This episode mostly focuses on the kindnesses of God that lead to repentance. The last program emphasized cooperation with the convicting Holy Spirit, as He works godly sorrow leading to repentance without regret. The temptation for some evangelists (and churches) is interrupting or sidestepping the Holy Spirit's work of conviction, resulting in shallow repentance without genuine sorrow. The result at best, is a shallow repentance with regret. The evangelist instead needs to cooperate with the Holy Spirit's "sorrowful" work, while at the same time bringing to mind His more "positive" gracious works. "The kindnesses of God lead you to repentance." (Romans 2:4) Many unbelievers have experienced kindnesses of God that smack of divine intervention: miraculous survival from normally "fatal" accidents, instantaneous answers to prayer, and rescue from dire circumstances. God can't help Himself, for "He is kind to ungrateful and evil people." (Luke 6:35) The evangelist can then hopefully elicit acknowledgment of God's kindnesses while articulating God's call to repent. Godly sorrow coupled with God's kindnesses, embodied in the cross, are the means of repentance.
Omission of the Great Commission Makes a Dull Christian
This episode initially drives home the central point of the previous lesson, that response to the Great Commission mandate is a matter of obedience, not feelings. And it is comparable to growth in many Christian disciplines, in which "feeling" dividends are not immediately realized but nevertheless accumulate with a lifestyle of obedience. This episode paints the stark contrast of an obedient disciple of Christ, making the most of every evangelistic opportunity, with the mediocre Christian life that never responds to the evangelistic call. In the case of the latter, a sub-standard Christian life sets in after prolonged disobedience to the Great Commission. The love of God poured out in the heart of the believer is imprisoned within oneself or family, and the unconditional love of God pleading with the world "be ye reconciled to Christ" withers away in solitary confinement. It is always technically present, but the indwelling Spirit is grieved that the UNCONDITIONAL love that defines Him is at best extended to cellmates. The disciple obedient to the Great Commission, by contrast, experiences greater degrees of the divine zoe life. Disciplined to follow the Spirit's promptings in leading others to Christ, he is constantly being strengthened with power in the inner man, rooting and grounding him in the agape love that he readily extends to unbelievers. (Ephesians 3:16-19) The supernatural mission of Christ IS his mission, and Christ's joy (and the angels) becomes his when he assists in bringing sinners to repentance. The zoe life characterized by obedience in making disciples becomes LIFE itself.
Converting People is NOT in your Job Description
This initial episode unpacks the classic "formula" for salvation articulated in Romans 10:9, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This relatively straightforward "easy" confession is predicated on the work of the Holy Spirit, so persuading and even manipulating someone to recite the sinner's prayer, APART from the leading of the Holy Spirit, is a vain useless exercise. The evangelist should see himself/herself as the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit, following Him as the LEAD player in any evangelistic encounter. The Romans 10:9 "formula" requires renouncing the kingdom of darkness (repentance) and receiving the kingdom of God's beloved Son (faith). No one can convince someone to "believe in their heart," so mere parroting of the formula doesn't make one a son or daughter of the Kingdom. The episode emphasizes that "no man can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit," (1 Corinthians 12:3) and ALL successful evangelism proceeds accordingly.
The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, NOT to the State
This episode elaborates on the previous episode, principally focusing on Matthew 16:18-19, where believers are given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Christ builds His Church by calling people out of the kingdom of darkness and placing them in the kingdom of Christ, through the person of the Holy Spirit. The "ekklesia," or church literally means "those called out of." Those who don't respond to the call carry on in the kingdom of darkness, and the natural locus of ungodly power is the state. This fact alone points to the inevitable conflict of kingdoms as both the Church and non-Christians seek to co-op the State to serve their respective interests. The history of Christian nationalism largely reflects widespread corruption in the Christian Church based on an unhealthy mixing of the kingdoms. Since Christ gave believers the keys to the kingdom of heaven, NOT those accessing worldly kingdoms, Christians should focus their efforts on reaching unbelievers through preaching the gospel. Setting up earthly "Christian" kingdoms amounts to making the Church another powerbroker, diluting and corrupting its mission. Believers instead should utilize their LEGITIMATE authority to make disciples, not presuming they have been given a mandate to FORCE Christ's other-worldly kingdom onto non-Christians. The episode finally addresses "binding and loosing" as it relates to the keys of the kingdom.