Letters to the Family of God
by Joe Franzone | January 27, 2022 | Pastor's Blog

January 27, 2022
I think we should not underestimate the significance of a small group of people who have a new vision of a just and gentle world.
The quality of a culture may be changed when just two percent of its people have a new vision.
Robert N. Bellah, Sociology Professor
University of California Berkley

Dear Friends,
We continue keeping our eyes fixed on evangelism. So far, we have learned some basic Christian truths.
We have learned in General Revelation all people know there is a God, He has a standard, we have rebelled against it, and therefore are guilty before Him. In this, we know there is something we need, but we suppress this truth by our sin.
We have learned in Specific Revelation the Christian knows what all people need to know, which goes beyond general revelation, for in Specific Revelation, we are given, by God, from God's word, the Gospel.
We have also learned God Himself, by His Spirit, has given every genuine Christian the power to take the specific revelation of the Gospel to men and women.
If you think about the line we are on, it goes like this. All people know enough to know they need to know something, and the Christian, in the Gospel, has both the message all people need to know and the power they need to give it.
Let’s flesh this out with an example.
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
These verses might be one of the simplest examples of the evangelism line we have been following.
Persecution broke out in Jerusalem (vs.19) as people were suppressing the truth of the Gospel (A human response to General Revelation) in their persecution of Christians.
In that persecution, Christians, people just like you and I, took the Gospel (Specific Revelation) and told people who Jesus was and what Jesus had done. At first, they spoke the word only to the Jews but, some spoke to the Greeks, telling them the good news about Jesus. (vs.19,20)
And because God’s hand (a representation of God’s power) was with them (vs.21), a great number of people believed. What Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 was true. Some plant some water but, only God makes things grow.
The simplicity of this example should not be missed. I hope it is an encouragement. God blessed and used anti-Gospel reactions to spread the same Gospel in the ancient world. By God’s grace, great numbers believed and turned to the Lord. Great numbers is a great phrase in evangelism.
Whether in the ancient world or today’s world, this is what we know to be true. The message we are to give is the same. The power to say it is the same. People, in some sense, although incredibly complicated, are the same, and the results will always depend on God.
That does not mean we do not need to know and understand the times; to be a student of people. (Will tackle this topic next week.) It simply means people need to know that God longs to be gracious to them, and in the Gospel, they hear that from God through you.
May God’s grace abound over us in these things. May you know His love at every turn this week.
Pastor Joe