christ

November 17, 2014

Purified (Micah Betzner)

Vile, Undone to Him compared am I
I, a worm for whom He chose to die
How is it that He would redeem?
‘Tis only through that bloody stream
Of Whom in Scripture it is said: He cannot lie.

Looking up, I see the nail-pierced feet,
For my life, from death He’d not retreat
There on His head, not mine, the thorns
And not my hands, but His, were torn
On Him took He judgment that for me was meet.

Purified: my state in Christ I see
Purified: in Him from sin I’m free
But when I trust in selfish pride
From sin I am not purified
Lord, cleanse within and give me Thine own purity.

September 29, 2014

Communicating the Gospel

It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that there are many, many lost people in the world.  They live among our families, friend groups, neighborhoods, work place, world leaders, and churches.  We see their fleeting gods, their rebellion against the one true God, and their unstable hope, and we often want to show the God of the Bible, the God who reigns sovereign over everything, but may be afraid to do so, or maybe, we just don’t know what that even looks like.   Well, hopefully you may find some encouragement from this.

Now, before I go any further.  Let’s be clear that our ability to skillfully share the Gospel with someone has not, and will never be the cause of their conversion. We in ourselves are just instruments used by God to bring about His glory through the truth of the Gospel.  Romans 1:16 says,

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the POWER OF GOD for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Ephesians 2:8 also says,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the GIFT OF GOD.”

Ultimately, it is God and God alone who, “while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (Eph. 2:5)  HE takes the rebellious sinner, lost in their transgressions, and regenerates them through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We should continually be reminding ourselves this as we talk with non-Christians, and as we grow as believers.

 This truth will also free you from thinking that evangelism is memorizing questions and verses, and hoping by the end your strategy of sharing was successful and the non-Christian is converted.  We just don’t see this mold in the Bible.  However, here are a few things to keep in mind when faced with the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone.

Know the Gospel.

Sounds simple, right?  Wrong.  Much of our fear of sharing can boil down to our lack of confidence in knowing what to say.  The Gospel is the same for everyone, and the great thing about it, is that it doesn’t take a college degree or a higher understanding or enlightenment to know what it is.  We have the word of God.  The infallible word that has not changed for thousands of years, through which the Holy Spirit draws us to God.  A (very) brief summary of the Gospel:

-God is holy.

-Man is fallen and needs a savior.

-Jesus is that savior who came, lived, died, rose, who now reigns, and is coming back.

Now, the way this message is presented can vary (and should vary) based on the person you are talking to.  Even if we look at the four Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-we see that each of them told the same story, from a different vantage point, by tailoring it to the audience that each we’re speaking to. 

Listen.

Yes, listen.  And be patient.  For many of us, including myself, this can easily be the hardest thing about sharing the Gospel, whether we’d admit it or not.  If you are in Christ, you are not a finished product.  When writing to the church of Philippi, Paul tells them that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)  Sanctification is a long road that lasts a lifetime, and when we sin against God, His patience is ultimately made visible to us through repentance.  

Let us then model Christ and approach those who disagree with us with the same patience that has been shown to us.  This may be seen by not dominating the conversation, by asking questions about their past, by earnestly seeking to understand why they’ve made the choices they’ve made.  

Early on in my days as a Christian, I tended to elevate truth to what Timothy Keller calls, “religious idolatry.”  I relied on my rightness of the word of God for my standing with God rather than on God himself and his grace.  This form of self-justification caused me to show stubbornness and disdain for those I argued with rather than graciousness.  I did not see me as a sinner saved by grace.  Instead, I used my rightness of truth to feel superior.  Though this may be very common, our goal is to see hearts made alive, which will call for a vast amount of patience.

Find Areas of Common Ground.

Now that you’ve listened to their story, look for ways that you are both similar.  This can simply be done by sharing your story, showing how you were once lost and in the same boat as them.  We can then show them that God reached down to save us from our sinful state and restored the relationship with God by the cross.   The death of Christ was done for us, not me, but us.

The world is sick of Christians using their new-found truth as a way to make us feel superior to them.  By emphasizing that your salvation has been made possible by grace alone, you may be able to relate much more, and they may in turn better understand what grace means to you.  

Pray for Them.

So you’re finished speaking with them.  Now what?  Is our job done?  Nope.  We have a God who is mighty to save.  Let us then come before Him in prayer and petition, having full expectation that God will open the hearts of the lost around us, that they may see their sinful condition and their position with God, and see that while they were still sinners, Christ died for them.  The entire cost of our sin was paid for by the spotless, sinless, lamb of God.  Not excused, but paid for.  

“That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and has shed His own blood for my soul.”

 THAT is the Gospel that saves sinners. 

Other resources regarding this topic:

Tim Keller – The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World (Sermon)

Jonathan Dodson – Unbelievable Gospel: Sharing a Gospel Worth Believing (Book)