In Frederick Douglass’s first autobiography, he admits he doesn’t know the day of his birth. Birthdays are a token of self-knowledge that most of us take for granted. But Douglass was born into slavery, and so his life was regarded as unworthy of celebration. Similar to Douglass, I recently met a young lady who just found out that her “parents” were actually her grandparents. She’d been lied to all her life. She’d lived not knowing her full identity. The young lady felt deceived by what she was told; Douglass felt deceived by what he wasn’t told.
Perhaps you’ve never intentionally withheld this kind of information from anyone, but what if your methods of evangelism unintentionally withheld pertinent information that deceived people about their spiritual identities?
God’s Word tells us that when he saves someone that person is a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Most of us will be clear about this when evangelizing, but do we communicate that certain characteristics like contrition, remorse over sin, and a striving for holiness will show up in those who have been made new? I fear we often fail to communicate that contrition and remorse over sin is necessary. I fear we understate the
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
