Ariel Magazine Purim Edition Cover copy - Ariel Ministries

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go! Go! By Jonathan Croudace Welcome to our new section entitled ... Go! Our aim in this section is to talk about the Great Commission given to us by our Lord (Matthew 28:18-20), and specifically, evangelism. We read and hear a lot about discipling believers and getting them into the Word with biblical teaching so they are grounded in Christ. But evangelism is also a part of discipleship. How can we "make a disciple" if we don’t preach the gospel to them first? We preach/teach the Gospel to unbelievers; by the grace of God they hear, believe, and then call on the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13-15, 17). After their salvation, we baptize them and teach them the truths of the Word of God. That’s the process of discipling. But we can't teach someone to walk in the Lord, until we tell that person about the Lord. So let’s look at a definition of evangelism. Definition: Evangelism is the proclamation of a divine message (Gospel) concerning the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah in the power and authority of the Spirit of God that seeks a response from the hearer. Within this definition are six brief points: 1. Proclamation We are to proclaim the Gospel message. People are saved by hearing the Word. Unfortunately, a lot of emphasis is placed on lifestyle evangelism. Our lifestyle can be a good testimony, but it is not a means of evangelism. We have no record of anyone being saved through the lifestyle of another in the Scriptures. The Lord’s siblings didn’t believe He was the Messiah. They lived with Him and witnessed a sinless law-fulfilling lifestyle, but they were not believers. Belief came after His resurrection. People who got saved were either curious about His works first (Nicodemus) or saved by His Word (woman at the well). Throughout the book of Acts, all conversions resulted from the proclaimed Word. Examples include the following: believers at Pentecost (Acts 2), Philip preaching in Samaria and witnessing to the eunuch (Acts 8), Cornelius (Acts 10), Lydia - the Philippian jailor (both Acts 16), and Crispus (Acts 18). In each case, like today, the servant of the Lord fulfills his calling of "Go" and initiates the opportunity to witness. We are to proclaim the Gospel. 12 2. Divine Message The Gospel is from God. It is not according to man, neither received by man nor taught of man (Galatians 1:11-12). We are entrusted with a message that comes right from the heart of God. 3. Person of Jesus the Messiah The divine message concerns the Person of Messiah (Romans 1:3-4); the One who is the eternal Son of God, who became the God-Man when He was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh. His divine Personage was declared through His resurrection from the dead. 4. Work of Jesus the Messiah We are to proclaim the work of the Messiah. This work is: a) Substitutionary – Christ died for OUR sins. He is the propitiation for OUR sins, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of US all. He died on our behalf; therefore, His work is substitutionary. b) Finished – Upon the cross, just before He yielded up His Spirit He said, "it is finished." The Messiah’s work is a finished work proven by His resurrection. c) Saving –1 Cor. 15:2 says we are saved by the Gospel. Christ’s work is a saving work. 5. Power and authority of the Spirit of God The apostles "preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven". We are to preach in the same power and let the Spirit of God have free course in the work of the hearer to convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment. 6. Seeks a response At Pentecost, the hearers said, "What shall we do?" The Philippian jailor said, "what must I do to be saved?" We must faithfully proclaim the Word and trust the Lord to stir the hearer to respond and be attentive to their responses. That is a brief definition and summary of evangelism. Are we evangelizing? Are we making the effort to "Go" and proclaim the Gospel? “The …Go!... Challenge” – share the Gospel with at least one Jewish person within the next month. Send any questions or witnessing testimonies to jonathanc@ariel.org
Program of Messianic Jewish Studies SHOSHANAH CAMP SHOSHANAH July 8 - August 18, 2012 Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum,Th.M, Ph.D. Founder & Director Ariel Ministries San Antonio, TX Sam Nadler Founder & Director Word of Messiah Ministries Charlotte, NC Michael Gabizon Missionary Ariel Ministries Chicago, IL Jeffrey Johnson, Ph.D. Founder & President, Israel Today Ministries Arlington, TX Mottel Baleston Associate Messianic Rabbi Beth Messiah Cong. Livingston, NJ
Page 1 and 2: Winter 2012 / Volume 1 / Number 3 P
Page 3 and 4: Ccontents Welcome Arnold’s Advent
Page 5 and 6: arnold’s adventures Germany The f
Page 7 and 8: testimony Olivier Melnick I always
Page 9 and 10: news and express love towards stran
Page 11: news SHOSHANAH Camp News THREE PEOP
Page 15 and 16: Week 1 & Week 2 July 8 - July 21 C
Page 17 and 18: Please fill out one application for
Page 19 and 20: fruit from the frucht PURIM: THE FE
Page 21 and 22: fruit from the frucht On that day,
Page 23 and 24: did you know? Interesting Facts abo
Page 25 and 26: israel David - “You want to tell
Page 27 and 28: Emily Glisson: Why did you write th
Page 29 and 30: An Inside Look at the Story of Esth
Page 31 and 32: cover story A Hungarian Purim GERMA

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