Do We Really Know The 'Good News'

[stephen]

THE GOSPEL TEST: DO YOUR PEOPLE REALLY KNOW THE GOOD NEWS? [Excerpts]

Imagine waiting outside the doors of the sanctuary of any evangelical church in America with a video camera and a microphone at the end of the Sunday morning service. Your mission? To interview 10 random members of the congregation with a simple question, "If I were not a Christian and you were to explain the gospel to me what would you say?"

Supposing you weren't tackled by a rogue usher and Good Fellas boot stomped in the foyer, imagine some of the potential answers you could hear...

"Um, well, I guess that God loves you and if you, well, follow him then, you know, it will all work out."

"As long as you're a sincere person and don't kill anybody or anything like that I think God would let you into heaven."

"Isn't there some prayer that you are supposed to say and then you're in?"

"I don't really concern myself about this sort of thing because it's the pastor's job to tell people about Jesus anyway."

Sadly, it's not hard to imagine hearing answers like these coming from church-going people today. But what if you were interviewing the people of your church with the same question?

Before you dismiss the scenario of less-than-adequate answers coming from members of your congregation (or attendees of your Bible study, students in your youth group, etc.) consider the possibility that you could be over-estimating what the Christians you lead really know when it comes to the Gospel.

Paul summed up the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4 when he wrote, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...."

The gospel is the message that Jesus died in our place for our sins as a substitutionary atonement. He was buried and he rose from the dead, proving that he was the Son of God himself. In the most famous verse of Scripture Jesus said that whoever believes in him has eternal life.

Yes, it's that simple! It's so simple that a child can understand it and so jaw-droppingly deep that a Seminary professor can choke on it.

The Gospel Test: Do Your People Really Know the Good News?

 

[Coconut]

Awesome word....

and I`ll take it as a good sign that I did`nt choke even once!

 

[farout]

I watch Way of The Master, and I have heard everything said exactally as you stated. Very very sad! I am sure we could keep asking probring questions over and over to the point that some question hits us right square in our heart.

Here are just a few, ok? Do you tithe? Do you EVER lie? Are you in serious debt? How much time do you spend reading the Scriptures? In the last year have you stolen anything? How often do you let your parents know you love them, especially if they are elderly?

Get the point? No matter how old or howmuch we have matured in Christ there isalways still more to grow.

 

[Diamondlight]

If we know the gospel (the good news) ourselves, it is much more likely that we will pass this one to others successfully. It we are fuzzy, unclear, have some doubts, never really thought about it before or can't seem to put it into words, then it's a good idea to go back to the message of the gospel and relook at what our faith is based on.

Always be ready to give an account.

It is not so much knowing the words to say or being able to recite the relevant scriptures (although that is always helpful) but it is being able to convey what this truth means to you personally.

In the early days of me being a new believer, i used to practice on a large stuffed polar bear toy and tell it what the gospel is and why Christ is important to me. Sadly my efforts were wasted on soulless bear but the exercise did hone my skills ;-P