Introduction:
A. Today I’m praying that all of us, Christians, feel like we have some good news to share with others, and that we desperately desire to share it.
1. I like the story told of the little boy who greatly concerned his parents.
a. The boy’s parents could not get him to utter a single word.
b. So they took him to a specialist, and after a thorough evaluation it was determined that the boy had nothing physiologically wrong with him that was keeping him from talking.
c. So the doctor grasped him firmly by the shoulders and gave him a sound shaking, saying, “Why don’t you say something?”
d. The little boy defiantly replied, “Cause I ain’t got nothing to say!”
2. Hopefully that’s not the way we feel about our faith.
3. In truth, I believe that we have some great news to share and I believe that we should want to tell others about it.
B. But this is probably where most of us feel the most inadequate, myself included.
1. What should we say? How should we say it? Where do we begin?
2. Bill Hybels tells a great story in his book on evangelism.
a. Bill likes to sail, and one day after a day of sailing, he and his wife were invited to board a neighboring sailboat and have dinner with a group of people.
b. So he anchored his boat and he and his wife motored over to the neighboring yacht in the dinghy.
c. After a nice evening of visiting, Bill and his wife were in the process of leaving and that’s when the moment came.
d. Lynne, his wife, had already climbed down the ladder into the dinghy and Bill was halfway down himself when the question came.
e. Some people call this “the doorknob question.” (Often as you are about to leave after a visit, a person will finally bring up the subject they wanted to talk about, but hadn’t mustered the courage to bring up.)
f. The man who had invited them aboard said, “Say, Bill, before you leave can you answer a question? I’ve always wanted to ask a Christian what it means to become one. Could you tell all of us?”
g. So, there was Hybels, one foot in the dinghy and one hand on their boat’s railing, looking up at a group of people waiting to hear what he would say.
h. He knew he had their undivided attention for the next 45 seconds – 45 seconds to summarize what it means to become a real Christian.
3. If we had been in his situation, how would we have responded?
4. Would we have been ready to give a clear and succinct response to such an important question?
5. For most of us, this kind of situation really puts us to the test.
6. Yet the Bible tells us to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15).
C. So, let’s spend a few minutes today trying to get a handle on the gospel message.
1. If we don’t really understand it ourselves, how in the world will we be able to explain it to others, right?
2. Let’s briefly look at four primary points we need to know in order to get a firm grasp on the gospel and be able to share it with others.
3. These four points can easily be remembered by four simple words: God, Us, Christ, and You.
I. Four Points, Four Words
A. First, We should talk About GOD
1. There are many aspects of God’s nature that we could share, but He has three characteristics that are especially relevant in evangelism.
2. First of all, God is LOVING.
a. Because of God’s love, He made us and desires to have a relationship with us.
b. Even though we’re sinners who have rebelled against Him, He continues to patiently extend His love to us.
c. Many people prefer to stop right here, but there’s more that needs to be said.
3. Second, God is HOLY.
a. This means that God is absolutely pure, and He is separate from everything that is impure.
b. There is nothing evil about God’s thoughts or actions. There is no darkness in Him.
4. Third, God is JUST.
a. In other words, He is like a good judge who can’t wink at lawbreakers.
b. God is a perfect judge who will dispense justice to everyone fairly.
5. So, that’s where we begin. We begin with a God who is loving, holy and just.
B. Second, We should talk About US
1. When God first created us human beings, He made us good, without any sin.
2. But we abused our freedom, we rebelled against Him and became affected by evil.
3. And therefore, as we have just seen, because God is holy and just, He must deal with our sinfulness.
4. The seriousness of our sin requires God to pronounce upon us the death penalty.
5. This means both physical and spiritual death, which is separation from God in a place called hell.
6. And to cap off the bad news, we’re helpless to initiate any action that can change our situation.
7. We are spiritually bankrupt and having nothing in our account to pay off our debts.
8. But, thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Amen?!
C. Third, We should talk About Christ
1. Jesus Christ was uniquely able to solve our dilemma because He was both God and man.
2. As God, He had the power and authority devise a plan for our salvation.
3. As a man, He was able to execute the plan by taking upon Himself the punishment we deserved.
4. The central truth of the gospel is that Christ died in our place, as our substitute.
5. He suffered the death penalty for us.
6. In so doing, He expressed the love of God, upheld the holiness of God, and satisfied the justice of God.
7. He did all of that so that He could turn around and offer us His forgiveness, His friendship, and His leadership as a gift.
8. We don’t deserve it, we didn’t pay for it and we can’t earn it.
9. The only way we can receive it is to believe it, repent and be baptized into Christ and thus receive this incredible gift.
10. When we do that, our sin-debt is paid in full, and we receive the promise of eternal life.
11. We also gain the ongoing companionship of the gift-giver Himself, who will be there to lead us, guide us, and lovingly correct us when we need it.
D. Finally, We should talk About YOU.
1. The ball is now in their court, and it’s up to each person to decide what they are going to do with the good news.
2. Jesus paid the price for salvation for the whole world, but only those who say “yes” to Him will actually receive His forgiveness.
3. Unfortunately, many people are left with the impression that if they go to church, or are born into a Christian family, or try to be a moral person, then they are automatically made right with God, but this is not true.
4. Anyone who relies on their personal efforts to get into God’s good graces is eventually going to be terribly disappointed.
5. Listen to the warning that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
6. We must be crystal clear with people that a personal response of faith and obedience to the gospel is necessary.
7. We can’t make that decision for others and we shouldn’t push them to make it prematurely.
8. But we’ve got to be sure that they understand that there is no other way.
9. And we must be prepared to help them take that step across the line of salvation.
II. An Illustration
A. You remember the story earlier in the sermon of Bill Hybels on the ladder of the yacht?
1. How did Hybels’ respond? What is the rest of the story?
B. He used the “Do Verses Done” Illustration.
1. He said, “Well, first you’ve got to realize the difference between religion and Christianity.”
2. Religion is spelled “D-O,” because it consists of the things people do to try to somehow gain God’s forgiveness and favor.
a. But the problem is that you never know when you’ve done enough.
b. It’s like being a salesman who knows he must meet a quota, but is never told what that quota is.
c. So you can never be sure that you have done enough.
d. Worse yet, the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we never can do enough.
e. We will always fall short of God’s perfect standard.
3. But thankfully, Christianity is spelled differently. It is spelled, “D-O-N-E,” which means that what we could never do for ourselves, Christ has already done for us.
a. He lived the perfect life we could never live, and He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty we owed for the wrongs we’ve done.
4. To become a Christian is to humbly receive God’s gift of forgiveness and to commit to following His leadership.
5. When we do that, He adopts us into His family, and begins to change us from the inside out.
C. I think that’s a helpful, concise illustration that conveys the central tenets of the gospel.
1. I would like to give you three passages in the NT that are a good summary of the basics of salvation, they are Romans 3:21-26, Ephesians 2:1-10, and Titus 3:3-8.
2. Each of these passages say something about our sinfulness, what God did about it, and what we should do in response to God.
III. Barriers to Belief
A. For a moment, let’s journey back in time to a scene just after Jesus’ resurrection.
1. This incident is recorded in John chapter 20.
2. Thomas is speaking to the other disciples. They have seen the resurrected Jesus, but he has not.
3. He says something like, “Just give it up, would you? What do you take me for anyway, a fool? I’d have to push my finger into the wounds in His hands and His feet, and stick my hand into his side before I will ever believe that He was raised from the dead!”
4. Thomas continues, “So you can fantasize all you want about a resurrection, but what it looks like to me is that I have already wasted three years of my life. I’m not going to give up one more day on anything associated with Jesus. Don’t you get it? It’s over!”
5. Can’t you relate to what Thomas was feeling and saying? Don’t you think you might have felt the same way?
B. One week later, the disciples were huddled together again, still trying to make sense of what had happened with Jesus and what they were to do next. This time, Thomas with them.
1. Jesus suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.
2. He carefully looked around the room, as if to find a certain person.
3. Then He locked eyes with Thomas.
4. Bill Hybils shares a funny insight at this point. He says that when he let’s his imagination run wild, he’s reminded of those old western movies where two guys square off in a saloon.
5. While they’re staring each other down, everyone else starts diving behind tables and chairs to protect themselves because they know that bullets are about to fly.
C. And so here we see Jesus squaring off with Thomas.
1. I can imagine the other disciples, remembering Thomas’ tirade a few days earlier, clearing out of the way.
2. My guess is they were thinking, “Is he ever going to get it now. He never should have opened his big mouth!”
3. Fearing the worst, they covered their eyes as Jesus walked up to within a foot of Thomas.
4. The room must have become deathly quiet.
D. But to their surprise they heard Jesus say, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)
1. Jesus didn’t say what they expected.
2. They expected, “Beat it, you can’t be a disciple of mine any more” or “Straighten up.”
3. But what they mostly heard was, “Touch me.” “If you need to touch me, then go ahead.”
E. Thomas and the other disciples learned an important lesson that day.
1. They learned a lesson that we need to learn, and one that many of our friends may benefit from.
2. What must be understood is that God isn’t angry or afraid of honest doubt from those who are tying to discover the truth about Him.
3. In fact, He invites any and all who have sincere questions to come, to seek, and to ask, because He wants to help them clear up the doubt.
4. Jesus is different from the wild-eyed religious leaders in our world who demand blind loyalty from their followers and who disqualify anyone who has the audacity to doubt them.
5. With deference to our human tendency to doubt, Jesus simply says, “Touch me. Do whatever it takes in order to find out that I am real.”
6. This should be welcome news to those with whom we are trying to share the gospel.
7. As many go through the process of considering a commitment to Christ, they’ll inevitably experience waves of uncertainty.
8. We must never try to shame them or hurry them through their confusion.
9. Rather we should patiently walk them through their doubts, empathizing with them, and offering answers when it seems appropriate.
F. So, what are some of the stumbling blocks that keep people from faith. What are some barriers to belief?
1. The first kind of barrier we may encounter are MISPERCEPTIONS.
a. For instance, some think this about Christianity: “If you commit your life to following Jesus, you can take your freedom, your individuality, your sense of adventure, and any hopes you have for fulfillment in this life, and kiss them all goodbye. After all, you’re signing up to join a bunch of lobotomized, look-alike, act-alike losers who have nothing better to do with their lives.”
b. The irony, of course, is that this way of thinking is the exact opposite of the truth about the Christian life, and at a deeper level, the truth about the nature and character of God.
c. So, where do these misperceptions come from and what can we do to counter them?
d. They come from many sources: poor examples, bad teaching, and natural fears.
e. What can we do about them?
1. First, we can let people know that we understand their hesitations, because we may
very well of had many of them before we became Christians.
2. Second, we can live our lives as a model that shatters their stereotypes and gives them a new view of Christianity.
3. When it comes to the bad teaching, the only effective antidote is good teaching; right learning.
4. And when it comes to their natural fears, we can help them realize that it’s only natural to hesitate when any of us are considering a life-changing choice.
2. A second kind of barrier to belief is INTELLECTUAL ROADBLOCKS.
1. We must never sweep these kinds of issues under the rug.
2. Our Scripture reading today from 1 Peter tells us to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us the reason for the hope we have.
3. But in reality, we won’t always have the answer on the tip or our tongues for every question.
4. In many cases, the best thing you or I can do is tell them that they’ve asked a good question, and that right now, you don’t have a good answer, but you will do your homework and then get back to them.
5. There are many excellent books available that try to address these kinds of questions.
6. And now with the internet, there are so many good websites dedicated to apologetics, that many answers can be found that way.
7. Some of the intellectual roadblocks we will face have to do with things like: The historical accuracy of the Bible, the problem of evil, and the Christianity vs. Science debate.
8. All of these things can be addressed with a little homework or preparation.
3. Let’s mention one more barrier to faith – MORAL MISGIVINGS
1. In truth, many people do have legitimate questions and honest intellectual barriers to their faith, but some just use those questions as a smokescreen or an excuse to keep from having to change.
2. When we sense that someone is putting more energy into finding questions than finding answers, then maybe we need to call their bluff and ask them if really want answers or do they really want to avoid having to change.
3. We might be surprised by their answer.
G. This process of breaking the barriers to belief may be short or long depending on the specific individuals, but God wants us to stick with people and help them clear away the barriers one by one.
1. Along the way, we can encourage them by pointing out two things: a prayer and a promise.
2. The prayer is found in Mark 9, where a man had asked Jesus to heal and deliver his son.
a. Jesus told him it would be possible, if he would just believe.
b. To this the man replied, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:24)
c. I find two interesting things about this man’s prayer.
1. First, Jesus did not put down the man for wavering in his faith.
2. Second, Jesus went ahead and answered the prayer anyway. (He healed the son)
d. That tells us it is okay to approach God even with our doubts.
e. That is the kind of prayer that I think God takes seriously.
3. Which leads us to the promise.
a. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
b. And in Jeremiah 29:13, God said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
c. Although this verse was addressed to a certain group of people at a specific time in history, I think it teaches us something important about asking, seeking and finding.
d. Namely, we need to do it whole-heartedly. We must make it a front-burner issue.
e. If any person sustains that kind of all-out effort, they will break through all the barriers keeping them from belief.
Conclusion:
A. It is impossible to completely prepare us to clearly share the message in one sermon, but I hope what we have discussed today will be helpful.
1. Let me introduce to you a “user-friendly” study that I have developed to help us share the good news with others. It is called “Seeking God Study.”
2. It is simply a process of reading verses from the Bible and discussing questions based on those verses.
3. The studies are available on our website under the info center tab, Bible study – Seeking God.
B. I pray that God will help us to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.
1. I pray that we will have the wisdom to take advantage of every opportunity to share our faith.
C. If you are here this morning and you are a doubter, then rest assured that God wants to help you to overcome those barriers to belief.
1. God loves you, and he is ready to forgive you.
2. There is nothing you or I have ever done that is unforgivable.
3. And there is no needed change in your life or mine that is impossible with God’s help.
4. The joy and peace of finding faith and walking with God is the best things in this world.
5. You have heard the basic gospel message today.
a. How do you need to respond to it?
b. Do you need to believe and obey the gospel?
c. Are you ready to take that step of faith and be baptized into Christ?
(Much from this sermon is based on Hybels’ Becoming a Contagious Christian, chapters 11 and 12)
