Beyond “Bums on Seats”
At our special outreach services with Stephen Lungu last Sunday we had 482 more ‘bums on seats’ that on the Sunday average for this year. That’s wonderful! Need I say that ‘bums’ represent people! On Sunday a total of 1864 people heard the message of the gospel, and saw its power in the transformed life of street boy turned gangster, Stephen Lungu. But hearing the message, vital though it is, is not enough.
This morning in my quiet time I read Colossians chapter 1. I was particularly struck by Paul’s words in v6—“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” Hearing the gospel is absolutely vital (we thank God for all who heard on Sunday), but for the gospel to bear the fruit of salvation, God’s grace in all its truth must be understood. By nature “no one understands” (Romans 3:11) God’s grace. People are by nature wired to see salvation to be a reward for good works. Understanding God’s grace requires a work of the Holy Spirit in the mind and heart of a sinner. A clear sign that a person has been born again is that they understand grace and abandon any and all trust in themselves.
Some years ago a man by the name of Johnny came to chat with me. His wife had become a Christ-follower and the changes he saw in her had a profound effect on him; so much so that he began attending church with her and making an effort to clean up his life and do good works. I pointed him to Ephesians 2:8-9 (“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.”) and urged him to go home, read the verses, and think about them. A couple of weeks later he came to me with beaming face and declared, “As I read and re-read those verses I realized that I was a sinner and that I could not save myself by trying to be better, so I simply got down on my knees and asked Jesus to save me. He has!” He had come to understand God’s grace.
Beyond “Bums on Seats” – it’s about hearing the message and understanding God’s grace. Pray that those who heard will understand.