3 "Fors" Of The Gospel

Romans 1:16-18 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. [17]  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

Conversion is most clearly displayed when those who are converted seek to lead others to the same experience. Let me ask you a question: if you bought a fine automobile, or computer, or some object that had no eternal lasting value, and the object worked exactly as the manufacturer advertised, and gave you no trouble, but was a great value for the money - wouldn't you tell others about it?

For instance, I have a particular brand of scanner that I purchased about 6 months ago. When I hooked it up to my computer and turned the system on, the scanner worked exactly as advertised, and it has been working trouble free for six months now. If you were to ask me about scanners, I can give you a glowing recommendation about this one because it works, it works! On the other hand, my Dodge Caravan, though it has a great motor, has a terrible transmission. This thing has been in the shop 3 times over the last 6 years, costing several thousands of dollars, because it is a mismanufactured piece of junk. If you ask me what not to buy, I'll be glad to tell you to run screaming from the Dodge dealership. It has proven itself to be a piece of junk, and I'm not afraid to share this with you.

As humans, we aren't afraid to share our likes and dislikes about inanimate objects, things of only temporal value. But why are we so reluctant to share our faith? On the latest poles around 96% of all Christians interviewed were reluctant or scared to share their faith. Most feel that this is, properly, the "job" of the clergy, not of the average Christian. Yet what does the Scripture say?

Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel, because the Gospel of Christ was the good news that fallen man had been provided a way to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. That Jesus had paid the penalty for our failures on the Cross, and was resurrected by God the Father as proof that this payment was more than sufficient. We should never be ashamed of the Gospel, the means of salvation offered by the Creator of the universe: yet, by our refusal to spread it, by our actions we show that we are often ashamed.

Why are we often ashamed? Perhaps because, as in Paul's day, our society is so corrupt. Some believers have intellectual shame. Recently governor Jesse Ventura publicly stated that "religion is for the weak minded". Suddenly the man is attacked on all sides, and to be quite honest, I wanted to take a bite out of him myself. Yet hasn't the world always believed that those who follow after Christ are weak minded, needing the crutch of religion? Ventura, idiot that he may be, only spoke what he held as true in his heart - and many others hold the same view. Oh no, you say? If this is not truth, then why has God been removed from our public schools while evolutionary theories and homosexuality as an alternate lifestyle are fully sanctioned? Why issue condoms to our children while teaching "safe sex", yet forbid the posting of the Ten Commandments on a bulletin board?

Society has long believed Christianity to be for the weak minded, and has stated this so often by its actions that Christians have began to buy into this lie. The Gospel that leads men to salvation is far from intellectually inferior, for it was created by the Wisest of All, God Himself. Think on it, for a moment, which system is more intellectually devoid:

• That man, as created, fell to sin in the Garden and needed a Redeemer. That God sent this Redeemer, His own Son, to pay the penalty for that falling, and whoever accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour will have eternal life, or
• That a bunch of gasses mingled together and, by chance, created a rock and other rocks around it, each spaced around a burning rock. That these gasses happened to blend together and create an atmosphere on the one rock in proper distance from the burning rock, while forming water and, by chance, bacteria. That these bacteria, by chance, banged together and created an animal life that, miraculously and over millions of years, crawled out of the water, turned into an ape, turned into a series of lesser then greater humans until, today, magically, we have us.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20 "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. [19]  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. [20]  And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain."

The devil uses the idiocies of the world to shame us into refusing the spread the Gospel message. Don't be deceived: we are not weak minded, we are right minded and those who disagree are out of their minds. You cannot stay in your right mind and stay in the world.

Christians also have the fear of social shame. No person likes to be ridiculed and rejected, everyone wants to be loved. Christians are humans, and fear being passed over for promotion, being rejected by friends and family, and certainly fear abuse or harm. Yet what did Jesus say?

Mark 10:29-30 "And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, [30]  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

You can expect to be socially rejected when you preach the Gospel so foreign to the world - yet you can also expect the blessings of God. Paul was often rejected by whole communities, and his family perhaps was shamed by his preaching. Yet Paul gained more than he lost. Wherever he went, souls were saved, and he gained new brothers and sisters in Christ daily. Though imprisoned several times, his Christian family often sought him out and tended to him in his hour of need. He had a special relationship with God, and wrote most of the New Testament while under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He received much blessing in this life, but even more after his death in the Heavens.

We, like Paul, should be unashamed of the Gospel "it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth". It seems that, today, Christians feel that they need a "system" to spread the Gospel, a "sure fire method" to get the point across. Many believers feel that they are unable to witness the Gospel. Yet the Scripture tells us that the Gospel itself is a "power" unto itself. "Power" is the Greek DUNAMIS which is where we get our word "dynamite", and means "the dynamic power inherent to God".

In my work as a sign maker I have to use specialized tools to do the job. I use a metal break to bend steel, a torch to cut it, a welder to join metals. These tools serve specialized purposes, were designed for a specialized reason, and work well when they were used as they were intended. You would not use a torch to drive in a nail. That's the wrong use for that tool - use a hammer instead.

God gave us the Gospel message as His dynamic tool to bring men to salvation. The message is simple: mankind is lost, but can be redeemed by accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour. No other systems are needed, no methods required to get this point across. Only the Scriptural Truths of the Gospel:

Romans 10:12-13 "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13]  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

That man, woman, or child must recognize their inability to achieve Heaven on their own, and must call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be saved - believing that He died for them. This is the dynamic power that brings about the salvation of the caller, regardless of their race or gender.
 

There was a young boy who decided that he wanted to study Judo. The only problem was, the child had lost his left arm in an automobile accident. When he went to the Judo Master (Sensei) he expected to be rejected, but, to his amazement the Sensei trained him without a murmur. For three months the boy was taught, but he began to get discouraged. The Sensei would only teach him one move. The child asked the teacher, "Sensei, shouldn't I be learning more moves?",  but the Sensei replied, "This is the only move you will ever need to master". Soon a tournament was scheduled, and the boy went to compete. One after another of his opponents fell, and he won each match. Finally the boy faced the toughest opponent, everything relied on him beating the champion in order to be champion himself. For a while it seemed as if the young boy would fail, and the referee almost stopped the match because he feared the child would be hurt. The Sensei said, "No, let him continue", and the match moved on. Then the wonderful happened. The opponent dropped his guard, and the child threw him for the match. He was the champion! On the way home the child asked the Sensei how he was able to win all those matches, though he only knew one move. The Sensei replied, "There are two reasons. First, you have mastered the most difficult move in Judo. Second, the only known defense against this move is for your opponent to grab your left arm"!

We have an unbeatable tactic to win souls for Christ, and that tactic is to speak the Gospel, without embellishment, to all that we meet. We do not need a system, we need to be versed, well versed, in the Gospel.

Man has a serious problem, and that is the problem of thinking that he is all right, that he is righteous. The Gospel clears away these clouds of deception. Listen to Jesus:

Matthew 5:20  "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

The scribes and Pharisees, often considered good, influential, and honorable men in Jesus' day - their righteousness was insufficient to bring them to Heaven. The problem is that men are imperfect beings, yet God is perfect, and cannot tolerate imperfection in His Heaven. The Gospel reveals God's righteousness in two ways: First, it allows mankind to see that we can never be equals with God's righteousness, and therefore we can never "work our way" to Heaven. Second, it shows mankind that we can have the righteousness of God in our lives by accepting what Jesus Christ did for us at the Cross.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. [21] For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

We "attain" righteousness when we accept Christ as Saviour, for we attain that righteousness through Him. This is the Gospel message we must preach to the world. This Church must become a lighthouse to this community in reaching out with the Gospel. You may be sneered at, you may be chastised, you may be ridiculed - but we are under command from the Father to do this, to spread the Word.

You all have accepted Christ as Saviour because someone told you about Him, someone shared the Gospel. Will you go with me, together as a family, and help spread the "Good News"?
 

Witnessing Handout Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. [10]  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  Acts 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;  Ephesians 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Romans 10:9-10  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10]  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  Romans 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  Acts 2:41-42  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. [42]  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  1 Peter 2:2-3  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3]  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  1 John 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is he victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  1 John 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  1 John 1:9-10  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10]  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Return to the Main Menu/ Bible Studies!