25th Street: My Vision Vs. God's

My original goal in beginning an evangelistic ministry on the streets was to share the gospel with the world, watch people get saved and disciple them in the faith. I thought it would be so cool to be able to say what Paul did to the Corinthians, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15) 

It's been a year and a half now since I began this ministry and let's just say that nothing is ever what you think it will be. Isn't that the way life is though? Take anything for an example and it rings true that whatever your preconceptions are, you can just about guarantee that it will be nothing like that.

In the time that I have invested on 25^th street I would have thought that I would have at least 10 new people plugged into our church, or for that matter any church, by now. But as of yet not one person has been plugged into a church through this ministry, at least that I know of.

I don't blame myself because I know that I have done everything in my power to plug people into local churches. I recognize that it's not my fault, but it's because we live in an age where people's hearts have grown cold. This was prophesied by Paul in his letter to Timothy when he exhorted Timothy with these words,

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:3-5)

There is no way to overturn the Word of God. God etched these words into the fabric of time before the world began. They will be fulfilled no matter how many zealous young street preachers like myself try to fight against the tide of unbelief we are faced with today, because I do not have the power to change hearts. That is a power reserved for God alone.

I have been discouraged by this lack of results. In fact, over the last two months or so I have recognized that my passion to hit the street with the Word has greatly decreased. I'm not as fervent as I once was. Though I believe that some of this is due to the maturity that I have been granted, because I am not overly anxious like I was before, I also recognize that some of it is due to my lack of vision.

God's vision for this ministry was not the same as mine. I think that is often the case when we embark on any project to serve God. We have a vision for what we would like to accomplish, what results we would like to achieve and the like, but God has an entirely different vision in mind. He gives us the passion, the gifts, and the resources to carry out our vision, while holding back from us how exactly He is going to use us.

I've already stated my vision, to see the unbelieving world come to Christ and be discipled, but now I would like to share what God's vision was for this ministry. God knew that I needed to be humbled, and that is the first thing He has done.

There was once a time when I believed that I was going to plant a church in a small mountain town with just my wife, while I worked a part or full-time job. My thought was that I was going to knock every door in town and lead people to the Lord. My goal was the glory of God, but I retained a sense of pride that I could do this single handedly. When I began the ministry on 25^th street, I had much the same feeling of pride. I won't tell you that today I don't struggle with pride in my ability to share the gospel- that would be a lie. But I will tell you that God has greatly humbled me. I once thought that there was a best approach that will work for anyone while sharing the gospel, and that I had it. I was clearly wrong. My lack of what I deemed “results” proves this. God has helped me to realize that I am not Mr. Awesome Evangelist. I'm just a guy who wants to see people come to know Christ.

God's vision was also to give me a few close friends – dear brothers in the Lord who are equally passionate to share the gospel. Tyler Woodhead is not someone I ever thought that I would view as a close friend and dear brother, but his passion to share the gospel led him to be my number one partner in the ministry on 25^th. He and I have spent countless hours talking about theology, evangelism, marriage, kids, personal struggles, pitfalls, problems, and just about anything else you can think of. We've shared many a laugh and have mourned together over the hardness of heart that we see every week. We have prayed for one another and challenged one another.

Another friend I have made is Patrick Cross. He is planting a church with Tyler near where we share the gospel on 25^th street and has done his best to join Tyler and me as much as possible. Patrick's willingness to openly share his struggles with me between the gospel conversations we have with people who pass by has allowed me to be open with him about mine. We too have prayed and I have seen into the heart of a man whose heart breaks for a world that is lost and without a shepherd. His heart to shepherd them is rare, and a blessing to see. If it weren't for the ministry on 25^th street, I would have been too busy to ever get to know these men, to bless them, and to be blessed by them.

I also would never have had the discipleship opportunities that I've had. Organic discipleship opportunities with kids from youth group, students from Bible college who have joined us on a mission trip, people from church, and other random believers have been such a blessing. Believers who are unprepared have been challenged by the world, head-on, to prepare themselves to be able to answer sincere, pertinent, and legitimate questions. I have been there to help them answer those questions and find greater faith in what they believe, which will grow into maturity and boldness for the Lord.

When I envisioned who I was going to talk to on 25^th, I thought of all the intelligent people I could challenge and be challenged by. Little did I realize that God had in mind not that I would debate intellectuals, though I have a few times, but that I would rather love the simple street people who regularly walk by. He envisioned that I would encourage those who are struggling through their addiction to meth, the most prominent drug in the area, and that I would pray for people who have recently found themselves homeless and without any idea of where to turn.

God's vision for the ministry on 25^th street also included the opportunity to challenge believers who do not join us to be bold witnesses for Christ. I can't tell you how many believers have told me that when they see me they are convicted that they do not share the gospel more. Even though I do not see most of them ever again, I have to trust God to bring that momentary conviction into a lifestyle of evangelism for the glory of His great name.

I have also had the chance to confront believers on false doctrines that they have accepted, and seen a man return to Biblical truth. I have even confronted a believer for justifying sin, for which purpose he has come to respect me, and I still see him often. I say this not to make myself look great, but to share with you what God has done to glorify himself through this ministry.

I didn't expect all the ways that God would use this ministry in my life, and in the life of countless others. I wish I could remember every face that God has touched through His Word spoken through me and those who have joined me. We have witnessed many people accept Christ as Savior, only to never hear from them again. Often times, even if we try to follow up with people, it's to no end. We trust that God will do His work and bring them back to us if He wants to, and we count it a blessing to have been there to witness a heart turn to God in humble repentance.

My vision for the ministry on 25^th street was too narrow, and too self-promoting. After a year and a half of this ministry, I have seen God work in numerous ways. In fact, I think it is possible that most believers only experience a few times in their entire lives what I experience regularly. This ministry has changed my life. It's too bad that I often revert back to my narrow focus and lose focus on what God is doing through me and others. Even though it's not what I expected, it's what God intended.

Today was my last day on the street until I pick up the ministry next summer when it gets warm again. I hope to use this time to reflect on what God has done and to refocus my vision to be more in line with His. His ways are better than my ways, and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts, just as the prophet Isaiah said. Next year, I hope to start out with a fresh new vision of what God will do on 25^th street, and then watch as once again, He shows me that there is more in store than I had even know now.

Thank you God for using me, a sinner.

Do Good People go to Hell?

Do good people go to Hell ?

Exploring the Standard of God's Judgment

In order to answer the question, Do good people go to hell?, I'd like to pose to you, the reader, a scenario. My scenario is this: Say that you lived a perfect life until the day you died, and just before you keeled over, you stole a dollar from a stranger. Now you stand before God the judge. Would God send you to Hell?

Now, I know this scenario is ridiculous- who steals a dollar in their dying breath, right? But it is a good scenario because it begs a serious question. The question it begs is, how strict does justice have to be before it is fulfilled?

If you think that a person who lived a perfect life and stole a dollar just before he died should be acquitted of his crime, you're grading on a curve. This means that you are scoring people based on the performance of the group rather than a set standard. Is it good to grade on a curve? Let's find out.

Grading on a Curve:

Here's a second scenario for you. Say you were a student in a math class that did poorly on a test. The person who received the highest percentage on the test was you, who received a whopping 50%! Since the teacher is grading on a curve, you now received 100% and everyone else's score on that test is based on how well you did. Sounds great, right? You would likely praise that teacher for how kind he was until, well... you got out in the real world.

The lost enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded.

- C.S. Lewis

If that same method of grading was used in all of your math classes throughout your schooling, you'd likely think that you were exceptional in math. In reality, you're not good at math at all- you've just received good grades because your teacher always graded on a curve.

Suppose now that you graduate as a math honors student only to become a scientist who crunches numbers all day long. What do you think would happen to you on your first day of work? You would be laughed out of the lab because you can't do the work – that's what would happen! All the sudden your dreams are crushed all because that kind teacher LIED to you by making you think that you were better than you are. High ho, high ho, to the local burger joint you go!

 

So what can we learn from this scenario of your pitiful life? How would you feel? Cheated? If you think you would feel cheated, then why? Before you thought your teacher was one to be praised, and now, when reality strikes, all the sudden you think that same teacher cheated you. That's interesting, isn't it?

Satan can make men dance upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven.

- Charles Spurgeon

The fact is that a teacher who let's their students pass despite sub-standard work is not a good teacher. In fact, this sort of teacher is a terrible teacher. The heart of a good teacher is one that cares for the long-term well being of their students, therefore, good teachers work with students who struggle instead of simply raising a poor grade. Passing students who deserve to fail may make students feel like the teacher is nice, but in reality such a teacher cares nothing for his students.

Teachers give their students standardized tests to see if their students have learned what they have been taught. Test's are important, because if a student can't meet the standard, they will not be able to survive in the real world. If a student falls below the standard, that student needs extra attention and help. Based on this information, how does a good, caring, teacher grade his students? Wouldn't a good teacher strictly grade his students according to the given standard?

Lowering the standard just so someone can pass is not a good thing – EVER! This principle applies to teachers and to judges.

Grading according to the standard:

The question, do good people go to Hell? implies that there is a judge who sends people there based on their performance. But in order to judge someone's performance, there must be a standard. What is God's standard?

Romans 3:23 tell us what God's standard is. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” The italicized portion of that quote tells us what God's standard is. Do you know what it means that God judges humanity on the basis of His glory?

God is glorious because He is morally perfect. Based on this standard of moral perfection, you're not so glorious, and neither am I. We have missed the standard of God's moral perfection. Romans 3:23 defines this as sin.

What's the consequence for not being morally perfect? The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin (what we get for sinning) is death. Harsh, right? But isn't that the way that it's supposed to be? Just as a bad teacher would lie to make you feel good by grading on a curve, a bad judge would let a man who deserves death go free. That's not right!

God is a good judge who is just in all of His judgments. (Deuteronomy 32:4) He will never lower the standard simply because He doesn't want to make people feel bad.

Applying What We've Learned:

Let's now return to our first scenario. You've lived a perfect life, except for the time you stole that dollar, and now you are standing before God, the righteous judge. Most people would call you a good person, and compared to other men you are. But is the standard good, or perfect? If you think that you will be admitted to heaven because you did better than everyone else in the world, then you're calling God an unrighteous judge because the standard is perfection. You deserve death, not eternal life with God in heaven. This is harsh, but it is also good because it is right.

So now that you know the eternal destiny of your soul, what are you going to do about it? Most people would say that they are going to try harder, but that's ridiculous. You've already failed. There is only one thing left to do.

Jesus, the Son of God, came and lived a perfect life. He achieved what is impossible for man by having lived and never sinned. What is impossible for man is easy for God. (Matthew 19:26) Since Jesus never sinned you have an opportunity to escape the punishment of hell and live eternally with God in heaven by simply believing in Jesus. He paid the price for your sin by dying on the cross in your place. Further, He proved Himself to be God in the flesh by rising from the dead. He now offers you eternal life through all that He has done for you - living a perfect life in your place and dying the death that you deserve!

Hell isn't merely paved by good intentions; it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too.

- Aldous Huxley

When Jesus was on this earth, He said on many occasions, “Believe in me and you will have everlasting life.”¹ The question for you is, do you believe in Jesus? Let me clarify the question for you. The question is not do you believe that there was once a man who lived named Jesus, or do you believe that this man died for you. The question is, do you believe that what Jesus did by living a perfect life, dying in your place, and then rising from the grave was enough for you to be acquitted of your sin before God, the righteous judge? If you think that you still have to try to be a good person, you do not trust Jesus.

So, do you believe in Jesus? The question is simple, and yet it may provoke a million questions. If you want answers to these questions, please contact to me and I will do my best to answer you based on what the Bible says. I have provided my personal contact information and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. I would encourage you, however, to not allow those questions to cripple the simple faith that is required to have eternal life with God. Jesus is enough. Do you trust Him and nothing else? If you do, you are guaranteed eternal life and an escape from the punishment of your sin in Hell.

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1. John 1:12, 3:16, 3,18, 3:32, 5:24, 6:35, 6:40, 6:47, 7:38, 11:25, 11:26, 20:31