Kingdom Progress – Page 7 – Gregory Scott Blog

Practical Evangelism Tips From The Parthenon

When the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, he probably didn’t know what to expect. Yet, it wasn’t too long before he had led an Athenian Supreme Court justice to the Lord and others as well. (Acts 17:34).

If you are a Christian, here’s four things you can learn from Paul’s success in Athens that will make you more effective in sharing the Gospel. (Acts 17:16-34).

1. Be Observant. Paul was observant. He observed the Athenians’ culture and religious practices. (Acts 17:16, 22). This gave him a place to start when he began sharing the gospel with them.

2. Be Relevant. Paul was relevant. When speaking to these Greeks, Paul quoted from Greek poets: Epimenides ( v. 28 — “…in Him we live and move and exist….”) and Aratus (v. 28–“For we also are His offspring.“). Paul was well-read and knew the Greek culture. Consequently, he was able to connect with his audience and draw them in.

3. Be Provocative. This doesn’t mean to be rude, but you shouldn’t be shy about challenging belief systems and provoking people to reexamine their faulty worldviews. Paul told the Athenian Supreme Court he knew the God they worshipped in ignorance (v. 23) and that God did not dwell in their temples (v. 24). He said this with one of the most famous temples in the world–the Parthenon, the temple of the Greek goddess Athena–just a few hundred yards away. Pretty provocative.

4. Be Attuned. To your audience, that is. When standing before the Areopagus, Paul knew he was speaking to judges, so he talked to them about judgment (“…He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world…”) and evidence (“…having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead”), two things–judgment and evidence–judges know something about. (Acts 17:31).

Do you do these things? I’m interested in your comments on any experiences you might have had. GS

3 Clarifications About 9/11

Today there will be much talk about 9/11, its causes and the people involved. Because Truth is a virtue, it is incumbent upon citizens of the kingdom of God to speak accurately about 9/11. With that I offer 3 thoughts with the intent of bringing some clarification to the conversation of 9/11.

1. The Terrorists Were Not Cowards. It has become popular to call the 9/11 terrorists cowards. However, a coward is one who succumbs to fear and self-preservation. The terrorists of 9/11 all voluntarily gave their lives for what they perceived as a higher calling or principal. They were, of course, wrong. There was no higher calling or principal, which makes these men fools, misguided and wicked, but they were not cowards.

2. The Victims Were Not Necessarily Heroes. A hero is someone who sacrifices his/her desires, needs or life for others or a higher calling. Being killed may make one a victim, but not necessarily a hero. There were heroes on 9/11. The firefighters and police who entered burning buildings to save others, as well as the people in the buildings who risked their lives to help those around them, are all heroes. But to call everyone who died in 9/11 a hero is to cheapen the word for those to whom it truly applies. We should honor those who died, but let’s do so honestly. Honest honor is better than false praise.

3. The Opportunity Will Always Be Clearer Than The Cause. We can speculate forever about the causes of 9/11. I’m not talking about the direct causes, i.e. that terrorists flew planes into buildings, but the more fundamental causes, whether they be political or divine. What is clear is the opportunity 9/11 created for the kingdom of God. 9/11 shook a nation out of its secular slumber and opened people to the Gospel. It also incited hatred, which gave Kingdom citizens the opportunity to model the love of Christ to Muslims. In short, it was a tremendous opportunity for the advance of the kingdom of God. Only time will tell how well Christians seized that opportunity.

So, if you find yourself in a conversation regarding 9/11 today, speak Truth, give honor where honor is due and seize the opportunity for the kingdom of God. GS

The One Question I Would Ask The Apostle John

Tomb of the Apostle, John — 2010 © Gregory Scott

A few weeks ago I was in Ephesus and saw the tomb of the disciple, John, author of the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. As I stood there I entertained the obvious thought, “Wow, I’m just a few feet away from the remains of a person who walked with Jesus.”

But I also had a burning question, the one question I would ask John if I could only ask him one question: “When did you write the Book of Revelation?” The question is not just an academic one but one with profound consequences. If John wrote the Book of Revelation in the early 90s A.D. then futurists–those who believe much of what is written in Revelation, including the Great Tribulation, is in the future–probably have the better argument.

If, however, John wrote Revelation in the early 60’s A.D. before Emperor Nero’s persecution of Christians, which followed the great fire in Rome in 64 A.D., the postmillennialist view actually makes more sense. And instead of cowering in fear of a coming Great Tribulation and living in a timid expectation the kingdom of God will fail on earth, Christians can go forth confidently building the kingdom, knowing it will continue to permeate the earth like leaven.

I am firmly in the second group, believing Revelation was written in the early 60s A.D., before Nero’s persecution and before the destruction of Jerusalem. The best book I’ve seen on the dating of the Revelation is Dr. Kenneth Gentry’s book, The Beast of Revelation. There are arguments of course for a later dating of Revelation, but I believe the more convincing case is for an early dating.

Too bad though we can’t just ask John. GS

Righteousness & Competence

In the United States we’ve had some seemingly good Christian men who were not good Presidents, and we’ve had some seemingly bad men who were very good Presidents. Having just finished reading several books on the Byzantine Empire I think it would be easy to prove the same point there, as it would be in the market place, the arts, athletics and just about any other field.

Some of you reading this post may be thinking, “Yeah, so what? What does one have to do with the other?” Others of you understand why this perplexes me as a Christian.

If righteousness is the act of being and acting rightly, i.e in accordance with Truth, then it seems that should translate into success or excellence for Christians in their earthly endeavors. The reality is that a different common denominator is found in those who tend to succeed in earthly endeavors–competence. It seems that competence trumps righteousness.

In fact, I think one can confidently say that all other things being equal, competence is probably the best indicator of whether one will be successful in life. And yet competence is not righteousness. Or is it?

We think of righteousness as being limited to morality, i.e. acting right morally. But why should it be so limited? Why shouldn’t righteousness extend to areas of our lives other than ethics? To put it another way, maybe everything is moral. And if everything is moral, then competence is righteousness.

I don’t mean to suggest being excellent at what you do is your pass to heaven. I do mean to suggest that competence is part of righteousness in the same way that temperance, discretion, kindness and selflessness are constituent elements of righteousness.

In the Parable of Talents, Jesus commended the competence of those servants who took their master’s money and turned it into more money. He did more than commend, He called the servant who failed with his masters money–who was incompetent–“wicked.” (Matthew 25:14-30). If I am correct, it shouldn’t surprise us then that Jesus’ followers said of Him, “Behold, He does all things well.” (Mark 7:37).

I don’t know, it’s just a thought, but it makes sense to me. GS

Can An Abortion Advocate Be A Christian?

I believe abortion is the taking of a human life. I’ll spare you all the reasons because you have probably heard them before. If you don’t agree that abortion is the taking of a human life, then I won’t try to persuade you that it is, but I would challenge you to read yesterday’s post because even if you don’t believe abortion is the taking of a human life, I believe logic and the most universal of ethics demand that you be against it.

Having said that, I would like to pose a question to fellow citizens of the kingdom of God: “Can an abortion advocate really be a Christian?” It’s an important question.

I ask the question because I believe there are a fair number of Christians who would answer “No” to the question, and even those who believe it’s possible would have to admit that knowing a person sees nothing wrong with abortion would cause them to doubt that person’s faith.

But if you find yourself in one of those two groups, let me ask you a question: Do you think it’s possible to be a Christian and believe there is nothing wrong with race-based slavery? If you answer “No,” you have just eliminated most of the American South for more than 200 years. I think one has to admit that it was possible to be right about Jesus and wrong about slavery.

If Christians can be blind enough not to see that slavery is wrong, they can be blind enough not to see that abortion is wrong. And, if Christians can be wrong on these matters, I suppose they can also be wrong on issues like the role of the government in our lives and the level of taxation we should endure.

As I said above, I believe abortion is the taking of a human life, in other words, murder. I believe slavey is abhorrent. I believe, as a general rule, the less government and taxes the better. So, my point is not to assert the opposite positions here but to argue against the tendency to make one’s politics a litmus test for whether they are a citizen of the kingdom of God.

The advancement of the kingdom of God is not as dependent upon its citizens being right on political issues as it is on its citizens being righteous. Politics are are neither all-important nor unimportant. If we are to seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33), then we cannot allow something less important, like politics, to separate us from fellow citizens of the kingdom of God who also desire to see it advance in the earth. GS