The prince and the pauper

Read > Luke 16:19-31

If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead (v. 31).

A few years ago, to my great joy, a friend of mine became a Christian. It wasn’t after he had taken an evangelistic course. It didn’t occur during any of the occasions he came to church with me. It wasn’t while we chatted about the gospel. No, one day he simply went home, began reading his Bible from beginning to end, and realised his need for Jesus. There and then he gave his life to Christ. Simple as that.

My friend’s conversion challenged me to consider what we think people need to do to become a Christian. We risk falling into traps with our evangelism – always following the latest trends.

Socially, the two characters in the parable from today’s text couldn’t be further apart (16:19-21). But when they died, their roles switched. The first was last and the last was first.

The torment of the rich man is truly awful (vv. 22-24), something we definitely want all people to avoid. He longs for his family to be warned about their future apart from God (vv. 27-28). But the evangelism method the rich man has in mind does not square with God’s plans (v. 31).

At times, God chooses to work in people’s lives in miraculous ways. But this passage reminds us that He uses other methods too.

Maybe our evangelism always involves the use of personal testimony or the message from a cool Christian rock band or prayers for a great and visible miracle. We can try to fit evangelism into our own little box, and sometimes we’re even in danger of forgetting to use the Word of God. But God’s primary evangelism tool is not special events, celebrity Christians, or miracles – it’s His Word.

The rich man’s family didn’t need someone to rise from the dead. They simply needed to follow what God had already revealed to them. – Jon Lindsay

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How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! (Isaiah 52:7).

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How do you rely on something other than the Word of God in your personal evangelism? How can you learn to rely on the Bible’s message?