Monday, August 21, 2006

This post was written Friday night, but, because my internet connection has been down from last Thursday night until today, I was only able to post today.

Truly, God was magnified tonight among the poor and the lost.  Going to Westport (a district near downtown Kansas City), I did street evangelism for the second consecutive Friday.  I dispensed tracts to whomever would take them and preached the gospel--and, to that end, engaged in apologetics--to whomever would listen.  Tonight, God had ordained for me two major opportunities to evangelize and apologize.  The first occurred just after I arrived at Westport.  A man appearing to be about 50 years old, seeing me walking past him, asked me for money.  Charles told me that he and his wife (to whom he later said he had been married for something like 35 years) had ten children, but that they had had nothing to eat for the past two or three days.  Of course, an important rule when ministering to the poor is that they should never--regardless of how desperate their situation--be given money; and so, I told Charles that, although I wouldn't give him money, I would talk to my fellow evangelists (namely, Darin Smith) so that I could see what we could do to help him.  Before our first encounter concluded, however, I told him the gospel.  Charles thought he would go to heaven because he was basically a good person--the typical response of a non-Christians and cultural Christians (and American Christians).

And so, while Charles walked about a block and sat on a street corner bench, I talked to Darin.  Eventually, after consulting Dan Grubbs (one of two "adults," and a Pleasant Valley Baptist Church member, who regularly evangelizes with Darin and from the beginning has supported the street ministry begun by the small group of Jewell students), we decided to buy him some food.  So, Darin and I went to a nearby supermarket and bought two packages of chopped ham, one package containing 72 slices of cheese, two loaves of bread, and a gallon of two-percent milk (spending about 12 dollars).  And so, we took the groceries to Charles.  But what was his reaction?  The first thing he did was look in the bag and tell us that his kids (who, remember, hadn't eaten for two or three days) couldn't eat the kind of cheese we had bought because it made their skin break out (or something).  This was irksome, but only momentarily.

My other major evangelism and apologetics opportunity tonight was a discussion with two young men.  One of the guys claimed to be a Christian and seemed to know enough about Christianity that I suspect he grew up going to church (Sunday school, at least).  He was slightly but noticeably drunk.  The other guy, who seemed almost perfectly sober, was a deist (deism: "a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe" (Merriam-Webster); basically, belief in a god who is impersonal--i.e., he does not interfere in the world [and thus deists deny the possibility of miracles]).  However, while he seemed to know basically what deism was, I would conjecture that he was not a "devout" deist (i.e., that he didn't really know the history of deism, how it came out of the Enlightenment, etc.).  The nominal Christian said that, while he thought that my message was good, he didn't see how I had a right to tell people that they are sinful.  Honestly, they both asked so many good and important questions (though often in an accusatory tone) that they would often both ask very good questions or raise very good objections at the same time, which prevented me from addressing as many of their objections or being as clear as I could have.  I conversed with these two guys for about 35 minutes.  After the two guys left, I handed out tracts for about 15 more minutes, until it began raining.  Then, I left Westport and headed home, driving through heavy rain.

I have finished all my Greek grammar lessons and have only the final exam remaining (which I've scheduled for this Friday at noon).  I have learned a great deal more by studying Greek in an independent study than I ever did in either of the two Greek classes I've taken--and in less time, too (10 weeks this summer vs. a 16-week semester).  I intend to master ancient Greek, so that I might be able to read ancient Greek as easily as I read English.  Oh, that I could read the New Testament in Greek!  (I also look forward to being able to read classical Greek literature.)

I am currently reading Not What My Hands Have Done, a book containing two classic works on the Christian doctrine of justification: Horatius Bonar's "The Everlasting Righteousness" and Charles Hodge's "Justification by Faith Alone."  The title of the book comes from a poem of the same name by Bonar (1808-1889):

Not what My hands have done can save my guilty soul.
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God.
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin.
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee
Can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free.

Thy grace alone, O God, to me can pardon speak.
Thy power alone, O Son of God, can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save thine, no other blood will do.
No strength save that which is divine can bear me safely through.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine.
And with unfaltering lip and heart, I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in his tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust his truth and might.
He calls me his; I call him mine, My God, my joy, my light.
'Tis he who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because he loveth me; I live because he lives.

-- Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

 

The Trinity Foundation is having an essay contest, for which the essay topic is simply this book.  First prize is $3,000.