Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives.
The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist
Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us
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message from God's Word will be a blessing to you.
We're in Acts chapter 17, and again, we're going to give you
the 10 commandments of witnessing to Jewish people.
Why is that? Because we want to look at some
of the principles and being able to witness to those Jewish
friends, those neighbors, those people that you have come across
in your community, how can we better reach them for Christ?
And so, as we would imagine, witnessing to a Jewish person is
not an easy thing. But just like any other group,
God desires these dear people to come to Christ as their Savior.
Now before we start, we need to remember that there are 13
different beliefs that are typically agreed on by the Jews.
And I had my clicker right here. What did I do with my clicker?
I had it right out there. It is over here.
OK, All right. HVAC.
All right. See, I said it right there.
OK, we're good. What are these 13 different
beliefs that we've looked at? We've looked at him for the last
several weeks. We see that God alone exists and
his creator. God is 1 and unique.
God is incorporeal and incomparable.
God is eternal, both first and last.
We are to pray to God alone and to no other.
The words of the prophets are true.
Moses was the chief prophet, and Moses's prophecies are true.
The Torah, the first five books of the Bible and the Oral Torah,
the Talmud were given to Moses and divinely preserved.
There will be no other Torah since it cannot be changed.
God knows all things, including the thoughts and deeds of men.
God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
The Messiah will come. The dead will be resurrected.
And as we've talked about before, there is much that we
would agree upon with these 13 different beliefs.
And again, we call them judeo-christian values
oftentimes that we have here in the United States of America.
And the reason why is because there's a lot of commonality
between these. However, we would also say that
where there are differences, they are major.
Again, they are looking for their Messiah to come.
We know that Messiah is Jesus, and that alone is enough to make
someone damned and lost and to miss eternity and spend an
eternity in the lake of fire because they do not understand
who Jesus Christ is. And so it's important for us to
be able to witness to our Jewish friends.
Now, we sometimes may be fearful to be able to do this.
Perhaps if you have a Jewish friend you're afraid about
talking about Jesus may spoil that friendship.
Maybe you feel guilty that there are Christians in the past who
have treated Jewish people poorly, and you don't want to be
looked upon in that very same way.
Maybe you don't know your Old Testament the way that you would
like to know it, and you're afraid that they'll be able to
spout off Old Testament verses and you'll be lost and not be
able to know understand how to be able to give them the gospel.
Well, today I want to give you the 10 commandments of
witnessing to the Jewish people. Now, interestingly enough, in
the studies that I have done this week in this issue, there's
all kinds of different thoughts and opinions about it.
But I would say that these 10 things were refrains that I kept
hearing over and over again. There's a lot of commonality
that came with this, the idea that these are some very basic
things that everyone can agree upon that are helpful when you
are trying to witness to those in the Jewish community.
But before we do so, I want us to look at Acts chapter #17 and
we'll begin in verse #16 and the reason why is because, well,
Paul is in the city of Athens here.
We've looked at this before in the past and Paul is going to
start witnessing to a very hard hearted people.
Now listen, these are not Jews here.
Let's just be clear that Paul is talking to the Gentiles here in
Athens. However, I do believe that we
can find some principles here that will be very helpful to us.
Now look at verse #16 it says now while Paul waited for them,
this is the party. This is his group that had been
left behind, his gospel preaching group.
He was waiting for them in Athens.
However, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city
wholly given to idolatry. Listen, Paul couldn't be silent
in the face of those who did not believe in Jesus Christ, in the
face of the wickedness of the people of Athens, Paul just
couldn't be silent. Isn't there something to be said
for us here this morning as we look at the wickedness of our
world and we look at the exceeding sinfulness that's all
around us? Really we we should have
something within us saying, I can't be silent, I can't hold
back. I need to be able to give the
gospel to as many people as possible.
And it says of her. 17 therefore disputed he and the synagogue
with the Jews. So the Jews are mentioned here
and with the devout persons and in the market daily with them
that met him. So he was disputing in the
synagogue. But really we find on top of
that, he was really just out in the marketplace and in his daily
life. This wasn't something where Paul
was going to soul winning once a week or once a month and
spending a couple hours just handing out tracks.
Listen, there's nothing wrong with that.
We do that here at Liberty Baptist Church.
Praise the Lord for it. But soul winning, witnessing to
people is more than something you do once a week or once a
month on a Saturday. It is a lifestyle.
It is the idea that you were always soul conscious.
And here he is. He's in the marketplace of this
wicked city and he looks around and you know what he sees?
He doesn't see goods for sale. He sees souls that need saving.
That's what he sees in the marketplace.
And So what is he going to do? He is disputing with people
there. And that doesn't mean that he's
going around with a bad attitude.
That doesn't mean that he's going around trying to tick
people off, but he is going around and making sure that they
understand who Jesus Christ is. And then it says, then certain
philosophers of the Epicureans and the Stoics encountered him,
and some said, what will this babbler say?
And others, some he seemeth to be center forth of some strange
gods because he preached on them, Jesus and the
resurrection. Listen, when you give the word
of God, there are people who are not going to like it.
There are people who are going to disagree.
There might even be some that will make fun of you.
Say, pastor, that's not a good way to encourage us to give the
gospel. Well, I'd rather you have your
eyes wide open about what the situation is.
Not everybody's going to like it.
Some called him a tabler, others said, He's setting forth strange
gods. Why?
Because he talked about and preached about two things, Jesus
and the resurrection. That alone was enough to be the
dividing line for those people that were there.
And it says in verse #19 And they took him and brought him
unto the Arapegus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine
whereof thou speakest is? For thou bringest certain
strange things to our ears. We would know therefore, what
these things mean for all the Athenians, and strange, which
were there spent their time and nothing else but either to tell
or to hear some new thing. Now I'm bringing us here because
not because necessarily these Athenians were Jews.
Again, he did talk to the Jews in the synagogue, but he's
primarily talking to Gentiles. But Paul is in front of him, or
has in front of him rather a very impossible task, seemingly.
So the Athenians were filled with the Epicureans.
The Epicureans were those that would say eat, drink and be
merry, for tomorrow we die. The Stoics had the idea that
they were very much kept to themselves.
And I had my pastor or the man who led me to Christ, Steve
Baker, who said that the Stoics, their line would have been que
sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.
Their idea of life was I guess this is what it is and just that
word stoic and the way we use it today kind of gives you the idea
of where they were. So you have some people that are
very entrenched in their own beliefs and they truly don't
understand who Jesus Christ is. In fact, this is a major
introduction for them. So what does Paul do here?
It says in verse 22 that Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill
and said, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye
are too superstitious for as I pass by and beheld your
devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown
God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him, declare
I unto you. Now we don't have time to go
into all the details here, but he sees this tomb, the unknown
God and uses it as a way to be able to witness to them.
But what Paul does is he acknowledges you are very
spiritual people. He he he acknowledges the fact
that they are very religious in their own way.
But listen, religious doesn't mean saved.
Religious can still mean lost. In fact, often times it is that
those who are very religious are lost because you can be very
earnest about something, but you can be very earnestly wrong.
And so Paul is saying this. Listen, you all are very earnest
in what you believe. And couldn't we say that about
the Jews? Aren't they very earnest about
what they believe? And they have been so for
thousands of years, he says, but you're worshiping something of
what you're ignorant of. And I would say that to the
Jews, to our Jewish friends, they are also worshiping someone
of whom they're ignorant of. They worship Jehovah, not
realizing that they are in worshipping Jehovah, supposed to
worship Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but they are ignorant of
these things. And so Paul takes this and goes
head on with it. He doesn't go around it, He
doesn't skirt around it. He just says, listen, I want to
acknowledge how religious you are, but you're missing the
boat. I want to acknowledge how
spiritual you are, but you've missed the true God, verse 24.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he
is Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in temples made
with hands. Now listen, when we talk about
our Jewish friends, certainly there's a lot of confusion for
them about the temple, isn't it? And about temple worship.
In fact, you asked them today about temple worship.
If they're supposed to be worshiping in the temple, how
are their sins forgiven if there is no temple?
And they have all types of different answers for that.
And really they're unsatisfying at best.
And basically, basically what I have read, it comes down to the
fact, well, we don't have a temple, so God understands.
So God just understands that you can't have your sin forgiven.
What was the point of it in the first place?
Because the Bible says that he understands that we're as dust.
And so shouldn't it really matter whether someone's even
giving in the temple at all or not?
And so he acknowledges here even the temple.
Of course, their temples would have been different because
we're talking about the Gentiles.
But you see the principle here. Neither is worship with men's
hands as though he needed anything.
See He giveth to all life and breath and in case there's
anything we missed all things life and breath and all things.
This is what God has given us and have made of a one blood all
nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth and
had determined the times before appointed and the bounds of
their habitation. I love verse 26 because when
someone talks about the different races, the different
colors, and they talk about black and white and all these
different things, listen, what does the Bible say?
We're one blood that we have all come from the same background
and that we're all in the same predicament, aren't we?
That we all need salvation through Jesus Christ.
That that the Bible makes it clear that we can look at a
church like ours with different races, with different colors,
with different languages and realize this.
There's a beauty to that because God has created us all and we're
thankful for that. And it's the world that tries to
divide us, as we saw last week, and tries to stir and sow
division between us. Verse 27 That they should seek
the Lord if haply they might feel after him and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us.
For in Him we live and move and have of our being, as certain
also of your own poets have said.
For we also are His offspring. For as much then as we are the
offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead.
Of course, that's talking of the Trinity.
The Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art
and man's devices. Now what does Paul talk about?
He talks about the Trinity. He makes clear who the Godhead
is, and that that is important, that even when we talk to our
Jewish friends, that they will need to understand that God, God
is Father, Son and Holy Ghost to get a stumbling block for the
Jews at the times. Verse 30 of his ignorance God
winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent,
because He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained,
whereof He hath given assurance unto all men in that He had
raised him from the dead. Now Paul just flatly lays out to
this very religious people that they are religious, but they are
missing the mark and particularly they're missing the
mark about Jesus Christ. And again, we see a lot of
commonality with that. But the response is a lot of
times what we will receive as a response from those the Jewish
community. Verse 32, when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked, others said we will hear
the again of this matter. So Paul departed from among
them. I'll be at certain men clave
unto them and believe, among which was Dionysius the Arab,
Arab Pegite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
A pole in his fruitfulness was not very fruitful in Athens
compared to other places. There were other places where
large churches were established and grew.
I think of Corinth, I think of Ephesus, just as a matter here,
a Thessalonica that are just places that Paul is visiting
around the very same time. It was a very difficult task and
it was one that seemingly there wasn't a lot of fruit.
Well, does that seem to be some connection with how we would
look at witnessing to the Jews? It is difficult, it is hard, it
is long term and there may not be a lot of fruit.
But I will say this, it is still important that we witness to
everyone now, no matter how hard it may be.
And I have to remind you, aren't you glad someone witnessed to
you? Aren't you glad someone talked
to you? You were a probably a hard case
yourself in many different ways, but yet someone took the time
and the effort. And listen, just because we feel
a little bit like a fish out of the water talking to someone who
is Jewish, we still must, like Paul, be bold and be able to use
their own religion to be able to show them, particularly the
Jewish people, because the Jewish religion, the Talmud, if
you will, not the Talmud, the Torah points to who, Jesus
Christ. So they just need to be really
redirected from what they're already reading in the word of
God. And so let's get into these 10
commandments here this morning and you can write these down.
I hope they'll be a help to you. But the first one is this.
Don't think it'll be easy. Don't think it will be easy when
it comes to witnessing to the Jews.
Many Jewish people take religious observance seriously,
even they themselves, even if they themselves don't believe in
God. I read this testimony this week.
My grandfather faithfully attended worship services every
Friday evening and every Saturday morning at the Orthodox
synagogue in his neighborhood, but once told me he didn't even
believe in God. And this man continued, his
grandfather said. How could anyone believe in a
God who would allow the Holocaust?
He said to me. When I asked him why he still
went to the synagogue, he looked at me with a puzzled look,
shrugged his shoulders and said Because I'm Jewish.
The contradictions there. He doesn't believe in God but
still goes to an Orthodox synagogue.
Why? Because it's just what he does.
He was Jewish. And remember, sometimes the
difficulty and we'll find this and being able to give the
gospel to the Jewish people is that Jewish, that when it comes
to being Jewish, you have the Jewish religion, but you also
have the ethnicity of being a Jew.
And so being able to untie all that is sometimes very
difficult. Meaning this don't think it will
be easy. There could also be hostility
towards Christians as well. So being able to give the gospel
to a Jew can sometimes stir up some animosity that might be
buried or maybe that's actually very close to the surface.
What author said you're asking them, You're asking them to join
Christianity may seem as alien or as distasteful as asking them
to join a local neo Nazi party. Now that's not hyperbole that
that's saying that this is a could be a very great offense to
someone who is Jewish to bring up Christianity.
The reasons for this response stretched far back into history
and while some might be unfair, like the Holocaust sometimes
could be blamed upon Christians, while certainly that is not the
case, others are grounded in fact.
For instance, Martin Luther, those who hold up Martin Luther
as as the man of the Protestant Reformation.
Of course the way that I feel about Martin Luther is a little
different because of being a Lutheran for 16 years, but yet
Martin Luther is held up by many.
But Martin Luther was a very great anti Semite and in fact,
in his book written later in life, The Jews and Their Lives,
that's the title of the book, The Jews and Their Lies.
He suggested that synagogue should be burnt to the ground
and the homes of Jewish people destroyed.
And listen, that's not hyperbole because I have understood from
my history being in the Lutheran Church before I got saved, that
the Jewish or rather the Lutheran Church has had a great
struggle over the years and how to address Martin Luther's
anti-Semitism. And so you and I understand
something like that and say, well, listen, we got nothing to
do with Martin Luther. I mean, I'm a Baptist, I'm not a
Protestant. I didn't protest anything.
And we didn't come out of the Church of Rome.
And all God's children say Amen about that.
We didn't come out of the Church of Rome.
So we're not Protestants, We're Baptists.
That's why when people ask you, are you a Protestant or a
Catholic, you say, well, I'm neither, I'm a Baptist.
And they look at you funny and then you give them the gospel
because that's that's the truth, all things considered.
But in the mind of a Jewish person, it just all comes
together. You are a Christian, and
Christians have done some pretty bad things and have said some
pretty bad things to the Jews. Listen, whether that's
completely true or not, this is what you're going to combat.
So don't think it's going to be easy.
I didn't say give up, but just don't think that it's going to
be easy. Now, in many ways, giving the
gospel someone is never easy. It's never truly simple because
there's a back and forth nature that comes to presenting the
faith to somebody. But understand, in this case, it
will be even more exceptionally difficult than most.
So that's number one. Number two, build close
relationships #2 build close relationships.
Now don't befriend a Jewish person merely to get them saved.
However, you do need to be able to find people in your community
and be able to get to know them so you can win them the Christ.
Now listen, I'm not suggesting you just go around to the
library or go to the store and just walk around the aisle and
say, hey, you Jewish people here.
That could be a problematic in this day and age for a lot of
other reasons. This is where when it comes to
just the way that you handle yourself, when it comes to your
outreach, your soul winning, your witnessing, you just need
to be out meeting people and talking with people.
Because if you do talk to enough people and get to know enough
people, eventually you will find some Jewish people in the
community. I've been very active over the
last several years. I've tried very hard to be able
to meet people in the community. Like I tell you, I don't get to
go out in the workplace like you all do.
And so because of that, I have to go out in the community and
find excuses to be able to meet with people.
That's why I've done things with town hall.
That's why I've been on a town committee in the past, the
Commission on Disabilities. It's why I do the work that I do
at Easton Community Access Television.
It's why I call baseball games. And baseball will be coming up
here in a couple months. I'll be calling baseball games
again for the television station.
Why do I do that? Because I think that I'm gonna
be, you know, the the next Joe Castiglione.
You know, probably not. I do it because do you know the
amount of people that I get to meet and I get to talk to and
I'm not going around at the baseball field.
Any Jewish people over here? Anybody.
Any Jews? Yeah, Cuz, cuz again, hold on.
That's no I'm good I think so I'm getting some of my coffee
but if it has a lung they could let me borrow I'd appreciate it.
So about hollered mine out, but we can't do that.
But you just get around the community, you meet people, and
this is the way we should be in being able to give the gospel.
But don't, as you befriend someone who's Jewish, truly get
to know them and understand that if they get the idea that you
are just in their life just to win them to Christ, they're
going to feel that they're going to understand that and it may
put them off. Just be genuine in your
affection for them. Be genuine in their caring for
them. It your your time with them must
not rise and fall with the fact of whether they accept the
gospel or not. Meaning this.
If you do have the chance to to give them the gospel and they
refuse, then don't just say well I guess we're not going to talk
anymore. Continue to keep them in your
life. Continue to talk to them again,
build close relationships and again you will not meet Jewish
people by sticking to your own circle.
Get to know them. Get to understand even some of
the feasts, the Jewish feast. I had been actually talking the
last couple weeks with Brother Sam Wilson, our missionary to
the Jews, and knowing that I've been teaching on this, we've
been corresponding back and forth a little bit to get some
ideas and be able to get some study materials.
And he's in the next few weeks, he's actually in the process of
compiling video lessons to be able to help people understand
better the Jewish feast, the Jewish calendar, so that you can
watch that. And so you would know how to
approach a Jewish neighbor for Rosh Hashanah, that you would
know how to approach a Jewish neighbor for Hanukkah and give a
gift or something like that. They're one of the Jewish feasts
were yet to give away Jelly doughnuts.
And I'll tell you, I don't know about that, but I, I like the
sound of it. Amen.
And so, but if you were to go to a Jewish family and give them a
half dozen Jelly doughnuts, could you imagine to them how
much that would mean to them, that you understood that?
And to be able to give them maybe even a track to be able to
explain how a Jewish feast work together with the word of God?
These are things that you can do, but you have to have that
mindset. You have to be thinking this way
#3 don't wait for them to talk about Jesus.
If you're waiting for a Jewish person to talk to you about
Jesus, guess what's going to happen?
You're going to wait a very, very long time.
They may not even talk to you about God in general.
And So what do you need to do? You do need to have a place
where you come to understand that you need to talk to that
person about Jesus Christ. Jewish people typically cannot
comprehend how a person can be a Jew and a Christian at the same
time. They presume that if they accept
Jesus, they can no longer be Jewish.
And so because of this, it will not be a topic of conversation.
But don't wait for them. Excuse me to talk about
spiritual things. May I remind you, Romans 116
that the Bible tells us that the gospel is the power of God and
it was given what to the Jew first and then also to the Greek
or the Gentile, the Jew first. But we often have a Gentile
first mentality. The idea is that what we're
going to reach the people who we are the closest to, which would
be other Gentiles. There's more around us, there's
more of them, but we do need to have a Jew first mentality in
the sense that not that the Jewish people are more
important, the Gentiles. We've covered that the past
several lessons. We're not saying that, but you
do need to be aware that those Jews do need the gospel and that
you need to bring Jesus Christ up to them.
But don't do all the talking. Jewish people generally like two
way conversation. It's part of their culture to be
able to ask questions and to be able to receive questions.
So be willing to do that and we'll talk more how to do that
in just a moment #4 this is important.
Affirm your solidarity with the Jewish people.
And what I mean is not to affirm their beliefs, but rather to
affirm their status as a nation. To affirm that you believe.
Not like those rioters and protesters and looters and
hooligans who are out there in pro Palestinian rallies who will
chant from that the that the Jews need to be exterminated.
This is what they are chanting from the river to the sea is a
chant of extermination. Don't let anyone try to tell you
that it's anything else other than that.
The only way that those groups can have from the river to the
sea is to forcibly remove and to put genocide upon the Jewish
people. And so you will find that many
people, particularly after what took place on October 7th a
couple years ago, they're going to be even more nervous to be
able to talk to you about the Lord.
They don't know where you're coming from.
Just think of the attacks that have taken place, that one in
Pittsburgh a few years ago, the attack that just took place in
Bondi Beach over in Australia. These are people that have very
good reason to be skittish. These are people who have very
good reason to wonder what your motivations are when you're
talking to them. And so because of that, it is
good for you to affirm what you believe about the word of God
and the Jewish people. There's a gentleman here several
years ago, I've mentioned him many times before, his name is
Dan Woodward. But whenever we would go door
knocking or talking to people about the Lord, it's amazing
that we'll talk to people and they'll say something like this.
You start talking to him about the church and they'll stop you
and say I'm Jewish. And I'll be honest with you, at
1st that stymied me. I didn't know what to do.
Because when you go around meeting people door to door in
Tampa, FL, then people don't say I'm Jewish.
They say como esta. That's what most people say.
There's a lot of Hispanics, you know, and Rivera ought to be
able to speak in kind. But instead I'd say donde esta.
I know. And I walk away.
I don't know what's going on. You know, it's pretty sad
actually. But people say I'm Jewish and
they kind of throw that out. There is a way to kind of say
this. Conversations done, I'm done.
And that's kind of how I felt that I kind of deflated when
people would say I'm Jewish. Well, I was, we always still
want you to come to the church. And again, it was just didn't go
anywhere. But Dan Woodward did something
that I never seen anyone do before.
And I actually heard of other people like Sam Wilson who have
talked about it since. But when someone would say,
well, I'm Jewish, he would say you're 1 of God's chosen people.
Our church loves Jewish people. And I'll tell you that
immediately changed the tone of the conversation.
You're 1 of God's chosen people. I mean, I'll think of themselves
that way. Our church loves the Jewish
people. Now all of a sudden, the tenor
of the conversation changed. I'm not saying that they were
going to let you into the house or talk to you about the Lord,
but it will change the way the conversation will go because
again, I'm Jewish is usually held out as a way to say stop
what you're doing. The conversation's done.
I don't want to talk about it anymore.
But affirm your solidarity with the Jewish people again,
particularly since the October 7th attack of a couple years ago
#5 find out what they believe. There may not be a belief system
as diverse as Judaism. Think about this.
Judaism can run the gamut from ultra Orthodox, meaning this.
Not just that we are following what the Tor and the Talmud
says, but we are holding it to the extreme ultra Orthodox.
You can go from that side all the way to atheism in the same
belief system. Do you have that with the
Muslims? No.
Do you have that with Jehovah Witnesses?
No. Do you have that with the
Mormons? No.
So when someone tells you they're a Jew, you know what you
understand? Almost nothing.
You don't know if they're religiously Jewish, you don't
know if they're ethnically Jewish.
You don't know if they're conservative, you don't know if
they are an atheist. You have no idea where they are.
And one of the things you always have to do in witnessing is ask
questions. But it is so important, more
than maybe with any other group, that you ask questions.
And again, Jewish people as part of their culture oftentimes
appreciate and enjoy back and forth debates and questions.
This is something that they can often, not always, but that they
often relish and would enjoy. So what do you do?
You ask questions. What do they believe about God,
the afterlife, sin, righteousness, ethics?
You ask them questions to understand about their beliefs.
One author said this. Consider answering a question
with a question instead of an answer.
He says this is a very Jewish thing to do.
They say, don't you think all religions are basically the
same? So you could say, well, don't do
you think? So how do you come to that
conclusion? Now listen, this approach has a
pedigree going all the way back to Jesus himself.
Well, what would he often do? He would ask the disciples a
question in response to their question.
He often asked the Pharisees a question.
In the question, you know, hey, the the whose authority?
The Pharisees said, do you have to do the miracles that you do?
And Jesus says, you know, I'll be glad to answer that question.
But before I do, I have a question for you.
John the Baptist's baptism, where did his authority come
from? From God or from man?
And immediately the Pharisees realized, either way we answer
this question, we're toast. And they said, well, we don't
know. And Jesus said, well, I can't
answer your question either. So Jesus often used this as a
rhetorical flourish, not to be able to wiggle himself out of
what the Pharisees were doing, but to expose the absolute
fraudulent nature of the Pharisees to the people.
In this case, even asking a question or having a question
asked to you and answering with the questions, not being
evasive, but it's trying to drill down on exactly what that
person believes. Again, try to avoid yes or no
questions. Try to ask open-ended questions.
Here's a few. What's it like being part of
your religion? As a Jewish first person, how do
you practice your religion? Do you follow Judaism because of
your own choice, or is it because of a family tradition?
What do you believe about Messiah?
Have you ever considered the possibility that Jesus really is
the Messiah? Why or why not?
Do you think there's a difference between religion and
the relationship with God that Jesus talked about?
Do you believe that entrance into heaven is dependent on
keeping the law? If so, how well have you obeyed
the 10 commandments? How often do you read the Bible?
What role does it play in your life?
Now listen, if you ask this to a stranger, they'll tell you to
get lost. If this is someone that you have
a long standing relationship with, you may be more able to
ask those types of questions and that's why it takes time.
Number six, this should go without saying, Use the Bible,
use the Bible. Why should we use the Bible?
Well, turn to Romans chapter #10 You're very familiar with this
text likely already, but I want you to look at it in light of
the idea of giving the gospel to the Jews, because we often don't
look at this text in light of witnessing to the Jewish people.
Romans 10 verse #13 Romans 10 verse #13 Familiar with this
verse. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved, and all of God's people
should say Amen at that. But only a few did.
But anyway, verse 14, how then, how then shall they call upon
him and whom they have not believed?
And how should they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
How shall they hear without a preacher?
Again, is that preacher just talking about the pastor?
It's not just talking about the pastor, it's talking about the
proclaimer of the Word of God. In essence, you can be a
preacher as well. When you are proclaiming, you're
publishing the Word of God to the lost.
And how shall they preach, except they be sent as is
written? How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel piece and bring glad tidings of
good things. Verse.
It goes back to Isaiah 52. Verse #7 But they have not
obeyed the gospel, for Isaias said, Lord, who hath believed
our report? So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. Boy, that's really what it comes
down to right there, isn't it? If you mark in your Bible, I
mark verse #17 because it's a big one.
For faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Now listen, this is where we're going to take it over into a
little bit of a different direction, because we don't
often think of the Jewish nature of this text.
Look at verse #18 But I say, have they not heard?
Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their
words unto the ends of the world.
But I say, did not Israel know? For Moses saith, I will provoke
you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish
nation I will anger you. But as Scias is very bold, and
saith, I was found of them that sought me not, I was made
manifest unto them that asked not after me, but to Israel.
He saith, All day long I've stretched forth my hands unto A
disobedient and gainsaying people.
What is Paul saying here? He's saying that the people of
Israel have stiff armed God. They've stiffed armed this
message that we just talked about and a strange nation, a
strange group of people. Who would that be?
The Gentiles they have embraced. And what has that done?
It's provoked Israel to jealousy, but yet God is still
willing. He stretched forth his hands
unto A disobedient and gainsaying people.
We could put it this way, God still wants the people of Israel
to be saved, but what does that come down to?
It comes back to what we just read before that if they are to
be saved, it's through the Word of God.
You must use the word of God. Don't shy away from the Word of
God. Don't shy away from the New
Testament. Sure, the Old Testament's
important, but use the whole counsel of God.
Listen, it's for the Gentiles, it's for the Jews.
What can you discuss? You can discuss Old Testament
prophecies. That's a great place to start.
I'll give you several very quickly, and I know I'm going to
read these too quickly, but you could maybe review these later
online or through the podcast. The Origin and Birthplace.
The Messiah prophesied in Micah 5/2 as we saw just a few weeks
ago on Sunday morning, Fulfilled in the book of Matthew, in the
book of Luke, the birth, ministry and victory of the
Messiah prophecy, Genesis 3/15. Remember that the very first
mention of the gospel. We just saw that not long ago as
well. Fulfilled in Galatians 44
Matthew 2762 through 63. First John 3 8 is a descendant
of Abraham the Messiah. Genesis 12 one through 3, but
fulfilled in Matthew chapter one verse one.
He's from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 4910.
Fulfilled in Luke 333 from the House of David.
Given in the Davidic covenant. Second Samuel 712 through 13.
Fulfilled in Luke 331. Born of a virgin.
We just saw that last Sunday morning, didn't we?
Isaiah 714 and fulfilled in Matthew and Luke.
He's God in the flesh. Isaiah 96 and seven fulfilled in
Matthew 11 and John 114. A prophet like Moses.
Deuteronomy 1815 fulfilled in John, acts in two different
passages. The humility of the Messiah seen
in Zechariah 99 and then fulfilled in John 1212 through
14. Matthew 21, five through 10.
The crucifixion of the Messiah. Listen, take all of Psalm 22,
read Psalm 22. We're all familiar Psalm 23.
Go back to Psalm 22 and read through that and you'll see how
very closely it tracks to the crucifixion of Jesus Jesus
Christ. And again, these weren't the
kind of things that Jesus Christ could have staged because they
were done unto Him. They were placed upon him.
And so we see that these were fulfilled in all the Gospels.
The suffering servant, Isaiah chapter 53.
You can read Isaiah 53 and come to the point.
Well, who is this Speaking of? Who is this Speaking of?
Who is this fulfilled in? And of course, you can look in
the book of Acts and you find that when Philip talked to the
Ethiopian eunuch, he was reading Isaiah 53.
Now he wasn't Jewish, but he was reading Isaiah 53.
And he said, I wish somebody would understand that would
explain this to me. I wish I knew what I was
reading. And he made it very clear.
Stephen did, or rather Philip did, that he preached unto him
Jesus Christ, that Isaiah 53 is all about Jesus Christ.
These are all prophecies of which you can use the word of
God to be able to help someone understand who Jesus is, use the
Bible. Let's get through these others
quickly #7 pray regularly. Pray regularly.
If this is a long term relationship you are fostering,
it will require long term prayer as well.
Couple verses I've given you before.
Colossians 4, verse three with all praying also for us, that
God would open up unto us a door of utterance to speak.
The mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, that door of
utterance, that the door would open to be able to speak. 2nd
Thessalonians 3 one through 2. Finally, brethren, pray for us
that the word of the Lord may have free course and be
glorified even as it is with you, and that we may be
delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not
faith. What did Paul want?
He wanted a door of utterance. He wanted the word of God to
have free course. Pray for these things,
specifically 1st Corinthians 16 verse 9.
A great door and effectual is open unto me, but there are many
adversaries. And so pray because there are
many who will be opposed to you giving the gospel #8 Invite your
Jewish friend to church. You said that's crazy, pastor,
that'll never happen. Well, I can tell you 3 different
Jewish people over the 12 years I've been the pastor here that I
have had come to Liberty Baptist Church.
Most of them only came one time, but every single one of them was
willing to come and came here with a good spirit.
Now, none of them accepted Christ as far as I know, but yet
at the same time they all came, you know, a way to know if
they'll come or not to ask. The first time a Jewish person
to my knowledge came here to Liberty Baptist Church was our
state representative Claire Cronin.
Claire Cronin ended up becoming the ambassador for Joe Biden to
Ireland for four years, lives here in Easton.
But we had our believe our 2nd anniversary.
I've told you this before. I, I just sent a postcard to her
office at Beacon Hill. And the next thing I know, I got
a call from a secretary saying, Representative Cronin wants to
let you know that you'll be at your services on Sunday.
I just sent her a postcard and she showed up.
Thank the Lord for it. I think of another woman here in
town, a name that I won't name because I'm praying that she
will still come, but came to one of our New Year's celebrations
several years ago. There was a group that was
singing at that time. And, and I watched her wiping
tears from her eyes that she was moved by the song, She was moved
by the service, stayed for lunch.
We had a lunch that day after the New Year's celebration.
I'll move. She was, we remain friends with
her to this day, but hasn't accepted Christ.
There was another gentleman in our town who we had a town
meeting a couple of years ago. He was causing a major
disruption in the town meeting. He was in his 80s.
Town meeting was going in One Direction.
He wanted to talk about water quality because of the PFAS and
that kind of stuff that's in the water, you know that those micro
plastics and all that stuff. He wanted to talk about that,
but it wasn't on the agenda. And he also didn't have his
hearing aids in. He didn't know what's going on.
And he was disrupting the meeting to the point where he
says you want to take me away, you want to take me away.
And the police chief in the back said, I'm right back here.
And that kept him calm for a little while, but then he kept
going. I looked at the police chief.
I went over to him and I know him.
And I said, do you mind if I go try to talk to him?
He's in the very front row. I went and talked to him,
subdued him, calmed him down and up, connecting him with the town
administrator and also the gentleman who's the head of the
water department. Went to go visit his house on
Saturday. Guess what happened?
Came to church on Sunday. It's come a couple times over
the years and we still go and visit them every once in a
while. He's in his late 80s, served in
the Coast Guard and has served our country.
I just like talking to him when his hearing aids are in because
it does make it a lot easier, all things considered.
You know what you ask him. Don't be afraid to ask someone
to come to church, right? Don't be afraid to ask them to
do that which they need to do #9 don't neglect being an unspoken
testimony. It's 1045, by the way, Miss
Cassandra, all right? Don't neglect being an unspoken
testimony. Like all people, your Jewish
friends are watching to see your genuineness, even and even more
wary, even with an even more wary eye than others quite
likely have. Listen, often times we're very
concerned about making sure we're handing out tracks.
I'll be honest with you. Their old saying is true.
Your talk talks and your walk talks.
But your walk talks more than your talk talks.
I had to read that to make sure I didn't mess it up.
Meaning this, that you can say to somebody you need to get
saved, but they want to actually watch to see if you're actually
living for Christ. And if you're not living for
Christ, they're not going to listen to you.
And your Jewish friends will have a very wary eye towards
you, making sure that you are doing that.
What you need to do #10 be in it for the long haul.
These are people. There are people who've been
witnessing to Jewish friends for dozens of years, dozens and
dozens. Be patient.
I'm going to give you this story and I'm going to be done, OK?
The very first year we were here, I was desperate to find
ways to get involved in the community, desperate just to
connect with people. I was already going out to doors
and doing all those things. But I want there was a message
board here in town. There's a gentleman that ran the
message board that also had a television show in Easton.
When I say television show, I'm talking like two or three people
that probably would watch on the Easton Community Access
Television. And I remember watching it one
night because I'm just trying to figure out like who's in town.
They're talking about town politics, all the stuff.
And he said, well, our guest canceled this evening.
If there's anybody that'd like to come and be our guest on our
show, we're live right now. Just come down to the station.
I told my wife. I said I'm drive, I'm driving
down to the station, I'll be right back.
And I drove down and we started talking.
He was impressed that the local pastor would come down.
I didn't know that he was a Jewish man, but he had a
wonderful conversation. Well, I ended up becoming a
regular guest on that show for a little while.
We talked about the Lord, we talked about town politics, we
towned about all kinds of stuff. And again, I don't know that
anybody's watching, but I, I, I enjoyed being able to have that
interaction, got to meet other people through that.
Fast forward that that show didn't last for very long and
it, it went off the air. But my friendship with this
gentleman continued, Go to 2020 and now it's April of that year
and I have COVID and I have it bad.
I don't feel well, I feel awful. And this gentleman calls me on
my phone. Now, he doesn't know I have
COVID. He doesn't know anything's going
on. He called me on his phone.
I don't answer because I don't feel well, but I listen to the
message. He called me to let me know that
his son just a couple hours before had been going down Bay
Road, right up the road here, very narrow, very windy road.
And there was another man coming the opposite direction who was
on his phone, veered over head on collision.
The man who was on his phone lived.
His son died. And he called me because he need
spiritual counsel and guidance and help.
You say, well, pastor, what did you call him when you felt
better? It's one of those times as a
pastor, you just man up and you say, we got to talk right now.
It don't matter how I feel. You know, it's interesting.
Who did he call? They call a rabbi.
They call someone from the synagogue.
He called his Baptist pastor friend to be able to help him
during that time. He's told me before, you know,
when I pass away, I want you to do the funeral.
I said, Are you sure you want to do that?
You don't know what I'm going to say and you may not like it.
And we've been able to have conversations about that.
I'll say this. He still doesn't know the Lord.
He moved down to South Carolina a couple years ago to retire
with his wife and keep in contact with him on Facebook.
But it takes time. But I would tell you, people are
out there if you're looking lost.
People of all stripes are out there if you're willing to look.
So let's find ways to reach our Jewish friends and neighbors for
the gospel. Thank you for listening to the
sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church.
If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we
can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at
info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday
at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA.
May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.