Lesson 6. God is not mechanical, but personal. God is the Infinite-Personal God.
When Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:1-3, He “looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’”
Francis Schaeffer insisted that unlike some gods that were finite; such as, the gods of the Greeks and Romans, the true God is infinite. Furthermore, unlike some of the gods of the philosophers and some of the gods of the liberal theologians, the true God is personal. Schaeffer often referred to the true God as the Infinite-Personal God. Jesus closely tied eternal life to knowing the true God, “the only true God” and to knowing “Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Since the only reason to be a Christian is because Christianity is true; certainly, eternal life depends on knowing the true God, the truth about the true God, and knowing the true God personally, Whom we come to know through knowing Jesus Christ. To those who followed Him, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7).
Knowing these truths, Schaeffer also insisted that evangelism needs to be personal and not mechanical. God is the personal God. God is one God in three persons. God created people in His image. People are finite-personal beings. Therefore, our evangelism must be personal and not mechanical. We should not think that we can approach everyone in exactly the same way, in a mechanical way; such as, presenting the Four Spiritual Laws to everyone in the same mechanical way on order to lead them to saving faith.
In addition, we all have different gifts from the Holy Spirit. Some are gifted at sowing the seeds of truth and reality into people’s hearts and minds. Some have the ability to see the little seed of spiritual life and salvation sprouting, and they have the gift of knowing how to water, when to water, and how much to water so the spiritual seed will continue to grow. Our knowing how to plant seeds and water is personal and not mechanical, as we work with people and not garden variety plants. Others have the gift of reaping, of welcoming people into the Kingdom of God. Many times, they are leading people to salvation who have had the seeds of truth planted into their lives many years before, and who have had others watering those seeds and little plants. Though we tend to think more highly of the reaper, who tends to get all of the praise, without planting and watering, there would be no reaping.
Since evangelism is personal and not mechanical, those seeking to share the gospel with others need to be personal in their approach. They need to take the time to get to know the person, their needs, and how best to share the gospel with them. If they have only a few minutes or hours with the person, they do not need to feel they must plant the seeds, water the seeds, and reap the harvest in the time they have.
Schaeffer said that if he had only one hour to be with a person (perhaps a non-Christian or Christian) that he would spend the first 55 minutes getting to know the person, asking and answering questions. Once he got to know the person and their needs and problems, he would spend the last 5 minutes trying to help them move to the next step (whatever that step might be). I take that to mean that he might plant some seeds, or water the plant, or perhaps hoe around the plant to break up the soil and help the plant grow, or perhaps harvest the plant and lead them to commit their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Knowing the Infinite-Personal God should make a difference in the way we live, treat others created in God’s image, and share the gospel with them.
You might also like to learn more about Francis Schaeffer from two of his biographies, now online for you to read for free at http://www.labri.net .
Copyright 2009 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.
International Bible Lessons
Prayer Steps to Serenity
Serenity Groups
A Psalm and A Prayer
