God has blessed in a recent series of gospel meetings in your area with precious souls coming to know the Lord Jesus as Saviour. Some may be from stable Christian homes, but possibly some have been saved out of completely different circumstances. What is our responsibility? How can we see these believers, redeemed by the blood of Christ, develop into mature Christians who will bring honour and glory to our God?
A Challenging Society
The Table
Many of us were brought up in homes where the Bible was read on a consistent and regular basis around the table, while others are perhaps part of the generation that knew something about the fear of God, maybe even citing “The Lord’s Prayer” in a school classroom.
While it is true that there are many pressures on families today, it is vitally important to spend time together with the Word of God opened. Remember, our children’s young minds are being influenced in so many ways, and it is incumbent upon us to instill scriptural principles in them.
The Times
However, we know that things have changed, and it is not uncommon to meet people who have no working knowledge of the Bible at all. Paul describes “perilous times” as those when men will be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,”1 amongst many other descriptors (2Ti 3:1,4). Some of these people come to an end of themselves and, by the grace of God, are reached and saved. What happens next? They may not have any godly examples amongst their friends or families to help them along the Christian pathway. How can we help?
The Care for the Sheep
The Responsibility
Remember that just before He returned to heaven, the Lord Jesus gave John a two-fold responsibility: “Feed my lambs” and “Feed my sheep” (Joh 21:15-17). While lambs may describe more the youth and helplessness of the sheep, in both we see the need for pastoral care. There are two related yet different words that Christ uses for the care of the believers, with one meaning the constant provision of food and the other speaking more generally of tending sheep. But how is this done?
The Reading
Peter tells us that they will have an appetite, but they may not know how to go about reading the Word of God. We cannot force-feed newborn believers, but we can give them some simple suggestions about Bible reading to whet their appetite. How encouraging it is to hear a new believer express amazement over some truth she has found in the Word of God in her own daily reading! Could you set aside some time to read the Scriptures with a new believer over a cup of coffee?
The Solemn Charge
The Example
When Paul traveled to Thessalonica and saw a local assembly established, he was working amongst people in a pagan society, much like what happens today. They “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1Th 1:9). This was not the only place where Paul dealt with people who had no knowledge of God, but notice the character of his care: We “have been gentle in the midst of you, as a nurse would cherish her own children” (2:7 JND). Just try to imagine how often and how fervently he prayed for them, not only while still with them but after he had to leave the city. We would expect that Paul would have had to deal with them patiently as he taught them simple truths they had never heard before. He, along with Silas and Timothy, assumed the responsibility for the growth and well-being of these new believers.
The Exhortation
Paul is about to head home to heaven, and as he thinks of coming generations, he gives Timothy several charges, including the need to work with younger men: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2Ti 2:2). Timothy had learned the sacred Scriptures from his mother and grandmother, and then later from Paul himself (1:5; 3:15), and now Timothy had to have his eyes on others who were younger than him. Do we have our eyes open?
The Congregation of the Saints
The Mistake
Some may get the idea that the responsibility for the well-being and development of these new converts rests entirely on the elders, but we would suggest that this is far from the truth. If you were to take the time to examine the “one another” passages in the New Testament, you would find enough exhortations to keep you busy the rest of your earthly days! The work of loving, greeting, serving, teaching, comforting and edifying one another is a mutual responsibility, and this certainly extends to the new converts with which God has entrusted us.
The Meetings
If God in His kindness has given us new converts, let’s remember that they need to hear basic truths. We are not suggesting that every teaching session of the local assembly needs to be brought down to a very simple level, but at the same time there may likely be those amongst us who don’t even know how to find the book you may be reading from, let alone understand the terminology you are using. Remember what the Lord told John: “Feed my lambs.” Can we ensure that there is some spiritual food that is digestible for new believers?
Consistent Sharing
Your Heart
Remember what Asaph wrote about David: “So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands” (Psa 78:72). The love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5) will extend to others as well, as John well explains in his first epistle: “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1Jn 3:18). John may have material needs particularly in mind, and that may be essential for some new believers as well, saved from difficult and complicated backgrounds.
Your Home
One of the best places to develop relationships is in the home. If you are a young couple seeking to raise a family in the fear of the Lord, you are likely very busy. But keep in mind that what may help a new young believer is seeing how you go about your daily life, learning first-hand what principles guide you in decisions you make. Although hospitality is a prerequisite for those in leadership (1Ti 3:2), remember Paul’s words to the Romans: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another … distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality” (Rom 12:10,13). Is your home open?
God has been kind in saving souls. Let us be diligent in caring for those He purchased with the blood of His own Son.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
