Sharing The Gospel

This past Sunday during the sermon I made reference to my concerns about how we present the gospel. I saw eye brows being raised and smoke coming out of people's ears as their mental gears started grinding.

I'd like to take a little time to further articulate my thoughts for three reasons. First of all, I don't want there to be any confusion or misunderstanding about what was said. Secondly, I am concerned that we may not be communicating the gospel very well. Our choice of words do matter. Thus, I think it's a good idea from time to time to challenge our choice of words. We need to make sure that what we're saying is in fact what we mean; and we need to make sure that those we're talking to understand what we mean. Our mission is to make disciples and that requires using language that explains God's truth properly, adequately, and fully. And thirdly, it's a matter of worship. As followers of Jesus, our ambition is to please the Lord, and included in that kind of life is working to make sure that our words are truthful, biblical, and accurate.

So here we go.

I fear that we (and by "we" I mean the church in the U.S. at large) have fallen into error in the manner in which we share the gospel. Typically, it goes something like this. "You're a sinner (we say that softly for fear of offending the person and we quickly move on), but that's okay. God loves you. He loves so much that He sent Jesus to die for you. Will you accept Him as your Savior?" And, if they say yes, we pray with them and tell them to go to church.

Here's what's wrong (or potentially wrong) with that overly simplistic way of evangelizing. Here's how we may not be communicating what it is that we need to communicate.

1. Savior language - When we present the gospel, we invite people to accept Jesus as Savior. That's not wrong but it is inadequate. It is inadequate because it leaves out that Jesus is Lord. Jesus didn't just die to save us from sin but to establish a new path for us. Consider how Jesus presented the gospel: "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." "Follow Me" is lordship language. Consider Romans 10:9 and its emphasis on the Lordship of Christ. Presenting the gospel requires explaining the Lordship of Jesus and its implications on our lives. 
2. Acceptance language - I know what we mean when we ask a person to "accept" Jesus. However, if we're not careful, it can come across as if we're simply asking a person to recognize or acknowledge Jesus. Simply recognizing Jesus as Savior and merely acknowledging that He is Lord doesn't do anything. Demons acknowledge who Jesus is. They even shudder before Him; but that doesn't mean anything. The idea that we need to communicate is not so much of accepting Jesus but of succumbing to Jesus. He is Lord so we surrender our lives to Him. Presenting the gospel means compelling a person to yield their life to Christ. 
3. Patronizing language - I'm certain that we don't mean to do this, but we can make Jesus sound needy as if He is in need of being accepted by us ("Will you accept Him?"). Jesus is God. He doesn't need anything, and He certainly doesn't need my or your acceptance. We don't need to accept Him. What we desperately need is to be accepted by Him. Praise God that God's acceptance of us is a matter of grace. Presenting the gospel requires explaining our great need for God's grace as found through person and work of Jesus Christ.
4. You language - In the example above notice how many times we say "you" when we present the gospel. We make "you" (us) the emphasis of the gospel. Clearly, we benefit from the gospel but it's not about us. The emphasis of the good news of Jesus is the glory of God's grace (Eph. 1:6). Psalm 25:11 says, "For Your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great." The psalmist will benefit from God's mercy and forgiveness, but the reason he will receive it is first and foremost because God will be glorified. Presenting the gospel means emphasizing "Him" rather than "you" because embracing the gospel requires humility.
5. Lacking language - There are two words that very often get left out of the typical gospel presentation: resurrection and repentance. All too often we leave Jesus bloody and dead on the cross. That's only part of the story. He is also the One who walked up out of a grave. The resurrection is what validates the cross. Jesus paid for our sin on the cross but the resurrection is what gives us confidence that He did so. Concerning repentance, I get the impression that the word has all but fallen out of our Christian vocabulary. The fact is that without repentance we can never experience the benefits of the gospel. When we repent, we humble ourselves before Jesus, succumb to His Lordship, and make the glory of God our life's priority. Presenting the gospel means highlighting the resurrection and calling people to repentance. The resurrection validates the cross. Our repentance values the cross. 

The point of all of this is that we can't share the gospel in a Tweet (120 characters or less). It takes lots of words. It takes the right words. It takes good words. And that requires time, patience, and explanation. In other words, it takes discipleship. Our mission is to make disciples; and that is something that can't be rushed. We have to be willing to spend time with people, as much as it takes, to help them to understand the wonderfully spectacular good news we have in Jesus. 

Let's take the time to make sure that our words communicate properly. As much as it depends on us, let's do all we can to help those who don't have a relationship with Jesus come to an understanding of the gospel. 

In awe of Jesus, 

Pastor Rick