"The Persecution of the Early Church" Research Paper Written By David Buck

The Persecution of the Early Church
Persecution has always been present in Christianity, from the time of the Apostles to present. However, persecution in the early church was extreme, violent, and many times fatal. This report will survey ten periods of persecution in the early church. After reading this report you, will see the amazing amount of faith that surrounded the early church as they were continually tortured and many times killed.

Nero (A.D. 67)
The first period of persecution of the Church began in the year 67, under the sixth emperor of Rome, whose name was Nero. He wished for the ruin of all things before his death and ordered that the city of Rome should be set on fire. This order was executed by his servants, officers, and guards. This destructive fire lasted for a total of nine days. As a result of the fire many palaces and houses were destroyed. Thousands of people died in the blaze.
Once Nero realized that the people were outraged by the fire, he quickly blamed the Christians in an attempt to clear himself of the crime. This began the first persecution of the early church. Nero began orchestrating all sorts of cruel punishments to perform on the Christians, including dressing them in shirts made stiff with wax, binding them to a tree and setting them on fire in order to use them as illumination.
Although these types of acts were being carried out throughout all of the Roman Empire it did not diminish Christianity. Instead Christianity was strengthened by all of this barbaric persecution. This was an amazing statistic, especially considering that two wonderful and powerful saints were martyred during this period of persecution, Peter and Paul.
The apostle Peter was condemned by Nero and sentenced to death by way of crucifixion. According to Jerome, Peter was crucified head down per his own request because he said that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord Jesus was.
The apostle Paul was also condemned and sought out during this period of persecution. He was executed by way of the sword at the request of the emperor Nero.

Domitian (A.D. 81)
The second period of persecution of the Church began in the year 81, under the emperor Domitian. During this period the Roman people made up stories which made the claim that any natural disaster that occurred was the fault of the Christians. The people claimed that because the Christians were not worshiping the gods of Rome that they were making their gods angry, resulting in punishment from the gods in the form of natural disaster. Therefore, the people blamed the Christians for these disasters which led to more persecution. In addition, a law was put in place that stated “that no Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment without renouncing his religion.” Domitian also commanded the entire lineage of David to be put to death.
As a result of this persecution many Christians suffered greatly. This included some well known leaders such as the bishop of Jerusalem Simeon and the beloved apostle John. Simeon was crucified and died as a martyr. John was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil but miraculously escaped without severe injury. He was the only apostle to escape a violent death. Later Domitian banished him to Patmos. There he wrote the final book of the Bible, Revelation.
There were many who were martyred during this period but the most remarkable was the well known disciple of the apostle Paul, Timothy. This happened after Timothy severely reproved the pagan people for their idolatry during a pagan feast called Catagogion. The pagans responded by beating him so badly that two days after the attack he died from his wounds.

Trajan (A.D. 108)
The third period of persecution of the Church took place in the year 108, under Trajan. During this period Pliny wrote a letter to Trajan informing him that there were thousands of Christians being put to death without breaking any Roman law worthy of persecution. His letter stated:
“The whole account they gave of their crime or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food--but ordinary and innocent food.”

The emperor Trajan responded to Pliny answering with instruction as to how to punish the Christians. His letter stated:
“You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it--that is, by worshiping our gods--even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.”

As result of the persecution during this period Ignatius was martyred. When he was sentenced to be thrown to the beasts he said:
"I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread."

Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 162)
The fourth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 162, under Marcus Aurelius. The cruel methods of torture used during this period of persecution were horrifying. Some martyrs were forced to walk with their already wounded feet over top of thorns, nails, shells, and other sharp objects, others were lashed until their veins were exposed. Many of these methods of torture were so gruesome that they are difficult to describe such the execution of Sanctus (a deacon of Vienna) who had two red hot brass plates placed on tender spots on his body, or Blandina who was suspended on a piece of wood mounted in the ground of the amphitheater to serve as food for the wild beasts. Many times after suffering from these horrendous tortures these Christians were taken to die by different methods of cruel, inhumane, and terrible forms of execution.

Severus (A.D. 192)
The fifth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 192, under Severus. Surprisingly enough Severus actually favored the Christians because he had been brought back to health from a severe sickness at the hands of a Christian. Unfortunately it did not end the persecution because the multitude of people raged with fury against the Christians and because of their size they prevailed. The main reason for the anger displayed by the pagans was based upon their fear of the Christians due to the growth of Christianity despite all of the persecution over the years.
During this period many were martyred. Some died extraordinarily cruel deaths such as Rhais, her sister Potainiena, and her mother Marcella who had boiling pitch poured out on to their heads. Others died horrifyingly cruel deaths such as Perpetua (a 22 year old woman) and Felicitas (a pregnant woman) who were stripped and led to the amphitheater to run while being chased by wild beasts. After they had been attacked by the beasts they did not die and were finished off by an executioner with a sword. Three others suffered along with Perpetua and Felicitas; they were Satur, Saturninus, and Revocatus. Satur and Revocatus were killed by the wild beasts and Saturninus was beheaded. In addition, there was the martyrdom of Cecilia who was placed naked in a scalding hot bath for a lengthy period of time and then executed by being struck with a sword. Many others were martyred by simply being beheaded including Leonidus (father of Origen), Plutarchus, Serenus (brother of Plutarchus), Serenus (not the brother of Plutarchus), Heron, Heraclides, Basilides (converted at martyrdom of Rhais), Victor (bishop of Rome), Speratus, Andocles, Calistus (bishop of Rome), and Urban (bishop of Rome). As you can see this was a horrible period of persecution.

Maximinus (A.D. 235)
The sixth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 235, under Maximinus. During this period of persecution countless Christians were killed without trial and many of them were buried in mass graves of 50 or 60 bodies. Some of the Christians that were killed during this period were Pontianus (the bishop of Rome), Calepodius (a Christian minister), and Hippolitus (a high-ranking member of the clergy) who was tied to a wild horse and drug across the ground until he finally died.
Maximinus died in 238. After his death the Church was free of persecution until the year 249.

Decius (A.D. 249)
The seventh period of persecution of the Church began in the year 249, under Decius. He wanted to exterminate Christianity altogether. It is thought that there were two main reasons behind Decius’ hatred toward the Christians. The first reason was because he hated Philip (his predecessor) who was regarded by many as a Christian. The second reason was that he was jealous of the large increase of Christianity. During this time the heathen temples began to become forsaken, meanwhile the Christian churches were being filled. Decius was not the only one angered by the Christians progress the heathens were also angry and considered it commendable to murder a Christian.
During this period the number of those martyred was uncountable. Fabian, the bishop of Rome, suffered decapitation. Julian (Christian, native of Cilicia) was captured for being a Christian and put into a leather bag filled with many snakes and scorpions then thrown into the sea. Peter was stretched upon a wheel, which broke all of his bones, and then he was beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to the pagan god Venus. Alexander and Epimachus were beaten, torn with hooks, and were finally burned in a fire. Trypho and Respicius had their feet pierced with nails; then they were drug through the streets, scourged, torn with iron hooks, scorched with light torches, and at length beheaded. Agatha was scourged, burnt with red hot irons, torn with hooks, laid out naked on hot coals that were covered with glass, and brought back to prison to die.
The persecution under Decius was intense and extreme. Many died for declaring themselves as Christians during this time yet the number of believers was still being added to daily.

Valerian (A.D. 257)
The eighth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 257, under Valerian. He was one of the most tyrannical emperors of Rome, and one of the greatest persecutors of the Christians. During his reign he put out an order to put to death all of the Christian clergy in Rome. The martyrs that fell during this period of persecution were countless and their tortures and deaths were very painful.
One of those martyred during this period was Cyprian (bishop of Carthage) who was beheaded. In addition to his martyrdom there was also the execution of Alexander, Malchus, and Priscus who were devoured by tigers after the voluntary admission of their belief in Christ. There was also Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda who were severely scourged, tormented on a gibbet (a T-shaped structure from which criminals were hung from), rubbed with lime, scourged again on a grid iron, and threatened by wild beasts, and then finally at length beheaded. Even more extreme was the instance of the three hundred Christians who were placed around a burning pit and commanded to sacrifice to Jupiter (pagan god) or be thrown into the pit to die. Bravely all three hundred unanimously jumped in to the pit to die refusing to sacrifice to the false god.
In 260 after Valerians death his son Gallienus succeeded him. During his reign the Church enjoyed peace, suffering little persecution until the year 274.

Aurelian (A.D. 274)
The ninth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 274, under Aurelian. There were only two martyrs that are recorded during his reign. This was because his rule was cut short because of his murder. The two recorded martyrs of this reign were Felix (bishop of Rome) and Agapetus who were both beheaded.
Aurelian was succeeded by Tacitus, then Probus, then Carus, and then finally Carnius and Numerian ruled. During this time there was little persecution, the Church had peace.
In 286 the peace ended at the hands of the emperor Maximian who wanted to exterminate Christianity. He had very cruel and painful tortures carried out against Christians during his reign. One of the martyrs of this time was the Christian preacher Quintin who was stretched with pulleys until his joints were dislocated; his body was then torn with wire scourges, then he was burned with boiling oil and pitch which was poured out on to his naked body, finally lit torches were place under his arms. Still alive he was then thrown back into prison to die from his wounds. Another persecution under his rule was the murder of 6,666 of his own soldiers who were killed for being Christians.

Diocletian (A.D. 303)
The tenth period of persecution of the Church began in the year 303, under Diocletian. This persecution was influenced by Diocletian’s adopted son Galerius who hated Christianity and constantly tried to persuade his father to exterminate them. In addition to this influence Diocletian was concerned by the increasing number of Christians. On the twenty third day of February 303 pagan Romans celebrated Terminalia (A festival celebrated annually by the Romans on February 23 in honor of Terminus, the god of boundaries) and as part of the celebration they hoped to exterminate Christianity. They forced open the doors of the Christian church and took all of the sacred books and burned them in an attempt to destroy all of their precious records. This event was noticed by Diocletian and his adopted son but they did not oppose the burning but rather had the church demolished.
After this demolition, a harsh edict was issued commanding the destruction of all of the other Christian churches and books. In addition all Christians were rendered as outlaws and were apprehended and imprisoned. This applied to all Christians. There was no exception due to age or sex. The homes of Christians were set on fire killing those inside. Other Christian families died by being tied to large rocks and thrown into the sea to drown. This extermination attempt lasted for ten years. It is impossible to know the number of those who were martyred during this period of cruel torture by way of many methods.
After the murder of countless Christians in an attempt to exterminate Christianity Diocletian became tired as he saw the numbers of Christians still continuing to rise. He felt defeated and resigned as result. This ended the severe persecution of the early church under the Roman Empire.

Conclusion
By reading this overview of the persecution of the early church you should be able to come to the conclusion that Christians suffered greatly for their faith during this period. Although many died, the church continued to strengthen and grow in number. I encourage you to ask yourself what you would do if you faced similar forms of persecution today. Would you declare Christ as your Lord and Savior? Or would you deny Him to escape torturous persecution? Remember that Christ said “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).


BIBLIOGRAPHY
Foxe, John. Foxes Book of Martyrs. Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004
Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through The Centuries: A History of the Christian Church. Michigan: Zondervan, 1996
_____. The History of the Early Christian Martyrs. http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?apostles.htm
_____. Christian Martyrs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_martyrs
_____. Church History From Theopedia. http://www.theopedia.com/Church _history
_____. Documents on the Persecution of the Early Church. http://www.bible-researcher.com/persecution.html
Foxe, John. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. http://www.wordsearchbible.com/catalog/sample.php?prodid=710

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How Are You Addressing People?

2 Timothy 2:24-25 says: “And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness...”

It is clear here that Paul is giving Timothy instruction on how to address the unbeliever. He is telling him not to be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, and to correct his opponents with gentleness. If this is how we are to address the unbeliever, shouldn’t we as believers be addressing one another with at a minimum this same respect (if not a higher respect)? I can not count how many times I have been involved in conversations with brothers and sisters (in Christ) where there was little to no gentleness displayed when disagreeing on some minor (non-essential) view such as earring’s or tattoo’s, etc. Some of these conversations may have even crossed the line to be disrespectful due to sarcasm and tone. In these conversations that I speak of it was not the subject matter that was the problem; it was the delivery of that subject matter and the heart and motives of the deliverer.

As Christians we are going to have disagreements and at times we may even have to rebuke one another and I am not suggesting that we should not do that. What I am saying is let us make sure that when we are doing this, we are doing it lovingly, with gentleness, kindness, and patience toward one another.

I would like to leave you with this verse (Galatians 6:10): “…let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Christian Mom Could Lose Custody of Daughter to Lesbian Activist

This is outrages! This is a story that I first heard on Moody radio and then tonight rediscovered at www.lc.com. This just shows how desperately wicked this world really is! Please read the article below but be warned that you will probably be outraged by this story.

I know you are busy, but trust me when I tell you that the few minutes it will take to read this letter will be well-spent and life-changing. I’d like to tell you about Lisa Miller — my client, my friend, my sister in Christ, and mother of six-year old Isabella.

On October 27, 2008, a Vermont judge is holding a hearing to determine whether little Isabella will be stripped from her mother’s care and given to a woman, Janet Jenkins, who is openly living the homosexual lifestyle. You see, Lisa Miller is one of thousands across this nation who have left the homosexual life through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. The problem is, however, that while Lisa was involved in a same-sex relationship with Janet, in Virginia, Lisa had a child, in Virginia, by artificial insemination. Now, because Lisa has refused to comply with a court order giving Janet liberal unsupervised visitation with Isabella, Janet has asked the court to transfer custody of Isabella from her only biological parent (Lisa) to Janet, who is openly living a homosexual lifestyle.

I know this story sounds confusing, so let me back up and explain how we are at the point where Lisa could be thrown in jail for refusing to expose her child to Janet’s harmful and destructive lifestyle and Isabella could be stripped from her mother’s care by Virginia law enforcement officials. Before I begin, I want you to know that I am not exaggerating when I say that Isabella will be harmed by visitation with Janet. During one of the few court ordered visits that did take place, Isabella tells us that Janet: made then five year old Isabella bathe naked with Janet; had Isabella watch R-rated movies that depicted drug use and bloody murder scenes; and had Isabella watch Janet go to the bathroom. Others have testified in court documents that Janet lost Isabella at a county fair and Isabella was being psychologically harmed by the visits.

The other thing you should know up front is that shortly after Lisa ended the relationship with Janet, Janet sought full custody of Lisa’s child. When she did that, Janet didn’t allege that Lisa was an unfit mother – because Lisa is a wonderful mother. Janet didn’t allege that the law clearly treated her as a mother – because it didn’t. No, she asked the court to create new law and declare her a parent even though she had no biological or legal relationship to the child. And that’s exactly what the courts did. Now, we stand on the brink of a court order stripping Isabella from her biological mother. With that said, let me start from the beginning of the story. At the end, I hope you will join in the efforts to stand up for, and intercede on behalf of, Lisa and Isabella.

After a very difficult childhood and a failed, abusive heterosexual marriage, Lisa, at near bottom, was told by a psychological professional that she must be a homosexual. As a result of that, Lisa plunged feet first into the homosexual community. Living in Virginia, Lisa met Janet Jenkins around 1997. It wasn’t long before Lisa moved in with Janet. The relationship wasn’t a healthy one, but when Vermont legalized same-sex civil unions in 2000, Lisa and Janet traveled one weekend to Vermont to enter a same-sex civil union. The two women immediately returned to Virginia and continued their unhealthy relationship. In 2001, pursuing her desire to be a mother, Lisa became pregnant in Virginia by artificial insemination. In April 2002, Lisa gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Isabella. Lisa is the only parent listed on the birth certificate because Virginia law did not (and still does not) treat same-sex relationships as valid. At Janet’s request, in August 2002, Lisa moved to Vermont, hoping the change of scenery would somehow make the relationship work. It didn’t, and in September 2003, when Isabella was only seventeen months old, Lisa ended her relationship with Janet. Lisa and Isabella returned home to Virginia; Janet stayed in Vermont.

After becoming a Christian, Lisa wanted to put her former life behind her. As a result, without the assistance of an attorney, in November 2003, she filed papers in Vermont to end her civil union relationship with Janet. She filed in Vermont because Virginia didn’t recognize the same-sex relationship and therefore wouldn’t terminate the relationship. To her surprise, Janet retained an attorney and filed papers in Vermont asking the court to give her primary custody of Isabella, with visitation to Lisa. Even more surprising, in June 2004, over Lisa’s objections, the Vermont trial court gave Janet liberal, unsupervised visitation. In fact, the June 2004 order expected Lisa to turn then two-year-old Isabella over to Janet for a two-week visit in Vermont. It also required monthly Vermont visits.

Because Vermont refused to address the obvious legal question of whether Janet was even a parent to Isabella (which she is not), in July 2004, Lisa filed papers in Virginia asking Virginia to declare her Isabella’s only mother pursuant to Virginia law. In October 2004, a Virginia trial court did just that, declaring that Isabella has only one mother – Lisa. Not happy with that ruling, the next month, the Vermont court declared Isabella to have two mothers – Lisa and Janet. The court was not shy about what it had done – it expressly stated that there was no law in Vermont that treated Janet as a parent because the legislature had not chosen to allow for two women to be a child’s mother unless the partner had adopted the child. Janet never even attempted to adopt Isabella during Janet and Lisa’s relationship. The court stated that it would create a law to determine who is a parent when a child is born by artificial insemination. It then created the new law and used it to declare Janet and Lisa to be Isabella’s mothers. Janet then brought the Vermont order to Virginia, asking Virginia to give full faith and credit to the Vermont orders that treated Janet as a mother and gave her visitation.

Fast forward to today – Lisa has lost every single appeal in Vermont and Virginia. As I sit here today, I can tell you that the Virginia appellate courts have decided that the Vermont orders are to be given full faith and credit in Virginia even though Virginia’s marriage laws — including the Marriage Amendment we passed in November 2006 — state that all orders coming out of a same-sex relationship are void and unenforceable. The Virginia courts made these determinations even though the Virginia Attorney General stated in court documents in Lisa’s case that Virginia cannot give full faith and credit to the Vermont orders.

Now, Janet’s attorneys have asked the Vermont court to switch custody from Lisa to Janet. They’ve made the request because Lisa has not given visitation for the past months out of concern for her child’s physical and psychological well-being. On October 27, 2008, Judge Cohen in Rutland County, Vermont will hold a hearing on Janet’s motion and decide whether to punish Lisa for disobeying the court-ordered visitation. Even before that, on September 29, 2008, the United States Supreme Court will hold a conference where it will decide whether to hear Lisa’s appeal from the Vermont decisions [the Court declined to hear the case—Editor]. A couple weeks later, the United States Supreme Court will decide whether to hear Lisa’s appeal from the Virginia decisions. Although we all know that the Supreme Court needs to take the case to protect Isabella (by reversing the Virginia and Vermont decisions), the odds are against Lisa since the court only takes one percent of all cases that come before it. The odds are even worse in Lisa’s case because the Supreme Court tends to only take cases where there is a conflict between the states. Here, because Virginia courts ignored Virginia law, Vermont and Virginia are in agreement – Lisa has to turn Isabella over to Janet for visitation (or even custody if on October 27, 2008 Vermont switches custody to Janet). We’ve asked the Supreme Court to do what every single court in Virginia and Vermont has refused to do in over four years of litigation: squarely address Lisa’s fundamental rights to raise her child. The Virginia courts have repeatedly failed to explain how a legal stranger can be given visitation to Lisa’s child without violating Lisa’s fundamental constitutional parental rights. The Vermont Supreme Court did look at the issue once, stating simply that because Vermont had declared Janet a parent, she now had equal constitutional rights to that of Lisa.

As you can tell, Lisa and Isabella need your help. Lisa’s desire to raise her child according to the truths of Scripture are under attack: at one point during the Vermont litigation, Janet’s attorneys argued that Lisa shouldn’t be allowed to keep primary custody of Isabella because Lisa believed that God had a plan for Isabella’s life and that God would protect Isabella. I’m asking you to consider whether you can commit to prayer on behalf of this family. At times like this, the Church needs to stand united before our Lord to intercede on Lisa and Isabella’s behalf.

I would also ask that you consider what you can do to let others around the nation know about this case. There are so many other women around the country who have left the homosexual lifestyle and are struggling to keep their children. The nation and Church need to know about this in order to do something to prevent this from happening in our courts to other women, and to come alongside these women and minister to them.

It’s at times like this that I recall one of my favorite quotes: “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.”

Again, thank you for taking the time to read this. I pray that each person receiving this letter will prayerfully consider what we can do to help.

Rena Lindevaldsen
Assistant Professor of Law, Liberty University School of Law
Special Counsel, Liberty Counsel

A Complete Gospel

By Tony Stone
www.reachrecords.com

Lately, I have been thinking about the many issues our modern churches face when it comes to trying to get more people in the Church and attracting new members. I've been dwelling in the book of Romans frequently, since this is the book that I have been teaching through for the last year with the youth at my Church. Spending that much time in the book of Romans has made me think about the gospel message and how it's presented in our day and age. More than ever, I've noticed people not mentioning sin, in an effort to not make the unsaved feel better and, hopefully, stay in the Church. We've confused bodies in the Church with actual successful conversions. So I want to deal with two major elements of the gospel message: Law and Grace.

The Law

The Law is both wonderful and dreadful at the same time. When I say Law, I'm not talking about 5-0 chasing down your cousin Pookie, but I am talking about the Law of the Lord as summed up by the 10 commandments. The Law is wonderful because it shows us how God feels about sin. As Christians, when we think on it daily, it has a way of pushing us towards Christ. Psalm 1:2 tells us

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

However the Law has a very opposite effect to those who are not in Christ. The Law brings us to an understanding of our sinful nature. Romans 3:19-20 says:

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

So the Law of the Lord will make a sinner specifically aware of their sinfulness, because we all have sinned.

Law without Grace

There are many of you who have had Law only presentations. You were told about the Law and your sins. You were told about a God of wrath who punishes sinners. Although this is true about God, if that is all you are taught about Him, then that is not a complete picture of the Gospel. As a result of hearing a Law only presentation you lived your life with a heavy burden, trying to earn God's approval and righteousness by attempts at Law keeping. You would try to clean up the outside act, being one way in front of your parents and Church people, but still living with the internal problem of sin. This is because the Law doesn't save us by itself, but it is key in bringing us to our knees to realize that we are not as perfect as we thought we were. That's where grace comes in.

Grace

Grace is truly amazing! Grace is God letting us off the hook when we deserve otherwise. Grace is the favor of God given to us despite our sins. It is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 tells us:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

If it were not for grace, none of us could be saved! I thank God that He saves by grace and not by the merit of our works, else we'd all be destroyed. Grace, however, must be understood in contrast to works. For the person who thinks that they have not sinned against God, how can they understand that grace is undeserved pardoning of a sinner? In the mind of the proud, they deserve to be pardoned by God. But the humble knows their works are evil and that they deserve the punishment of their sin. They then see the greatness of grace.

Grace is what salvation boils down to: God graciously loves us and gives salvation unconditionally. Jesus sheds His blood on the cross even though He's innocent. He sheds it for guilty sinners who should be paying that price in their own blood. This is grace: believers given what we don't deserve. What a relief it is to be in Jesus!

Grace without Law

Like the Law, Grace is one of those Biblical truths that has been told in part, also. Many of us have been told a message of Jesus that only included love, kindness, and grace. You may have heard about this loving Jesus who loves you and cares for you, who wants to be with you. While these things are true about God, if you are given a grace only presentation, you are not getting a complete picture of the gospel. I think more Churches and youth groups fall into this category because we really don't want to offend people. We don't want to turn people away from such a great gift of salvation when we know it's wonderful!

But consider the drastic results of a love only presentation. I admit that leaving out the Law feels better and seems to produce more people passionate to accept Jesus, so it must work, right? Well, if we were to examine the motives of people who come to accept Jesus when there is no understanding of sin, you'll find that many there had a very different idea of what they were "accepting Christ" for. Some may have very legitimate reasons why they feel they need a Savior. Some has illnesses. Some have issues with money. Others are in need of good grades. While these are all real problems that we face in life, they are not the motivators of true conversion. The only motivation that draws us genuinely to the foot of Christ is the recognition of our sinfulness and need for a redeemer. The only means by which we are saved is by grace through faith.

Apply it!

We have discussed the Law and Grace and the importance of both of these elements being present in the gospel presentation. When you share your faith with others, it's important that there is an awareness made of sins and offences against God. Without this, men don't understand why they need Jesus. However this alone will cause people to persue works righteousness as a means for salvation, which is impossible. It's also important that you share the grace of God with men. They need to know that a suitable atonement is in Christ alone! They need to know the love of God and that we are saved by His grace alone by faith alone. Without this element, it men are left without answers as to how a man can be saved. But presenting a love only message leaves people unaware of the sins that we have and the need for grace.

Be unashamed of the gospel! Point to the reason we need salvation. Point to the grace of God. Let's go out there and glorify Christ in our evangelism!

This and many good articles can be found at www.reachrecords.com

Car Show (Part Two)

This is part two of the Car Show evangelism story. You can read part one of this story by going to www.bringthenoiz.com. I encourage to read part one first and then revisit this blog to read the final encounter of our day.

After my brother NOIZ handed out numerous gospel tracts at the car show we decided to call it a day and head back home. On our way back I remembered that NOIZ needed to stop and get gas or we would be walking. So he stopped at the local Hess station to fill up. Prior to filling up we had decided to go in to the gas station first to grab a snack. On our way in NOIZ said lets go next door to the 7 Eleven instead because this Hess always smells funny and the smell of the station gets trapped in the food and makes it taste funny. So I said okkkaaaaayyyy? So we walked back to the evanga-truck, hopped in and drove over to the 7 Eleven.

After pulling up to the pump we got out and repeated exactly what we had done at the Hess station. After walking in the store and grabbing a snack we brought our goods to the check out counter. As I was checking out I thought that I noticed the man behind the counter. He had looked like someone that I knew from back in my S.C. High School days. So I asked my brother NOIZ (standing next to me) for a million dollar gospel tract while the store representative was away from me doing something else. Then after I signed my debit card receipt I asked him if he had ever seen a million dollar bill before. He replied no and said that he noticed it as I had it out while I was paying. I told him to read the back, that it was a gospel tract that contained the good news of Jesus Christ on the back. He immediately looked pleased by the tract. Then I told him that he looked really familiar and then his name came to my mind (praise God for that). I asked him is your name Jovan? He said yeah! He said he didn’t recognize me at first because I had put on some weight since high school. Then NOIZ remembered him as well and we all had a small, short reunion in the gas station and most importantly the gospel was given first and foremost. As a matter of fact Christ stayed at the center of the conversation. He asked me what church I attended and I told him G.O. (Greater Orlando) Church on Moss Park Road. I also shared our burning passion to learn and share Christ. Before departing I left him with a Concrete Angels hip hop evangelism CD and an accompanying magazine as well as a business card to gain access to us via the web or telephone. I told him to contact me that I would love the opportunity to get together with him and talk. As I was leaving he asked me to please stop back in and see him, he said that he was there all most all of the time. I said that we would stop back in and see him soon. Then I walked out the door back to the evanga-truck and jumped in.

Before we left I reminded NOIZ that God made all of this happen. It was all answered prayer. What I didn’t mention earlier in the story was that we had prayed before the car show (at lunch) for us each to have at least one encounter and until that stop I was batting zero. So God moved from our original gas stop over to the 7 Eleven so that we could run in to Jovan. Please keep Jovan in your prayers for the power of prayer is extraordinary!

One last thing, NOIZ later told me that he had not been to that 7 Eleven since high school and never has had any reason or desire to go there but yet he was the one who wanted to leave where we were at to go there instead. That’s just another indication that this appointment was divine! God is truly awesome!

A Lifesaving Station

This afternoon I experienced another bout with my fear of hitting the streets. As usual when this happens to me I take time to reflect and hit the Bible for answers. This time I went to Matthew 28:19-20 to remind myself of the command to go and make disciples of all nations. Then I read some commentary on Matthew 28 and eventually found the story below on the Grace To You website. This story really impacted me and I pray that it does the same to you. Please check it out!

A Lifesaving Station

An unknown author wrote that on a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for their safety they went out day and night, tirelessly rescuing the lost. Many lives were saved so the station became famous.

Some of those who were saved, along with others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station. They gave of their time, money, and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, new crews were trained, and the lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided, so they replaced the emergency cots and beds and put better furniture in a new, larger building.

Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do the work.

The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club's decorations, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the lifesaving activity because they thought it was a hindrance and unpleasant to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted on lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out they were still a lifesaving station after all. They were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of various kinds of people shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast, which they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that coast today, you'll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent, but most of the people drown.

Isn't it easy for the church to lose sight of its mission?