Tag: Gospel

Reach the City w/ the Gospel | Part 1

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

In my last few posts, I expounded on Larry R. Moyer’s Plow and Pursue method. The focus of those posts was to help us see the natural progression a conversation can take to get to talking about the gospel. If you have not had a chance to read those posts, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Today, I am going to move our discussion on evangelism a little further by starting a series on gospel presentation methods. Before we turn to the first method, I need to explain the advantage of using methods to present the gospel.

The Advantage of Methods

The first thing I want you to understand is that using a specific method is not required when presenting the gospel. Even though it is not required it can be helpful. Having a few methods down helps in at least two ways:

(1) It increases our confident.

(2) It increases our comfort level.

Hopefully, by increasing our confidence and comfort level, we will engage more people with the gospel; thus, fulfilling our God-given task to make disciples. With that said, let’s turn to the first of several methods.

The Biblical Storyline

This first method focuses on the biblical storyline. As we talk through the story of the Bible, we not only are able to explain key concepts that tell us why we need the gospel, but also the gospel itself. Here is the method:

Creation – People need to know they were created by a personal being. As well as they need to know who their Creator is before they will agree or even understand that their relationship with their Creator is broken. It is then our task to explain creation as laid forth in Genesis 1 and 2.

Fall – People need to know why and how sin came to be in the world. This means it is our task to explain the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.

Broken Community – People need to know that they are sinners, who are separated from God because of their sin. As well as they need to know the world is the way it is because of sin. We can best do this by explaining that we live in a broken community. One that was not meant to be, but is because of sin coming into the world through the Fall.

Redemption – People need to know there is hope. It then becomes our job to explain that our relationship with God can be reconciled, the world can be changed, they can be released from the bondage of their sin, and they can experience eternal life instead of eternal damnation. This all occurs through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Colossians 1:20 tells us that Christ reconciles all things to Himself through His blood. When we admit we are sinners, believe Jesus is our Savior and Lord, and confess those things, we are saved. We are redeemed from death to life through Jesus Christ. We need to explain these concepts to those we are talking to about the gospel.

New Community – People need to know that their belief in Jesus changes their lives and places them in the kingdom of God, even though they live in the world now. We need to explain that the church is God’s kingdom on earth. That those in the church are believers and live differently than the world. They live in this way because Jesus changes the hearts of those who believe in Him and forms a new community with them. A community that is tasked to reflect and glorify God.

Return – People need to know that Jesus will return and judge the world one day. All those who do not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, will be judged at His return and sentenced to eternal damnation. Conversely, those who do believe will not be sentenced to eternal damnation, but will experience eternal life.

Re-created Community – People need to know what the future holds. A Re-created community free from sin where we live with our Savior for all of eternity is in-store for the believer. Here it is important to make it clear that only those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be apart of this new community.

As you talk with someone it is important to walk them through each of these communities and events so they will have a full understanding of why they need the gospel, how they are saved from their sins, and what benefits they receive as believers.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Can you explain the story of the Bible to someone using the categories above?
  2. Is there anyway I can help you understand this method better?

Resources

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Plow and Pursue – Turning a Conversation to the Gospel | Part 2

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

In my last post, I presented R. Larry Moyer’s Plow and Pursue method found in his book: Show Me How to Share the Gospel. Moyer’s method tells us that we should plow into a conversation, enjoying it immensely. As we do, we should focus on three areas: (1) Family, (2) Job, and (3) Background. Focusing on these three areas should give us insight into the worldview of our conversation partner, as well as it should give us hooks by which we can turn the conversation from the ordinary to the spiritual.

In this post, I want to take it a step further by offering a few questions to help us get from talking about spiritual things to the gospel.

Questions to Move from Spiritual Things to the Gospel

The following questions may help move the conversation from spiritual things to the gospel:

(1) Do you enjoy reading about religious topics or subjects?

(2) Have you become involved in any church in your area?

(3) Have you ever examined some of the teachings of the Bible?

(4) With so many interests, are you interested in the Bible?

(5) Why do you think a lot of people across the world have interests in some kind of religion or another?

(6) From time to time a lot of people talk about Christ and Christians. Who, in your opinion, is Jesus Christ?

Not all of us have the gift of evangelism, most of us have to work at it. My hope and prayer is that these questions will help you evangelize the lost, and spur you on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Given this process – Personal, Spiritual, Gospel – are there conversations in the past that you may have hurried into talking about the gospel? What was the result?
  2. Would you offer a question for our other readers that you believe would help move the conversation from the spiritual to the gospel?

Resources

Everyday Evangelism

R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 21-25.

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Plow and Pursue – Turning a Conversation to the Gospel | Part 1

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical2 Comments

Last night while doing my daily scanning of blogs, I came across a post from the Resurgence entitled Everyday Evangelism by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. Great post! I highly recommend reading it before reading my post.

After an insightful, challenging, and informative article they end by saying:

We need to be patient and trust God’s sovereignty while also finding ways to present the gospel at points one and two on our scale of interest in Christ and not just at points eight and nine.

If points 8 and 9 on the scale mentioned are referring to those who are ready and willing to talk about the gospel, then points one and two represent those who do not even think about the gospel, nor really care to talk about it with others. Chester and Timmis then open our eyes to today’s reality by saying that 70% of our population is made up of those who are at points one and two. If indeed most of the population is where Chester and Timmis claim, our typical methods of sharing the gospel are flawed. If this is the case, how do we evangelize the 70%? How do we get those those who never think about the gospel to honestly think about it?

I recently read a book by R. Larry Moyer entitled: Show Me How to Share the Gospel. In his book, he provides a method he calls Plow and Pursue. I believe this method can help us talk with the “one’s” and “two’s” about the gospel, or at least get a few steps closer to having that conversation.

Plow and Pursue

Moyer’s method is simple. He says that when we meet another person, wherever it may be – a party, a coffee shop, grocery store, neighborhood, etc – we should plow into the conversation, enjoying it immensely. As you talk, ask questions in three areas of life:

(1) Family
(2) Job
(3) Background

Don’t ask these questions as a matter of formality, thinking you need to get through these before asking the other person, “Why they believe God will let them into heaven.” Instead, make sure you listen. I mean really listen and enjoy the conversation.

By asking questions centered on their family, job, and background, and really listening, we show that we are interested in them as a person, as well as it allows us to get to know where the person is coming from, how they think, and what their life has been like.

As you listen to them describe their family life, job, and background, you are able to put together an understanding of their worldview, which will be immensely helpful when speaking with them about God and the gospel.

Not only does listening provide you with information to help determine their worldview, but it also gives you hooks by which you may turn the conversation from the here-and-now to the hereafter. Here are a few ideas to help turn the conversation from the ordinary to the spiritual.

8 Ideas to Turn Ordinary Conversation Into Spiritual Conversation

(1) They mention the outdoors, you mention how impressed you are with the Creator.

(2) They mention they have a terrible marriage, you mention how your marriage is going and how spiritual things have been the biggest source of help to you and your wife as you have walked out your many years of marriage.

(3) They mention unhappiness in their job, you ask: Where do people ultimately find happiness? Or why do you think there are so many problems in the world? That question may lead you to ask: Why do you suppose the problems in the world seem to be getting worse instead of better?

(4) They mention an ailing child, you mention it is times like those that really drive you to your knees to pray. You may even pray for them at that moment.

(5) They talk about looking for the perfect job, career, etc, you ask: What in your opinion is the number one thing most people are looking for in their lives?

(6) They mention being unhappy, you ask: Why do you think so many people seem unhappy with life in general?

(7) They mention the future, you ask: What do you think is in store for the future?

(8) They mentioned being worried or anxious, you ask: A lot of people seem worried? What, in your opinion, worries people the most?

What These Questions Do

All of these ideas stem from the three areas mentioned earlier – Family, Job, Background – and are ways to naturally lead into discussions about God, spiritual things, and hopefully the gospel. As well as the personal questions help to show interest in the person, and the spiritual questions help to get them thinking.

What if We Don’t Talk About the Gospel?

Even if your questions don’t provoke a deep conversation about God and the gospel, they at least get your friend thinking about spiritual matters, and that is important. Remember the scale I mentioned earlier and the statistic from Chester and Timmis, which told us 70% of people are a “one” or a “two”. If we can get those who are at a “one” or “two” to do what they normally are not doing – thinking about God – then we can count that as a success.

So, even if you are not able to get into a full on gospel conversation, your questions may cause the other person to do something they have not done in a long time, or even ever, think about God. When that occurs, it is a success, and you are not only one step closer to having a deep challenging conversation about the gospel, but your conversation partner knows that they can talk with you about spiritual things when they have a question or thought.

Looking Forward

In my next post in this series, I will provide some questions to help move the conversation even further – from the spiritual to the gospel.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What type of reception have you noticed in the past when you have taken the time to get to know a person before talking about spiritual matters?
  2. Are there other bridge topics you can think of besides the outdoors, marriage, job, and children?

Resources

Everyday Evangelism

R. Larry Moyer, Show Me How To Share the Gospel, 21-25.

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12 Steps to Stop Not Evangelizing

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical2 Comments

“Evangelism” When you hear that word I am sure there are many different emotions associated with it for you. Some of you get excited and are ready to share the hope of Christ with others. Some of you think back to your conversion experience when someone was bold enough to talk with you about the gospel. While some may cringe thinking of the last time you went out knocking on people’s doors.

Not a Popular Topic

For most people evangelism is not a popular topic. I believe the reason is not because we don’t like doing it, but because when we look at our own life, we see a lack of evangelistic effort. And well, we just don’t like talking about those areas in which we are failing.

A Necessary Conversation

Even though many are failing at evangelizing the lost, I believe it is a necessary conversation to have. As those who are saved by God we are to take up God’s mission, which is to bring redemption to the world. Part of this mission is physical – serving others, helping them with their needs, etc – but the ultimate mission is spiritual. As Christians we are God’s ambassadors. We are the ones He uses to bring the gospel message to those who have not heard (Eph. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 15:19-20). So then, we must speak to others about the gospel.

Excuses

But when it comes to evangelism you hear all kinds of excuses as to why we don’t evangelize the lost, such as:

  • I don’t know their language.
  • Evangelism is illegal in my country
  • Evangelism could cause problems at work.
  • I don’t have time.
  • I don’t know non-Christians (Probably the most common excuse).
  • People don’t want to hear the gospel.
  • They probably already know it.
  • They will not be interested.
  • I doubt they will believe it.

Some of these are legitimate, some of these are not. Some of these you have probably used in the past or even recently. Never-the-less, instead of focusing on the negative, I want to provide you with 12 things that may help you stop not evangelizing.

12 Ways to Stop Not Evangelizing

(1) Pray – We need to pray that God would give us opportunities to share the gospel with others. You may be amazed at what God will do and what opportunities He will give.

(2) Plan – If our schedules are busy, then why not plan a time to speak with others about the gospel. We may plan times throughout the week to put ourselves in a place where we can build relationships with others. As well as we may plan a time to talk with another person about the gospel by setting an appointment with them. Or we can carve out time to nurture the relationships with people we already have that are lost. Whatever it takes, we should plan to talk with others about the gospel.

(3) Accept – We have to accept that as Christians it is our job to evangelize the lost. We are God’s ambassadors and we have been sent to spread the gospel.

(4) Understand – God uses those who are not gifted with the gift of evangelism to share the gospel with others. This means evangelism is not reserved only for those who claim it is their spiritual gift. While they may be better at it than us, evangelism is the task of everyone.

(5) Be Faithful – We need to be faithful to God. This means our allegiance does not lie with man, but with God. It means that we have to be ok with offending people.

(6) Risk – We need to be willing to take risks in order to share the gospel with others. This could mean risking a conversation with them. It could mean risking giving them a book that may or may not offend them. It could mean risking your time to develop a friendship with someone so you can share the gospel with them. It may even mean risking your friendship with them. Whatever the risk, it is worth it.

(7) Prepare – Often we don’t evangelize because we do not understand how to handle the arguments people make against Christianity. We don’t know where to point them to in Scripture to answer their questions. We don’t know how to direct a conversation to a place where we can talk about Christ. But these are not reasons to not evangelize. Instead, we are to diligently prepare. This does not mean we have to all become apologists or professional evangelists. It just means we have to be willing to study a little.

(8) Look – After praying for opportunities to share the gospel, we need to be on the watch for these opportunities.

(9) Love – The reason we share the gospel is not to put another notch on our evangelism belt. It is because we love others. So then, when we don’t share the gospel we are being cold to others, promoting self-love, and desiring our comfort more than their salvation.

(10) Fear – We should fear God not man.

(11) Stop – We should stop thinking since God is sovereign I don’t need to share the gospel, or that I have to convince others to believe this message. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict and convince. It is our job to share.

(12) Consider – Consider what God has done for us in Christ. How He has saved us through the sacrifice of His Son. How Jesus died for us even while we were sinners. Consider also that God is glorified when we tell others about His gospel. Consider our love for God. Matthew 12:34 says,

“Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Does our heart overflow with love for God so that our mouths cannot be stopped?

Resources

Why we don’t evangelize and the 12 steps to stop not evangelizing is adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever, 19-29.

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Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Practical, Respectable Sins5 Comments

Note: This is a repost of a series I started last year but did not finish. I am currently teaching this series at my church Sycamore Baptist Church, so I will be reposting the few articles I already wrote along with the new ones that will finish the series.

There are some sins that are subtle, lurking just beneath the surface, so common in our culture and churches that we are blinded to them and deceived into thinking they are not sins at all. The sins in question are what Jerry Bridges calls Respectable Sins [1]. Respectable sins are sins we overlook and tolerate because they are common subtle sins of believers. Sins like gossip, anger, worry, and frustration, just to name a few, are all respectable sins.

Why Do We Overlook These Sins?

We overlook “Respectable Sins” not only because they are pervasive, but also because they don’t seem as bad as say: Abortion, homosexuality, sex trafficking, and exploiting the poor. Our gossip, worry, and frustrations are insignificant, minor infractions in comparison, so we turn a blind eye and continue to allow them fester.

Another reason Respectable Sins exist is because we don’t realize God has called us all to be holy, to live as saints (1 Corinthians 1:2) and shine as lights in a corrupt world (Matthew 5:16). Since we think sainthood is reserved for the super Christian, we see no reason to try and act like one [2].

What is the Affect of Overlooking these Sins?

When we don’t deal with sin, even respectable sins, they start to metastasis like cancer in our Christian community, harming us and taking root in those around us.

Take for instance gossip, a common respectable sin. As a gossiper, I am not only tearing another down, and sinning against God, but I am teaching others gossip is ok. Before you know it, my sin has metastasized in their heart. They start gossiping, then those they gossip to start gossiping. Before you know it, the whole community is gossiping, and no one is willing to deal with the sin, so we all just keep sinning [3].

How do we Deal with Respectable Sins?

Like any other sin, with the gospel. The gospel teaches us Jesus not only saves us from the wrath of God, but also frees us from sin’s reign over our lives, which allows us for the first time to resist sins dominion over us.

Whereas, before salvation we could not help but sin, after salvation we have the ability to not sin.

In order to keep marching forward against sin, even respectable sins, we must daily preach the gospel to ourselves. Daily reminding ourselves God has already dealt with our sin in Christ should stir in our heart gratitude toward God and a desire to please Him by living as He has called us to live – as saints set apart for His kingdom work [4].

An Invitation

If you are interested in learning more about what sins we deem respectable and how to deal with each in particular, let me invite you to follow along each week as we journey through Jerry Bridges book Respectable Sins. It has been a real source of encouragement in my life, as well as it has opened my eyes to the sins I personally overlook and the sins my church overlooks.

Looking Forward

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be using Jerry Bridges book Respectable Sins to help us see what sins we overlook in the church and our own lives. You will probably be just as surprised as I was of the amount of sins we commit but overlook or do not realize are even sins in our lives.

Resources

[1] Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, 9.
[2] Ibid., 11-22.
[3] Ibid., 23-30.
[4] Ibid., 31-38

You can purchase a copy of Respectable Sins on Amazon by clicking here.

Image: Phiseksit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What I Learned at Royal Ambassador’s Camp

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, Family, Leadership2 Comments

I spent this last week at Camp Copus with four of our boys from church who are in the Royal Ambassadors Program. I had never been before, so I did not know what to expect, but what I learned was significant. Here are just a few things.

What I Learned at Camp

(1) We need godly men to train boys to be godly men

After attending camp all week. I noticed the heart of the RA program is for godly men to train boys to be godly men. There were many godly men at camp this last week, but more are needed. More are also needed in our churches.

While there are many godly women who participate in church activities, we need godly men who are willing to step up and train the future generation.

In short, we need godly men who are not only following the biblical mandate to train up their own children and grandchildren in the way of the Lord, but we need them to participate in our churches as well (Ephesians 5; Deut. 4:9-14).

(2) Scripture memory should be a regular diet in our churches and families

At camp they made a big push for the campers and counselors (that would be me) to obtain a power band. The way you get your power band is by memorizing and reciting the Romans Road (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; 10:13).

As I committed these verses to memory and helped my boys do the same, I saw first hand the value and importance of memorizing God’s Word. Not only because it is God’s Word, but because, when you do so, Scripture is always there with you. No matter what situation you are facing, you can quickly recall a verse that could help you. In the case of the Romans Road, you are always able to tell others how they might be saved, since it is the plan of salvation. So may we all be spurred on to regularly memorize Scripture.

(3) You cannot talk about the gospel enough

At every service and every activity that we attended the gospel was presented. Not only was the plan of salvation presented, but how the gospel affects the way we live our everyday lives. You see the gospel is not the ABC’s of the Christian life. It is the A to Z. Everything stems from the gospel. Since this is true, we cannot talk about the gospel enough.

(4) Children can understand deep theological concepts

After a day of hearing different aspects of the gospel, the boys and I gathered each night for a devotional. As I led them in a devotional every night, I soon realized they were really wrestling with deep theological concepts. Even though they did not use these terms, they asked questions about God’s Fairness/Justice, God’s Love, Mercy and Grace, God’s Righteousness, Substitutionary Atonement, Heaven and Hell.

As I fielded their questions, I was both encouraged and shocked that they were thinking on such a deep level. Which leads me to believe we often forget that children can and do understand biblical concepts. As a result, we can go deep with them as long as we find a way to relate the concepts to their world.

(5) Churches need to invest in their children’s theological education

While most churches have a children’s program, these programs offer nothing more than man-centered principles for living a good life. We need to do better. We need to go deeper. We need to understand that our children can and do understand the gospel. They can and do understand theological concepts. They can and do wrestle with the same questions adults have.

As a result, we need to present these concepts to them in ways they can understand and let them wrestle with it. As well as we need to make time to allow our children to ask us tough questions. When they do, we need to have a good response for them. So then, we need not only invest in their education, but ours as well, so we can answer the tough questions. But more importantly, we need not sell our children short.

Resources

Here are a few books and a Scripture memory tool that can help you to begin training your own children: