Calvary Road Baptist Church

“MISSIONS AND OUR MEANS”

Luke 5.18-20 

We begin with Luke 5.17-26: 

17  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23  Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

25  And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. 

I have previously dealt with passage when considering the topic of forgiveness. At this time, I want to direct your attention to the part you and I are supposed to play in seeing someone saved from his sins.

There is a great difference that exists between the way a decisionist seeks to bring the lost to Christ and the way the Bible shows us how to bring the lost to Christ.[1] The decisionist is, after all, is an externalist. Decisionists believe the way to get someone saved is by persuading them to “pray the prayer” or to “believe that Jesus died for him,” as if those external deeds and intellectual realizations could substitute for the miracle of the new birth.

Doing evangelism the Bible way, on the other hand, takes into account the factors over which no Christian has control, such as the mind of the sinner, the heart of the sinner, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, and this very important matter of the miracle of the new birth. Who tells God when to perform miracles? Certainly not me. As well, on what basis does anyone presume that mouthing the words of a prayer that is not found in the Bible (or even a prayer that is found in the Bible) will result in sins being forgiven and a new heart being wrought?

We have observed the sad consequences of trying to reduce evangelism to a formula first-hand. The tragic results are huge numbers of sinners who have been pronounced Christians by so-called soul winners based upon a bowed head, closed eyes, and repeated words as if that is how a sinner becomes a Christian. Though some sinners do become Christians despite that methodology and not because of it, most Christians I have known who have shared their testimonies with me were not saved when someone directed them to bow their heads, close their eyes, and mouth the words of a prayer, no matter how sincere they were at the time.

John R. Rice, the great proponent of personal evangelism in the 20th century, was careful to remind those who read his Sword of the Lord that most sinners were saved as the result of sitting under Gospel preaching. His words seem to have fallen on deaf ears in those days since most evangelistic efforts took place beyond the four walls of Church auditoriums, and since most pastors studiously avoided preaching Gospel sermons.

Let us take a fresh look at our text, Luke 5.18-20, seeing here a picture of our calling to labor for the salvation of the lost: 

18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 

Notice three things: 

First, THE ABILITY OF THE PALSIED MAN 

What could this man do of himself? Is it not obvious that the whole picture painted with words in this passage is a picture of complete inability, of total helplessness? In other examples found in the Gospel accounts, we are shown a blind man, a dead girl, a diseased leper, and a possessed demoniac, an arrogant ruler, an ignorant teacher, a thieving tax collector, or a boisterous fisherman. Does not each example show us but another aspect of what we see with this palsied man, the sinner’s total inability to save himself because he is powerless because he is blind because he is dead, or because he is hopelessly defiled?

That palsied man represents all lost men, in one respect. His crippled body speaks of the depravity of sinners, their complete inability to make their way from where they are to where they need to be to cross paths with the Lord Jesus Christ’s primary means of saving the lost, which is the preaching of the Gospel.

Thus, while the sinner you are dealing with may be a fit athlete, he is still a sinner. He is still dead in trespasses and sins. He is still a blind wanderer. Perhaps you do not need to carry him on a mat or hoist him with others using a stretcher. But he just as surely as the palsied man needs to be brought to the place where an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ is likely. 

Next, THE EFFORTS TO BRING THE MAN TO CHRIST 

It is remarkable to everyone that reads this passage that the Lord Jesus Christ took note of the four men who carried the palsied man and commended their faith instead of the palsied man’s faith. Verse 20 reads, 

“And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” 

This should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the Bible. James tells us that faith without works is dead, being alone. These men were exhibiting a lively, energetic faith in Christ by their efforts to get this crippled man to the Savior.

As well, there is no necessary suggestion here that their primary goal was to see this man healed. It may very well have been that they desired to see him granted forgiveness for his sins by the Savior since our Lord did not heal his physical infirmity except to prove a point to His detractors. Thus, these four men who carried the man on his bed were every bit the evangelists, knowing full well that their task was done and their duty performed to its fullest when the sinner on the pallet was brought into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, to be sure, they did their best to extoll the virtues of the Savior, and to urge the man to accompany them to see Him. As Paul wrote, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men.” Keep in mind that appropriate persuasion stops short of the manipulation and arm twisting that is sometimes passed off as evangelism these days.

The danger that can sometimes result from our refusal to engage in the unethical and unscriptural bullying of the lost to perform some external act, to submit to the so-called soul-winner so they can be free from coercion, is to think that we have no responsibility at all, to think that our efforts as individuals are not important enough to warrant us inconveniencing ourselves enough to work with others to reach the lost.

You have heard me enough to know that I place very little stock in the present practices of most ministries these days. I do not believe an ill-informed zealot with a Gospel tract can knock on someone’s door, talk to him for fifteen minutes without once seeking to discover his grasp of vital truths about God, about Jesus, about sin, and about salvation, and presuming the Holy Spirit will convict the sinner of his sins in that same period, bringing his heart to a proper preparation to embrace Christ at the precise moment the soul winner has completed his presentation of the Gospel.

Neither do I believe that a so-called positive message, in which sinners are convinced that life is better with Jesus, and that life’s problems are solved by Jesus, or that God has a plan for your life, is the answer. Paul is very clear in his letters that the issue was sin, is sin, and will always be sin.

In short, I believe that reaching the lost typically takes much longer than many people realize, with the Spirit of God convicting much deeper, with the sinner’s understanding of the important issues being much deeper. In short, I am convinced the Christian’s efforts to bring a sinner to a real encounter with the Savior are much more involved, requiring much greater devotion and effort than decisionists typically exhibit.

That is why it takes an entire congregation working very hard to make contacts, to then cultivate those contacts into friendships, to then communicate care and concern for the lost, all the while praying and working together as a team to bring that sinner to there he is exposed to the primary means of grace, which is the preaching of the Word of God. Furthermore, when sinners do sit under the preaching of the Word of God they need to have accurate facts and details presented to them, then they need exposure to the consequences of their sinfulness, at which time they should hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the challenge to come to Christ.

What should all this mean to you and me? It means that if you refuse to exert yourself on behalf of the palsied man, he will not be reached. What would have happened had one of the four who ended up carrying him on his bed said, “You don’t need me on Saturday night. There are three men who can do the job.” I dare say; three men would not have been able to get the palsied man up the stairs, or be able to lower him down through the hole they made in the roof. Thus, if you are not up the task illustrated by these four men in our text, the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ does not take place, the man is not carried up the stairs, he is then not lowered through the hole in the roof.

Applying their actions to our day, might I suggest that your efforts to reach the lost include the coordinated activity of all our members to get the word out, to proclaim our Church’s name and times of services, to meet and befriend people outside, and to warmly greet and be hospitable to those we are able to bring in? Walk with them next door to share with us in food and fellowship. Arrange times to cultivate friendships. Do what is appropriate so they will want to come back to our Church, sit under the preaching of the Gospel, and perhaps someday embrace our Savior, rather than bolting out the door and running to your car after Church.

Every activity that helps to achieve these goals and work toward these ends is illustrated by the four men in our text, without whom, humanly speaking, there would be nothing to rejoice for. 

Finally, THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION 

I have gotten ahead of myself somewhat, but during this era in which we live, the physical encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ has been replaced by the preaching of the Gospel. This has been necessary for two reasons: First, Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right-hand makes a physical encounter with Christ impossible at this time. Second, the sending of the indwelling Spirit of God could not have occurred apart from Christ’s glorious ascension to the Father’s right hand on high.

What happens now is that sinners are brought, much as the palsied man was carried by the four men, to a place where a spiritual encounter is prepared for, is prayed for, and is anticipated. That spiritual encounter is the preaching of the Word of God, where it is hoped the Spirit of God will take the Word that is preached and will apply it in a powerful way to the minds and hearts of the lost who are there to hear.

Though our text gives us no clue concerning the spiritual opposition that always occurs at such times, other portions of Scripture reveal to us that Satanic opposition will work to blind unbelievers to the truth and that the sinner’s spiritual deadness will hinder his reception and grasp of the truth. On top of that, you have distractions of people and distractions of other types, all working to interfere with the Holy Spirit’s efforts at convincing of sin, and righteousness, and judgment to come. 

The text that we have looked at focuses on the role that you play in seeing someone converted to Christ, rather than the role the preacher plays, or the role played by the Holy Spirit. What we have seen is four men working to overcome the obstacles created by other people who are simply in the way, blocking access, interfering by their dullness and inattention to the spiritual needs of those around them.

Is it any different these days? How are you different from one of the four who would carry the crippled man to the Savior? How will he be transported? How will he be persuaded to come? How will he be brought if one of the four had listened to a family member and decided to do something else, or had concluded he was not needed enough and decided to stay home?

How is our task to get visitors in again and again any different than the task of those four men? “They sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.”

You are not required to be a theologian. Neither are you required to demonstrate unusual skills. The Christian life is quite simple. Like those four men, you are to work with others to accomplish the task of bringing a sinner to where a spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ will take place. Just find the means to bring him in and lay him before the Lord.

It may be the guy will hear the Gospel and will not be saved. That is his problem. You have done your part. You have fulfilled your duty. You have discharged your obligation. You have shown love for your neighbor. Come next week, do it again, either by getting that lost person back to Church once more or by 1getting another lost person into Church.

What percentage of the crippled men, the blind men, the leprous men, the dead men, did the Lord Jesus Christ save, or heal? We will not know this side of heaven. That is between the Savior and each sinner.

Our task is to do our very best to bring about an encounter between the sinner and our Savior. Is persuasion a part of it? Yes. Is hard work required? To be sure. Is fervent prayer crucial? Absolutely. Will our Church’s efforts be affected should I decide to stay home? You know they will be.

We each have a part in seeing someone saved from his sins. What kind of a person are you who will not do your part because your spouse will not do his or her part? What kind of a woman are you to stop doing your part in an effort to play to your husband or to play to your children? That is not Christianity. Do your part, and let God deal with everything else.

I conclude by making a specific application to our Church and the missionaries we support. Since most of those in our Church who are ever going to give to missions already give to missions, the importance of reaching others with the Gospel is significant beyond that individual’s spiritual well-being. To support more missionaries so that they will be more effective in the regions beyond, we need to reach the lost for Christ here.

Think about it. There are three ways to effectively interfere with and bring harm to our Church’s efforts to fulfill the Great Commission. The first impediment is prayerlessness. The second impediment is refusing to give to missions. The third impediment is noninvolvement in our Church’s efforts to reach the lost for Christ.

If you are a prayer warrior, the key for you is not praying more. You already pray. The key is bringing someone to Christ who will join with you in prayer.

If you are a missions giver, the key for you may not be giving more to missions. Maybe you already give generously to missions. But you can bring someone to Christ who will, in turn, become a member who gives to missions.

Thus, even if you pray and give, but you do not seek to reach others with the Gospel, the missions outreach of our Church is still hindered. So, you see, the Christian life cannot be compartmentalized, so a person does one thing the Savior wants while ignoring another thing the Savior wants. If Jesus Christ is not lord of all, He is not lord at all.

Allow me to put it in practical terms for you. Involve yourself and engage to see one precious soul come to Christ, accompanied by your ongoing commitment to encouraging that convert to grow and mature as a Christian. You may not be able to walk the streets on Saturday nights, but you do go to the grocery store. You do go to the barbershop. You do run errands. You do collect your mail pretty regularly.

Imagine how much you help Samuel Rai’s ministry, Garry Matheny’s ministry, Ramzi Kammar’s ministry, and our other missionaries if you play a part in bringing someone to Christ which ends up living for God?

Friday, my wife and I fellowshipped with people we had not seen in 35 years. I asked how they got to the Church, where I served then because I could not remember so far back. They told me, and it was simple. One of them reached out to another of them, who reached out to another of them, who reached out to another of them.

Thirty-five years later, they are faithful, serving God, giving to missions, and seeking the salvation of others still. Oh, how God has worked in their lives. Perhaps you can meet them someday. However you do it, do it, and keep doing it until Jesus comes or you die, whichever comes first. You see, God’s plan is for someone to be reached by someone. Someone can be reached by you who can be reached by no one but you.

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[1] Decisionism is the belief that a person is saved by coming forward, raising the hand, saying a prayer, believing a doctrine, making a Lordship commitment, or some other external, human act, which is taken as the equivalent to, and proof of, the miracle of inward conversion; it is the belief that a person is saved through the agency of a merely external decision; the belief that performing one of these human actions shows that a person is saved. 

Conversion is the result of that work of the Holy Spirit which draws a lost sinner to Jesus Christ for justification and regeneration, and changes the sinner’s standing before God from lost to saved, imparting divine life to the depraved soul, thus producing a new direction in the life of the convert. The objective side of salvation is justification. The subjective side of salvation is regeneration. The result is conversion.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church