The blog of the Emmanuel Bristol churches
The theme of promoting the gospel looms large in the middle chapters of 1 Peter. In 2:12 the apostle urges believers to live such good lives that their pagan neighbours would end up giving glory to God (compare Matthew 5:14 – 16). In 3:1 Peter drives this point home by urging wives to win their unbelieving husbands to faith through godly conduct. Then, just a few paragraphs later in 3:15, he calls on us “to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (a statement we’ll explore in the next chapter). Given the missionary thrust of these chapters it seems likely that Peter is thinking of some kind of evangelism in the words of 1 Peter 2:9: “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness.”
But what type of evangelism is Peter talking about? I once assumed (and taught) that the apostle was talking about personal evangelism. I interpreted the phrase “declare the praises” to mean something like tell the gospel to your friends and family. I now think that was probably a bit hasty. The expression “declare the praises”…comes straight out of the Old Testament’s description of Israel’s public praise, with its creeds, prayers and ever-present psalm-singing.
When we remember that the biblical Judaism of Peter’s day already thought of its public praise as beneficial to outsiders, it seems far more likely that the apostle is talking in 1 Peter 2:9 not so much about conversational evangelism but about the evangelism that goes on when God’s people gather to celebrate in word and song the saving wonders of the Lord…Peter’s words are strongly evangelistic without actually having anything to do with what we call personal evangelism…
Declaring God’s praises together – in our readings, creeds, preaching, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs – is one of our central acts of worship as the people of God…One reason for the central importance of praise is God’s sheer worthiness; we need no other reason for viewing praise as a high and holy activity. But, given the strong mission theme in 1 Peter, combined with the equally strong Jewish biblical tradition of doxological evangelism, we are probably right to detect a secondary reason for the great importance of public praise. Through it, we announce God’s mercy and power to those who overhear us, who have not yet been called out of darkness into his wonderful light.
John Dickson “The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission” p160-161, 163Don’t forget that this doesn’t mean personal evangelism is any less important though! Rather our Sunday gatherings ought to have the effect of fuelling our personal evangelism throughout the week. After all, how can we praise God together on a Sunday and be unmoved when the people we live among don’t give him a second thought?
...was one of the questions following the sermon on SundayProfessor France writes: “To read Matthew in blissful ignorance of first-century Palestinian sociopolitics is to miss his point. This is the story of Jesus of Nazareth.”
Each letter in Revelation 2-3 ends with the call “to hear what the Spirit says to the churches”. It’s a bit like a call to sit up and pay attention! But with all the coming and goings of the summer, the break for Holiday club Sunday, the different preachers we’ve had and the fact that we tend to be less familiar with the book of Revelation might mean that some would value a bit of a refresher. In which case, John Stott’s “What Christ Thinks of the Church” is just the job. Without verging into too much speculation he gives a bit of historical background into each of the churches, highlights the links between each letter and the rest of the Bible and shows us how it is Jesus’ word for us today. As you’d expect with Stott, he does it all with characteristic clarity and insight. A bargain at £5.
Jesus is building his church, his gathering, and he is doing it in and through the work of his people - through our prayerful speaking of his word to each other and to those outside. This is why Paul tells us that when we get together all things are to be done for edification, for building (1 Cor 14:26). Unfortunately, we keep attaching the word ‘up’ to the word ‘building’, which is quite unnecessary, and makes it sound like it is only about encouraging Christians. The word just means ‘building’. You can build up, you can build out, you can build in, but everything is done for building. So when an outsider is in our midst, and he hears the word of God intelligibly spoken, and is convicted—he is being built (in this case we might say built ‘in’ to Christ’s gathering rather than ‘up’).
It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects.
“When do you wish to begin?” he asked.
“Now,” I replied.