesus told His disciples to do likewise and wash one another’s feet (aka fellowship with one another). Why?

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7

As believers, we need to be in fellowship with one another and that includes correcting one another in their sin. That’s washing one another’s feet aka keeping one another free from sin and the world’s entanglement. It’s accountability. It’s love. It’s the true meaning of washing one another’s feet instead of thinking that it’s a literal act of humility.

P.S: Yes we are also commanded to walk in humility but it’s not what this passage is talking about.