Most professing Christians would agree that we are to share the good news of Christ (the gospel), using words, deeds or both. Most are also in agreement that the sharing of the gospel applies to individuals as well as the corporate church. Furthermore, ‘good deeds’ in the Name of Christ speak for themselves. When it comes to ‘words’ however, there is a lot of opinion out there regarding the correct approach and even the words we should/should not use approaching the subject with non-believers. We would all probably agree with the need to share the CORE of the gospel. Is it possible to define it?

From a sermon preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England in 1879:

"The church of Christ is continually under the figure of an army, yet it's Captain is the Prince of Peace; it's object is the establishment of peace, and its soldiers are men of a peaceful disposition. The spirit of war is the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the gospel.

Yet nevertheless, the church on earth has, and until the second advent must be, the church militant, the church armed, the...

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"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How are they to call on one they have not believed in?  And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?

I found this short piece by John MacArthur this morning. If you watched the Band of Brothers series, you will recognize the events described. The author used the events described to being a good soldier for our Lord Jesus Christ.

That old hymn came to mind this morning and I decided to investigate it's actual origins. I've seen it used or referenced in discussions and writings conerning the morality of war and the Chritian's role, but I never knew where or how it originated. I thought it worth sharing. . .

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. --Romans 1:14,15 That is why I say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is something more than making us the happiest people in the Easter parade. Are we to listen to a cantata, join in singing "Up from the Grave He Arose," smell the lilies and go home and forget it? No, certainly not! The resurrection of Jesus Christ lays hold...

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Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him love.... --Ephesians 1:4 Sin is a disease. It is lawlessness. It is rebellion. It is transgression--but it is also a wasting of the most precious of all treasures on earth. The man who dies out of Christ is said to be lost, and hardly a word in the English tongue expresses his condition with greater accuracy. He has squandered a rare fortune and at the last he stands for a fleeting...

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FRIENDLY FORCES

1. Mission and concept of next higher unit (from his paragraph 2) to include higher leader's intent (from his OPORD)

2. Location and planned actions of units to the left, right, front, and rear (from higher leader's Tasks to Maneuver Units in hid OPORD). State how such actions influence your unit, particularly adjacent unit patrols. Point out their locations on the terrain model

3. Units providing fire support:

List the fire support mean available to your unit: company or battalion mortars, artillery, CAS (Close Air Support), Naval Gunfire, etc.

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"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

    John Gill (1697-1771) comments:

both in Jerusalem, the "metropolis" of the nation, and there, in the first place, where such dwelt who had been concerned in the crucifixion of Christ, many of whom were to be called by grace, and converted through their ministry:

and in all Judea; that part of...

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"The church has taught evangelism as a meeting of two antagonists — one righteous and right, the other dead wrong. The point of evangelism, according to this school of thought, is to win an argument. Evangelism also has been taught as a spiritual sales pitch, more nuanced perhaps than a religious argument but still relying on high pressure and ultimately committed to closing the deal. And if not an argument or a sales pitch, the gospel is neutered and reduced to an objective, nonrelational exercise...

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 He is Strong

1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

He is Single-Minded



3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer.

He is Strict and Well Disciplined



...

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"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)

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"God's redemptive opportunities never come disguised. Jesus Christ doesn't coerce men to follow Him by pandering to the tastes of the natural man. He doesn't sugar-coat His opportunities and then dangle them in front of us to lure us on. All opportunities on His list have a fixed price - sacrifice. They are available to those who repudiate self's claims." R. Arthur Matthews  Born for Battle

Born For Battle, the book from which the above quote was extracted, was first published in 1978 by  Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF, formerly China Inland Mission). The chapters in the book were first writtten as editorials for East Asia Millions, a magazine also published by OMF.

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"It is not important that we are the obvious choice. The people that God chooses to use are some of the most unlikely people at the most unlikely times...ordinary people for extraordinary tasks" Alistair Begg

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"Because of the hostility of the devil, the work of conforming the members of Christ's Body to the likeness of the soldier-image of the Head is high on the priority list of the Holy Spirit. As believers we are in Christ and He is in us, and this means that His aggression against Satan must be expressed through us." - R. Arthur Matthews

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"The first duty of a soldier is obedience. The most evident duty of a soldier is to endure hardness. The ultimate duty of a soldier is to offer the supreme sacrifice." - D.M. M'intyre (1859-1938)

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