Got Something to Say?

If God says as in Isaiah 55:10-11

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

then will it happen? In the old days, this would be certain and called effectual working. In the modern church, this is basically considered a fable with the moral being either: God loves the earth and will accept those who work at being good; or I have to help God's word by whatever means at my disposal in order to convince the hearer of the words. No middle ground is presented. Enter Lutherans.

One consequence of attending a Lutheran seminary is reading Lutheran authors and learning some of the theology. One point in particular that I appreciate is the insistence on the effectual work of the Scriptures. In the periodical, Logia, Vol. XVII, No. 2, James Nestingen writes in addressing evangelicalism (i.e. those who use whatever means):

On the face of it, the absurdity announces itself plainly: appealing to the old Adam to create the new, if it begets anything at all, can only propagate either hypocrisy or despair.

Share that at your local church, and see where it gets you. Hopefully, it gets you into the Word, but it may get you left outside for pointing counter to church growth or emerging church ideas being presented by the leadership. Nestingen goes on:

The critical point at issue is the power of God’s word. The living God—the Triune One who creates out of nothing, justifies sinners, and raises the dead—does all such work by speaking. Just so, Jeremiah describes the word of God as a hammer that breaks the rocks to pieces; Hebrews calls it a two-edged sword. Since it is God’s own word, the gospel does what it says, performing in the hearer what it describes, accomplishing that which it declares. It is, as Paul says, the power of salvation.

Do evangelicals believe this? As one of that group, I often wonder. What would happen if we realized Nestingen's closing remarks?

[B]laming the lost sheep for being lost and then challenging them to find themselves in [the debris] provides no alternative. Rather, the Triune God’s empowering of the word by his Spirit frees its speakers from self-reliance and all of the apprehension that goes with it to hand over the goods—to speak freely, openly, confidently to anyone who will listen. Sinners are premium. By just such speaking, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps.

Now, one might begin thinking that all a Christian has to do is quote Scripture, and the work of evangelism is done. Not quite. While the Holy Spirit does indeed do all the things mentioned in that last sentence, he uses us in that work. The new believer needs to be discipled and learn what it means to live by faith.