A People for His Name

Every Believer Should Learn from John 5 How to Be Like Jesus in Evangelizing Sinners

October 30, 2012

John 5 is probably not a chapter that many believers turn to when they think about how they should evangelize people. A close look at the passage, however, reveals that it is a very valuable account from which we should learn how we are to evangelize sinners.

Many points establish the vital evangelistic importance of John 5. First, a direct statement from Jesus shows that it is an account of His evangelizing sinners: “But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved” (John 5:34). We, therefore, must learn from this passage how we are to be like Jesus in evangelizing sinners.

Second, a comparison of John 5 with John 3 and John 4, two texts which typically receive far more attention than John 5 does in discussions about key evangelistic texts, brings out the importance of John 5. The evangelistic account in John 5 (5:1-47 [47 verses]) is more than twice the length of the Nicodemus account (John 3:1-21 [21 verses]) and five verses longer than the Samaritan woman account (John 4:1-42 [42 verses]). If, then, we consider John 3 and 4 as significant for our learning to evangelize sinners the way Jesus did, we should much more consider John 5 to be so.

Third, John 5 shows that Jesus emphasized His agency in His witness to an extent that is widely lacking in the evangelistic practices of our day. In addition to two direct statements of His inability to do anything “of Himself” (John 5:19, 30), Jesus stressed that He was sent by the Father (John 5:23, 24, 30, 36, 37, 38), that He was given His authority by the Father (John 5:22, 27), and that He had come in His Father’s name (John 5:43). Thus, He communicated His agency at least eleven times in His evangelistic witness on this occasion!

We must, therefore, learn from Jesus Himself that evangelizing sinners properly does not consist only of testifying to His deity. A proper evangelistic witness stresses both His deity and His agency.

Fourth, Jesus specifically emphasized His judicial agency as part of the truth that these sinners were to believe in order to be saved. He did so by His juxtaposing key statements: (1) He highlighted that their right response to God’s doxological purpose (John 5:23a) for giving all judgment to the Son (John 5:22) would be to honor the Son even as they honored the Father (John 5:23b) and that their failing to respond in that way would be to dishonor the Father (John 5:23c); (2) He then solemnly declared that believing His message, which included that vital teaching about the doxological purpose of God for making Jesus His judicial agent, was how they would have everlasting life and not come into condemnation (John 5:24)!

Jesus, therefore, evangelized these sinners by underscoring to them His judicial agency as part of what He said to them so that they would be saved (John 5:34). Believers must learn from Jesus to include testimony to His judicial agency as part of their evangelistic witness to sinners (cf. Acts 10:42; 17:31; Rom. 2:16).

Fifth, Jesus testified at length to His central role in bringing about the future bodily resurrection of the dead (John 5:25-29). When we evangelize sinners, we thus should not just talk about Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead.

Rather, we should also tell them that Jesus will bring about the bodily resurrection of all the dead (John 5:28) to either life (John 5:29a) or damnation (John 5:29b). Based on that fact, we should then urge them to come to Him, so that they may have eternal life (John 5:40).

Sixth, even though the sinners whom Jesus was testifying to were seeking to kill Him (John 5:16), Jesus still evangelized them by confronting them directly with hard truths about themselves that they needed to hear in order to be saved. He informed them that they were not rightly related to His Father because they did not have His word abiding in them (John 5:38). He revealed that they did not have the love of God in them (John 5:42).

Jesus exposed the reality that their receiving honor from one another and not seeking the honor that only God can provide made them unable to believe what they needed to believe in order to be saved (John 5:44). He even challenged them that their trust in Moses was not what it needed to be because they did not really believe what Moses said as they should have (John 5:45b-47).

We must learn from Jesus to confront people in a similar manner with the truths that they really need to hear to be saved. We must also learn from Him to persist in evangelizing hardened people, as God providentially provides us opportunities to do so.

Given the many vital truths that John 5 reveals about how Jesus evangelized sinners, every believer should carefully learn from John 5 how he is to be like Him in evangelizing sinners.

In Evangelism, Exhortation

Let Us Sing to the Lord!

October 28, 2012

In many ways, Scripture teaches believers to sing to the Lord:

(1) Examples of believers singing to Him (Exod. 15:1; Acts 16:25);

(2) Examples of believers’ resolving to do so (2 Sam. 22:50; Ps. 104:33);

(3) Prophecies about those who will sing to Him (Isa. 52:8; Jer. 31:12; cf. 1 Chr. 16:33);

(4) Commands for people to sing to Him (1 Chr. 16:23; Ps. 33:2);

(5) Mutual exhortation for people to sing to Him (Ps. 95:1-2)

(6) Instruction that a believer’s doing so is good (Ps. 92:1) and pleasant (Ps. 135:3)

(7) Record of the Lord’s gracious working on behalf of a believer so that he would sing to Him (Ps. 30:11-12)

(8) Explanation that obedience to the command for believers to be filled with the Spirit will result in their singing to Him (Eph. 5:18-19)

(9) Visions of people singing to Him in heaven (Rev. 15:2-4; cf. 5:8-14)

Based on this abundant revelation, let us all sing to the Lord as long as we live and have our being (Ps. 104:33)!

In Exhortation, Music

In Gratitude for Those Who Help the Multitudes Who Have Need of a Physician

October 23, 2012

All the Synoptic Gospels report that Jesus affirmed that sick people have need of physicians (Matt. 9:12; Mk. 2:17; Lk. 5:31). Through the experience of helping my sister with a recent surgery that she had to have, I have a greater appreciation for dedicated doctors and other medical caregivers.

Recently, my sister suffered an accidental orbital fracture to her left eye. She had to have surgery to repair the damage. The surgeon commented something to the effect that her fracture was an extensive one.

I drove my sister from Cookeville, TN, where she lives, to the surgical clinic in Nashville where she had her surgery. The Lord mercifully allowed her surgery to go well, and we were all very grateful when we were able to see her in the recovery room.

For the next 48 or so hours, she needed considerable help with her post-operative care. For the first twelve or so hours, she needed assistance with walking and moving around the house because of the aftereffects of the anesthesia that she had received.

To reduce the swelling, frozen peas in snack-pack sized Ziploc-type bags had to be continually kept over wet, cold compresses placed over her eye. The compress had to be changed whenever it was no longer wet and cold, which typically took around 30 minutes or so. In addition, drops had to be placed in her eye four times a day and antibiotic ointment applied three times a day to the area immediately by the outer corner of her eye.

For various reasons, I ended up being the one who did most of the work of changing her compresses and applying the drops and the ointment. Doing so, I had a small taste of what many medical personnel routinely have to do in providing necessary care for those who are sick.

I thank God for the wonderful work that millions of dedicated medical personnel do in caring for those who have need of a physician! May God richly reward each one for his labor:

Psa 41:1 <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.> Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

² The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

³ The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

In Health, Testimony

Guitar Music and Chords for "Cristo Me Ama"

October 19, 2012

Here are the melody and guitar chords for Cristo Me Ama in my chord-solfeggio format for Spanish hymns.

In Guitar Music, Spanish

Sixteenth Note Study: Sheet Music and Audio

October 15, 2012

Learning to play sixteenth notes is often difficult for beginning guitar students. To help make this important skill easier to learn, I have created this simplified version of the melody of the hymn Standing on the Promises.

You can listen to the audio of this version at three tempos: 41 bpm; 51 bpm; and 60 bpm. The audio begins with one measure of silence and then two measures to set the tempo. These three measures are designed to give you time after starting the audio to get ready on the guitar.

Count each measure as follows: 1 e & a; 2 e & a; 3 e & a; 4 e & a. When you understand how to count the piece and when each note is played, practice playing along with the audio. With consistent practice, you should be able to play sixteenths notes well!

Note to my guitar students: I have transposed the song from Bb to C and simplified the rhythm. You can see the original melody in the following hymnals: Hymns of Grace and Glory (214); Himnos Majestuosos: Edición Revisada (439); and Celebremos Su Gloria (273).

In Music, Spanish

Strumming and Picking Handout for Pachelbel's Canon

October 13, 2012

I’ve revised my strumming and picking handout for Pachelbel’s Canon so that the song should be fairly easy to learn even for people who are trying to learn to play the guitar on their own.

In Guitar Music

Divine Wisdom about Human Oppression

October 10, 2012

Psalm 10 provides much wisdom from God concerning human oppression. First, using many different terms, we learn who the people are that are typically oppressed by other people: “the poor” (10:2; 8; 9 [2x]; 10; 14); “the innocent” (10:8); “the humble” (10:12, 17); “the fatherless” (10:14, 18); and, “the oppressed” (10:18).

Second, we learn the root causes of the oppression that they experience. Proud wicked people who do not seek God (10:4) and do not have God in their thoughts (10:4) persecute them (10:2). These evil oppressors vainly assure themselves that they will never be moved and be in adversity (10:6).

They misinform themselves continually by telling themselves that God has forgotten, has hidden His face, and will never see (10:11). What’s more, they contemn God and say in their hearts that He will not requite them for their wickedness (10:13).

Third, the Psalm instructs us that the only true solution for all such oppression is prayer (10:12, 15) to the Lord, the eternal King of all (10:16). He has seen and has known all the wicked thoughts, schemes, and deeds of every oppressor (10:14). He will most certainly ultimately requite all who oppress others (10:14).

He has heard the prayers of the oppressed (10:17), and they must persevere in praying to Him that He would arise to judge on their behalf so that they may no longer be oppressed (10:18). Turning to God in absolute trust in Him is the one true hope for all the oppressed.

Fourth, we must learn to fear God ourselves and treat all others properly, knowing that He will one day “judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to [Paul’s] gospel” (Rom. 2:16). We must not allow ourselves to oppress others because we do not keep God in our thoughts and do not speak the truth in our hearts about His knowledge of our evil deeds and about the certainty of His requiting all oppressors.

Fifth, based on the teaching of this Psalm, we should teach others about the true causes of all human oppression and what is the true solution for it. Our world, which is filled with so much horrific oppression, desperately needs a believing acceptance of this divine wisdom concerning human oppression.

In Interpretation, Theology

Two more audio mp3s of melodies of Spanish hymns

October 8, 2012

A Dios el Padre (O God Our Help in Ages Past)

Oh, Dios es bueno (God Is So Good)

In Music, Spanish

New Resources for Guitar for Spanish Ministry

October 6, 2012

You can now listen to and practice along with the melodies of the following Spanish hymns:

Adoradle

Castillo Fuerte

Cristo me ama; Sagrada es el amor

Cuán dulce es confiar

El váron de gran dolor

Gracia admirable

Me guía él

¿Qué me puede dar perdόn

In Guitar Music, Spanish

Tips for Playing Guitar Chords in Songs

October 4, 2012

1. Do a chord inventory by looking through the whole song and noting all the different chords that are used. Learn how to finger any chords that are new to you.

2. Practice changing from chord to chord in the song. Think about how to make each change in the best way.

Remember that normally the left hand finger that stops the string for the lowest sounding fretted note in the chord needs to be put down first. This will mean putting fingers on the bass strings in a chord before fingers are put down on treble strings (or putting all fingers down at the same time).

For example, changing from Am to G: G has a finger on the sixth string, so that finger needs to go down first, followed by the finger on the fifth string before the finger on the first string is put down.

3. Practice strumming through the song according to the basic rhythm of the song given by the time signature. For example, you would strum 4 times in each full measure for a song in 4/4.

4. Keep track of any hard sections of the song where the chord changes are difficult. Isolate those sections and practice changing back and forth between the chords in those sections.

5. For chords that are hard to play, try simplifying in one or more of the following ways:

a. Ignore the bass note of the slash chords and play the basic chord. For example, play Am instead of Am/G or A instead of A/C#.

b. Try playing just the melody note for hard chords, especially if they do not last very long. For example, instead of playing an e°7/Bb chord that lasts for only one beat (or a shorter time) in a measure, you would play just the melody note of the chord.

c. For a series of fast chord changes, try playing one of more of the chords as a pinch chord by pinching your right hand thumb and three fingers (i-m-a) together in one smooth motion. The right thumb will sound the lowest bass string in the chord, and the three fingers play the treble strings.

6. When the chord changes become smoother, practice strumming the chords according to the actual rhythm of the melody. For example, a measure in a 4/4 song that has two quarter notes, a dotted quarter note, and an eighth note would be strummed with down strums on beats 1, 2, 3, and on the and of beat 4.

7. For chords that are played when a melody note lasts for more than one beat, try filling in after strumming or pinching the chord on beat 1. Quickly and repeatedly alternating the bass note with one of the notes on the treble strings is a good way to fill out such places in songs.

8. When you can strum through the song well according to the rhythm of the melody, work on picking through the song. Try different picking patterns to see what sounds best.

(This PDF provides more information, including examples with chord diagrams)

In Music

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