Preface:
The gospel is as clear as mud in most churches today. Many are confused about what the message even is. In actuality, it is the principle article of the Christian faith. If Christians themselves don’t fully understand it, how can the church cherish it and objectively preach it? You may yourself be confused about such things. If so, then you are no different than most Christians in this present era.
You may relate to this scenario: A friend once called me up and asked “So why do I need Jesus?” I was immediately floored. I had previous discussions about Christianity with her, but she never showed any concern like this. I figured I could bring her to Christ. So I started to try and prove why it is logically reasonable to accept Jesus. I ended up going off on many tangents. I wasn’t really prepared for what to say. There was a slight confusion and uncertainty in her voice. When the call ended I assumed I successfully witnessed to her. It wasn’t until later that I realized I never shared the gospel with her. I wish I could go back to that phone call and tell her what I now know.
For a long time I was confused about how to share the gospel. I thought to myself “What can I possibly say to people?” I desperately wanted to know. I had never been taught any consistent or sure method. I’d hear preachers give emotional speeches that would tug on the heart strings of listeners. I saw people run down to alter calls and later act as though it never happened. I saw a girl do open-air preaching at the park once. I heard her say “I can’t explain it… Christianity has just worked for me.” Her efforts seemed courageous, but there was no tangible gospel being preached. I’d read books on the importance of evangelism, but they lacked any real substance on how to preach it. I’d give people tract cards inviting them to church. But this quickly became a preaching substitute. I wanted to believe that I knew how to preach it. I’d pray the “sinner’s prayer” with people. I was ecstatic when they would agree to repeat it. I thought it meant they were going to get saved. Afterwards I would follow up by saying “Do you feel better now?” But the mystery remained… “Better for what?” If they were saved, what were they saved from? I also realized it was easier to get homeless people to repent than the upper-class. I thought surely there must be a way for everyone to see their need for Christ.
I’d also get into debates about what the gospel started with. Does it start with God’s love, grace, mercy, holiness, or sovereignty? Does it start with hell, sin, judgment, the law, or death? I began to agonize even more on how to preach it. I so badly wanted to say something simple, yet impacting. After doing much research and study, I began to understand the full gospel message. Since then I have seen dramatic effects in my preaching. Now I am confidant that I’m preaching it right.
You may also feel uncertain about what to say to people. If so, there is no need to worry. I have written this paper to fully explain what the gospel teaches. This way you will understand what the gospel is and can be confident when you share it. The gospel is really God’s message to us. Out of all the possible messages this one matters most. All human beings must concern themselves with this one message. The Church must see to it that they do.
Many Christians today genuinely believe the gospel, however, they may not genuinely understand it. There is great danger in not knowing all that it says. Not having a proper knowledge of it will lead to ‘apathy’ or ‘over-compensation’ in preaching. When Christians are apathetic they remain stagnant in preaching because they don’t know what to say. They will excuse themselves from the command of preaching and usurp it with merely ‘living the gospel’. We are not called to just live it out but to preach it. In fact, the more we know it and preach it, the more we are living it out. Knowing, preaching, and living the gospel, are all distinguishable, yet inseparable. But preaching specifically involves communication. It requires the courage of speaking truth so others will hear and be changed.
The flipside to apathy is over-compensation. It plagues the Church by making the gospel something that it is not. It seeks to make the message easier to believe and less offensive to its listeners. When we masquerade the gospel we are 1) preaching a false gospel because we change it to best fit our ideas 2) not relying on the Holy Spirit to lead people to repentance 3) demonstrating we don’t care about the salvation of the lost.
The gospel is being presented as the simplest of efforts. It’s a no brainer to be saved. It is choosing between cake and death. You only have to say a prayer, write your name in your Bible, or slightly tweak your will to escape hell. Today the gospel is commonly summed up as “You should put your faith in Jesus.” This is only a part of the gospel. It certainly is not the entire thing. Since people associate mere belief as the gospel, they remain hidden from its entirety, and become unimpressed with their “decision to be a Christian”. Hence, they become bored with their faith and either give it up, or seek to add make-believe insights to it. False conversion, spiritual immaturity, legalism, and complacent Christianity soon become the norm. A full knowledge of the gospel always brings the cross of Christ into proper focus. Only the real gospel powerfully saves, and continually gives grace. Today the gospel isn’t changing anyone’s life because the body of Christ has changed the gospel.
Now more than ever, the dangers of misusing it are at an all time high. The world’s population will be 9 billion in a few decades. Only 2% of Christians in
Our church meetings should include gospel teaching sessions with efforts to bring Christians back to its clear message. When we are equipped with knowing it, our lives and love for others will shine. The world will not have a refuge of hope and forgiveness until the gospel becomes priority again. The Church must wave the gospel as a banner for the whole world to see. The Church is to be a city on a hill, but more importantly a city that is in plain sight. My heart is to see this happen, and my prayer is one of trembling. Please begin to know God’s gospel message. Know it for yourself, and seek to share it with fellow believers, co-workers, family members, and strangers. If you think you know it, you may be surprised. If you think you’ve been reminded of it, you will soon forget.
With this being said, this paper was devised to serve you. My hope is that it will help us all believe and preach to gospel on a greater level. It entails biblical substance on the message itself, and gives tips on how to present it. The things you read may be new to you. Please search everything out with scripture to see if it is true.
In getting started memorize the acrostic T-R-A-C-T. It will help you remember five simple points which are needed for preaching. They are: Ten Commandments, Requirements, Answer, Calling, and To Know. Once you have developed an understanding of these points, you will be more than ready to witness. With study, prayer, and practice, you will be a “living tract” who readily shares the one message unto salvation. There is no other message which God has given to save. It is now our duty to seek it out, know it fully, and to preach it. Let us begin with a prayer.
“O merciful Father in heaven, you do not need us to preach your message. Yet, you have given us the great duty and privilege to do so. This will result in many crowns once we, as faithful saints, have been judged according to our efforts (1 Cor 9:22-27). Give us a full understanding of your message. Let it overwhelm us and cause us to adore you. Help us know the joy of gathering your elect, who is your eternal bride. Let us experience the joy of preaching it to others, that they may know you forever. Please renew our minds, and penetrate our hearts as we learn of your great message. Amen.”
Romans 10:5 “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!
First know who you are preaching to.
You are preaching to dead men. Before getting started, it is important that you clearly understand the natural state of the unregenerate soul. These are the people whom you are called to witness to. With this understanding you will be kept from false preaching. So allow me to begin by saying that all men can be divided into two groups. There are those who are regenerate and those who are unregenerate.
The unregenerate person is spiritually blind, deaf, and dead. As the body cannot live without the soul, the soul cannot live to God apart from spiritual life. Without spiritual life the soul becomes morally corrupt. Rom 8:7-8 “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” The unregenerate are spiritually dead and can do nothing pleasing to God until they are quickened or made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit. John 3:3 “In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Spiritually blind men are in spiritual darkness and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to remove this darkness by sending the light of the gospel.
The unregenerate mind is darkened and cannot judge things properly. John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” All men are born spiritually dead, not having the life which God first created in Adam. All life was in Adam and all life was lost in Adam. All must receive the new life which is through the works of Christ and empowered by the Spirit. Psalm “51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Therefore, men cannot and will not respond to the gospel apart from the Holy Spirit’s power to quicken them. Some teach that God’s grace enlightens the mind, and that all man has to do is to choose the good which God’s grace has shown him, and then that grace will work along with his choosing and willing and so bring the soul to new birth. But this ascribes to man’s free will the honor for his conversion. It makes a man give birth to himself, which is nonsense. It is actual repentance and actual faith that God works in us, and not only a power to repent and believe, which we may choose to use or not as we please when we have it. 2 Tim 2:25 “God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” The unregenerate man must have his heart circumcised by the power of the Holy Spirit enabling him to believe. Until this happens, he will remain dead and shut off from spiritual truths, including the gospel.
Many preach the gospel in such a way that people believe their profession of faith alone saves them. This is because they have not seen their need of regeneration. They have not been shown how spiritually dead they are. Thus, their need to be re-born has not been genuine. Many of these people have notions of good and evil, right and wrong, rewards and punishments, coupled with the sense that God can see them, and that He may be willing to help them, while yet they dread facing Him. They know God is not in all their thoughts and so they desire to save themselves, or refuse Him altogether. Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Many claim to repent out of good intentions which come to nothing. This occurs when men are taught that by repenting, they are saving themselves because of their own righteous response. This self-righteousness can come in the form of works or even professed faith. Faith, in of itself, does not save the unregenerate sinner, but the Savior uses faith to save the unregenerate sinner. Rom 4:5 “his faith is credited for righteousness.” God gives us our faith to give us Christ’s righteousness. It is not something the unregenerate can do, in of himself, but must do so that he knows he is saved. 2 Cor 13:5 “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test?” See the difference? Saving faith is not something the unregenerate soul can muster up. Our saving faith is sovereignly given by God so that no man can boast. Eph 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast."
All must be careful to not believe everything that is promised to save. One will know he is saved when he has accepted the sentence of God’s law, and has received the revelation of Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit awakens him from dreading his eternal destiny, then he will know he is converted. True conversion will entail the following: sorrow and shame, Acts 2:37 “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart”, a fear of eternal wrath and damnation, Heb 2:15 “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” they will want to know the way of salvation, Acts 16:30 “He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They will begin to pray for salvation, abstain from sin and make every effort to live a better life. The sinner must be brought to acknowledge his guilt before God without excuses or blaming others, Rom 3:19 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.”
He must acknowledge his need of a physician. Some may be led to think, “I have not sorrowed enough or truly repented of my sin.” No degrees of sorrow are prescribed in the gospel. God alone works true repentance in us. Repentance is His gift to us. So the Holy Spirit works through our preaching of God’s gospel message in cooperation with His regenerating power. This is why we must be determined to preach the correct message. It is the most powerful, the most beautiful, and the most glorious.
T en Commandments
R equirements
A nswer
C alling
T o Know
T en Commandments
Before preaching the gospel you must understand and memorize the Ten Commandments. These are also known as the moral law, or just simply ‘the law’. Why is the law needed in preaching the gospel? Allow me to simplify. If the gospel starts by explaining God’s love, grace, and mercy, then one’s efforts may become counter-productive. These things must be covered as well, but done so appropriately. The bad news must be presented so that the good news will make sense. No one gets healthier unless they have first been given the shot. No one is stitched up before the needle first pierces the skin. So the first goal in preaching is to get people lost. In other words, since they are already lost, it is our job to show them. This is an act of love so people may see their great need for Christ. It’s not enough to just tell people they are lost or sinful. They must understand why themselves. This is the primary purpose of the law for the unbeliever. It has the power to demonstrate that sin is utterly sinful.
At this point one may ask, “But didn’t Jesus and John the Baptist preach repentance and belief? (Mat 3:2; 4:17) Shouldn’t we also be telling people to repent and believe?” It is true that people must repent and believe as a genuine response to the gospel call. However, we must ask another question, such as, “how do we faithfully preach so that people will respond with genuine repentance and belief?” True repentance is produced out of a sincere conviction that God’s holy commands have been broken. Belief is produced by placing hope in the only source that can appease this dilemma. So it is the law that is a prerequisite for genuine conviction of sin, and therefore true repentance. Romans 7:7 “I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
True repentance is not having people feel sorry or guilty about sin. Nor is it merely confession of sin. But true repentance entails fear and trembling. Even Jesus, Peter, and Paul use the law to bring conviction of sin (Luke 10, Acts 2, Acts 17). Apart from God’s law, our knowledge of breaking God’s commands remains avoided and unrecognized. Romans 7:8 “For apart from law, sin is dead (to our knowledge).” However, God’s law is good. Romans 7:12 “the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” But if we are not good, then we require God’s law to show us this. The degree of our sinfulness becomes clear when we align ourselves with God’s standard of goodness. In fact, God’s standard of goodness is the only real standard of what right and wrong are. It defines morality for the universe. God’s law is nothing more than a reflection of His very own nature. It is a mirror image of His incorruptible character. The Ten Commandments given to Moses were not somehow separate from God. They were given in a didactic format so we could consult them and align them to our own natures. Again, they ultimately reveal God’s holy and unchanging character, hence why they were the only laws written on stone tablets by the finger of God Himself.
On a side note: Some may be reading this now and think “Wait a minute. We are not under law, but we are under grace. Why not start preaching with grace since the law can’t save anyone?!” Gal 5:18 “If you are lead by the Spirit, you are not under law.” Allow me to balance the uses of law and grace. The law was never intended to bring salvation. Many falsely believe that the law’s purpose was to bring salvation, yet had eventually failed. Therefore, God had to devise a second plan through Christ. But Galatians actually presents the balanced view to us. It explains the laws purpose for the Jew in Gal 3:19-29. It says the law acted as a ‘master’, or ‘paidagogos’. This carries the idea of school boys being under the restrictions of a guardian until they were old enough to be released of their custody. In this same way, the law acted as a disciplinary tutor, or a strict instructor for the Jews. The law would 1) watch over their every behavior, and 2) produce anticipation off freedom (Christ). And so it is with us Gentiles who are bound by the law through conscience. Rom 2:14 “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” So Christ came to fulfill the demands of the physical letter (which threatened us), enabling us to live according to the letter in a new way (by the Spirit). This is why Cor 3:17 says “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” The law cannot make us righteous but only hold us captive to sins power until Christ. Gal 3:24-25 says “the law was our master until Christ. After faith has come (faith unto justification) we are no longer under a master (law of the letter)”. Is the law to be abandoned as a guide to righteousness, or a means to conviction? Absolutely not. 1 Tim 1:8 “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.” Rom 3:31 “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” If we have been reconciled back to God then we are no longer slaves to condemnation by the law. Rom 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us” We are now free men who stand on grace. We are joint heirs of Christ, and no longer slaves. Since this is so, the Spirit engrafts the law upon all believers’ hearts to become living letters (2 Cor 3:2-3). As believers, the law is what we come back to now that we are free to live according to it. So the law was given in order for grace to be needed, and grace was given in order for the law to be upheld. It can now be upheld without threat, and with much joy! Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” What this really means is that there is no fear when keeping the deeds of the law in view. Our lives can reflect fruit which is produced by the law, and have the freedom, grace, and joy to do so because the Spirit now enables us!
Being said let me re-emphasize how the law is to be used in our preaching. The law is a prerequisite for genuine conviction of sin, and therefore, true repentance. In other words, through means of the law, we are able to see God’s perfect and good nature. It is His very nature which reveals our sinful stains. Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." In Deuteronomy 5, God’s commands say that we are not to worship anything or anyone but God Himself. We are not to make idols out of anything. We are not to hate, murder, lust, fornicate, lie, steal, or covet. We are all guilty of breaking these, not only outwardly, but also in thought. Some may believe they are good because they have not murdered or raped anyone. But James 2:10 let’s no one off the hook, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” And Romans 6:23 says “The wages of lawlessness is death.” And further Heb 9:27 says “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” As you can see we are all deserving of death because we have all failed to uphold God’s good commands. His commands show us plain and clear what is good, and that we are very evil.
When preaching: As an effective evangelist, you must begin to hold up the mirror of God’s righteousness. Now there should be better understanding that it is God’s law that will do this. When witnessing, you can simply ask questions like “are you a good person?”, “do you think you are a good person?”, “do you know how God determines who’s good?”, or “if God judges you how will He do so?” Mention some of the commandments. Usually hating, lusting, stealing, and lying are helpful (commands 6, 7, 8, and 9). Explain that these are God’s commands and ask them if they’ve broken them. This will be your first step in preaching.
Open up Deuteronomy 5 today and begin to memorize the Ten Commandments. Know them forwards and backwards. The Church must not be ashamed to use God’s holy law for both, believer’s sanctification, and unbeliever’s salvation. The law has become utterly abandoned today. We must seek to come back to it in humility, understanding, and dedication. It will be the most effective tool in preaching. I guarantee it. Romans 7:13 “It was sin, producing death in me through what is good (the law), in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment sin would become sinful beyond measure.”
R equirements.
After presenting the law, explain that God requires perfection of His law. Again, James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Romans 6:23 “The wages of lawlessness is death.” Heb 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” We are up against a holy God who does not tolerate sin. He demands righteousness, upholds justice, and judges all sin perfectly. We will all be judged when we die, as Heb 9:27 says. Our deaths are inevitable. Death is relatively soon for us all. After this there will be no second chance.
A lot of people are in the business of convincing themselves they are really good in the bottom of their hearts. They will try to convince themselves and others that God should just overlook their sin and excuse them. Being said, this is definitely the hardest part about preaching. No one naturally enjoys telling people that they going to be face a God who judges sin. Even more so, no one enjoys being told this when their entire lives are spent running from this fact. Yet, if we love the lost then we must be willing to tell them these things. We must do it with gentleness, and with inflexibility. Our society today excuses lawlessness left and right. Everyone expects a break. When we do wrong we think we can just be let off the hook. But God tolerates our sin for only so long. He rules over everything and stands poised to judge our every thought and deed. He does not give any leniency beyond our lifetimes.
What is sin? Our sin is an act of injustice against God’s law. By committing acts of injustice against God’s law, we are doing nothing other than committing them against God Himself. Psalm 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” Our sin is doing what is wrong because it does not meet the standard of what is right. God, by definition, is the standard of right. He defines all that is good, right, and true. Anything contrary to Him, or His righteousness, is by definition divine rebellion. Thus, a real spectrum of morality exists because God is the standard of right. That which is in line with His nature is right. That which is contrary to His nature is in rebellion against His ways, and is committing evil. Since the law reflects what God’s will is for all men, then it reveals the good and delightful way of living in which we were purposed. Apart from God, Adam is our only hope to obtaining the spiritual life we were created for. Due to the fall, Adam lost all spiritual life, and therefore in Adam we have lost it. We have lost all ability to please the Father since our efforts are tainted with sin. Our sin ultimately affects us in two ways. It declares us to be both spiritually dead and legally dead. Because we are first spiritually dead we cannot please God and rebel against Him. Our spiritual natures are blind and cannot see God, they are deaf and cannot hear Him, and are dead, thus, having no life in them. Because of this, our beings act out in sin on all possible levels. We sin in thought, word, and deed. Because we have broken God’s law in these ways, we are also declared legally dead. The rightful punishment for our lawlessness is death, and eternal separation from an infinitely holy God.
Is everyone required to have perfect righteousness? The answer is yes. Psalm 119:160 “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” God’s law is upheld over all time and space. The law itself is everywhere and over all that ever will be. This is because the law is simply a reflection of God’s own nature. 2 Cor 3:3 “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” Because God is omnipresent, then it follows that His standard is present everywhere. Jer 23:24 “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord.” God upholds all things within His own being.
Is the punishment severe for not having perfect righteousness? The answer is yes. Our sin means we have gone astray, disobeyed, misbehaved, and we have not pleased God. If we were not spiritually dead then we could potentially do what is righteous. But since we are born spiritually dead, we remain at enmity with God. Psalm 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Since we are declared legally dead, we remain under sin’s curse and penalty. The penalty is likened to an everlasting fire Matt 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Many will say this not part of the gospel. But if this is not part of the gospel then we must conclude that God does not punish sin. We must ignore scriptures clear teaching on the matter. Many often say that “God does not hate. God is only love.” But if God is all loving then He must also hate. If God loves what is holy (Himself), then He must hate sin (that which is unholy).
No one asks to be born into sin, but because we are sinful, we remain enemies of God Almighty. Our own consciences condemn us. We are at fault whether we signed up to be born into sin or not. Even though we are born against our wills, live against our wills, and die against our wills, we are without excuse. Rom 7:15-16 “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.” The consequence of our sin is the curse of the law, which results in God’s dreaded judgment. Revelation 20:11 “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”
Again, God requires perfection of His law, and our sin requires justice. Common responses to the penalty of sin are “But everyone sins. I’m not that bad. I’m not as bad as other people.” When someone says they aren’t that bad they are really saying two things. They are implying 1) God is not holy and does not view sin as it is, and 2) more sin is being created which is called self-righteousness. Self-righteousness attempts to hide itself from proper conviction. It is a denial of guilt. It seeks to justify itself and falsely declare innocence. Many are saying “But God loves the sinner. It is only the sin He hates.” But scripture tends to say something dramatically different. Eph 2:3 “WE were by nature objects of God’s wrath.” The pronoun ‘we’ is the direct object of what God’s wrath is to be upon. Therefore, the unrepentant sinner remains as an object of God’s wrath. God does not judge as though “sin” and “sinner” were two distinct things. We will not be doing anyone favors if we buckle under these points. Since God will not let anyone off the hook we must not either in our preaching. Our preaching must be in love, which entails that it be in fullness of truth.
This part of the tract is the most difficult. It is also the most important in your preaching. It will be tempting to lessen the blow at this point. At first you will find yourself hesitant in saying that God requires perfection of His law. You may easily feel sorry for people as they feel sorry for themselves. You will second guess yourself and think you are being over-bearing, judgmental, and cruel. Others will tell you that you are being mean and that you have no right to judge others. Yet as Christians, we have every right to judge people, so long as we 1) are not being hypocritical (living a double life of sin), and 2) are making right judgments. Rom 2:1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.” At other times people will try to convince you that they know God is forgiving and gracious. They will spout off Christian clichés to convince you they are aware of the crosses benefits. Just because they spout off clichés such as “But God forgives everyone”, does not mean they really are convicted of their sin. In your preaching you must be two things, 1) crafty and, 2) blameless. Mat 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” You must be quick to recognize pretensions in disguise. You must also be blameless in how you address these pretensions. They will come in many forms. Be prepared to elaborate on this point of the tract if you feel it is necessary. People’s responses will greatly vary at this point in your preaching. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide you and give you wisdom.
If you stand firm on God’s requirements, then this will be the hammer which rightfully drives in one’s guilt. This will seal the deal on your efforts to showing people they are lost. Once again, after presenting God’s law you will need to show that God requires perfection of His law. Some people will act quiet, upset, shocked, or stunned. Some will try to act cute, sarcastic, unimpressed, or too cool to care. If they see that your intentions are compassionate, and not cruel, they will listen to what you say. 2 Cor 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” Check your heart now and ask the Holy Spirit to give you proper motives for preaching. Your preaching is not to be out of selfish gain, or self-righteousness. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you an overwhelming compassion for the lost.
When preaching: As we have already gone over, this will be the hardest part of your preaching. At first you may feel uncomfortable getting through this point. Eventually with some practice, the Holy Spirit will give you greater courage to not waver. You will gradually see the importance of this part in your preaching and you will soon realize how effective it is. You will gradually develop a greater boldness in witnessing. You will know how important it is for people to understand God’s law and what He requires of us. You will learn that people who avoid this step in preaching are not doing anyone favors. When preaching you can say things like, “When you die, if God judges you according to His commandments, will He find you innocent or guilty?” or “By your own admission you’ve broken God’s law. If He requires perfection does that mean you’d go to Heaven or Hell?” if they say Heaven then explain God’s requirements again. If they are honest and say hell, then ask them “Does that concern you at all?” James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”
A nswer.
The bad news has been explained. The good news must now be proclaimed. Jesus Christ is our Savior. He came to defeat our death by giving us His new and eternal life. Everybody is a sinner, and therefore stands guilty of breaking God’s law. God is holy and requires perfection of His law. God is so holy that one sin is enough to separate us from Him for eternity. The penalty of our sin is everlasting punishment. Every singles person’s greatest dilemma becomes “How on earth do I escape the eternal wrath of God!” This dilemma can only be atoned for by the works of Jesus Christ. We must believe in Christ as the sole means of giving us life, and we must walk in that life or we know we have no part in Him. The new question becomes “How can I be born of God?” If we are born of God then we can do away with our curse and partake of new life in Christ Jesus. There are essentially three things which Christ does to undo the effects of our sin. Once again our sin makes us spiritually dead, and legally condemns us to eternal death and punishment. First Christ undoes our legal debt by perfectly upholding the requirements of the law.
Christ first lived for us in order to meet all the demands of righteousness that we utterly lack. Heb 4:15 “He was tempted in every way we are, yet was without sin.” The word tempted is ‘paradzo’. It does not mean to be tempted in the sense of having sinful cravings, lusts, or desires as we generally would like to think. Scripture often uses the greek word ‘epithoumia’ when referring to inner cravings of the flesh. But ‘paradzo’ literally means to examine the sureness of something. It means to test the quality of one’s character. It is the same word used in Mark 10, 12 when the Pharisees tested Jesus’ knowledge and character. They asked Him questions about divorce and paying taxes to Caesar. How did Jesus’ character hold up? He always proved to be divine. He remained without sin until the end. He never had a bad attitude for a millisecond. So Christ’s perfect obedience to the Father ensured that all the requirements of the law were met. Christ’s life nullifies the requirements of the law which loom over us.
Secondly, Christ fulfilled the requirement of death. The divine person of Jesus did not die in any way. Rather, Jesus was one person with two different natures. His natures consisted of the divine nature and His temporal human nature. It was His human nature which suffered the blow of death for us. While we should have died for sin’s penalty, Christ’s human body was given over to death. Instead of us being eternally separated, Christ’s human body became separated from the Trinity. Matt 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Christ’s death nullifies the penalty of the law.
The third thing Christ did was offer new life after having met the demands of justice. Christ’s human body died so now He can be raised unto a new glorified body. So because Christ’s accomplishments were satisfying to the Father, Christ used His own authority to raise Himself from the dead. This guarantees our justification by allowing Christ’s righteousness to be imputed on our behalf. We have received Christ’s perfect obedience to the Father so that we are counted just as righteous as Christ Himself. This work is carried out by the Holy Spirit because Christ’s atonement was sufficient. This changes our legal status to the Father and now we will not be judged for our sin. Further, because Christ rose from the dead, we are set free from our spiritual death. Our old sinful nature is done away with in Christ’s dead human nature. He rose Himself unto a new glorified body, and so it is with us. Our natures are changed and become born of God. They are regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are given power over sin, and we will depart our sinful bodies on the day of our deaths. 1 Cor 15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
Jesus Christ provided a covering for our sins. He did for us that which we could never do. He lived, suffered, and died in perfect obedience to the Father. We need not fear our guilt, or the judgment of God. God the Father is more satisfied with Christ’s life than He is disappointed with ours. Christ met all the requirements of the law, suffered its just penalty, and rose unto new life for us. He was an acceptable sin offering who would have our sins transferred to His perfect account, and has His perfect account transferred to us. Dearly beloved, this is indeed the greatest exchange. Rom 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus because the Spirit of the law of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son to become a sin offering.
When we understand what Christ has done for us then we can humbly exclaim “Lord Jesus you are my God, I have no good apart from you!” Only the cross can save sinners. Because of Christ’s satisfying life, He was able to make atonement for our sins. Our precious Lord Jesus invites us poor sinners to cast our sins upon His cross. He will give Christ our filthy rags, and He will clothe us with royalty. We need not live in fear, but rather cherish the grace given in Christ Jesus. We may freely come to Him in our sin so that He may wash us from it. His grace is truly amazing that it could save a wretch.
John Newton wrote in his hymn ‘Amazing Grace’
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
Twas grace my fears relieved,
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed.”
When preaching: Now we can be ready to share the good news of the gospel. God sent Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, to provide a way of rescue out from under sin’s consequences. He saves us from its presence, pleasure, and its power. Ultimately He saves us from its penalty which is God Almighty Himself. He has done all this, not because we deserve it or are worthy of it, but because He is rich in mercy and love. He sent Jesus Christ to do for us what we could never do, because He is gracious. At this part in your preaching simply explain what Christ has come to do. You can say “Would you like to know what you can do about your profound dilemma? You can do nothing! So now let me share with you the one who can. Two thousand years ago God sent Jesus Christ to fully live up to what He demands of you.” Tell them “Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life which you could never do. His life was satisfying to the Father. He also died so that you may not have to because that is sin’s penalty.” Then you can finally explain “God carried out His just punishment of sin on Christ for all who believe. God will either punish you for your sins, or He will punish Christ for your sins. Only Christ gives us acceptance to God on the Day of Judgment.”
C alling.
Give them the responsibility to respond. Invite them to freely receive and believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior today. We are simply a means to God’s ends. It is by our message by which God gather’s his elect. It is through our preaching that God draws in His sheep. Acts 16:14 “One of those listening was a woman named
So through our gospel preaching, God will efficaciously save those whom are destined to be His bride. Rom 1:6 “And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” God uses the body of Christ to give the general call for all to believe. It is through the human proclamation of the gospel in which He summons people to Himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith. We will know that our efforts are not in vain as long as we are faithful to God’s one gospel message. Those who respond are meant to respond, and those who do not remain in judgment. Not everyone is meant to respond to the gospel, but we are to never cease in our efforts to call all men to repentance. Rom 9:21-22 “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath prepared for destruction?”
So it is not enough to just share God’s law, say that perfection is required, and share what Christ has done. We must also be about the business of inviting people to freely believe the good news of the gospel. Again this is what is called “the gospel call”. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 “God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Those whom God has foreknown will be gathered through our efforts and none will be lost. John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” Those whom God foreknows are His elect. It is those whom have been predestined to salvation and will believe. Rom 8:29-30 “For those God foreknew he also predestined… And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” God’s foreknowledge isn’t foreknowing the decisions of people, but for knowing the people themselves. God decides who He foreknows, not us. Rom 11:2 “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. (Speaking of
It is now our duty to be faithful to the preaching of God’s Word, and call everyone everywhere to repentance and belief. We must do so in faithfulness to the message because God has decreed that He would gather His chosen people by this message alone! Rom 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” The Lord Jesus awaits His return until The Holy Spirit has finished gathering all who are His. 2 Pet 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” This passage is referring to God’s elect because first and second Peter is addressed to the elect. 1 Pet 1:1 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ” 2 Pet 1:10 “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.”
When preaching: Let them know that Christ offers salvation as a free gift. It is because He is a gracious God. God’s promise is that if we believe in the works of Christ Jesus on our behalf, and turn our lives in a new direction, then we will have full assurance that we are saved. We will know that we are saved if we share in the faith of the gospel (2 Cor 13:5). If we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead then we will know that God’s promise has been given to us (Rom 10:8-10). You are the means by which God draws men to repentance. The Holy Spirit will convict them and change their hearts through your preaching. Not because of your preaching, but through your preaching. Rely on the Holy Spirit to meet you in your faithfulness to preaching the full gospel. You can call people to repentance by saying “God’s gift is eternal life and you can receive it if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ today.” Also “I ask you to consider what I have told you and please don’t think it’s foolish. If God’s gospel is true and you reject it then you will perish. I don’t want to you perish but experience everlasting life.” Tell them “I sincerely hope that you will consider putting your trust in God’s free gift. I don’t want to see you end up in hell. Know there is salvation through Christ.”
‘Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling’, by Will Thompson:
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies
Mercies for you and for me?
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming
Coming for you and for me!
Come home! come home!
Ye who are weary, come home!
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
T o Know.
Share with them the greatest benefit of the gospel. The greatest benefit of the gospel is not escaping hell or wrath. It is not being free from sin’s presence, power, punishment, or pleasure. It is not getting to go to heaven when you die. It is not getting to live forever. It is not getting a glorified body. It is not having a better life now. What is the greatest benefit of the gospel? The greatest benefit of the gospel is to know the Lord Jesus Christ forever. John 17:2-3 “you (The Father) have given him (The Son) authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
The consummation of God’s love is not mainly that He makes much of us, but that He gives us the ability to make much of Him forever. If God’s love made us central and focused on our value, then it would distract us from what is most precious, namely, Himself. John 17:24-26 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
We may tend to think that if Jesus died for us then we are the ultimate goal of the cross. But we were rescued from sin in order that we might see and savor the glory of God forever. In the entire scheme of things, we see that we have been saved from God, by God, and to God. This is in accordance to His amazing love and grace to us. 1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” We were created in God’s image. Gen 1:26 “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness”
What is it to be an image bearer of God? As image bearers of God we are the pinnacle of all creation. Gen 1:31 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” We are the most magnificent and of all creation. There is something great about man, and we have lost perhaps our greatest opportunity of evangelism in our generation by not insisting that it is the Bible which explains why man is great.*
What is an image bearer of God created for? We were created to experience the greatest pleasure which is to know God. This pleasure first comes through knowing Christ who is our door to the fullness of God. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Enjoying God forever was set before Adam as the height of happiness and the highest reward that could be given.* So it is with us. Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Man’s damnation today is that he can find no meaning for man, but if we begin with the personal beginning we have an absolutely opposite situation. Our personal beginning is derived from being created in the likeness of God. We have the reality of the fact that personality does have meaning because it is not alienated from what has always been, and what is, and what always will be.* In the words of Augustine, “But while my hunger was for you, for Truth itself, these were the dishes on which they served me up the sun and the moon, beautiful works of yours but still only your works, not you yourself nor even the greatest of your created things. For your spiritual works are greater than these material things, however brightly they may shine in the sky.”
When preaching: Make much of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can say “You were created in the image of God. That is how you know right from wrong, and good from evil. Your fulfillment will never be met in living your way or worshipping temporal things. Jesus Christ offers us salvation that we might ultimately experience the joy of knowing Him forever. We will get to delight in His ways.” Psalm 119:35-37 “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes way from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” You can say, “Our greatest pleasure and joy will be when we are free to enter into the
Final thoughts:
At this point you are familiar with the gospel which God has providentially made known to us. You are now awesomely accountable to 1) preaching it, 2) preaching it faithfully to the truth, and 3) continually reminding yourself and fellow believers of its difficult, yet amazing graces. May the Holy Spirit shine the light of this message upon your mind, and allow its precepts to burn deep within your heart. Many out there are lost and have never heard this message. God is waiting to use you to share it with them so they too may know and live for God. May the Holy Spirit give you a deep conviction, coupled with a great compassion, for the unregenerate sinner. Let us end in a prayer:
“Lord Jesus, thank for what you have done for us so that we may freely come to you in our sin, be washed clean, and enjoy the communion of other believers with you forever! Help us now to cherish the gospel. Give us courage to teach it, stand firm on it, and proclaim it to the world. Let it change the way we think, live, and worship you. Let us make much of you in your one and only message. Let us tremble at the grace we do not deserve. Let us now enjoy the freedom and the life that comes through Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.”
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