Tag: Gospel

Who Should We Engage with the Gospel?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical4 Comments

Cast People

Who should we engage with the gospel? How would you answer that question? Especially, when we consider Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:6:

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Who should we engage with the gospel?

I know most of you are thinking: Shouldn’t we engage anyone and everyone with the gospel. I believe that is partly right, especially when we consider Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:16-20 to go and make disciples. So yes, we should be willing to engage anyone and everyone, but how can we best steward our time in a hostile world, especially, when there are so many who need the gospel?

Let me offer you a few principles that I think might be helpful in answering our question.

(1) We should not consistently engage those with the gospel who are looking for an argument.

Proverbs 17:14 and 18:19 say,

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

(2) We should not consistently engage those with the gospel who are fools and do not desire to know the truth.

Proverbs 14:7; 18:2; 23:9 say,

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.

Why I Am and Am Not Asking this Question

I am not asking this question in order to give myself or others an excuse to not share the gospel. We should be willing to share the good news with all who will listen, and even those who will not.

I am, however, asking this question to challenge you to see that our time and resources are precious. As a result, you should spend your time and resources on those who are willing to listen and are actively seeking to know more about Christ.

For instance, there are a few guys who frequent the Starbucks in my town that I engage with the gospel periodically. I don’t, however, engage them on a daily basis. Why? Because they don’t care to know the truth. They are fools who only want to argue that Christianity is not true. For me to consistently engage them is unfruitful and sucks up my time and resources that I could employ to get to know others. Instead of fretting over engaging them, I rest in the fact knowing they have heard the gospel, are consistently prayed for, and if God so chooses to save them, He will work to soften their hard hearts.

Challenge

Let me challenge you to share the gospel with others, but to be strategic in who you seek to consistently engage. Spend your time and resources on those who are willing to have an honest conversation with you.

Question for Reflection

  1. What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Resource

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Faith + Nothing = Salvation

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical10 Comments

The gospel presents a radically different idea of salvation than most people believe, even among those who call themselves Christians. Salvation is either thought of something you earn, or as a belief only. These two forms of salvation are called Moralism and Relativism.

Depending on where you life, Moralism or Relativism may be more or less popular. To generalize, Moralism is often popular in the red states, while Relativism is more popular in the blue states. On the surface, Moralism appears more dangerous because there is a perceived goodness in the individual that provides them with salvation, while it is often clear the Relativist is living in sin. In reality, they are both just as dangerous and need to be corrected by the gospel.

What is Relativism and Moralism? How does the gospel correct them both? Let’s start with the former of the two questions.

Relativism and Moralism

Relativism stresses grace without truth. God accepts us all, sin has no bearing on us, and we have to decide what is true for us. While the Moralist creates additional laws, the Relativist cast off law completely, thinking they can do whatever they like because they have been extended God’s grace.

In doing so, they create a god of their own making. A god they only have to believe in, not one who is the Lord of their life. The reason they do this is to appease their conscience and their fleshly desires at the same time. Belief in God provides their conscience with comfort, while a license to sin provides for their flesh. The gospel, however, tells us we can’t have our cake and eat it too.

Moralism stresses truth without grace. Salvation is obtained by obedience only. Grace is thrown out for proper behavior and additional self-imposed laws, which are believed to help them earn God’s grace.

The Moralist, just like the Relativist, creates a god of their own making, even though their god is completely different. Instead of allowing them to live how they want, the god of the Moralist only accepts them based on their works. Legalism then dominates Moralistic societies.

The Gospel: A Third and Better Way

In contrast to both Moralism and Relativism, lies the gospel, which is not a set of rules. Rather, it is an understanding that believing in Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for salvation.

How the Gospel Differs from Both Moralism and Relativism

The gospel differs from Moralism in that it does not require someone to earn their salvation. Rather than earning their salvation, they are saved through Christ’s sacrifice alone, which means they are then freed to live out their righteousness. In other words, their righteous actions become a product of their salvation, not a way to earn or keep their salvation [1].

The gospel differs from Relativism in that it does not give one a license to sin. Paul makes this explicit in Romans 6 when he says,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:1-4)

God’s grace is not to be abused. Rather, His grace frees us to walk in newness of life. It frees us from the grip of sin. It allows us for the first time in our life to live according to God’s commandments.

Conclusion

Relativism and Moralism show us that man has a tendency to distort the Bible’s teaching in an effort to save himself independent of God. The biblical model of salvation, however, leaves no room for either Relativism or Moralism. The Bible heralds the message of justification by faith alone apart from any works of the Law. A message that is radically different than the world’s, but one that is radically freeing. Through the gospel alone we are free to live out our righteousness without seeking to earn our salvation, as well as we are freed from the grip of sin to live in accordance with God’s commandments. Therefore, the Bible’s message of salvation is: Faith + Nothing = Salvation.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you see yourself obeying God’s Word in order to earn something from Him?
  2. After reading Romans 6, do you think you abuse God’s grace?
  3. How does the gospel radically change your idea of salvation?
  4. Why do you would obey God’s Word?

Resources

[1] Thoughts on Moralism, Relativism, and the Gospel taken from The Centrality of the Gospel by Tim Keller

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Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn PracticalLeave a comment

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

Recently, an article of mine was published at Gospel Centered Discipleship. I want to highlight that article today on the blog, so you will have access to it. Here is how it begins:

America is a hard working nation. The average workweek is no longer 40 hours a week, but 50, 60, or even 70 hours a week. Why do we work so hard and for so long? We have been told no one is going to do it for us and so we operate under the mentality that we have to go out there and earn it ourselves. While that is partly true in the secular world, it is not true when it comes to salvation found in Christ. Sadly, many have applied this concept of ‘earning it yourself’ to Christian life. They live by the motto ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ If we do our part, then God will do his part. Even though that may sound right to our ears and in our culture, it is not true.

You can read the rest of my article here.

Resource

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Who is Sitting on the Throne in Your Life?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Yesterday, I started a new book I received recently, Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson. It is a great book! I would highly recommend it. In the first chapter, Dodson defines discipleship from a gospel-centered perspective. After which, he moves to talk about Jesus being the Lord of our lives.

Jesus is supposed to be our Lord

Have you ever thought about that? Jesus is supposed to be our Lord? Yes, He sure is supposed to be our Lord. But what does that imply about how we are to live? Dodson helps us to think through the implications.

Think, for a moment, about the implications of Jesus’s divine lordship. If Jesus is Lord, then he doesn’t merely rescue sinners from judgment, but he also brings disciples under his divine authority. Translation: when we become Jesus’s disciples, we also become his servants. Disciples are servants who take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). When we turn to Jesus, we turn everything over to him. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we embrace his authority over every aspect of our lives. This is precisely why Bonhoeffer can say: “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die.”

When Jesus is Lord, we give up on our old life (a sort of death) in order to live a new life. When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we surrender self-rule in order to come under God’s wise, gracious, and all-powerful rule. We submit to his reign and join his mission. This life-altering truth forms Jesus’s preface to the Gospel Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). This new, expansive, awe-inspiring authority orders the life of a disciple to learn the gospel, relate in the gospel, and communicate the gospel in glad submission to King Jesus. As a result, we grow in the gospel as his servants, relate in the gospel as part of his family, and communicate the gospel as his ambassador-missionaries

Challenge

Now that Dodson has set us straight, let me ask a few question:

  • Is Jesus your Lord?
  • Do you submit to His authority over your life?
  • Have you turned everything over to Him, even your life?
  • Have you joined Jesus’ mission?

These are all questions we need to ask ourselves as we consider what it means for Jesus to be the Lord over our life. I pray that you will give them serious thought, knowing Jesus is not just our Savior who rescues us from the bondage of sin and Satan, giving us eternal life, but He is also our Lord. A Lord who calls us to serve Him and His mission here on this earth.

Resources

Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, 42-43.

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Reach the City w/ the Gospel | Part 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

In my last post in this series, I presented a Modified Romans Road method. It centered around the idea of bad news and good news. Today, I will briefly discuss the Way of the Master.

The Way of the Master

The Way of the Master is used and taught by Kurt Cameron and Ray Comfort. It is a method that works best in cultures where its members desire to be considered a good person. The Bible Belt, for instance, is one such culture. That is not to say The Way of the Master would not be useful outside the Bible Belt. It is just that those in the Bible Belt often gravitate toward a desire to be considered a good person, whereas those outside of it have typically rejected this idea and don’t care about being considered good. Those are sweeping judgments and are not backed up by hard facts, so give this method a try wherever you live.

The Purpose

The point of The Way of the Master is to show those who desire to be good that they are not as good as they thought, but that they are actually sinners. By using this method, we can hopefully cause people to see where they stand with God.

The Method

The Way of the Master takes the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount and combines them.

For instance, you may ask someone a question like one of the following:

(1) Have ever committed adultery?

Now, most people have not actually committed the act, but Jesus heightens the expectation in His Sermon by telling us that those who have looked at a women with lust have committed adultery in their heart.

(2) Have ever murdered someone?

Now most people have never physically murdered anyone, but Jesus again heightens the expectation in His Sermon by telling us that those who hate are guilty of murder.

How does a thought relate to the physical act?

The idea is that if there were no outward restraints – social, legal, etc – we would commit the physical act. Since there are outward restraints, we typically refrain from committing the actual act. Instead, we think about doing it. Jesus tells us that those thoughts are equal to the actual act.

Why does that make us sinners?

Jesus is measuring our heart, not whether or not we have the ability to exercise physical restraint. In doing so, Jesus is showing us that our heart is corrupt, and we are inherently sinful.

What does our sin do?

Our sin is what separates us from God. God cannot have a relationship with a sinner because He is holy. In order for God to have a relationship with us, we must be perfect, but we are not perfect. Our sinful actions prove that we are not perfect. So then, no matter how many good things we do, we can never be good enough to mend our own relationship with God because those who are not perfect can never make themselves perfect.

Think about it like this: I attended the University of Georgia for my undergrad. They calculated GPA on a 4.0 system. Those who had a 4.0 never made below an A in any of their classes, they were perfect students.

If you happened to slip up and make a B in just one class, you would never be able to bring your GPA back up to a 4.0 no matter how many A’s you made. The best you could hope for was a 3.99. Even though you were close to that perfect 4.0, you could never attain it. No matter how hard you worked, it was always just out of reach.

Our relationship is like that with God. No matter how good we try to be, our relationship with Him will always be out of reach because we are not perfect and we can never be perfect. Not just because we have committed a sin once in our life, but because we, as humans, are inherently sinful. In other words, we are born imperfect. Sinners from our mother’s womb we come.

Wrap Up

Without going to much further, I hope you get the picture that this technique is meant to help you show others that they are not as good as they thought. They are not good because they are sinners. The reason they sin is because they are inherently sinful. It is their sin that separates them from God. Sin they cannot get rid of on their own no matter how hard they try because it is part of our nature. Only Jesus Christ can cover our sin with His blood. Thus, restoring our relationship with the Father.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Can you walk someone through a gospel presentation using the method outlined above?
  2. Is there anyway I can help you understand this method better?

Resources

The Way of the Master Website

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Reach the City w/ the Gospel | Part 2

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical1 Comment

In my last post in this series, I started a discussion on different gospel presentation methods. The purpose in learning these methods is to increase our confidence and comfort level with sharing the gospel, so we will talk with more people about Christ.

Today, I will discuss what amounts to a modified Romans Road presentation.

Modified Romans Road – Good News/Bad News

Romans 3:23 – All have sinned. (Bad news)

Sin is defined as an outright rejection of God’s rule over our lives. As our Creator, God has the right to rule over us, but we often reject God’s rule. In place of His rule, we setup our own rule.

Imagine a rebel force coming together and attacking a king’s castle. They over through the king’s rule and setup their own rule, while at the same time subjecting the king to their service.

This is similar to what it means to sin against God. You see, sinners are not just breaking rules in the king’s kingdom, they are the rebel force overthrowing the castle and setting up their own rule. Lest you believe you are not about of that rebel force, Romans 3:23 makes it clear we all are apart of the rebel force because we all are sinners.

Romans 6:23 – The penalty for sin is death. (Bad news)

Let me provide you with an illustration to help you understand this and explain it to others. If I paid you fifty dollars to work for me today, the fifty dollars would be your wage. It would be what you earned for working. Romans 6:23 tells us our wage as sinners is not fifty dollars, but death.

Romans 5:8 – Christ died for our sin. (Good News)

Let’s say you are in the hospital dying of cancer and I come to you and say, “I want to do something for you. I’ll take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body.” What would happen to me? The usual reply is, “You would die.” You would be right. I would die. What would happen to you? You would live. The reason you would live is because I took your cancer and died in your place. The thing that was causing you death was taken by me in the hospital, placed upon myself, and I died as your substitute.

The Bible tells us Christ came into the world to do just that. He took the sin that was causing our death, placed it upon Himself, and died in our place. He was our substitute. And on the third day, when He rose from the dead, He proved right then and there that He had conquered death [1].

Ephesians 2:8-9 – You can be saved through faith. (Good News)

Grace is defined as unmerited or undeserved favor. Salvation holds the idea of being rescued or delivered from the penalty of sin. Faith means to trust, with the idea of trusting something you cannot see. Repent of our sin means to turn from, so as to never do again. Now that we have those definitions out of the way, let’s see how that works itself out.

Think about it like this: When you sit down in a chair, you trust it will hold you. You don’t come into a room and examine the chair to see how it is built before you sit down. You just sit down. You are simply exercising faith (trust) that the chair will hold you.

When we put our faith in Jesus, we are doing something similar. We are trusting that He will save us. We are not trusting in our church membership, our good life, or our baptism, but we trust in Jesus alone.

So then, to receive God’s unmerited grace and salvation, we need to exercise faith in Jesus, believing He is our Lord and Savior. As well as we need to repent of our sins.

Concluding Question

After leading someone through these Scriptures, the next thing we should do is ask: Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Jesus as your Savior?

(1) If they say yes, then you ask them what it is and field their questions.

(2) If they say no, then you should ask them a few diagnostic questions to see if they were tracking with you.

  • Do you believe you are a sinner, who deserves to be punished?
  • Do you believe Jesus is the one who saves you from God’s punishment?
  • How are you saved? (They should answer through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice alone.)

The answers to these questions will tell you if the person was tracking with you. More importantly, it will tell you if the person you are talking to has understood the gospel and is now a Christian.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Can you walk someone through a gospel presentation using the method outlined above?
  2. Is there anyway I can help you understand this method better?

Resources

Modified Romans Road is taken from: R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 27-31.

[1] R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 29.

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