PRINCIPLE 12 |
The gospel message along with the proper response can be summarized in the six points listed below. Notice that the message says something first about me (this part states the problem), then about Jesus (this part states the solution), then again about me.
If an individual denies any one of the first five points, there would be no reason for him to turn to Christ. If he accepts the first five points, he will see the need to turn and trust Christ.
When we talk about responding to the gospel message, we must remember that we are talking only about man's part. We recognize that no one comes to Christ unless God has already worked in his heart by enlightening, convicting, and drawing him (John 1:9; 16:7-11; 12:32).
We have just summarized the Bible's teachings regarding the gospel message and the proper response to that message. There is only one gospel, only one savior, and only one proper response. In other words, there is only one plan of salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5). Although this one plan of salvation can be stated in various ways, the six ideas or concepts listed above are crucial.
But what about other religions and cults? They often have their own unique opinion of what man's problem is, and therefore their own unique plan of salvation. Some people think that any way of salvation is acceptable as long as the person believing in that way of salvation is sincere. But, of course, sincerity is not enough. Anyone who believes a lie can be said to be sincere, but that does not change the lie into truth. A person can even sincerely believe that he is working for the Lord, but still not be saved (Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 10:1-2).
Whenever we find someone who believes in a different plan of salvation, or believes that any plan of salvation is all right, we may question whether his analysis of man's spiritual problem is correct and complete. The first two points of the gospel message are very important. One of our most crucial tasks in evangelism is to help each individual clearly understand his spiritual condition. Until a person understands the concepts of sin and separation from God, he will not properly understand the person and work of Jesus or what his response should be. If he does understand the concepts of sin and separation from God, the rest of the message will usually fall into place easily.
The message is always the same, but the people to whom we witness are different. It is a mistake to think that the same memorized presentation will be well suited to everyone. We do not change the message for a Jew, Roman Catholic, atheist, or cult member, but we will probably have to spend more time discussing and explaining certain parts of the gospel with some people, other parts with other people. For example, with many Orthodox Jews and Roman Catholics, we do not need to spend a lot of time defending the ideas of God, holiness, and sin. But it may take extra effort and skill to overcome the Jew's misunderstanding of the person and work of Jesus, or the Roman Catholic's misunderstanding of the substitutionary nature of Jesus' death and the fact that works do not gain salvation.
When we take a person's background and beliefs into account as we discuss the gospel with him, we are more likely to be able to gear our explanation so that it makes sense to him. Thus, we do not alter the content of the gospel message, but we should adjust the way we present it and what we emphasize, depending on the individual's background and beliefs.
Some gospel presentation are so shallow that they do not even qualify as genuine presentations of the gospel. The chart below describes four levels of completeness in presenting the gospel message. It all starts with incomplete presentations of sin and the consequences of sin. If we are not specific in describing the bad situation, then our presentation of the gospel proper will not be specific enough either. An adequate diagnosis is necessary for an adequate cure.
| The Problem |
God's Solution |
Individual's Response |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Level One (1 question) 1. Is there a problem? |
(Yes, there is a problem, but little is said about it. Assumes discouragement or some general dissatisfaction with life.) | God loves you. | (Merely acknowledge God's love) |
| Level Two (2 questions) 1. Is there a problem? 2. Who is the source of the problem? |
You do not live as you ought. | God loves you and Christ can help you. | Ask for help. Or, follow Jesus' example. |
| Level Three (3 questions) 1. Is there a problem? 2. Who is the source of the problem? 3. What is the problem? |
You sin and must be punished. | God loves you and Christ (sinless) took your punishment (substitution), (plus resurrection) | Turn (repent) and trust (have faith) in Christ |
| Level Four (4 questions) 1. Is there a problem? 2. Who is the source of the problem? 3. What is the problem? 4. What is the punishment? |
You sin and must be separated from a holy God. | God loves you and Christ (sinless) took your punishment (substitution), (plus resurrection) | Turn (repent) and trust (have faith) in Christ |
This chart is organized around four questions about sin and its consequences. Level One answers only one general question. Level Two answers the same question plus another question that is slightly more specific. Level Three becomes even more specific by adding a third question. Level Four is the most specific because it answers all four questions. Notice that as the presentation of the problem becomes more specific and complete, the matching presentation of the solution and response automatically become more complete. When presented at Lever Four, the gospel is well defined, but when presented at lower levels the gospel is dangerously fuzzy.
Level One is very shallow. Those whose message is summed up simply as "God loves you" are evangelizing at Level One. At this level little is said about any specific problem. Instead, the "evangelist" happily declares "God loves you" and hopes that the listener will recognize God's love or in some way tip his hat toward God. The danger is that a person who hears a presentation at this level can have all sorts of misunderstandings about the nature of God, his own spiritual condition, and the person and work of Christ. The individual may be aware of some vague problem with life in general, but unless he goes on to find out more about his lost condition he will not be able to make an intelligent decision to accept Christ and receive eternal life.
We simply do not know at what instant a person is born again. Many people, especially children, respond fully to what little truth they know about Christ at a given time and later come to a fuller understanding of the meaning of salvation. It is important to remember that these initial responses to Christ are not necessarily wrong or inaccurate but that they are incomplete.
But it is also important to remember that a person must deal with his sin problem in order to be genuinely saved. If, in his own mind, he is not lost (he does not understand, or admit, that he is a sinner), how can he be saved? He will not even grasp his need of salvation. Such a shallow presentation of the gospel misses the central point, and in doing so makes light of the real problem of sin as well as the work of Christ.
Level Two is better, but still somewhat shallow. At Level Two there can still be a variety of significant misconceptions. In the listener's mind the problem, rather than being sin, might merely be ignorance or laziness. Or, he might mistakenly feel that the help he receives from God is merely help to achieve his own selfish goals. Or, perhaps someone has convinced him that he needs to work up more "faith." At this level he does not necessarily understand anything about God's holiness or justice, or about the person, death, and resurrection of Christ. Since he is not hearing anything specific about sin, righteousness, and judgment (compare John 16:8) or about the substitutionary death of Christ (which, after all, is the heart of the gospel), it is doubtful that he really understands the meaning of salvation from such a shallow presentation of the gospel.
Even Level Three is not as complete as it should be and might leave certain questions unanswered. For example, the listener does not necessarily understand that God's holiness requires a consequence of sinners being separated from him. He might still think of Jesus as dying physically for him. Or, he might even think that his present rotten life circumstances can help pay the punishment for his sins. And if that is not sufficient, he may feel that some additional self-inflicted punishment or a few years in some type of purgatory might be enough to pay for his sins. In spite of these problems with Level Three, there are probably many people who come to Christ at this level and later gain a fuller understanding.
The presentation of the gospel at Level Four is the most complete. It answers many of the questions that create misunderstandings at the shallower levels. For example, if the individual clearly understands that the consequence of sin is separation from a holy God, and that this is the punishment Christ took for us, he will be much less likely to think that Jesus' physical death was the substitution, or that rotten life circumstances can be of any help.
Even a child can grasp a presentation of the gospel at Level Four easier than he can grasp a presentation at Level Three. This is because a child can understand personal (and therefore, spiritual) separation at a much earlier age than he understands physical death. Interpersonal alienation is experienced early and often by a child.
A shallow, partial presentation of the gospel leaves the door wide open for many misunderstandings. This can be dangerous because it can lead to false conversions in which a person goes through the motions of accepting Christ but does not really get saved. A similar problem, psychological conversions, is discussed in chapter 16.