2013 – A New Year of Winning Souls!

Happy New Year to you and your family! The start of this year is a great opportunity for all of us to focus, or refocus, on the most important thing in the world—winning souls to Jesus Christ! This year begins my 23rd year as an evangelist, and I am more determined and resolved than ever to focus on this one thing this year—win souls—as the Bible says, “He who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). How does God want to use YOU to win souls this year?

Our first project of the year takes place next month in Mindoro, Philippines where our Asia coordination team has been preparing for several months. The preparations have not been without difficulties as one of the native pastors involved in this project was shot and killed just a few weeks ago. The Bible says the devil comes to “steal, kill, and destroy,” and the spiritual warfare we encounter on the frontlines of international mass-evangelism is at times blunt, mysterious, dangerous, and scary. Yet, we go out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ with complete confidence in His power to protect us and to use us to reach the ends of the earth with the life-changing and eternal message of Jesus Christ!

Will you start this year joining us in prayer for the souls of men, women, and youth scattered throughout the globe? Pray for God to use not just our ministry, but all the churches and Christian organizations dedicated to taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to the human race by any and every means available. We need your prayers!

This year we will conduct outreach and training events in various regions of the world through our area-wide crusades, outreach school programs, and church events. Our goal…to reach and win as many people to Jesus Christ as we can! Plus, our Leadership Development Conferences, which are done in tandem with our evangelistic events, will provide vital training and encouragement to hundreds of pastors, church leaders, and ministry-minded Christians located in third-world countries.

Do you know what it feels like to desire to read the Bible but not have one to read; or, to want and need job training but opportunities are limited to receive such training? Third-world church leaders are in desperate need of ministry training, Bibles, and resources. We consider it a privilege, and our duty, to help these impoverished Christian leaders to do the ministry God has called them to do.

Knowing that you are standing by our side and helping to send us out to the world with the Gospel brings deep comfort and strength to us! Thank you for your prayers, support, trust, and belief in what the Lord has called our ministry to do!

May God Himself protect and provide abundantly for you and your family throughout this New Year!

For saving souls in 2013,

Scott Nute

A Fruitful Year – 2012 Ministry Update

What are you thankful for this Christmas season? I am thankful to God for: sending His Son Jesus into the world; and for my mom and brother who for over two decades have encouraged me in  this ministry; and for our staff and volunteers; and…I am deeply grateful to you, our ministry partners, for all your concern, giving, and prayers! God has done amazing work this year through all of us together, and I am grateful to share the following year-end update with you.

Do you remember what it felt like to not have Jesus Christ in your heart…that intangible emptiness you felt? This year—because of your heartfelt care, help, and support—through dozens of our international school programs and local church events, along with our area-wide evangelistic crusades, our ministry saw 11,650 youth and adults make a public commitment to Jesus Christ! Please realize, these commitments people made around the world were not just “friendly” soft decisions to have an easy “comfortable” Christian life, but rather a call to repentance of sin and total abandonment of their life to Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord and God…a call to be very serious about following and serving the Lord, even enduring persecution if need be. Our goal is not to just see “converts,” but rather to raise up disciple-makers for Jesus Christ! Therefore, all of our projects are done in close partnership with local churches who do the follow-up by providing next step opportunities to spiritual growth to those deciding for Christ. You helped these thousands find Jesus!

One thing that continues to motivate me to strive forward in international evangelism is seeing the faces, sometimes with tears, of the youth (and school staff) we reach and see saved in our School Programs! To hear stories of how they were inspired by our testimonies and messages, and how they found the encouragement to say YES to Jesus Christ and to ask for His help and His courage to…say NO to drugs and alcohol, to stand strong against peer pressure, and to stop having sex outside of marriage…these testimonies motivate me to keep going! It inspires me to hear how a young person (or anyone for that matter) reads the “Wounded Hearts” section of our website and then contacts us to say they found the hope they needed to get help for an endless list of complex life-damaging issues. They found hope for their hurts!

Because of the generous financial support from you, our partners, this year our ministry had the privilege of assisting in the training and equipping of over 900 pastors, church leaders, and ministry-minded Christians around the world through our Leadership Development Conferences! To supplement our world-wide training of church leaders we—YOU and our team—distributed over 670 Bibles in a variety of languages to leaders who did not own a Bible, and we provided countless free ministry and spiritual growth resources to church leaders at our conferences and through our website. We also distributed 110,000 salvation tracts this year in different languages; we gave them not only to non-Christians but also to church leaders and Christians so they can distribute the tracts and use them in their ministries.

In February 2013 we start our year of ministry in Mindoro, a province of the Philippines, where we are working with 200 churches for a major outreach and training project. We are praying about projects for later in the year in places such as South Sudan, India, and others. With your help we will reach and train more lives with the Gospel than ever before. Your special year-end gift could have a direct connection to how many people we see accept Jesus Christ next year! As the Lord moves your heart, mailing us your special Christmas donation will help us plan for the future! Our website also accepts an online donation if that is more convenient for you. Stocks or securities, planned estate giving, and direct financial gifts can be made through our fund with the National Christian Foundation of Houston. Our website has details at www.scottnute.org, or contact us via email at info@scottnute.org or call 713-277-8638. To you, our partners who give so generously to our ministry, thank you so much!

Merry Christmas,

Scott Nute

An Orphan Finds Hope in Uganda!

As Thanksgiving approaches it is such a blessing to share Good News with you from our recent project in Uganda. Hundreds of lives were reached and impacted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we give thanks to God for this!

Our team spoke in 21 schools, 5 church services, a leadership conference attended by 125 pastors, and a crusade. Team members, such as Charlotte in the photo below, spoke on vital life issues that connected with the people of Mbarara, Uganda, issues such as: making wise Biblical decisions, academic excellence, sexual abstinence until marriage, and more. We also distributed 70 Bibles and 40,000 salvation tracts in English and their local language, Runyankole.

After one of our local church events, a young Ugandan man named Brian was brought to me by one of the pastors. He was 23-yrs old and had been an orphan since age 3 when both of his parents died from AIDS. He had no memory whatsoever of his father who died first, and a very small memory of his mother who died soon after. Later on, his brother and only sibling also died of AIDS. Brian was already a Christian, yet he was still having deep pain, grief, and confusion over all the losses he had experienced in his lifetime. The day before I was to speak in his church he had been considering suicide; he told me he had so much pain inside he was telling God, “Why must I continue to suffer so much…why does everyone I love die?” It just so happened that a point of my sermon that morning from Jeremiah 29:10-13 was “The Wounded Heart.” I told of some of my losses and hurts during life, and how Jesus Christ has helped me to process the pain, heal, move into closure and freedom, and to then begin sharing hope for wounded hearts to people around the world through my testimony. Brian said to me, “You were speaking just to me in your message…God has given me the hope I have desperately needed to move on!” He said his purpose now is to take the hope of Jesus to the hopeless! Brian’s testimony touched me, and I asked him if I could share his testimony in our ministry update because people around the world would be inspired by his story. Brian, if you are reading this, thank you for talking to me and sharing your story…God is using you to bring Hope to the hopeless!

Another highlight of this project for me personally was being asked to dedicate a baby to God after one of our church events (photo to the right)! A pastor and his wife bestowed upon me the great honor of dedicating their one-month old baby girl, Patience. She began to cry during the prayer of consecration…it was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard!

God moved deeply in the hearts of many people during our Uganda Project. We saw over 2,000 people make a public commitment to repent of their sins, leave their old life behind, and surrender control of their life to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord! The 70 local churches we worked with have already begun the contacting and follow-up of these people and are providing next step spiritual growth opportunities in their local churches.

As we enter the holiday season and this year comes to an end, I want to mention to you that in March 2013 partners of our ministry are working with us to host “BENEFIT DINNERS” in Houston, TX, March 8; Albuquerque, NM, March 15; and Las Cruces, NM, March 16. If you are interested in attending one of our benefits, or, if you are interested in helping our ministry host a benefit in your area, please contact us at: info@scottnute.org or call 713-277-8638.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank you for your support and ministry partnership!

For bringing Hope to the hopeless,

Scott Nute

Global Projects Update

Greetings to you our dear friends and ministry partners! Reports continue to come in to our staff in the Philippines sharing news from our recent project of how the Lord spoke into the lives of many people in various ways. Of the more than 9,600 people we saw make decisions for Christ in the Philippines, some Christians shared testimonies of committing to a fresh burden for personal evangelism, while others took the next step in the ministry calling God has on their lives, and others told of God giving deep words of inspiration and hope that they needed to move forward through great tragedies and traumas in their lives. God moved in the Philippines and you, our partners, helped our team (photo on the left) penetrate these lives with the Word of God!

One of my prayers and hopes for this recently completed project in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was that our Leadership Development Conference would be used by God as a catalyst to see more doors open for ministry throughout the Philippines. The Lord graciously answered these prayers…we have 8 provinces scattered throughout the country of the Philippines desiring to have our ministry for future projects!

We also heard additional updates from our project held this April in India…21 new Christians have been baptized as a result of our evangelistic event! Over 150 village churches prayed and worked for months for this project, leading to over 250 people deciding to repent and turn to Jesus Christ and leave their false gods of Hinduism. Those who have been baptized are risking persecution by making such a bold public commitment to Jesus Christ! Join us in prayer for these new Indian believers…pray for God’s power to protect them, mature them, and use them greatly for God’s Kingdom!

Since the age of 23 (I am now 45-years-old) I have had a strange “intangible” dream of conducting large-scale mass-evangelistic events in stadiums, arenas, and open fields around the world. My vision is to conduct our School Programs and our Leadership Development Conferences in tandem with these mass-evangelistic events. You can join us in prayer as to where and when God wants us to host future projects; pray for God to move the hearts of His people to give support that will literally send us out to various nations so we can continue to reach and train more people around the globe with the Gospel of Christ! What great opportunities the Sovereign Lord continues to open up before us!

Last year, when we reincorporated this ministry, God gave me a verse to clearly confirm the time was here to step out by faith and restart this ministry. This verse is Ezekiel 26:2, which says, “The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me.” I must give complete glory and thanks to God for what He is doing through our ministry! It is exciting to tell you that we are now preparing to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our next nation—Uganda, which is located in East Africa! With anticipation, I look forward to sharing details with you next month of this upcoming project, and how you can play a direct part in helping us reach and train thousands of Ugandans with the Gospel! Until then, have a wonderful month as you live for and share the message of Jesus Christ!

For nothing less than…global evangelization, I am sincerely yours,

Scott Nute

Are We To Judge Other People?

How many times have you heard someone say, “Don’t judge others and don’t judge me…this is what the Bible says…we are not supposed to judge people!” The next time someone says that would you respectfully and sincerely ask them to explain to you the context of what they mean, and where in the Bible does it say that? There is a chance they will take the Bible out of context in an attempt to explain what they mean, so, it is important for us to be informed of what Biblical judgment accurately means.

I am by no means a Greek or Hebrew Bible scholar and have no Seminary degree, and do not in any way want to hint I think I am a Bible expert by writing this article, as I am not even close. Rather, my goal is to cover a general topic using some basic Greek New Testament as evidence, so, please feel free to look up the following words in Greek for yourself for your own study to formulate your own opinions.

In my personal opinion, the Church as we have it today—the Body of Christ—especially in the United States, slowly began entering a theological “cotton candy” phase decades ago. On a larger scale much of the country and world, due to satellite television and the internet, became exposed to and began “drifting” towards an easier, softer, sweeter, more comfortable, self-absorbed “Gospel.” Society in general seems to have subtly moved into the “me, my family, and I” focus instead of others and the Great Commission focus. By that I am not saying we are too neglect our duty to love and care for our families, friends, etc., but rather we must realize that in each of our Christian lives the Great Commission is to be of utmost importance! In this day and age, we are at a point where it is not “politically correct” to have much, if any, discipline in the church, nor any confrontation for questionable “gray area” behaviors or outright sinful behaviors. If we do, then people, including many Christians, are quick to whip out their out-of-context Bible knowledge and quote from the “Bible” where it says, “Do not judge others” in Matthew 7:1. But, they just stop after that one verse, which leaves a huge hole in the fuller contextual meaning of what the word “judge” really means. So, let’s look at this word “judge” as we should, in the full context of what the Bible means, as this Biblical word “judge” actually has different meanings and applications to our lives.

First, let’s look at 1 Corinthians, Chapter 5, where the context is serious sexual immorality taking place by Christians. Verse 12-13 says, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked man from among you.’” What Paul was basically saying here is to confront, discipline, and if necessary, expel and “judge” the Christians committing incest and hopefully they will return after they have repented and are willing to change. However, those outside the church, the non-Christians, we are not to “judge” because they aren’t believers yet, so if we distance ourselves from every sexually immoral person who is not a Christian how will they ever hear the Gospel and have the chance to repent and accept the love and mercy of Jesus Christ? In a nutshell, Paul was saying in the world outside the church there is going to be lots of sin, which is “normal” for the satanic world and this should not shock us. However, inside the church where believers in Christ are, there should be much less sin, so if a brother or sister in Christ is in sin we are to “judge” them. Now, the big question is…what does this word “judge” really mean?

In these verses we just read, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, the word “judge” is the Greek word, “krino,” which means “to divide, separate, to make a distinction.” Imagine taking a knife and cutting open an envelope you received in the mail to see what is inside, this is basically what this word means…to open up, investigate, and scrutinize. In this particular text, “krino” does not necessarily mean to judge in a condemning final verdict, but rather to “judge” and question inner content and motives, and to evaluate the possible effects certain behaviors and such can have on ourselves and others in the short and long term.

This Greek word “krino” is also used in the verse we started with, “Do not judge…” in Matthew 7:1. It is a mistake, however, to stop after the first verse of this chapter, so for context, here is Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

In these verses we find the same Greek work “krino” that was used in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, where, let me say again, the Bible told us we are to “judge” Christians inside the Kingdom of God. Krino is used 4 times in this text of Scripture in Matthew 7:1-5, which means it is an important word to have been used that many times in just a few verses. As we study the entire context, at least two things are clear: 1) We are not to “judge/krino” others if we have not first evaluated our own lives for “planks” of sin as it says in verses 3-5. Example, how can I go to a brother in Christ who is taking drugs and confront him on this issue if I smoke marijuana? I would be a hypocrite, as it says in verses 4-5. 2) After we evaluate our own lives, and have sought and received outside objective Biblical counsel and accountability, and after we have removed our “planks” in our lives, we are to then humbly and respectfully go to our brother/sister in Christ and lovingly “judge/krino” them—perhaps with tough love—and talk to them about any questionable behaviors they are doing in their Christian life. We don’t “condemn” them as that is a different Greek word we will talk about next, but rather we confront them on their behaviors and choices for the sake of questioning them, scrutinizing their choices, and talking to them to see if they understand and see that some of their choices and behaviors are questionable and can damage their walk and witness for Jesus Christ.

Let’s move on to a second word used for “judge” in the New Testament…we just alluded to it, it is the Greek word “katakrima” that is used for judging as a “condemnation.” This word is found in Romans 8:1, which says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation (Katakrima) for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This word, katakrima, is related to the word “krino,” but the addition of the suffix “ma” makes this word the result of judgment…the aftereffects of being judged, found guilty, and sentenced by a judge, “the exact sentence of condemnation handed down after due process.” Here is a way to illustrate the difference between these similar Greek words Krino and Katakrima. Let’s say we are in a courtroom observing a trial, and the lawyers are presenting their evidence…the lawyers are dividing, investigating, scrutinizing, and dissecting all the evidence. In a sense, the lawyers are “judging” the person accused of the crime by deeply evaluating all the evidence, this is the word “krino” in action when the lawyers investigate the evidence stemming from the life and circumstances of the accused person standing trial, but, the lawyers do not make the final decision of guilt or innocence. That is what the judge does.

After the lawyer’s “judge/krino” the evidence and circumstances of their case, they then hand their case to the judge who, after hearing all the evidence, makes the final “judgment/katakrima” of guilt or innocence. This is what the word “katakrima” can mean, a condemnatory judgment based on the evidence presented to a judicial judge who finds a person guilty based on the evidence. So, the lawyers have one form of judgment, “krino,” which is to evaluate evidence, and the judge has another form of judgment, “katakrima,” which is to decide final guilt or innocence. This courtroom illustration can transfer to the Kingdom of God in that we as Christians are in a sense the “pre-final judgment lawyers” who “judge/krino”— evaluate — the decisions and behaviors, the “evidence/fruit,” of one another in this life to help each other grow and mature and prepare for our final judgment, while Jesus Christ as “The Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42), will “judge/katakrima”— condemn — every person after death for those who don’t know Jesus personally. Now, for those who enter death knowing Jesus personally, this then brings up another word for “judgment” in the Bible, as well as gives us a second application of the Greek word krino. Let’s look at the following: 1) the judgment to determine who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. 2) the judgment of Christians before entering heaven.

The heaven and hell judgment is called the “Great White Throne Judgment,” and it is found in Revelation 20: 11-15. And guess what, the same Greek word “Krino” is used twice in verses 12-13, but, it is used in a different form, context, and application. In Revelation 20, “krino” is used to express action that is not continuous but just right now. In other words, the final judgment found in Revelation 20, “Krino,” is made by Jesus Christ once and for all…forever…before the Great White Throne. And that is it…it is over, and eternal separation from God then begins immediately after His final decision, His final “krino,” has been made. After a person dies and gives an account for their sins and why they did not turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation, their soul will have been judged for all eternity once and for all, and then hell is entered into forever after the final “krino” judgment in Revelation 20 that will take place before the Great White Throne.

Then, we have the judgment of Christians before we enter heaven. This is where each of us as Christians will give full account for our lives after we received Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and was saved/born-again at age 19, so, I will stand before Jesus Christ and give account of what I did since that age till my life ends. This will take place at what the Bible calls the “Judgment Seat of Christ,” which is found in 2 Corinthians 5:10, where Scripture says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The word “judgment” here is the Greek word “bema,” which means “step” or “base.” Basically it means the steps at the base of a throne. To use a court of law again to illustrate, the seat upon which a judge sits in his courtroom is called his tribunal, so the Judgment Seat of Christ will be the Son of God’s tribunal, below which and in front of me, you, and every Christian will bow and give an account of our Christian lives. Another way of describing the “bema” seat of Christ is the platform upon which Olympic judges stand to watch and evaluate the athletes competing in the Olympic races. When the race is over, the athletes would approach the “bema” platform upon which the judges are standing and then the athletes would bow before the judges who then place various medals around the necks of the athletes depending upon each athlete’s individual performance. So, here is how the Judgment/Bema Seat of Jesus Christ applies to you and me today as Christians: for those Christians who served the Lord wholeheartedly to build the Kingdom of God and fulfilled their particular role in the Great Commission, Jesus will Himself reward these Christians, and it will be a beautiful experience! To those Christians who chose not to be wholehearted in their devotion and service to Jesus Christ and His Great Commission, these Christians will lose some or all of their eternal rewards. No one knows exactly how all this will play out, but we do know it is much, much better to love and serve Jesus Christ with all of our hearts and be totally dedicated to serving in His Great Commission than to have any “question marks” and “questionable behaviors” in our Christian lives and in our Christian witness. Do you and I have any question marks and any questionable behaviors in our Christian life and in our public and private Christian witness? Have you and I left anything “undone” and incomplete in our Christian life and in our Christian witness? At the “Bema Judgment Seat of Christ” it will all come out into the open and every Christian will be individually “judged” for obedience, holiness, purity, fruit, motives, etc, etc, etc.

If we really love and care for each other as Christians we will “judge/krino” one another. By that I am not saying we just randomly in “cold turkey” confront Christians constantly about imperfections. But, if a Christian friend of ours has a behavior or something questionable in his life, it is my duty and responsibility as a brother in Christ to go and talk to him about it. I would hope my Christian friends who say they love me would confront me in love when I have questionable behaviors in my life. Actually, I have had beloved Christians confront me many times about things in my life walk with Jesus Christ, and once I put my pride and defensiveness aside I was able to admit my mistakes and/or blind spots, and then thank them for loving me enough to do the tough thing and “judge/krino” me. When they confronted me, or in other words, “judged/krino” my behaviors, they helped me grow as a Christian, and this is what it is all about…helping each other as believers in Jesus Christ to grow! If my Christian friends didn’t really love me, they would have just let me continue forward in my mistakes, blind spots or sins, and for all we know it could have brought long-term damage to my life and witness for Jesus Christ if they had not “confronted/judged/krino” me. Here is a hard truth: if you don’t “krino” me for any questionable choices and behaviors in my life, you are then accountable before God for not coming to me and talking to me about such issues. Likewise, if, after checking my life for hypocrisy, I do not “krino” you, than I am accountable at the Judgment Seat of Christ for not loving you enough to come to you and talk to you about a questionable behavior in your life.

As Christians, every decision and act is grounds for “judgment/krino” from other Christians, both to give encouragement and thanksgiving for fruitful choices and behaviors that impacted our lives in a positive godly way, and also to challenge and confront questionable choices and behaviors that can potentially confuse, damage, or cause someone to, as the Bible says, “stumble.” So, everything we drink, eat, say and do, and everything we don’t say and do, should be judged/krino by other Christians, as this is what the Bible says Christians are to do. We can help each other develop and mature as Christians when we “krino” one another with respect and love, and, when needed, we “judge/krino” each other using “tough love.” As it says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

So, what is the conclusion of the original question, “Are We to Judge Other People…Are Christians to Judge Each Other?” The Biblical answer is both yes and no. For the answer of no, we are not to “judge/katakrima” another person or Christian as to make a final verdict decision that condemns them. For the answer of yes, we are too lovingly and respectfully “judge/krino,”…evaluate, divide, and “check” each other…to weigh the evidence and dissect the fruit of our Christian lives, and when necessary use tough love confrontation. We are to “judge/krino” each other in this life now, but we are to do it after we have checked our own life for hypocrisy, and we are to go humbly to our brothers and sisters in Christ with a posture of equality, not a position of superiority. Imagine this, the “krino judgment” we as Christians apply to one another now in this life is actually a preparation for the “bema judgment” we as Christians will step into when our life in this world ends and we are standing before our Lord Jesus Christ. We can help each other prepare for eternity, and one vital way we do this is “judging/krino” one another!

In closing, two questions: 1) Do you have any friends the Lord is prompting you to “judge/krino” for any questionable choices, blind spots, and/or behaviors in their lives that could be hindering their walk with Jesus Christ and putting questions marks in their public witness for Jesus Christ? 2) Do you need to be “judged/krino” by a brother or sister in Christ for any questionable choices, blind spots, and/or behaviors in your life that could hinder your walk with Jesus Christ or be putting question marks in your public witness for Jesus Christ? As I write this, I am asking myself the same two questions.