Things New Converts Need to Know (1)
Introduction. As
most of your know, the week before last I had the privilege of being able to
attend a lectureship in Athens, Alabama focusing in on evangelism. Among the
many good ideas that brethren discussed during these studies some who have had
great success in evangelism talked about cultivating within a congregation a culture
of evangelism. What they mean by that is simply the idea that you expect to
work with people in such a way that you lead them to Christ—the congregation
develops a sense of responsibility in helping arrange studies, find prospects,
and supporting efforts to teach the lost—and it becomes something that is a
part of a congregation’s identity (rather than a thing other churches do—or
brethren in the past used to do—the preacher alone does).
Since we are
trying this year at Olsen Park to focus a bit more on evangelism this morning
and this evening I want to address something that can help us toward this idea
of establishing a culture of evangelism. Today we are going to look at
the subject of new coverts. We do have some that might classify as new
converts, however, in our efforts so far this year we haven’t brought anyone to
Christ through evangelistic efforts. So, why preach on new converts? We
these lessons are not just to new converts—they are to older converts (if you
wll) concerning things converts need to know. You see the time to
consider things like this is not just when we have baptized someone, but before
we even start the working with someone, in order to think properly about how to
respond to them. We are going to consider eight things new converts need to
know.
I.
They were converted to Christ, not the people who converted them.
A. It
is true that we belong to one another in Christ (Rom. 12:4-5).
B. But,
Jesus is the One with all authority (Matt. 28:18-20).
1. He
is the Head of the body (Col. 1:18).
2. Everything
we do is as unto Him (Col. 3:17).
C. People
can let us down—Jesus never will (2 Tim. 4:10-11).
II.
They have been called to work.
A. It
is a happy thing to obey the gospel (Acts 8:39)
B. Jesus
told the demon-possessed man He had healed to go home and tell others. (Mark
5:18-20).
1. We
must not just enjoy the blessings of being in Christ, we must do the work that
is involved in being in Christ.
2. We
must always “abound” in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58).
III.
They need to develop their abilities.
A. Christians
should not remain as “babes”(Heb. 5:12-14).
B. We
are to use the gifts God has given us (Rom. 12:4-8).
1. All
Christians are given different gifts—but all have some gift.
2. God
is not pleased with wasting what He has entrusted to us (Matt. 25:24-30).
IV.
They need to turn to their brethren for help.
A. We
must look to and listen to those older in the faith (Titus 2:1-4)
B. We
must lean on the elders of a congregation to help us spiritually (1 Pet. 5:2-3).
1. Talking
with elders is sometimes viewed as a scary thing.
2. It
shouldn’t be! These men love you and are charged to watch for your souls—take
advantage of that (Heb. 13:17).
C. We
are to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
1. With
new converts that may mean we help them overcome the baggage they carry with
them having come out of the world.
D. We must we
open to one another to confess sin and pray for forgiveness and repentance (Jas.
5:16).