“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. ” Matthew 5:20
In our two-hour Basic Evangelism Training Seminar we talk about religions. In particular we talk about how many religions there are in the world. If you search on the Internet for “how many religions are there in the world” or other similar searches you’ll find webpages claiming upwards of 4,200 different religions. We talk about how difficult it would to share the Gospel if you first needed to dispute every point of any one of these religions.
In a sermon I was listening to recently, the preacher suggested all the world’s religion boils down to two: Human Achievement, and Devine Accomplishment. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus teaches his disciples that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. These are people who were doing everything by the book. Following every letter of the Law. If they could not get in based on their works (Human Achievement), how could anyone possibly get to Heaven. That’s where Devine Accomplishment comes in.
Jesus completely fulfilled the Law by His life, death, and resurrection. He calls us to “repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) and when we do his righteousness is credited to us. Isn’t it amazing, God’s Devine Accomplishment is credited to us! God then gives us the command to go and share this message with others.
The artwork on the John 14:6 tract was produced by our good friend Keith Neds. Keith, his family, and many from his church have been helping pack tract club envelopes for the Bezeugen Tract Club for years. Perhaps you’d like some calligraphy for your home, or as a gift for someone special this Christmas. You can order from him at www.calligraphyforchrist.com.
Hard to believe 2021 is almost over. Soon Christmas cards will be going into the mail. A simple way to witness to your family and friends is to include a Gospel tract with your Christmas Card. We have plenty of extra Christmas tracts on hand. For a $5 donation to Bezeugen Ministries we will send you 100 tracts. Use the enclosed donation envelope to make your request or you can donate and make your request online. Larger quantities are available as well. Please consult the website for details. In the article linked at the bottom of this letter on the BLOG we will include details of which Christmas tracts we have on hand.
Christmas is also an easy time to share the Gospel because most people celebrate Christmas regardless of whether they are Christian or not. Therefore it is a great opportunity to explain to them the true meaning of Christmas. You might check the events calendar in your town to see if there are any special events coming up. Perhaps there is a parade where you could hand out tracts and candy canes. Perhaps a group from your church will go door to door to sing Christmas Carols and you could hand a tract to someone at each house. Or maybe you’ll just be going to the mall to shop and need some extra tracts to hand out. The December mailing of the Bezeugen Tract Club will provide 30 Christmas tracts. If you need more, please submit a request.
