A Clear Message

Introduction

We are getting to the nitty gritty now. We have a good attitude toward people. We understand that when we begin to talk about evangelism that sooner or later we are going to have to have something to say which relates specifically to the gospel. We use our personalities to engage people in spiritual discussions. We seek ways to demonstrate our love, care, and concern for others. These things come from our heart which is set on God. When God has touched our lives, then we touch the lives of others. I have said throughout this series that the whole concept of evangelism must not be conducted as a method. If we try to come up with a method of evangelism then we end up manipulating people. We demonstrate our love because we genuinely love people. We demonstrate our care because we genuinely care about people. We engage others in spiritual discussions because this is a part of our lives. Nothing contrived. Nothing pressed into some practiced and rehearsed and canned program.

Having said all of that, of all the things I will talk about in the last 3–4 lessons in this series, this lesson will come closest to the idea of a rehearsed method for talking to others. At some point, we must be ready to say something about the gospel in a clear concise way. We enter into a spiritual discussion and the question comes, “so what does it really mean to be a Christian?” We must be prepared to answer that question in a short clear way so that the person asking the question understands the core elements of the gospel. There is no substitute for developing an answer before the question is ever asked. To that end tonight we are going to look at some ways to answer that question. These possible responses come from knowing the person and your own personality. These are not new or original but will help us to see that there are a number of ways to present the gospel in a brief abundantly clear way.

Scenario

I was 17. It was the end of my senior year in high school. I was one of about 25 students chosen throughout the city to receive the Award “Christian Athlete of the Year.” Sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, seniors from all the high schools in Nashville had to go through an interview process. There were three men asking questions during a 15 minute interview. The questions during the interview were largely what you might expect. “Tell us about your sports involvement. Tell us about your religious background. What does your Christian walk mean to you?” Then came the question which I was not prepared for. It was a question which left me speechless. “If you knew that Christ was returning in the next 15 minutes and you were given five minutes to speak to the entire world, what would you say?” How would you have answered that question? I remember I stumbled around.

Sometimes we find ourselves in similar situations with co-workers and friends. We have opened the door for a spiritual discussion to take place and suddenly our friends say something like “what makes Christians so different or why is Christianity better than something else or can you just tell me why I should become a Christian.” We need to be ready to answer their question. So let’s start at the beginning and make sure that we understand the gospel ourselves before we move on. Now this may seem like a waste of time, but we can’t give brief concise answers to profound questions if we are not sure of the gospel ourselves.

First, God is loving, holy, and just. He is loving in that he wants to have a relationship with us. Even though we are sinners who have rebelled against him, he longs to be near us. He is holy. He is absolutely pure and he is separate from anything that is impure. He is just. God cannot just overlook broken commands. He cannot overlook sin. Sin must be punished. Justice must be served. He dispenses justice to all.

Second, we are sinners. God made us good, but our sin resulted in a breaking of relationship with God. God’s holiness reveals our impurities and sin. Our sin means that God must pronounce the sentence of death upon us physically and spiritually. The real problem is that we cannot undo or make up for our sin. We can’t do enough good things to make it all right. We cannot pay our spiritual debts.

Third, Jesus is the answer to our dilemma. Jesus died in our place. He took the death penalty for us. In doing so he expressed God’s love, upheld God’s holiness, and satisfied God’s justice. Jesus in turn offers us forgiveness. We didn’t deserve it. We didn’t pay for it. We didn’t earn it. They only way we can receive it is to hold out our hands and with great humility accept his wonderful gift. We receive God’s great forgiveness in our baptism. In our baptism we join with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. We identify ourselves with him and thus God forgives us. To receive God’s gift through Jesus is a personal matter. Every person must decide if they will accept God’s gift. There is no substitute. So how do we give this message to one of our friends so that they can make a personal decision about God’s gift?

The first message is very simple and succinct. It helps to clear up some confusion. It is good for simple conversations even over the phone. “You have to realize the difference between religion and Christianity. Religion is spelled ‘D-O,’ because it consists of the things people do to try to somehow gain God’s forgiveness and favor. But the problem is that you never know when you’ve done enough. Worse yet, the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we never can do enough. We’ll always fall short of God’s perfect standard. But Christianity is spelled differently. It’s spelled ‘D-O-N-E,’ which means that what we could never do for ourselves God through Jesus has already done for us. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live, and he willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty we owed for the wrongs we’ve done. To become a Christian means to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and to give your life to him. When we do that, God adopts us into his family and he begins to change us from the inside out.” This approach is good for anyone who wants to know how to be a Christian or anyone who suggests that they have had enough of religion in their life and do not want to have anything to do with organized religion.

The next method comes from the Navigators and has been around since about 1981. It is drawn out on a piece of paper and can easily be done while talking to your friend. Perhaps your friend asks about what it means to be a Christian. You begin the conversation this way. “I have a diagram which will help to describe the central message of the Bible. Would you like to see it?” Many times the person will say yes. “We matter to God. He made us and wants to have a relationship with us.” Write ‘US’ and ‘God’ on opposite sides of the paper. “We rebelled against God. Both actively and passively, we have all disobeyed him. Our sins have separated us from God and broken off the relationship.” Draw lines on either side of so that walls are formed with a large chasm. “Most of us are aware that we are separated from God. We want to do good things. But the Bible is clear that none of us can earn God’s forgiveness or reestablish the relationship with him.”

Draw two arrows from the ‘US’ side and write Romans 3:23 over the arrows. These show that our efforts fall short. Furthermore, the sins that we do wrong must be dealt with and the penalty is death. Write the word ‘DEATH’ at the bottom of the chasm with the reference of Romans 6:23.

This leaves us in dire circumstances spiritually. The good news is that we matter to God. He loves us so much that he did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He provided a bridge over which we can find his forgiveness and restore our relationship with him. He built the bridge by coming to earth and dying on the cross. Here is what the bridge looks like. Draw a cross so that both sides of the chasm is bridged and the scripture 1 Peter 3:18 close by.

This is a picture of the central message of the Bible. God wants us all to understand this. But it isn’t enough for us to know this. God wants us to act upon it. God wants us to move to the other side. We do that by our faith and exhibiting that faith in baptism.

At this point most people are willing to hear but they are not ready to jump into the baptistery. That’s okay. Everyone must be given time to think and reflect and it is permissible for you to go back to that person in time and have more spiritual discussions.

The third method is good for the sports fan who needs to be convinced that their efforts cannot gain their salvation. “There is a new Baseball Hall of Fame. While the rewards and prestige are unbelievable, there are three requirements for admission. First, the person must play consistently for at leave five consecutive years. Second, they must play error free ball. No errors ever. Third, they must bat 1.000. They must get a hit every time. Do those three things and you are automatically inducted into the All-Universe Hall of Fame. It is simple, but also impossible. This is what the Bible says. Romans 3:23 makes it very clear that no matter how hard we try, we’ll always fall short of God’s standard. Thankfully, what we cannot do God has already done for us. Jesus came to earth—played error free ball and batted 1.000. Like a pinch hitter, he is substituting for us.”

There are other methods, but none is any more dynamic than your personal story. Tell how God changed your life. People enjoy hearing a good story and what better story to tell than your own personal faith journey. This is a good way to approach a person who claims to be a Christian but whose life demonstrates a lack of conviction in their walk with God. “You know, for most of my life I thought I was a Christian because I went to church, gave some money, and tried to help out here and there. I even tried to live a decent, moral life. But I found out those things didn’t make me a Christian. Then I found out what a real Christian is and I became one. If you’d ever like to hear more about what that means, I’d be happy to explain it to you, because it was the most important decision in my life.”

Final Tips

Don’t give a speech. People want to talk with you not be talked at by you. Long speeches rarely have much of a positive impact. Be prepared to ask questions and listen for responses rather than just making sure you say everything you want to say.

The best spiritual discussions are short and sweet. When someone shows interest in your faith, you don’t have to dump the whole load on them. Give them the Reader’s Digest version. In this way you allow them to feel that you aren’t pressuring them but are willing for a slow deliberate process to take place.

Be bold. You won’t feel prepared anytime the question is asked. You will get this lump in your throat and your heart will beat a bit faster. It doesn’t matter how many times you have practiced and rehearsed your method. But when the question comes take a deep breath, say a brief prayer, look the person straight in the eyes, and start talking. People will appreciate your directness. If you believe what you are saying, then the other person may believe it too. Prayer.

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