Time Release

I like the term. Time release (technically, “modified-release dosage”) medicines were first developed in the 1940s. They allowed patients to benefit from a pill or capsule’s effect longer. Spiritually speaking, death’s sort of a “time release”, as well. Time, as we know it on earth, will cease to be something we’re aware of. There are no clocks in heaven. Or hell, for that matter.

 

“Time release” also applies to the seeds of salvation we Christians sow along our path through life. We may or may not see them sprout. In most cases, God causes them to take root in a person’s heart only after He deems the soil fertile. For many of us living in this “on demand” world this can be frustrating because we want to see palpable results now.

 

In the New Testament we read Paul wasn’t pleased with the way things were going in Corinth. While some folks had been converted, the strong opposition he faced was enough to make him wonder if his preaching was in vain. Then we’re told, “The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, ‘Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent, because I’m with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9-11).

 

Jesus commanded Paul to “keep on keepin’ on” due to the fact there were people in the Corinth area whom Christ was going to draw to Himself through their hearing the gospel Paul was preaching. In other words, Paul was told, “What you’re sowing are ‘time release’ seeds. They’ll spring up when the hour’s right. Don’t stop.” All Christians should take the Bible verse above to heart. Like it did for Paul, it should reinforce our confidence in God’s perfect plan.

 

J.I. Packer wrote, “Paul’s confidence was that where Christ sends the gospel, there Christ has His people – bound at present in the chains of sin, but due for release at the appointed moment through a renewing of their hearts as the light of the gospel shines into their darkness, and the Savior draws them to Himself.” We should never trust in our ability to save, but in Jesus’ alone.

 

This knowledge should embolden our evangelistic efforts. Especially when we’re met with skepticism, apathy or even outrage over the truth we speak. Paul, once a highly motivated enemy of Christ, literally encountered our risen Lord and became His most enthusiastic advocate overnight. If God can transform his heart, He can transform anyone’s.

 

I’ll gladly testify a similar-but-not-nearly-as-dramatic miracle happened to me ten years ago. Living life “my way” had led me into the valley of despair and I finally turned to Christ for rescue. The gospel seed planted in me during my youth broke ground at last and it’s continued to grow and produce nutritious fruit ever since. I was a wretched excuse for a man but nowadays I’m a sinner saved by amazing grace. If God can do that for me, he can do it for anybody.

 

The Scriptures encourage me to persevere in presenting Christ to the lost without trepidation. I certainly have no excuse for being bashful talking about Jesus. I can be as straightforward and honest about the “Good News” as I dare because, deep down, I know God can and will energize His words of truth with an effectiveness that I alone can’t provide. That’s the power of the Word. It can penetrate even the thickest of skulls.

 

When we’re genuinely confident we’re not wasting time by evangelizing, we have more patience than we normally have. We know all too well patience is a rare commodity in the 21st century because instant gratification isn’t a preference, it’s a demand. But God’s never in a rush. Packer commented, “God saves in His own time, and we ought not suppose He’s in such a hurry as we are.”

 

I confess to being way too impatient about way too many things. Therefore to obediently serve my Lord through witnessing as often as possible I’ve had to discipline myself to not give up on stubborn folks; to “stick with it” even when they snub me; to persevere by reminding myself of what’s at stake for the future of their soul – eternity.

 

I must realize what I tell someone concerning salvation may only be figurative “steppingstones” that’ll precede the breakthrough they might experience down the road hearing from another Christian; one whose evangelizing switches on God’s marvelous light in their heart and mind. Jesus spun the parable of the harvest workers to teach His disciples that sometimes “One sows and another reaps” (John 4:37). It’s all good.

 

The most efficient way to influence unbelievers is to establish a friendship with them, thereby discovering where they’re at spiritually so you’ll know where to start. Nothing works better than getting someone to trust what you’re telling them is the unfiltered truth. Now, they may not believe the truth as quickly as you’d like but that’s where patience really pays off.

 

You may inquire, “What can I do to develop more patience?” It’s all about the basics. Keep reminding yourself God is sovereign in grace; that His Word will suffice to draw His own to Christ; that He’ll place His elect in the right place at the right time to evangelize to His lost lambs; that, as Jesus stated, “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they’ll never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand” (John 10:27-28).

 

Never forget how patient God has been and continues to be with you and me. He kept Abraham waiting 25 years for the birth of his son so it should come as no surprise He often keeps His children in suspense while waiting to see if their evangelistic endeavors pay off in winning souls to Christ. Stay the course.

 

What Paul Had

It was confidence. Not in Paul. In God. It’s significant because, more than any New Testament writer, he taught that God is sovereign and has decreed everything that happens throughout His creation. Without Paul’s unshakable faith in God’s plan he surely wouldn’t have willingly suffered through severe hardships so he could evangelize about Christ everywhere he went. He was positive his preaching mattered.

 

A lazier man might’ve reasoned, “God chose His elect before time began so evangelizing’s a waste of energy.” Not Paul. He understood the sovereignty of God in grace is the very thing that makes evangelizing anything but pointless. Why’s that? J.I. Packer opined, “…it creates the possibility – indeed, the certainty – that evangelism will be fruitful. If not for the sovereign grace of God, evangelism would be the most futile and useless enterprise the world’s ever seen.”

 

Paul knew mankind was in big trouble. The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that human beings, in their natural state, are spiritually ignorant. He wrote, “The unbeliever cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, for they’re foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they’re spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14) and “…the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it doesn’t submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so” (Romans 8:7).

 

Most folks consider themselves “good people.” Not holy. Certainly not perfect. But fundamentally good. In these two verses Paul ransacks that conceited assumption. Jesus Himself said, “No one is good except God alone” (Luke 18:19). Fact is, we’re all born as hell-bound sinners possessing a self-centered heart that’s “…more deceitful than anything else. It’s incurably bad. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

 

In Ephesians 2 Paul doesn’t beat around the bush. He makes it clear that, without Christ, we’re spiritually dead. Kaput. Morally bankrupt, as well. R.C. Sproul wrote, “We’re not considered unrighteous because the dross of sin is mixed together with our goodness. The indictment against us is more radical: in our corrupt humanity we never do a single good thing.”

 

Paul delivered more unflattering news. Not only are we, in our physical state, prone to opposing God’s will, but there’s also Satan doing all he can to keep us blind and deaf to the truth. Paul said he’s “…the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that’s now energizing the sons of disobedience…” (Ephesians 2:2). In other words, he and his invisible demonic legion surround us, wreaking as much havoc possible to keep us in the dark.

 

Paul was no dummy. Considering the things that’d been revealed to him regarding what Christians are up against in this convoluted world, he must’ve concluded human evangelism has zero chance of succeeding. Here’s the kicker: That conclusion’s 100% correct! Not one of us can bring the spiritually dead to life. Not one of us can make a sinner accept the gospel message via our “ability to coerce.” Not one of us can make any man or woman believe in Jesus.

 

Therefore, it’s evident Paul knew there was something else – some essential ingredient – necessary for evangelism to be effective. Sadly, history shows the church has repeatedly overlooked/dismissed what Paul learned and taught, instituting a multitude of alternative methods of and approaches to evangelism so we can “win more souls to Christ.” They’ve tried everything except the only thing that works – patient reliance on God.

 

Humans have a built-in, pride-filled conviction that if we do any assignment right, we’ll get excellent results. On the material plane that’s usually true. But that’s not the case in the spiritual realm because that’s God’s territory. More often than not our most well-intentioned witnessing efforts will meet with failure, putting us in danger of becoming disillusioned with the whole endeavor of spreading the gospel. We mustn’t let that occur.

 

We must adopt Paul’s mindset; a combination of confidence and patience. Like him, we have to accept that even our best evangelistic techniques have no guarantee of succeeding the way we want them to. We must realize that, since all mankind’s cursed with inherent apathy towards all things pertaining to God, blatant rejection of our preaching should come as no shock. And, most importantly, we have to trust that God’s the only one who can regenerate hearts and minds. Thus, it’s up to Him – and Him alone – as to if, when and how that’ll happen.

 

Paul “got it.” He knew God works by His Spirit through His Word in the souls of sinful people to bring them to repentance and faith. He wrote, “For by grace you’re saved through faith, and this isn’t from yourselves, it’s the gift of God; it’s not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul was wise, humble and mature enough to acknowledge and accept “his place” in God’s plan of redemption. He was content striving daily to be the best seed-sower in existence. We should be, too.

 

The great James S. Stewart summed up what Paul would have all Christ-followers testify to: “The world isn’t moving on to chaos; it’s moving on to Christ. In the person of Jesus lies the key to God’s hidden plan with mankind and with the world. No longer is the mystery of things left dark and baffling and unrelieved. Those who ignore or refuse Christ cannot share the secret. But to all who have eyes to see, it’s an ‘open secret’ now. To them it’s given to realize that in the very constitution of the universe there’s something which is on the side of the Gospel, and that the ultimate values which give life its meaning all converge on Jesus Christ.”

 

Paul wasn’t confused about his mission. He knew he was a “fieldworker.” Nothing more. He concluded, “…neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Why evangelize? Because our Savior told us to. It was enough for Paul. It’s enough for me and you.