Newsletter Vol.1, #46—November 6, 2005

Matthew 7 ¹“Judge not, that you be not judged. ²For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” ESV

"Being Past Feeling"

by O.C. Birdwell

The apostle Paul warned the Ephesians about the danger of walking as the ungodly people walked (Eph. 4:17). He said that they (the Gentiles), "being past feeling gave themselves up to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (v.19).

These people, "being past feeling," walked in ignorance, alienation, and vanity of mind because of the hardening of their hearts. To such people God will send "a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:11,12).

One "past feeling" is pathetic indeed. There is hope for one as long as he has not reached spiritual insensibility. But when he has become callous and hardened in heart to the extent that no response whatsoever is given to the preaching of the gospel of Christ, a sad and almost hopeless situation exists. Do you suppose any today are "past feeling"?

"Being past feeling" may cause continuation in worldliness. Many love the association of the devil and his servants more than God and His people.

Sectarianism is the result of men "being past feeling." They feel no restraint in relegating the New Testament to the back seat. "Will worship" is prevalent and replaces the will of Christ. Men's names are worn; their doctrines are obeyed. Hearts are hardened against the truth.

Some at Corinth were "past feeling." They were "puffed up" concerning sin (I Cor. 5). Demas loved the "present world" (2 Tim. 4:10). The Laodiceans were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev.3:17). They were so far "past feeling" that they could not see their actual condition.

In the nineteenth century men in the church of the Lord contended for missionary societies and instrumental music in worship because they were "past feeling" any respect for the authority of the scriptures.

Modern day innovators are "past feeling" that anything is wrong when churches donate to missionary and benevolent societies. They see nothing wrong with church camps, socials, dining halls, recreational facilities, or a church chorus (they are still opposed to a choir!) One can get no response from such people with an appeal for an open investigation of the scriptures. They are "past feeling" that the scriptures are a complete guide and feel free to encourage the church to act in areas where the Bible is silent.

Our plea is for men to feel a proper respect for the authority of the scriptures. Let the church be what Christ intended it to be, and let it do what the New Testament authorizes. Let us again call upon all men to speak as the "oracles of God" (I Pet. 4:11).                         -- Via Truth Magazine XV: 18, p. 2, March 11, 1971

Personal Involvement

The articles on what the church can do to evangelize and make the church grow are presented for your consideration. Some things in the articles might not be what we would want to do. Some of the things mentioned may even be objectionable to us. However, I hope the articles cause us to want to do more relative to our personal involvement in trying to convert folks and get others to become members at Caprock.

The Key to church growth!

Continued from last weekà An example of this kind of study is found in Acts 14:21-23 when Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith. Another example is in Acts 15:36 where Paul said, Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word to see how they are. Matthew 28:18,19 says we are to make disciples (conviction studies), baptize them, and teach them to observe all I have commanded you (grounding studies).

The best way I have seen to follow-up a new Christian is by using a combination of two methods. First, have a rotating new converts class on Sunday morning. The one we had in Lethbridge, Alberta, had about 30 lessons. By rotating, I mean that if a babe in Christ enters the class at lesson 20 they will continue through the end of that series of classes (lesson 30) and up through lesson 19 in the next series. After completing the 30 lesson series they will join the regular adult class. The 30 lesson series is taught in a cycle over and over. Every cycle has one teacher and an apprentice. During the next cycle the apprentice becomes the teacher and a new apprentice is selected. Great experience for the men! Watch it spark life into the church.

The second follow-up method has the babe in Christ studying one-on-one with someone every week ideally, with the one who taught him the gospel. This develops a close friendship and provides an opportunity to give him the personal attention he needs at first. The revolving class and the one-on-one studies will provide for almost every need of a new convert. Generally, the revolving class has doctrinal lessons while the one-on-one lessons are exhortational. The kind of follow-up I have suggested here is a big project but one that is long overdue in every church.

Training Studies (2 Timothy 2:2)

This is the stage where you teach them to fly on their own, take the training wheels off, and where you produce producers. Most Christians are capable of teaching the gospel after receiving some training; therefore, everyone who is going to be involved in teaching the lost and grounding the new converts needs to go through some kind of training. Both men and women should be involved in the training studies. (Remember, most of the new converts are women. So train the women to convert and ground other women.) Some of the men who progress through the training studies are the evangelists of tomorrow! It is the church's job to train men for full-time service.

FOUR GENERATIONS OF 2 TIMOTHY 2:2

1.           Paul: The things you learned from me

2.           Timothy: "you"

3.           Faithful men: Entrust to faithful men

4.           Others: Who will in turn teach others

Training studies can be broken into two basic levels:

LEVEL 1:

Train Christians to teach the gospel to the lost; then train them to ground the new converts they have led to Christ. Prepare the outlines for the conviction study sequence and the grounding lessons. Make these outlines available at the building or some other central place that has 24-hour access.

LEVEL 2:

Every growing church will need to develop new leaders. Now you instruct mature Christians to TRAIN younger Christians to teach the lost and the new converts. This is exactly what 2 Timothy 2:2 says to do, The things you (Timothy) have learned from me (Paul) entrust to others, who will in turn be able to teach others also.

Summary

At the outset, we asked how we can motivate the general membership to reach the lost. As you can see, it is hard work and will require us to change the way we have been doing things. Church growth can be broken down into two parts:

Part 1. Three C's before baptism:

1. Contact them
2. Cultivate their interest
3. Convict them

Part 2. Three T's after baptism:

1. Teach them (grounding)
2. Train them to ground others
3. Train them to train

Steve Rudd