In this message we will consider the second step of the organic building up of the Body of Christ which is to nourish and cherish the new believers in their home meetings.
In preaching the gospel, a brother recently met a Moslem who did not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Because two of the greatest items in the New Testament are Christ Himself being the Son of God and His believers being the sons of God, more than one visit to such a person would be necessary. On your first visit, you could present the matter of Christ being the Son of God. Then on your second visit, you could speak concerning Christians being the sons of God. You could also tell him that few Christians really know about the Person of Christ in detail.
Christ being the Son of God has at least two aspects. First, He is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). Second, He is the firstborn Son of God with many brothers (Rom. 8:29; John 20:17; Heb. 1:6; 2:12) who are the many believers of Christ. When you make such a presentation, you not only show that the Bible is trustworthy but also show that you are capable in preaching the gospel. Your friend may realize deep within that you are very knowledgeable about spiritual things. This builds up some credit within him. Once you gain such credit, it will be very easy for him to receive your word.
In order to adequately prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you must present what the Bible says concerning Him. Today people recognize that there are only two kinds of Bibles, the Jewish Old Testament and the Christian New Testament. When these two books are put together, they constitute the Bible, the book of books. Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, however, do not have a bible. The Moslem religion does have a “bible” which is a partial imitation of the Bible. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam basically came from the same source. Therefore, the unique source of these three religions is the Bible. The reason such a situation exists is because there is one unique God. In Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, there is no God. Only Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in the one unique God, and all three have their sacred writings. The Jews hold only the Old Testament, the Christians hold the Old and New Testaments, and the Moslems hold a partial imitation of the Bible.
The Bible makes known all the spiritual, divine, and mysterious things, such as the origin of the universe and the origin of man. Darwin speculated about these things, but only the Bible tells us in a trustworthy and clear manner the source of the universe and of man. As to the origin of the universe, the first sentence of the Bible states clearly, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). With such a word, there is no speculation.
Concerning the origin of man, the Bible clearly says that God created man in His own image according to His likeness (Gen. 1:26). None of the great philosophers could clearly tell us the origin of man, but the Bible gives some practical details concerning man’s creation. Genesis 2:7 says that God formed man’s body from the dust of the ground. Today, scientists have discovered that all the elements of the earth are in man’s body. Many of the minerals found in the earth are a supply to the human body. Only the Bible has given us such details concerning the creation of man.
Laying a foundation concerning the content of the Bible prepares the way for you to read a number of the top verses to your gospel contacts about Christ being the Son of God, such as John 1:1 and Romans 9:5. From eternity Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 3:16). In resurrection He was begotten (Acts 13:33) to be the firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6), and His believers as the many sons of God are His many brothers (Rom. 8:29; John 20:17; Heb. 2:12).
As people who are entering into the gospel labor, you must study not only the Bible with its truths but also a small portion of the content of other religions. Then when you meet people who are in some of these religions, you will know how to talk to them.
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