Unashamed: SHARE IT

We are called to live with confidence in the face of opposition but most of us are living in fear and shame, apologizing for our beliefs. But the gospel gives us the ability to live with boldness in a world that opposes everything about God. Today, I want to look at the fourth response to the gospel, which give us confident hope and assurance in Christ.

4. SHARE IT
If we know and believe the gospel to be true, why would we not share it? Once we gain forgiveness through the gospel, we have a responsibility to share it with others. With a sense of urgency, we are to make the most of every opportunity to share the gospel. We are to live on mission by serving and giving of ourselves and our resources.

Romans 15:15-21 KJV
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: 21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
What keeps us from sharing the Gospel?I don’t know what to say, I don’t have Scripture memorized…
  - If you’ve got a personal relationship with Christ you know what to say. Bare minimum you can share your experience and how you got saved.

I don’t have time to go share, I’m too busy…
  - Most of us during our jobs have casual conversations throughout the day. You don’t have to be a door-to- door salesmen, knocking on doors when you share the Gospel, some of the best witnessing is in casual conversations where there is no pressure on you or the individual.

That’s the Pastor’s job…
  - Actually we are all called in Matthew 28 to Go and Make disciples.

The main issue most Christians have today with sharing the gospel is no sense of urgency. We know that Christ is coming soon, but we don’t act like it. Regardless if you feel uncomfortable with what to see or not, if the matter was urgent enough we’ve find the words to say.

What if today was the last day?

Think some of your closest friends and family that you know aren’t saved. What if you knew today was the last day and Jesus was coming tomorrow and if they didn’t accept Him right now they’d miss out. Do you think you’d act so ashamed? Would you be so reserved? No, we’d be knocking down their door to give them Jesus before it’s too late.

I challenged my students with this same material: To Know it, Embrace it, Live it, and Share it. Now I'll challenge you, not just to know it and embrace the Gospel, but to go the extra mile and live it and share it.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Unashamed: LIVE IT

We are called to live with confidence in the face of opposition but most of us are living in fear and shame, apologizing for our beliefs. But the gospel gives us the ability to live with boldness in a world that opposes everything about God. Today, I want to look at the third of four responses to the gospel, which give us confident hope and assurance in Christ.

3. LIVE IT

Does the gospel impact how you live your life throughout the week? It isn’t just for Sunday mornings and is more than beliefs and words. It must be lived out. The grace and mercy God has shown us through salvation should ignite in us a desire to live daily for Him. Living out the gospel isn’t a one-time deal; it’s a lifetime of growth and service. My pastor has told the story about if we truly have someone as big a God living in us, wouldn’t He be seeping out of us constantly? Being unashamed of the Gospel takes more than just knowing it and embracing it, we must be ready to live it out day to day.

Romans 12:1-2 KJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, and to live a transformed life, which allows us to be able to discern God’s will. Note the subtle difference between transforming and conforming in VERSE 2.

Transform: to make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character.
Conform: to behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. Give in to social norms.

Conforming is just giving in, following the crowd. Is that not what we do in our daily walk, try to match our steps with other people in our lives? Why, because we want to be accepted. I’ve been told I talk differently around some co-workers because I know their style, so I conform to their standards and habits to fit it. This isn’t all bad until you begin to let your faith and beliefs waiver and conform.

Conforming can be as simple as no longer speaking up for what you believe among friends and co-workers. No longer sharing your belief because it’s not the popular thing to do. We as a nation of believers have conformed to be “politically correct” to the point we have legal abortions, legal same sex marriages, and transgender bathrooms in schools.

Paul states in Romans to be TRANSFORMED by renewing your mind, getting refocused on the main thing, Christ. In that we are only truly transformed if there is a thorough (maybe even dramatic) change in our mind, actions, and hearts.

Once we’ve experienced that transformation this final part should flow naturally. Again, we will discuss this fourth response: SHARE IT, next week.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Unashamed: EMBRACE IT

We are called to live with confidence in the face of opposition but most of us are living in fear and shame, apologizing for our beliefs. But the gospel gives us the ability to live with boldness in a world that opposes everything about God. Today, I want to look at the second of four responses to the gospel, which give us confident hope and assurance in Christ.

2. EMBRACE IT
Try to think back to the first time you heard the gospel preached. For many of us we were probably so young we can’t recall it. Now try to think back to the day you embraced the gospel, accepting Christ. There’s a big difference in hearing it and embracing it.

There comes a point when:
- simple church answers won’t be enough...
- we won’t be able to just go to church, follow the rules, & believe because our parents did.

We must have a faith of our own. Once we’ve heard the gospel and believe it to be true, we must embrace it as our own and be willing to live in the glory of the grace to which we have been given access, a grace that will carry us through this world and the next.

What does it take to embrace the gospel? Faith.

Romans 5:1-5 KJV
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

- Because of that faith we are able to glory in tribulations,
- Knowing tribulations bring about patience,
- And that patience will lead to experience,
- Which leads to hope.

This hope is secure because of the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. The main point is that the act of embracing the gospel equates to dying to flesh and living by the Spirit.

Romans 8:12-18, 31 KJV

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us...31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

In able to fully embrace the gospel, we just reject ourselves and live for God. Which leads to the third response which we will discuss next week: LIVE IT.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Unashamed: KNOW IT

What does it mean to be unashamed? Well to best understand that, we must know what it means to be ashamed. Being ashamed is being closed off, acting with guilt or embarrassment. So naturally unashamed is just the opposite: “Expressed or acting openly & without guilt or embarrassment.”

Often times we as Christians won’t say we are ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but the lives we live tell a different story. We act boldly in the comfort of our pews each Sunday because we are among like-minded people. But when we step out into the real world, we freeze up, tense up, and act embarrassed about our faith.

We are called to live with confidence in the face of opposition but most of us are living in fear and shame, apologizing for our beliefs. But the gospel gives us the ability to live with boldness in a world that opposes everything about God. Today, I want to look at the first of four responses to the gospel, which give us confident hope and assurance in Christ.

1. KNOW IT
Before we can act we must have knowledge. We must know the truths of the gospel because we cannot afford ignorance about our faith and recognize there is a difference in simply knowing and allowing it to become who we are. But what is the gospel?

Romans 3:21-26 KJV
In the simplest terms, the Gospel is the good news (message) of Jesus Christ. But more specifically the Gospel consists of three elements:

a. We all stand as sinners before a holy God.
As we just discussed, the gospel literally means good news. But what about the above state sounds good? "We are all sinners..." Doesn't sound so great. Well think of a jeweler presenting a beautiful diamond and white gold necklace. What type of backdrop does the jeweler use to enhance the beauty of the necklace? Black velvet. The beautiful diamonds look great alone, but even better against the dark background. Similarly God tells us the bad news first to show how great the good news of Gospel really is. The bad news being we have all sinned, sometimes in ignorance, but often knowingly.

But here comes the good news. Seeing our weakness & inability to alleviate our condition, God did the ultimate for us. “6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6–8).

Because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God, because of our inability to improve ourselves (much less save ourselves), because we faced a future in hell because of our sin, God, in His great love, sent His own Son to come down from heaven and to die on the cross in our very place. Paul personalized this by saying, "[Christ] loved me and gave Himself for me"(Galatians 2:20).

b. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father
The gospel is not about what you or I did to please or reach God. Rather, the gospel is about how God reconciled Himself to us through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The apostle Peter echoed those words in Acts 4:12 saying "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Paul also says the same thing "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

If we, as Christians, were to say that God could be reached through any other means, we would be guilty of misrepresenting the gospel. For on that cross, some 2000 years ago, all the sin of the world was poured upon Jesus Christ as He became the sin sacrifice for us. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

c. The Cornerstone of the Gospel is Christ's Death & Resurrection
Jesus' final words on the cross were "It is finished!" These three words are so simple yet pack so much meaning. Those three words can be translated/interpreted to mean several things.
1. It is made an end of. An end of our sins & the guilt that accompanied them.
2. It is paid. The price of redemption.
3. It is performed. The righteous requirements of the law.
4. It is accomplished. The work that God had given Jesus to do.
5. It is finished. Satan's stronghold on humanity.

Paul puts the gospel in a nutshell: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). But to fully understand the Gospel we must be aware of the false gospels. Most of which fall into one of two categories:

The Watered-Down Gospel
- It offers God's forgiveness, telling you that all you must do is believe, without any mention of repentance.
- It presents Jesus Christ as though He were some mere additives to make one's life a little better.
- It tells you about heaven, but leaves out the message of hell.

The Rule-Laden/Overly Complex Gospel
- It strips the true gospel of its simplicity and power.
- It comes laden with rules & regulations that we must keep to find forgiveness.
- It is so complex that no one can unravel it.

It's extremely important to know the Gospel of Christ so we can discern the true Gospel from the false gospels. But's there's more to being unashamed, we can't just simply know the Gospel, we must allow it to become part of who we are.

Next week we will look at the second response to the Gospel of Christ, EMBRACE IT.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

How to Destroy a Church: Hypocrisy (1 Peter 2:1c)

"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander" (1 Peter 2:1).

"If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward." -Charles H. Spurgeon

Indeed, the same grace that saved us is the same grace that sanctifies us daily. God saved us by His grace, and by the same grace, He continually cleanses us from sin and helps us overcome it. Cleansing is what Peter calls for in this verse. We have seen already that the sins listed in this passage are sins that can destroy our fellowship with other Christians. Knowing that we should, through God's grace, be cleansed of malice and deceit - the third of these in the list is hypocrisy. 

Put simply, we cannot live double lives. That's what it means to be a hypocrite. We are called instead to live authentic and sincere lives that are faithful to Scripture. Because hypocrisy is the opposite of this, it's no surprise that the language used in the Bible to describe it is quite harsh. Jesus says that hypocrites receive no reward from God (Matt. 6:1); Paul says hypocrisy is detestable and disobedient (Titus 1:16); James says your religion is worthless if you live in hypocrisy (James 1:26; 2:14-26); and the apostle John warns that hypocrisy renders you nothing more than a liar (1 John 4:20). 

I don't think it is a mistake that Peter names hypocrisy right after deceit in this list - they go hand in hand. Deceit and hypocrisy are two branches of the same sinful weed that should never be growing in the life of one who abides in the True Vine (John 15:1-4). We must be honest about our faults and shortcomings when we have them. We must ensure that our behavior in the church and our behavior at home or in the workplace is consistently the same. This happens through a heart that is continually refreshed and transformed by God's empowering grace. So we must put away hypocrisy from among ourselves.

Seeking Christ,

Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor

of Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His 

sermons, podcasts, book reviews, 

and other free ministry resources

can be found on Brandon's Desk.

Being With Jesus

When someone has been working out in a tobacco field all day you know where they've been because you can smell it on their clothes. When I walk through the door my wife can instantly tell if I've eaten Mexican, because she can smell in on my clothes. We don't have to announce where we've been because people can tell. Not always by smell but in how we act, what we're wearing, how we're talking. I posed this question to my youth and now I'll pose it to you. Have you ever met someone and without them telling or you asking, you  just KNEW they were a Christian? If so, what about them made you feel so confident that they were a Christian? Perhaps it was their constant happiness/joy, their attitude, friendliness, way they spoke, people they hung out with, or other things they did. Now think of a person you've met that you'd be extremely surprised if you discovered they were a Christian. What about them led you to believe they couldn't be a Christian? You probably have met one or both types of people in your life.

Now evaluate yourself. I know most of us (self included) like to think we are perfect Christians and that anyone who sees us sees Jesus Oozing out of us...but let's be real. We all mess up (it's called sin). The chances of a perfect Christian are ZERO. So I ask that in evaluating yourself that you be honest, no one will know your result, there's no one keeping score, this is just to help you grow.

Have you ever noticed yourself doing or saying some of the things you described about the non-Christian? Perhaps your language was foul, you had a soul attitude, etc. It happens. It's hard to be happy all the time, but we have to realize that we are walking, talking, testimonies for Christ (both good and bad). Regardless where we are at, what we are doing, who we are with, people should be able to at a single glance say "Hey, that person has been with Jesus!"

Look at the Scripture for today:

Acts 4:13 NKJV
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

When the Sanhedrin came upon Peter and John they immediately noticed that Peter and John were different. They had a special BOLDNESS that stood out. These men didn't go to seminary, didn't have weeks of witnessing training, they didn't have Gospel Tracts to go by, they were uneducated and untrained. Yet the Sanhedrin could tell that they had been with Jesus. Not because they asked, or because Peter and John told them, but because of their actions, their boldness, and who they lived for.

A lot of times we feel like in order to witness or share the Gospel with someone we have to have a degree from a seminary, follow a Gospel Tract, or say the "right" words. But really, if we model our lives after Christ's, our lifestyle should do the witnessing for us.

If you attended church yesterday (Sunday), your friends should be able to see that you've been with Jesus. Just as plainly as someone smelling like tobacco walking in from a tobacco field. If not, I encourage you to rediscover your relationship with Christ. He loves you and never left. He still waits with open arms.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Give Us Clean Hands

As a few of you may know I work at a bank full time. I deal with tons of germy people and germy money. So every teller window always has a heavy supply of hand sanitizer that we all use religiously. I constantly find myself turning to it to grid myself of the filth and germs I constantly come in contact with. Well today while I was trying to think of what I wanted to post as a devotional for Inflamed I caught myself starring at my bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer. How is it that I can barely make it 5 minutes at work without getting another dose of sanitizer, but seemingly can go hours, days, (and let’s get real and honest, months) at a time without feeling the need to cleanse myself spiritually?

If you’ve been a born again, child of God for any length of time you probably understand what I mean when I say backslidden. We all from time to time fall back into sin and distance ourselves from God, not meaning to. It always seems to go this way (for me atleast), just when I’m my closest with God, Satan does everything in his power to knock me down and distance me from God. He knows exactly which sins I struggle with most and always seems to push the right buttons. Before I know it I can’t even feel God’s presence anymore. I need sanitation, but not for my hands, but Purell for the heart.

James 4:7-10 NKJV
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

In order to clean up your heart and purify your spirit you must realize that there’s nothing you can do on your own power. The only individual who can cleanse your soul is the same God who has saved your soul. Therefore we must submit/give in to God’s leadership. As you submit to God and allow Him to lead, you’ll soon realize how much easier it is to resist Satan (because it’s God acting through you). James also says that we must return to God, drawing near to Him. The beautiful thing about that is that God never left, He is stationary, never leaving us. If we are distanced from God it’s because we ran in the opposite direction. And when we do decide to turn back and draw near to God, He doesn’t stay stationary; He says that He will draw near to us, meetings us in the middle each time with open arms. (DISCLAIMER: Don’t mistake this “meeting in the middle” as Him compromising with us and giving in to us…that’s not what is meant here.) Yes He will run towards us and welcome us with open arms because He is a gracious and loving God. But He is also a just God. Meaning that we may endure some “growing pains” due to our sin and disobedience, but I can testify that each time Satan tore me down, when I came back to God, our relationship was stronger and more stable each and every time.

So the next time you feel filthy due to any germs, dirt, or grime and go to reach for that favorite bottle of hand sanitizer, think of your heart and your current relationship with God. Maybe you’ll notice that your heart needs just as much sanitation as your hands do…

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.