Introduction

Have you ever been in a situation where you were called upon, but didn’t have an answer? It doesn’t feel very good does it? Actually, I can’t think of anyone who enjoys being unprepared. There is something uniquely painful about finding yourself in a situation you are ill-equipped to be in.

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned that the biblical model of evangelism involves the dual action of gifted evangelists who are called to practice bold proclamation, and everyday believers who are to live such surprising lives they invite the questions of neighbors. But this only works if everyday believers know how to answer those questions. Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering how to answer people...

Main Teaching

Don’t “Preach the Gospel,” Tell Them About Jesus. I’m sure you’ve heard the joke about the pastor giving the children's message during church who asked the kids for the name of the little creature that lives in trees (pause – no response) and eats nuts (pause – no response). “It’s gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause) and it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause – still no response).

Finally one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "it sure sounds like a squirrel, but I know the answer must be Jesus!” As funny as that is, when it comes to responding to people’s questions the answer is always Jesus.

The church has often told Christians they need to “preach the gospel” when they get an opportunity to do so. But as I mentioned a few weeks ago, this can be intimidating for many Christians.

What exactly does it mean to “preach the gospel”? Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 1:1; “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God...” Paul describes himself as set apart for the gospel and then he goes on to explain what that gospel is. Listen as he continues:

“...the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” (Rom 1:2-5)

According to this passage, the gospel is the story of Jesus – his messianic credentials, his physical descent from David, his vindication/validation by the Spirit of God, his resurrection from the dead.

In fact, every time Paul explains his use of the term gospel he does so by recounting the life of Jesus.

If you read Paul’s lengthy evangelistic sermon in Acts 13:16-39, where he is literally “preaching” the gospel, the focus is on the events of Jesus’ life – his royal birth, miracles, teaching, sacrificial death, and resurrection.

Even when he doesn’t have much space for a lengthy retelling of Jesus’ story, he summarizes it like he did in Romans 1 ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium

When we live questionable lives people should see our strange behavior and ask us about our motivations and then we should be able to speak about Jesus the way surfers would speak about Kelly Slater, with energy and enthusiasm, with reverence and awe, with delight and wonder.