Personal Work: A Task for Our Times

On January 6 we will enter into the season of Epiphany, that time in the church year where we remember that the Lord Jesus broke into our world and manifested Himself in a physical way. During this time we also celebrate Jesus’ baptism and reflect upon the purpose of His coming, namely the evangelization of the world. It is a time to proclaim that God has sent His Son as Savior to the world and that salvation from sin is available as a free gift to all who would believe in Him. It is a time to live out our God given status as the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” so that others may see our “good works and glorify our Father who is heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). Yet living in this way may require a change of attitude, belief or behavior.

 

There is first of all the challenge to re-examine what we believe about God, the nature and purpose of the church and what God is doing in the world today. We need to remember that it is God “who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4) and that God is at work all around us seeking to reconcile the world to Himself (John 5:17, 19). In fact, it is the very reason that Jesus came, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). We must never lose sight of the fact that it is God’s desire that every man, woman and child that we meet would come to know Him in a personal way through faith in Jesus. Further that God is working even now in the lives of those who don’t know Him, though it may not be evident to us. God has revealed, and continues to reveal Himself, through creation, through the circumstances of life, through the church, through His written Word and through the ongoing redemptive work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Second, we need to remember that God has chosen to accomplish this redemptive work through us, His church, the body of Christ. That you and I have been called to share the love of Christ in both word and deed with those outside the faith and that the responsibility for the proclamation of the kingdom of God rests with us. To proclaim with our lives, and with our mouths, that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, and that in Him, and in Him alone, can one find forgiveness, healing, true freedom and purpose for living. God has commissioned us, like the original twelve, to “go and to preach saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7). Until we recognize and truly believe that it is God’s first priority to see all people come to experience salvation and that we are His chosen instruments of that salvation, people will continue to wander in darkness and futility in this life. More importantly, they stand under God’s judgment for their sin and “at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49-50).

 

As we begin this New Year with the season of Epiphany I want to challenge you to take up the task of “personal work”, a term used to describe the evangelization and care of individual souls. A. W. Knock, in his book, Personal Evangelism, answers the question what is personal work in this way. “It is to lead a soul into living fellowship with Christ, out of darkness into the Kingdom of light. It is to bring a soul face to face with a holy God in His Word so that he will see his sin and come to the Savior who forgives, blots out, and forgets sin. But Personal Work needs to be done also among those who are Christians. Many of them need to be led to a fuller assurance; their doubts need to be dispelled and the basis for their salvation made clear. Many of these are leaders in our church work, but they work without a real joy in the Lord. Their relationship to Christ is not clear. It is your privilege and mine to help them” (emphasis mine, Personal Evangelism, A.W. Knock, p. 3). If we do not know how to help someone in this way then we need to make sure we are trained by someone who does. If we know how but have grown indifferent or callous toward the needs of others then we need to repent. Personal work lies at the heart of the church’s reason for being and by God’s grace may we be found faithful upon the Lord’s return.