I was originally going to title this post, “The Gospel: For Dummies”, but I’m done with insulting people for the cause of Christ. I can’t demean someone to the cross. Though their sins be reprehensible and their faults many and great, as such were ye in evil lost, ’til Christ did darkness break.
I posted to twitter yesterday my opinion on the Captain American boyfriend issue. It is disturbing to me and physically upsetting; I said as much in my twitter post. From that post, a conversation sparked between myself and a lesbian girl about religion, God, and what sin is. To ensure I remained above reproach, I kept the conversation public until it took a turn into matters which required much more in-depth answers. I moved the conversation to a private, group chat including my uncle, who is a pastor, so that we could discuss with her more extensively the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of her soul.
I am currently still in conversation with this young woman and would appreciate your prayers for wisdom to say the word’s God would have me say to reach her heart for Him. I know He doesn’t need my help, but this is a opportunity of an eternity for this young woman to hear the simplicity of the gospel, and I pray she would respond to God’s promptings. This situation has caused me to realize the importance of simple, straightforward gospel teaching and preaching for our hurting and broken world today. I know it takes an enormous amount of courage to share the gospel with someone, and you may even be afraid of messing it up by not knowing the right verses in the right order, or the proper magic formula to save someone. Let me just tell you this: God saves, not Man. He will use your willingness to reach souls, He doesn’t need your practised speech or prepared prayer: He will use you in whatever state you come to Him.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. The Bible says:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
–2 Timothy 4:2
Start with the basics. First, level the playing field and admit that you suffer from the same curse they do. They are no worse in God’s eyes then you are because everyone is a sinner and we all disobey God.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
–Romans 3:23
Then make them aware of the consequence of our actions. Once they see you as being in the same boat as them, so to speak, they will listen to you as an equal. In the same way that a thief gets punished for breaking our laws, sinners get punished for breaking God’s.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Romans 6:23
There is hope even though we are all sinners. God gave us a gift of eternal life in spite of our sin and ourselves. But, why did God give us the gift of eternal life and how?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
–John 3:16
God loves us. That’s the gospel. That God loved us enough to send His only begotten Son to die, to pay the penalty for our sins and to take our wages: death upon his shoulders and die in our place. The gospel is this, that He who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might become His righteousness. Here’s the miracle:
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
–Romans 5:8
While we were yet sinner, unlovable, unlovely: God loved us and sent Jesus Christ to die for us. If we would call upon His name and ask Him to be the Lord of our life, we will be miraculously saved, from death to life, sinner to saint.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
—Romans 10:13
It’s not enough to know that He loves us and died for us. It’s not enough to want Him to be your Savior. “For whosever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” He must become the Lord of your life. You must die to sin and live for Jesus Christ alone. Paul says:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
–Galatians 2:20
When we surrender to His lordship, we are crucified with Him, and yet still live; though it is no longer our selfishness that lives, but Christ’s mercy and grace that lives and loves through us. This is the gospel for sinner, salvation for the lost. Let’s preach the word until all have heard the mercy of the Lord to a lost and broken world. This gospel, this grace, this Jesus changes everything.
As always, thanks for reading.
–the anonymous novelist
the anonymous novelist 