Week 4: The methods of sharing the Gospel

This five-week series addresses what Jesus says to Christians who want to stand firm in their convictions and engage both with people outside the church and people inside the church who are in need of repentance.

When trying to persuade others, we should be motivated by Christ’s love, expect hostility, act with gentleness and respect, and model our approach after biblical examples.

Read Pastor Tito’s Sermon Summary below

https://medium.com/@titosotolongo/

A TIMELY TIMELESS MESSAGE

The methods of sharing the Gospel

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy… It’s not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.”  David Platt

Every young person understands the feeling of being misunderstood by their parents and other adults.  As time passes, each up and coming generation constantly looks for unique ways to express themselves.  In conversations, they repurpose some words and create all new catchphrases.  Musically, they use the same chords as the previous generation, but they apply them differently.  Younger generations tend to be misunderstood by older ones because they are each speaking a different cultural language.  The only way to get through to someone is by bridging the gap.

Christians and non-Christians experience this same misunderstanding today.  Many on each side do not realize what others associates when they say certain expressions or phrases.  Expressions like, “God loves the sinner but hates the sin” are no longer effective in a society where people view their sins as part of their identity.  Those statements then imply that God does hate them because that “sin” defines who they are.  Yet, just because someone might misunderstand us as Christians, shouldn’t lead us to keep the Good News of Jesus to ourselves.

There is no designated one way to share the Gospel specifically, but there is one way to share it personally, and that is by learning how to build bridges.  Jesus was a master of this strategy.  At times, He would respond to their questions with questions.  For some, he would be short and direct, while for others He would give an analogy or tell a story to help people better understand.  Jesus would regularly change His methods as He taught an unchanging message.  Jesus constantly built bridges with people, especially taking the long-term strategy for some by developing personal relationships.  The Apostle Paul mimicked Jesus’ strategy in looking for ways to take the timeless message of the love of God and communicate it in a timely way.  He was passionate about building relational, intellectual, and spiritual bridges because Paul understood that people can’t believe in something that they have never heard of, and how can people hear if we don’t speak? (Romans 10:14).  Something worth noting is that Paul wasn’t physically there to hear Jesus personally.  Someone told him about Christ.  All Paul wanted to do was help others to know Jesus the way others helped him too.

One of Paul’s most famous evangelical moments was when he shared the Gospel to the citizens of Athens on Mars Hill (Act 17:16-32).  The account shows us that Paul was bothered by the many idols that existed in Athens.  History tells us that there were 10,000 people and 30,000 statues of gods in the city.  As usual, Paul didn’t wait for people to come to him.  He would go to them.  There he would develop relationships and talk to anyone and everyone in the marketplace.  Eventually, two main philosophical groups invited Paul to share more of his message that had confused many of them because he was saying something unique that they had never heard before.  The Epicureans rejected the divine and an afterlife.  They valued material reality, arguing that people should be free to seek contentment and satisfaction in the natural world in order to avoid pain.

The Stoics valued logic, believing that the universe was empowered by a reasoning force, arguing that we can connect to the divine and find joy through the laws of the natural world.  Paul begins to build a bridge, not by quoting Scriptures because more than likely no one in the audience would’ve been familiar with the writings in the Hebrew Bible.  Instead, he compliments their religious efforts and their desire to seek the truth.  He then begins to talk about the Truth of God in a context that they each understood.  He made references about nature and the divine that each philosophical group could relate to.  He even quotes their poets, which shows that Paul was familiar with their culture.  He concludes by pointing them to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and that they all should repent and turn to Christ.  This is when some people made fun of Paul, while some wanted to hear more, and a few prominent citizens that Luke mentions came to believe and receive new life in Christ!

There are some who view Paul’s efforts on Mars Hill as a failure.  If it was, then why would Luke document it and why are we still talking about it?  Paul’s efforts inspire us today and how to present the timeless message of the Gospel in a timely way.

First, Like Paul, we should be bothered by all the idols that people worship daily.  We might not have as many statues, but there are far too many people who worship the idols of wealth, beauty, power, professional success, academic and athletic achievements, and much more.  It should bother us that people are wasting their time trying to find life outside of the only Creator and giver of life.

Second, we should make efforts to understand others if we want them to understand us.  Paul’s familiarity with the statues, cultural expressions, and popular culture helped him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to build a bridge from their level of understanding to the Good News.  This doesn’t mean that we must read every book, watch every movie, or listen to every podcast that non-believers listen to (thought that might help).  What I am saying is that we should make personal efforts to understand others, what they value, and why they do what they do in order to build a bridge in hopes that they may understand and believe in the saving grace of Jesus.

Paul was acting like a serpent and a dove on Mars Hill.  He was firm yet gentle in sharing the Gospel with clarity, compassion and grace.  He said what he said without fear because Paul knew that the burden to convince others was not on him but rather on God.  All he had to do was share his story and talk about Jesus with conviction, believing that the rest was up to the work of the Holy Spirit.

How will others believe if they are not told, and how will others hear if we don’t speak?  We have nothing to lose and others have everything to gain if we do.  That is why we cannot bury the message of Jesus with complicated methods.  For though there is no one way in sharing the Gospel specifically, yet there is one way we can do it personally.  Find common ground with others and build a bridge through love and service.

In Acts 17:26-27, Paul told those in Athens that God has determined everyone’s existence and placement on Earth in such a way to give everyone the best chance to “feel our way toward [God] and find him”.  That means that God is not far from us even when we feel like He is!  We can reach out in faith to a God who is real, even despite how we feel.

There is also another implication of God ordaining everything and everyone so that anyone can find Him.  What if you are the best chance for those near to you to draw near to Christ? What if God has placed you in your job, school, and neighborhood to give others in those places the best chance possible to meet Him through you?  What if you could do for someone what someone did for you?  You’ll never know or see for yourself if you don’t go and speak for yourself and share the Gospel.  So, don’t over-complicate it.  Speak with conviction and compassion.  Share the truth and share your life in love with everyone who is near so that someone can draw nearer to Christ!