Are you comfortable or are you ready to give up everything to make Jesus more real to people that desperately need him? Pioneer missionary Griffith John wrote A Voice in the Darkness over 100 years ago, but the challenge he wrote about laying down our lives for the kingdom of God is both timely and powerful.

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” Matthew 27:42

What did these men mean to express by this taunt? Did they mean to express a disbelief in the reality of our Lord’s miracles? “He professed to save others; but we have found Him out at last.”

“We know now that it was all sham, all pretension. He cannot save Himself! How could He save others?” Or is there here an admission of the fact that our Lord did save others, and a faint hope expressed that He might come down from the cross and prove Himself to be the very Christ? Did they imagine that, by taunting Him in this way, He might be induced to give this proof of His Messiahship? “He has certainly saved others. Why does He not save Himself? Let Him do so now, and all our doubts will be removed. We will crown Him king, and follow Him wheresoever He may lead.” Whatever their thoughts may have been, we know that our Lord did not gratify their vain curiosity.

In this taunt there is a great truth expressed. It is true that He saved others; it is true also that He could not save Himself. But there is another truth, and this other truth was hidden from their eyes. Why could He not save Himself? The reason was not obvious to them but it is perfectly clear to us. He could not save Himself because He would save others. To deliver others He must surrender Himself; to save others He must sacrifice Himself.

It must be one or the other. He could not do both—save others and save Himself also. And what is true of the Master is true of the disciple. We, the disciples of Jesus Christ, can be saviours to men only in so far as we are willing and ready to sacrifice ourselves on their behalf. Let us then spend a little time in devout meditation on this great truth.

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” That is God’s voice to us, and it rests with ourselves as to whether we will respond to the Divine voice or not. But the moment we do respond and say, “Here am I, send me,” that very moment our life must become a life of service and self-sacrifice. Let me give you two or three examples as illustrations of this great truth.

There is Moses in the Old Testament. When the time had come to deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt, God’s voice came to Moses, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

It was optional with Moses to go or stay. But the moment he resolved to obey the Divine voice, that very moment his life became a life of service and sacrifice. Having said yes, it was not optional with him as to whether his life should be a life of self-indulgence or self-abnegation. His magnificent position in Egypt had to be renounced; his brilliant prospects of future aggrandisement had to be abandoned; his dire conflict with Pharaoh, and his forty years of suffering with and for his people in that terrible wilderness, followed as a matter of course. He lived for his people, sacrificed everything for his people, and was prepared to die for them at any moment. We know the result. Israel was saved, and God’s purposes were fulfilled. Moses saved others, himself he could not save.

There is Paul in the New Testament. When the time had come to make known to the Gentiles God’s redemptive purposes, a fit agent was needed, and God’s voice came to Paul, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” It rested with Paul to decide as to whether he would or would not respond to the Divine voice; but having responded, it did not rest with him as to whether his life should or should not be a life of service and sacrifice. The moment he said, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” that moment his life became a life of self-renunciation and suffering. The hunger, the thirst, the fastings, the toil, the stripes, the imprisonments, the anxieties for the churches, and finally his martyrdom followed as a matter of course.

We know the result. The Gospel was preached to the Gentiles, many churches were established in the Roman Empire, and multitudes of men were saved. Paul saved others, himself he could not save.

This excerpt is a chapter from Griffith John, A Voice in the Darkness: Lessons from 60 Years in Ancient China (Underground Publishing, 2023).

David Livingstone saved others; himself he could not save.

And there is Jesus Himself. The time had come for the full manifestation of God’s redemptive purpose. The time had come “to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.” The voice of God is heard, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” It rested entirely with the Eternal Son of God as to whether He would respond to that voice. There was no power in the universe to compel Him to leave heaven and come down to this earth to suffer and die. But the moment He did respond, the life of sorrow and suffering, Gethsemane, and the
cross, became inevitable. The life of the world depended upon that great sacrifice. Of Jesus it may be said emphatically, He saved others; Himself He could not save.

Let us now look at this great truth as an all-pervading, all-embracing law.

As a law it pervades the whole of Nature. In Nature, receiving there always means giving here; life there means death here. The animal kingdom lives on the vegetable, and the vegetable lives on the mineral. The mineral must die to itself in order to build up the vegetable, and the vegetable must die to itself in order to build up the animal. The development of vegetable life depends upon the concurrence of certain agents, such as heat, air, moisture, light, and soil. All these must die to themselves if the tree or the plant is to live and grow.

In Nature there must be giving wherever there is receiving; this must be sacrificed if that is to be realised. It is the law of natural instinct. No sooner is the child born than natural instinct steps in, and imposes this law of self-sacrifice on the mother. From this moment, her life becomes a life of holy ministration, wherein, for the sake of the child, she cannot save herself. It is the law of family, social, and political life.

Would you be a father or a son worthy of the name? Would you be a mother or a daughter worthy of the name? Would you be a husband or a wife worthy of the name? Would you be a brother or a sister worthy of the name? Would you be a neighbour worthy of the name? Would you be a statesman worthy of the name? If you would, you must come under this law as the law of your life. It is the law of philanthropy.

A true philanthropist, a lover of mankind, is a man who cannot save himself, because he will save others. Such was Paul, such was Howard, such was Livingstone, and such have been many more whose names I might mention. It is the law of the Divine life.

Let us not fall into the delusion of supposing that, because God is omnipotent, the forth-putting of His power costs Him nothing. This is a very common supposition, but nothing can be more erroneous. Even of God Almighty it is absolutely true that He cannot save Himself. He is ever saving others; Himself He cannot save.

It is the law of the Christian life. Service, rising up to self-sacrifice for the good of men, is the ideal Christian life. Every true Christian is a priest, not merely because he stands before God alone, without the intervention of a human mediator to intercede for him, not merely because he offers to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise in daily adoration, but because his life is a life of priestly ministration for others, and that in sacrifices wherein, for the sake of others, he cannot save himself. He presents himself daily to God, on behalf of humanity, in sacrifices which save men from sin and misery. Such is the priesthood of the New Testament and such is the ideal Christian life.

Can you imagine a higher life than this? Can you imagine anything more God-like? It is the Christ-life. It is the noblest life possible to man.

It is emphatically the missionary’s true life. It was the life of Henry Martyn. “Now,” said Henry Martyn, as he set out for India, “let my life burn out for God.” And it did burn out for God. There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of William Johnson, of West Africa. “Had I ten thousand lives,” said William Johnson, “I would willingly offer them up for the sake of one poor African.” There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of Dober. “I determined,” said Dober, the Moravian, “if only one brother would go with me to the West Indies, I would give myself to be a slave, and would tell the slaves as much of the Saviour as I know myself.” There you have the true missionary.

It was the life of Francis Xavier. “Care not for me,” said Xavier; “think of me as dead to bodily comforts. My food, my rest, and my life are to rescue from the granary of Satan the souls for whom God has sent me hither from the ends of the earth. They will destroy me by poison, you say. It is an honour to which a sinner such as I am may not aspire. But this I dare to say, that whatsoever form of torture or death awaits me, I am ready to suffer it ten thousand times for a single soul.” There you have the true missionary.

This, then, is the missionary’s true life. A self-seeking, self-centred, self-indulgent missionary is a pitiable object to behold. He may call himself a missionary, the directors of his society may put him down as one of their missionaries, and speak of him as our able missionary, our highly valued missionary, our well-known missionary, and so on and so on, but in God’s sight he is a contemptible hireling.

Every missionary ought to be a self-sacrificing man, and every missionary worthy of the name is a self-sacrificing man. Still, the true missionary will not look upon himself as a self-sacrificing man, neither will he speak of his work, and the trials in connection with it, as if he looked upon God as his debtor. His sense of indebtedness to his God and Saviour will make it impossible for him to do that. “Can that be called a sacrifice,” asked Dr. Livingstone, “ which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to God which we can never repay? Say, rather it is a privilege.”

Then the missionary finds that his best work is very poor and imperfect, and that, try as he will, he can never come up to his own ideal. “My doings! my doings!” said John Elliot, the apostle of the Indians, “they have been poor and lean doings. Oh, child of the dust, lie low; it is Christ that hath triumphed.”

Such is the Christian’s true life. Such emphatically is the missionary’s true life. But how far is this life from being fully realised by Christians generally? How far from being fully realised by ministers at home and missionaries abroad? How far from being fully realised by any one of us? Some of us may have lofty ideals as to what we should be in this respect; but is there one among us who has realised his ideal?

Some will sacrifice much in one direction, but not in another. They will sacrifice in the line of their liking. But can that be called a sacrifice which a man does in the line of his liking? Ask them to step out of that line, and you will find that the idea of the Cross has never entered into their conception of the Christian life. For instance, some will talk much and talk eloquently, but are slow to do. They are born preachers, and their Christian life begins and ends in telling others what to do.

We must be prepared to sacrifice in all directions. The element of self-pleasing must be cast out, and the will of God must become to us the one law of our being. What some seek in the Christian life is the salvation of their own souls. This is a worthy aim.

PR

This excerpt is a chapter from Griffith John, A Voice in the Darkness: Lessons from 60 Years in Ancient China (Underground Publishing, 2023). Used with permission.

For more about Underground Publishing, read the PneumaReview.com interview with Bethany Hope about rediscovering the writings of missionaries and Christian pioneers.

When I look at the way Jesus called his disciples, I’m reminded just a bit of that uncle. Take the call of Peter, for example. Jesus could have simply walked up to him and said, “Hi, I’m the Messiah. Come follow me,” and Peter would have likely ended up in history as just another nameless fisherman working the Sea of Galilee. But instead Jesus grabbed his attention with the only thing that seems to work on fisherman—a huge catch (Luke 5:1-11). Once they were back on land there was no need to convince Peter who he was—Peter knew there was something special about this man.

When we talk about praying for the lost, very often we speak in terms that almost seem devious. We go into our closets, silently pray for the salvation of our neighbor and then wait for some sign from God that we’ve been given the green light to tell them that Jesus loves them. While I would never suggest we not pray for our neighbor in secret, I think it’s time we begin to see that prayer can be one of the greatest attention grabbers for those neighbors. When they not only know that we’re praying for them, but also see specific answers to prayer, they realize that there is something special about this Jesus they hear us talking about.

I hope this isn’t the case, but it’s almost as though we’ve taken prayer for granted. We’re used to going to church and seeing the list of those who are sick or otherwise in need of prayer. We are very aware that when we are in need we can instantly reach for a phone and call friends who will drop everything and go to their knees for us. We are so accustomed to prayer requests and praise reports that we’ve forgotten what it means to live without the assurance of God’s presence and the support of intercessors.

But what about your neighbors? When was the last time someone told them that they were being prayed for? When was the last time they shared their deepest need with someone who responded, “I’ll be praying about that?” The sad fact is that may have never happened. They may not even realize that kind of comfort and power is available to them.

Consider the Church in Acts 2. They were a new group, distinct from the other Jews around them, and often very misunderstood. And yet they saw people respond to their message by the thousands. Was it just the preaching? No. Acts 2:43 tells us that “Everyone (Believer and Unbeliever alike) was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” The people were very aware that there was a power available to those followers of Jesus that wasn’t available anywhere else. The awe that inspired allowed those disciples to be heard by the people around them, which then lead to turning the world upside-down.

The Bolivian parliament in La Paz, the administrative capital of the country
Image: Rodrigo Achá, via Wikimedia Commons

A Prayer Alert from the World Evangelical Alliance

On 15 December, Bolivian lawmakers approved a new penal code, which effectively criminalizes evangelism in the country. According to the National Association of Evangelicals in Bolivia (ANDEB), the new provisions in Article 88 of the penal code states: “Whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious or worship organizations will be penalised with 5 to 12 years of imprisonment.”

It is reported that Evangelical Christians in Bolivia are deeply concerned about the new developments and fear that the new laws could undermine Article 4 of the country’s constitution, which accords religious freedom for everyone.

In a statement, ANDEB stated that there was inadequate citizen participation in the drafting process of the legislation, adding that the new penal code is “imprecise, ambiguous, badly written and contradictory…”

Prayer points:

• Pray that the government would withdraw the new penal code provision, which criminalises evangelism
• Pray that the authorities would not restrict, but protect and promote religious freedoms in Bolivia
• Pray for God’s guidance and favour upon Bolivian Christians who are protesting against the new law and advocating for greater religious freedoms in the country

WEARLC Prayer Release January 20, 2018

The purpose of this Prayer Release is to keep you informed and mobilized in prayer and intercession for the needs of justice and religious liberty in the Church around the globe, so that we can stand together for the work of the Kingdom and the healing of the Nations.The World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) exists to promote freedom of religion for all people worldwide as defined by Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, and in accordance with Scripture.

Update: “Bolivia’s President Revokes Evangelism Restrictions: Evo Morales announces on national TV that controversial criminal code will be scrapped.”

[…] Bolivia’s evangelical leaders led a national day of prayer and fasting in response to their socialist government making evangelism a crime. That same Sunday, their president went on TV to answer their prayers.

Amplify Conference 2018: Reimagining A Simple Gospel

As our world quickly changes and hearts are more open to the gospel, it’s time for the Church to show and share the love of Jesus winsomely, passionately, and in new and innovative ways. The gospel message is unchanging, but the way we share it is fluid and bends with the times. Join with hundreds of others for three life-changing days of inspiration, training, and networking as we find new way to love our world into the arms of Jesus.

Register and mark your calendar for June 26-28, 2018 to join us at Highpoint Church in Naperville, IL, in the Chicago area.

About the theme, “Reimaging the Simple Gospel”

Look around you. Look around the world. So many needs, so many wounds, pains, and divisions. So much brokenness. God made flesh, God dwelt among us. That’s what our world needs. An unsaturated, uncomplicated reconciling gospel that proclaims one thing: the healing work of the Cross.

For some, sharing the gospel is a dim memory. For others, it’s an archaic command. For others, it’s the call of a few. For too many, it’s hard, filled with fear, uncertainty, and a lack of feeling prepared. What all of these views lack is the rock-solid truth that God has called all of us, God will equip us, and God will do the work. When we take our eyes off ourselves, God is lifted high for all to see.

Amplify 2018 will allow us to strip out the complexities of gospel witness and reveal the simplicity of the gospel that overcomes all barriers. Christ crucified. Christ lifted high. Our world made new. What does the simple, stripped gospel message look like to you? And how are you showing & sharing it with a world in desperate need of it?

An amazing line-up of speakers including Luis Palau, Danielle Strickland, Steve Carter, Belinda Baumann, Will Graham, Miles McPherson, Tom Lin, Laurel Bunker, Nick Hall, Phil Vischer, Ed Stetzer, Lisa Fields, Scott Chapman, Jessie & Nigel Paul, and more!

Amplify 2018 will also serve as the Lausanne North American Regional Gathering.

For more information, visit the conference website.

Amplify 2017 is a national conference on evangelism. “If we are honest, if we look at the fruit of many churches and Christ-followers today, we might say that too many hold evangelism to be a low priority in their daily lives. Perhaps they haven’t had much training, perhaps they are overcome by fear. Regardless of the reason we don’t show and share the love of Jesus with others, we must admit that the Church in North America is at a critical crossroads of witness. Amplify is a 3-day event where we will reimagine an evangelism for our day that is winsome, soulful, creatively, and deeply grounded in scripture. Amplify will feature a mix of plenary speakers, case studies, research, breakout sessions, tracks, and networking times intended to meet the needs of everyone who attends.”

Speakers include: Luis Palau, Trip Lee, Nikki Toyama-Szeto, Danielle Strickland, Dave Ferguson, Ed Stetzer, and Jerry Root.

AmplifyConference.tv
 

Amplify 2016 is “a national conference on evangelism that will begin a growing movement of churches filled with people who have weaved evangelism into every part of their lives.”

Speakers include: Luis Palau, Alan Hirsch, Peter Hong, Lee Strobel, James Choung, Ed Stetzer, David Choi, Kevin Harney, James Meeks, and Beth Seversen.

AmplifyConference.tv

An Ethical Approach

More of a practical guide than a theological statement, “Recommendations for Conduct” outlines “A Basis for Christian Witness”. This is the most consistently biblical section, and primarily upholds mission as a participation in the mission of God and obedience to the example of Jesus and the early church with a strong emphasis on ethical behavior and responsibility.³ The document also details “Principles” of Christian conduct in bearing witness to the gospel: “Acting in God’s love,” “Imitating Jesus Christ,” “Christian virtues,” “Acts of service and justice,” “Discernment in ministries of healing,” “Rejection of violence,” “Freedom of religion and belief,” “Mutual respect and solidarity,” “Respect for all people,” “Renouncing false witness,” “Ensuring personal discernment,” and “Building interreligious relationships.” True to its subtitle, it also suggests “Recommendations” for guiding relationships between Christians and others as Christians respond to God’s call to do mission: “study” the critical issues involved, “build” relationships of respect and trust, “encourage” Christians to strengthen their own religious identity and faith, “cooperate” with other religious communities for justice and the common good, “call” on governments to respect religious freedom, and “pray” for all neighbors.

“Recommendations for Conduct” ends with an “Appendix” describing the background and process of its origin and development over the last five years. As a participant from beginning to end in that process, I understand that this background is essential for appreciating many of the nuances of the statements of this document. Also, it would be a mistake to divorce the content and tone of “Recommendations for Conduct” from the clear purpose statement in the “Preamble”.

The purpose of this document is to encourage churches, church councils and mission agencies to reflect on their current practices and to use the recommendations in this document to prepare, where appropriate, their own guidelines for their witness and mission among those of different religions and among those who do not profess any particular religion. It is hoped that Christians across the world will study this document in the light of their own practices in witnessing to their faith in Christ, both by word and deed.

Early Response

Mark E. Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2007) 124 pages, ISBN 9781581348460.

Mark E. Dever believes that personal evangelism is the duty of every Christian. Although some may be more gifted for evangelism than others, he believes that all Christians have a responsibility to share the Gospel with unbelievers. This responsibility includes having a sound knowledge of the Gospel and a clear presentation that is supported by prayer and a life of faithfulness.

In his book, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, Dever offers readers a number of reasons for sharing the Gospel on a personal level. He also includes some practical ways to conduct such a ministry. He supports his views with numerous Scriptures from the Gospels, Acts and other New Testament passages. He also draws on his personal experiences.

Dever serves as senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. A prolific writer, he is the author of several books by Crossway, including Promises Kept, Promises Made, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, and The Deliberate Church. He holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University and a Th.M. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also is the executive director of 9Marks (www.9marks.org).

In The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, Dever attempts to answer some of the most common questions people have about the Gospel and personal evangelism. He focuses on “the best news that there has ever been, and how we should share that news” (p. 17). His goal is that readers find they “can be more understanding and obedient in evangelism” (p. 17). His desire is to help the church to develop a culture of evangelism. He defines this culture as “an expectation that Christians will share the gospel with others, talk about doing that, pray about it, and regularly plan and work together to help each other evangelize” (p. 17). In short, he wants evangelism to be normal in the Christian life.

Dever covers his topic in seven chapters, each of which addresses an important question on evangelism. He begins with, “Why Don’t We Evangelize?” This is followed with, “What is the Gospel?” He then proceeds with, “Who Should Evangelize?,” “How Should We Evangelize?,” “What Isn’t Evangelism?,” “What Should We Do After We Evangelize?,” and finally, “Why Should We Evangelize?”

In Dever’s view, there are five basic excuses that Christians have for failing to evangelize. Three of them are: “Evangelism could cause problems,” “Other things are more urgent,” and “I don’t know non-Christians.” To address these and other excuses, he offers a 12-step program in which he advises the Christian to pray, plan, accept, understand, be faithful, risk, prepare, look, love, fear, stop, and consider.

On the subject of the “Good News,” Dever explains some of the popular misconceptions and poor definitions of what the Good News is. He writes, for example, that it is not simply that we are okay, it is not simply that God is love, and it is not simply that Jesus wants to be our friend. He states emphatically that the Gospel is about the sin problem that all people have, and what God did through Christ to address the problem. He writes that God is holy and He hates sin, and the only way a person can be saved is through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Using the Gospels and Acts as examples, he writes that the true, biblical message of salvation is that people should repent and believe the Gospel.

How can we use the internet to effectively introduce people to Jesus?

Andrew Halloway is Publishing Manager for Christian Publicity Organisation in Worthing UK. (He was previously an editor and writer at CWR, who among other things produce the daily notes EDWJ/Every Day Light, also available by email from Crosswalk.com. CPO produces evangelistic leaflets, tracts, booklets and overprinted invitation cards for church events. They have always based their ministry on two vital principles:

• that evangelistic literature should be as modern, lively and graphically well-designed as secular material.
• that editorial content should relate to the things that people are interested in, and only then offer, in a non-preachy accessible style, the Christian angle.

These two essential communication principles are equally important in online evangelism. Andrew kindly shares his view of these principles.

Communicating the Gospel in a secular, postmodern culture

As secular culture has moved further and further away from Christianity, it has become increasingly necessary to change the traditional evangelistic approach in order to communicate the Gospel. On the whole, we can’t earn an opportunity to be taken seriously when talking about Jesus or God until we have connected with people on issues they are already interested in. We have to earn the right to be heard.

In the not too distant past, there was a time when most of those who weren’t card-carrying Christians at least had an understanding of the claims of Christianity, and assented to its view of the world and its morality, even if they didn’t have an active faith themselves.

The situation is now completely different: Christian values are competing with a vast array of other competing values, and people are either ignorant of the basics of Christianity or misunderstand them. In the West we have reverted to a pagan culture which is comparable with the first-century Gentile Romano/Greek world that the first Christians found themselves in Jesus’ own ministry was to the House of Israel, and though he had a few significant ‘evangelistic’ encounters with Gentiles, he never left the environs of Judea, Galilee, Samaria and Decapolis. In contrast, he commanded his disciples to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. That meant that his disciples would have to tackle evangelism in a different way to preaching the Gospel in the Jewish monotheistic context they had been used to. However, much of Acts features the apostles going to Jewish communities in the pagan world before reaching out beyond that. Therefore, there aren’t too many examples in the Bible of how the Early Church evangelized the Gentile world, but we know from history that they certainly succeeded. However, the Apostle Paul’s sermon at Athens on ‘the unknown God’ is perhaps the best example we have of the kind of evangelism that we now have to engage in, in our own post-Christian culture.