“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.” – Psalm 14:2-3
“as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.” – Rom 3:10-11
Any Questions?
Jesus would have failed personal evangelism class in almost every Bible college and seminary I know. Matthew 19:16-22 describes a young man who looked like the hottest evangelistic prospect the Lord had encountered so far. He was ripe. He was eager. There was no way he would get away without receiving eternal life.
But he did. Instead of getting him to make a decision, in a sense Jesus chased him off. He failed to draw the net. He failed to sign the young man up. Should we allow our ideas of evangelism to indict Jesus? I think we need to allow His example to critique contemporary evangelism. Christ’s confrontation of this young man gives us much-needed insight into reaching the lost.
Turmoil of the Heart
Though rich and a ruler while still a young man, he was undoubtedly in turmoil. All his religion and wealth had not given him confidence, peace, joy, or settled hope. There was a restlessness in his soul–an absence of assurance in his heart. He was coming on the basis of a deeply felt need. He knew what was missing: eternal life. His motivation in coming to Christ was faultless.
His attitude was right as well. He wasn’t haughty or presumptuous; he seemed to feel his need deeply. There are many people who know they don’t have eternal life but don’t feel any need for it. Not this young man. He was desperate. There’s a sense of urgency in his question, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I might have eternal life?” He did not have a prologue; he didn’t warm up; he just blurted it out. He even allowed such an outburst in public and risked losing face with all the people who thought he was a spiritual giant already.
A lot of people, in seeking to understand this passage, have taken the young man to task for the question he asked. They say his mistake was in asking “What good thing shall I do?” But he asked a fair question. It wasn’t a calculated bid to trap Jesus into condoning self righteousness. It was a simple, honest question asked by one in search of truth: “What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”
The Issue of Sin
But here’s where the story takes an extraordinary turn. Jesus’ answer to the young man seems preposterous: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (v. 17). Strictly speaking, Jesus’ answer was correct. If a person kept the law all his life and never violated a single part of it, he would have eternal life. But no one can. Since he had come with the right motive to the right source, asking the right question, why didn’t Jesus simply tell him the way of salvation?
Because the young man was missing an important quality. He was utterly lacking a sense of his own sinfulness. His desire for salvation was based on a felt need. He had anxiety and frustration. He wanted joy, love, peace, and hope. But that is an incomplete reason for committing oneself to Christ.
Our Lord didn’t offer relief for the rich young ruler’s felt need. Instead, he gave an answer devised to confront him with his sin and his need of forgiveness. It was imperative that he perceive his sinfulness. People cannot come to Jesus Christ for salvation merely on the basis of psychological needs, anxieties, lack of peace, a sense of hopelessness, an absence of joy, or a yearning for happiness. Salvation is for people who hate their sin and want to turn away from it. It is for individuals who understand that they have lived in rebellion against a holy God and who want to live for His glory.
Jesus’ answer took the focus off the young man’s felt need and put it back on God: “There is only One who is good.” Then He held him against the divine standard so he would see how far short he fell: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” But the young man ignored and rejected the point. He was utterly unwilling to confess his own sinfulness.
Evangelism must take the sinner and measure him against the perfect law of God so he can see his deficiency. A gospel that deals only with human needs, feelings, and problems is superficial and powerless to save since it focuses only on the symptoms rather than sin, the real issue. That’s why churches are filled with people whose lives are essentially no different after professing faith in Christ. Many of those people, I’m sad to say, are unregenerate and grievously misled.
A Call for Repentance
The rich young ruler asked Jesus which commandments he should keep. The Lord responded by giving him the easy half of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.” Then He adds, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (vv. 18 19).
Scripture says, “The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?'” (v. 20). That demonstrates his shallow perception of the law. It’s possible that on the surface he did all those things, but God looks for an internal application. There was no way he could honestly say he had always kept that law. He could not have been telling the truth–he was either lying or totally self-deluded.
And so there was no way the rich young ruler could be saved. Salvation is not for people who simply want to avoid hell and gain heaven instead; it is sinners who recognize how unfit they are for heaven and come to God for forgiveness. If you are not ashamed of your sin, you cannot receive salvation.
At this point, Mark 10:21 says, “And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.” That statement paints a pathetic picture. The young man was sincere. His spiritual quest was genuine. He was an honestly religious person. And Jesus loved him. However, the Lord Jesus does not take sinners on their own terms. As much as He loved the young man, He nevertheless did not grant him eternal life merely because he requested it.
Submission to Christ
Jesus lovingly tried to help the young man see another essential element of salvation: “Jesus said to Him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me’ (v. 21). Challenging him, Jesus was basically saying, “You say you love your neighbor as yourself. OK, give him everything you’ve got. If you really love him as much as you love yourself, that should be no problem.”
Jesus was simply testing whether he was willing to submit himself to Christ. Scripture never records that He demanded anyone else sell everything and give it away. The Lord was exposing the man’s true weakness–the sin of covetousness, indulgence, and materialism. He was indifferent to the poor. He loved his possessions. So the Lord challenged that.
Verse 22 says, “When the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property.” He wouldn’t come to Jesus if it meant giving up his possessions. It’s interesting that he went away grieved. He really did want eternal life; he just wasn’t willing to pay the price of repenting of sin and submitting to Christ.
The story has a tragic, heartbreaking ending. The rich young ruler came for eternal life, but left without it. He thought he was rich, but walked away from Jesus with nothing. Although salvation is a blessed gift from God, Christ will not give it to a man whose hands are filled with other things. A person who is not willing to turn from his sin, his possessions, his false religion, or his selfishness will find he cannot turn in faith to Christ.
By John MacArthur. © by Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission
1. The old gospel was about an offended God, the new gospel is about wounded us.
2. The old gospel was about sin, the new gospel is about felt needs.
3. The old gospel was about our need for righteousness, the new gospel is about our need for fulfillment.
4. The old gospel was offensive to the perishing, the new gospel is attractive.
HT: Gary Gilley, Pastor, Southern View Chapel, Springfield Illinois
17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. – Jude 1:17-23 (emphasis mine)
Jude 1 is a call to perseverance in the midst of false teachers and scoffers who arise from within the church. It is also a call to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (v. 13)
The emphasized portion above tells us how to treat others. The call to ‘snatch them out of the fire’ describes the condition of unsaved unbelievers. It might be the perfect biblical description of the familiar ‘burning building’ analogy we are familiar with, but that is seldom used these days in our evangelistic efforts. We would rather ‘attract’ people to a Jesus they will surely love because of all of the blessings afforded the believer. The truth of the matter is that they are already in the fire, according to the above passage.
We aren’t called to help people with their self-esteem, promise them their ‘best lives now’, a wonderful plan, or their special purpose. We are called to ‘snatch them from the fire of the wrath of God under which they live and breathe, and which offers a gloomy eternity. .
After about 400 years without a prophet in Israel, John the Baptist appeared on the scene with a simple message:
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” – Luke 3: 1-3
“John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Mark 1:4
The Gospel of Mark records the following concerning the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry:
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” – Mark 1:14-15
You could say that the command to repent is the first word of the gospel message. Later during his ministry, Jesus spoke again of repentance, this time to
“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:1-5
Jesus spoke of repentance again after his resurrection, this time to his disciples:
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”” – Luke24:45-47
What is repentance and what is its connection to salvation?
The full biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. The action is a turning away from one thing and toward another. Concerning salvation it is a turning from sin and toward Christ. To believe in Christ means to believe that he bore our sins on the cross in our place. Therefore repentance is inherent to the concept of believing in Christ for the forgiveness of our sin. To desire forgiveness for sin begins with changing one’s mind about it, else why would one ask to be forgiven? Jesus stated in Luke 13:1-5 that lack of repentance from sin results in perishing, or condemnation. We also know that the sin of unbelief results in condemnation (John 3:18). Do you see the inescapable connection between repentance and belief?
How does a person come to a place of repentance? Is it a human or divine work?
Repentance is not a work of man, but a gift from God. When Peter and his small band of Jewish believers were at the home of Cornelius the Gentile and heard Cornelius story of having been instructed by an angel to find Peter and bring him, we are told:
“When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” – Acts 11:18
When the Apostle Paul was teaching young Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul instructed him:
“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” 2 Tim 2:24-26
Relevant questions.
If repentance and belief in Christ go hand in hand, why is it that we hear so little about repentance from our pulpits and megachurch stages? Why is it that in our little evangelistic 5 or 6 steps to Jesus, the term ‘repent’ is not found? Instead we begin by telling people God loves them and has a wonderful plan for them, a phrase not to be found in scripture.
To evangelize is to present Christ Jesus to sinful people in order that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they may come to put their trust in God through Him.
John Stott, in his 1967 book, “Our Guilty Silence,” suggested that one of the main reasons for our silence is that, “we lack either a thorough knowledge of the gospel or a conviction about its truth or both. There can be no evangelism without an evangel, no mission without a message.” He quoted a Buddhist monk who said:
“It looks as if Christianity has reached the stage in adolescence when the child is slightly ashamed of his father and embarrassed when talking about him.”
It is vitally important that we have a solid grasp of three areas of ‘gospel truth’ which must be declared and explained before any response should be anticipated; essential facts about Jesus, essential facts about the unconverted, and the benefits promised by the Gospel.
Essential facts about the gospel:
1. The central truth of the good news is Christ Himself.
The Apostle Paul, clearly stated that the proclamation of Christ was his mission, even as he was in prison for preaching the gospel:
Colossians 1:28, 29: ” Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
2. Christ’s purpose in coming into the world and in dying upon the cross was to save sinners.
Matthew 1:21; “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (The angel’s words to Joseph)
1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (Paul’s declaration to young Timothy; either about his persecution of the before his conversion, or the conviction of the Holy Spirit of remaining sin)
3. Christ’s coming and death were no accident, but were part of God’s eternal plan.
Acts 2:23: ” …this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Peter’s sermon at Pentecost to the Jewish crowd, after the upper room experience.)
1 Peter 1:20 :“He (Jesus) was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” (Peter’s word’s to Jewish Christians living in exile.)
4. Christ’s resurrection was the Father’s declaration of Christ as His Son and evidence of His satisfaction with His work.
Romans 1:1- 4: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Paul, in his opening words to Christians in Rome:)
The benefits promised by the gospel:
1. Reconciliation with God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2. Justification.
1 Corinthians 1:30: “And because of him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,”
1 Corinthians 6:11: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (Paul to believers in Corinth)
3. Deliverance from condemnation
John 3:18: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
4. Belonging to the people of God.
Acts 2:41: ” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Those who believed on the Day of Pentecost)
1 Corinthians 1:2: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:” (Paul’s greeting to believers in Corinth)
1 Corinthians 6:1, 2: “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?”
1 Peter 2:4, 5, 9: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . .For it stands in Scripture: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
5. Membership in the family/kingdom of God.
Colossians 1:13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”
6. The gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 2:12)
Acts 2:38: ” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Peter preaching at Pentecost)
7. Eternal life.
John 3:16:“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jesus to Nicodemus)
John 11:25-26: “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jesus to Martha at Lazarus grave)
8. The resurrection of the body.
1 Corinthians 6:14:”And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”
Remember, and communicate clearly and with much love, that to enter into the benefits of Christ’s work – to know forgiveness , the gift of God’s Spirit and a place in His kingdom – repentance and open confession of Christ are required. (Acts 2:38)
Mark 1:15: “”The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Jesus at the beginning of his ministry)
Act 2:38: “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Peter at Pentecost, after the hearers of his sermon asked “What shall we do?”)
Also remember that it is the presentation of the Gospel, not its content that changes with time.
“The gospel is true always and everywhere, or it is not a gospel at all, or true at all.” – William Temple
Picture this conversation between a couple of guys, perhaps friends at work, or school, during a lunch break. One is a Christian (Eager ‘Evangelist’) looking for an opportunity to share Jesus. The other guy is a known nonbeliever (Lost Soul) who has been going through some tough ‘stuff of life’ – marriage in trouble or girlfriend dumped him, having problems paying bills, maybe he even was on the wrong end of an IRS audit, whatever. The list could go on and on. The poor guy is almost in tears and the moment is ripe for our eager ‘evangelist’
Eager ‘Evangelist’: “All you really need is a personal relationship with Jesus, and everything work out OK!”
Lost Soul: “Really? I just need a personal relationship with Jesus and all my problems in life can be solved? What do you mean?”
Eager ‘Evangelist’: “Just that God loves YOU, and has a really…
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by Jordan Standridge, The Cripplegate
In 1915, Coca-Cola and its bottling partners decided to issue a creative challenge to a handful of U.S. glass companies: develop a “bottle so distinct that you would recognize it by feeling it in the dark or lying broken on the ground.”
Because they believed the taste to be so unique, and the sales proved them to be right, they wanted the bottle to be as unique as the taste. They envisioned a scenario where people would reach their hand into a cooler looking for a Coca-Cola, and they wanted to make sure that the individual would be able to easily identify the bottle and grab it.
When we share the gospel we want to show Christianity as what it truly is; the only way to Heaven. We want people to walk away from the Gospel conversation understanding that there is nothing else like it. We want to make the Gospel stand-out from all other religions, in light of the fact that the Devil attempts to make all religions indistinguishable. The best way I have learned to do this is, is through the “two-religion” method.
No matter whom you are talking to, the two-religion method is helpful. Whether you are talking to a nominal Christian who still thinks he is getting to heaven based on his morality, or you are talking to a Roman Catholic trusting in his baptism to save him, or an atheist who believes that every religion is wrong, it is critical, to show the unbeliever what makes Christianity so radically different from every other religion.
So usually at some point in the conversation I explain the difference between Christianity and the devil’s religions, and it goes something like this:
I don’t know if you know this but there are only two religions in the entire world.
You might say I’m nuts. There are hundreds if not thousands!
But there is one religion that likes to put on hundreds if not thousands of different masks on, and so ultimately there are only two: the religion of Human Achievement and the religion of Divine Accomplishment.
You see Islam, Mormonism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism and every single religion that you have ever heard of, ultimately teaches some form of a works-based salvation. They say that you have to be a little more good than bad in order to make it to heaven. These religions encourage you to hand God a resume when you face Him one day. The resume will be filled with all your accomplishments. It will list everything you’ve done for other people, every penny you’ve given to charity and every good deed you’ve done. God will look over this resume and say, “Good job! You’ve made it into heaven”.
The problem is that if you were to enter into heaven because of a resume based on your accomplishments God would get no glory; you would be the one who gets all the praise. In fact, Ephesians 2:9
would say that salvation is not of works lest you should boast! Genesis chapter one shows us that God created the entire universe including you. Everything He created is designed to bring Him glory. The problem is that sin has entered the world, and from birth we all have replaced exalting God with exalting ourselves. Everything we do from birth is geared towards bringing us glory and bringing praise to ourselves. We all have a throne in our hearts that God should be sitting and reigning on, but instead we are born with ourselves sitting on it. We are so used to it we don’t even notice it to the point where we all think that our resumes are good enough to get us into heaven.
Of course we are going to think that we are good people! Of course my mom is going to tell me I’m a good person! But what does your Creator think? He says in Romans 3:23![clip_image008[1]](https://thegreatprivilege.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/clip_image0081.png?w=18&h=16 "clip_image008[1]"){kind=small}
that we all have sinned and fall short of His glory. He also says in Romans 6:23![clip_image008[2]](https://thegreatprivilege.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/clip_image0082.png?w=18&h=16 "clip_image008[2]"){kind=small}
that the wages of sin is death. So if we stand before God and start listing accomplishments or hand Him a resume we might as well slap Jesus in the face because God is going to look at the resume and say, “I killed my only Son because you were not good enough to get to me!”
And that’s where the only other religion comes in.
The religion of Divine Accomplishment. God saw your situation, and decided that since man was so sinful and could not save himself, that He would come Himself and take the form of a man. He humbled himself, spent nine months in a womb he created, grew up with every temptation you and I face every day, but without sinning. He then died on the cross for our sins, and then rose from the dead and defeated death. He made it possible for human beings to stand before God one day and not hand Him a resume and condemn themselves further, but rather, tell God that they deserve His wrath but have placed their faith and trust in the work that Jesus did on their behalf on the cross and through His resurrection.
You see we need someone to be a substitute for us because no matter how hard we try, we can never bridge the gap between God and us. And the substitute can’t be merely a human. It must be God Himself.
Do you see the difference between Christianity and every other religion?
Ultimately, we know that people aren’t saved based on clever marketing or slick evangelism tactics. But we want to ensure that as we present the Gospel, we do so in a way that is distinct from the impostors.
I have found this to be an effective way to explain what makes Christianity so unique. I’m curious to hear what method you have used in your evangelism to make Christianity distinguishable. Let me know in the comment section.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.“” – Mark 1:14-15 (Emphasis mine)
According to any good dictionary the word ‘mandate’ is defined as an official order or commission to do something. We are told in the Gospel of Mark that after Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and after John was arrested, Jesus entered Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. We are even given the words of Jesus’ initial proclamation:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Here we have Jesus saying at the beginning of his earthly ministry “repent and believe in the gospel”. Since Jesus said it, let’s agree that it’s ‘official’. Since Jesus is telling listeners to ‘do’ something, let’s agree that what we have is an ‘order. Therefore, the gospel mandate is simply to repent and believe it. That’s it.
Interestingly, and perhaps sadly, most of today’s evangelism no longer follows Jesus’ simple mandate, but we have substituted all sorts of other ‘methods’. We have hand raisings (with all eyes closed of course) an altar calls. Have you ever wondered why everyone is asked to close their eyes but everyone is watching and applauding folks heading toward the altar?
To spark their interest in Jesus we tell people that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for them. Cool! Well, I love me to and have a wonderful plan too! God and I are on the same page!
Since God has such wonderful plans for folks, we ask them if they wouldn’t like to ‘ask Jesus into their heart’ or we ask them to just ‘give their heart to Jesus’. Those two seem to get great results at any Christian kids’ camp or VBS. For older types who might be more thoughtful about the whole thing, we tell them that Jesus is ‘knocking at the door of their heart”, pleading to get in and the only doorknob is on their side, Never mind that the passage in question has Jesus knocking on the door of the church.
We might even pull out our little cards or Bibles and walk them through the Romans Road, ask for a simple ‘decision’ (and perhaps a signature in the little Bible), and pronounce them ‘saved’ when a decision is made and a dated signature properly inserted.
No matter what method we use, and we use them all, we hardly ever use the simple ‘mandate’ that Jesus used. We never begin where Jesus began. Why do you think that is? Is it because the word ‘repent’ is outdated and politically incorrect? After all, it might make someone feel bad. Are we hesitant about telling people to ‘believe the gospel’ because we are uncomfortable explaining it, or because we ourselves don’t know or aren’t sure what it is? ,
Whatever the reason(s), we needn’t be afraid of just proclaiming what Jesus proclaimed. After all aren’t we fond of the expression “What would Jesus do?” Although I can think of occasions when WWJD becomes rather cliché, this isn’t one of them. At the same time, we need only remember that God saves his sheep and we can’t/don’t ‘help’ God save anyone. Remember Jonah and what he proclaimed after having been tossed into the sea, after being swallowed by a great fish and being barfed onto the beach?
“…with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” – Jonah 2:9 (Emphasis mine)
Our mission isn’t to obtain ‘decisions for Jesus’, it’s to be faithful in prayerfully presenting the gospel. Our prayer is that God will open hearts to hear and the gospel is that Christ died for our sins. There is great encouragement in knowing that all I have to do is be able to discuss what it means to repent and believe. And if I have faced my own sin head on and believed in the One who took my place on Calvary, it’s not a hard thing to do.
A wise man once said:
“Long ago I ceased to count heads. Truth is usually in the minority in this evil world. I have faith in the Lord Jesus for myself, a faith burned into me as a hot iron. I thank God, what I believe I shall believe, even if I believe it alone.” C.H Spurgeon, October 16th, 1887
If we desire to share Christ effectively with the unbelieving world around us, we need to know what the Bible tells us about the ‘natural’ man. We don’t need any touch feely platitudes about the state of unbelievers, we need to know what God has to say about them. Forget for a moment what you might have heard about unbelievers wanting and seeking God and let the Bible speak:
1. They are dead in trespasses and sins.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins . . . and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
2. They are living under current condemnation.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18)
3. Their unbelieving, fleshly minds are blinded by Satan, hostile to God, and they can do nothing to please Him.
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”(2 Cor. 4:4)
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom 8:7-8)
4. They are lost.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
5. They slaves are of sin.
“Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)
6. In all this, they KNOW God exists.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom 1:18-20)
7. Although the unbeliever knows God exists, he still doesn’t seek Him:
“ as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 1no one understands; no one seeks for God.”” (Rom 3:10-11)
Not exactly what we hear most often about the state of the unbeliever, is it? Given the really dire state of the unbeliever, what are we to do? We remember that it is God who saves and who has given us the great privilege of sharing Christ with those who, by nature, hate Him and don’t want him. Remember Lydia in the book of Acts, Chapter 16. She was with a group of women by a river one day when the Apostle Paul showed up. We are told that God opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to what Paul had to say (Acts 16:11-15) and she was saved that day. It takes a supernatural act of God to open the hard open heart to hear and receive the message of the gospel. We are to be faithful in the telling of the good news! Continue to pray that God would open hearts and keep planting the seeds of the gospel.
thegreatprivilege 