Week 6: What is the Gospel?, Part 2

TEACHING NOTES - CLICK THE "NOTES" LINK ABOVE FOR THE CLASS BOOKLET

 

Team time

• Reviewing our covenant together
• Going over outline learned thus far (three-part “over-outline”, four-part “presentation outline”, “key question”)

Doctrinal instruction & Outline work

Why start with God?

1)  The Alpha and Omega

We start with God in evangelism because God is the creator and redeemer of humanity, and the gospel is His story told for His glory.  We start with God because Scripture starts with God:  “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1)  We start with God because the Scripture reveals that God is the “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End…” and this is specifically in the scope of gospel witness:

Revelation 21:6  "He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.'"

We start with God because salvation is essentially the transformation of a rebel against God into a child of God.  We start with God because the kingly rule of God over each person is the essence of the Kingdom of God into which we are inviting people.  We start with God because God is what every human being needs, to the very core of their being.  As Augustine put it so beautifully sixteen centuries ago:

“You have made us for yourself, O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in you.”  [Confessions, Book 1]

We start with God because Paul, in summing up the gospel message he’d just explained in eleven chapters of glorious doctrine, said:

Romans 11:36  "For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever! Amen."

What does “from him” mean?  Among other things, it means that the gospel is from God, about God, and returns all things to God.  Sin has scattered humanity.  Christ came to regather sinners under the kingship of God.  We as evangelists are called to do the same… gather unto God:

Matthew 12:30  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

At the core of people’s rebellion against God is the sense of self-sufficiency that has pride at its roots.  People don’t think about God, don’t love God, don’t live for God, and don’t care about God.  They look to themselves to solve all their problems, and their perception of their problems is all about themselves, too.  They have “needs” that are not being met, they have miseries that they feel acutely.  Little do they realize that they “need” only one thing:  God, and God alone.

Therefore, in our gospel presentation, we start with God.

2)  Man-centered vs. God-centered evangelism

These days, most gospel presentations revolve around man and his needs rather than God and His glory.  Sin has indeed left man “needy,” as scripture clearly reveals:

Revelation 3:17  "You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

Most people will admit their sense of need at some level.  But what they will not admit is that they need God.  Therefore, our proclamation of the gospel must establish God as the center of all things.  We were created to worship God and  

Examples of man-centered gospel appeals:

• “Everyone needs to feel accepted and loved, and yet most of us don’t. The gospel of Jesus Christ offers a secure love which is permanent and unconditional.  Through Christ we can receive the love we need.”
• “Is your life in disorder and chaos? Do you feel stressed and out of sorts?  God can help you make sense of your life, give you peace and tranquility, if you’ll only let Him.”
• “You have everything you ever wanted, but something’s missing. You have a good job, a good family, and all the material comforts you could dream of having.  But you still feel empty inside.  God can give you fullness.”
• “You’ve tried everything… try God.”

The unifying theme here is that the Gospel is preached to meet our felt needs in this world.  The problem with that is two-fold:  1) the biggest need a non-Christian has is the very thing he ignores or denies:  God; 2) the greatest reasons for faith in Christ will not be seen in this world, but rather on Judgment Day and beyond.

In other words, we do not trust Christ primarily for experiences of peace, joy, love, and success on earth, though those things may be part of our earthly experience.  We trust Christ that we may know God eternally (heaven) and not be driven eternally from His presence (hell).

3)  Our deepest (and only true) need:  God

True conversion occurs when self-satisfied sinners repent and find their greatest joy and treasure in God Himself.  It is not enough to believe certain things about God.  James says “the devils believe… and shudder.”  (James 2:19).  Devils know and hate; saved people know and love.  God becomes our treasure, the whole purpose of our existence.  The greatest joy of our lives is knowing that we will spend eternity in the presence of God Himself. As over against a modern gospel which seems to promise many earthly benefits (a sense of love and well-being, material prosperity, friendships/community, freedom from certain addictions, earthly purpose, etc.) as the core of motivation for faith in Christ, a true believer can say with the Psalmist:

Psalm 73:25  “Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”

And we look to heaven not so much as a place of beauty and pleasure of things separated from God, but rather as a full and personal experience of the intense glory of God.  God Himself, then, is what we get in heaven, as He said to Abram:

Genesis 15:1  "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "

The gospel has as its focal point bringing sinners back into relationship with their Creator so that He becomes their treasure and greatest joy.  Thus we must begin with God.

4)  Objective realities:

The people of our relativistic age (in which absolute truth is denied) will get a rude awakening on Judgment Day when they see a glorious person, a perfect Judge, sitting on a throne in front of them.  This is not “truth for me, truth for you.”  God’s existence, His acts as creator of all, His rightful place as King over His creation, and His logical role as final Judge of those in His Kingdom, are objective realities, whether people accept them or not.  Though we seek to persuade people regarding these realities, our primary task as evangelists is simply to proclaim them as absolute truths.

Because of these truths, we can truthfully say that everyone’s greatest need (whether they feel it or not) is to be in right relationship with God.  His pleasure is all that matters.  If He is pleased with us, nothing else matters.  Satan’s greatest task is to persuade us that none of these things are true.

Therefore, our gospel presentation will cover God’s three roles:  Creator, King, Judge; and three attributes:  loving, sovereign, holy

Outline points:

• God the Creator… LOVING
• God the King… SOVEREIGN
• God the Judge… HOLY

1)  God is Creator

The Bible begins with creation, and so should we.  Our memory verse on this is obvious and easy:

Genesis 1:1  “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.”

Everything else comes out of this.  Because God made everything, He alone has the right to rule over what He has made.  “God the King” relates directly to “God the Creator.”  Because He made everything and rules over everything, He has the right to Judge what His creations do in the world He has made. 

Also, we should understand that God the Creator is the universal starting point all over the world for the gospel.  We don’t even need the Bible to proclaim the greatness of God… all we need do is point to creation.  This is the starting point in cross-cultural evangelism, and also in evangelism with post-modern Americans who deny absolute truth.  The physical world is an objective reality.  We can speak to a Ph.D. student from another country and point to the same sun which warms/lights his homeland.  We can speak to a hostile teenager on a subway in a large city and refer to the immensity of outer space as evidence of the existence of God.  Creation is our starting place for the gospel/

THEREFORE:  God is loving

The connection between God’s creation and His love is seen in the way He provides for all His creatures everyday.  With some tragic exceptions (almost always because of human sin) God feeds well over six billion people every day.  He also provides warmth, sunlight, shelter and many other blessings to His creatures.  God’s love is woven through the fabric of what He’s made.  The love of God is shown in the marvelous ways He’s created the world, and us to enjoy the world.  The world is covered with millions of different colors… all shades and hues, light and dark, vivid and muted.  The world is filled with rugged mountain peaks and deep ravines, as well as rolling hills and flat plains.  The world has millions of flowers of varying beauty and fragrance.  This world shouts aloud every moment of a wise, good, and loving creator.  And He made parts of your body simply that you may experience pleasure and give Him glory and thanks: He has made thousands of different tastes which our tongues can discern and experience… the tartness of a grapefruit, the heat of a jalapeno pepper, the succulence of a ripe peach, the sourness of a lime, the smooth sweetness of a melon.  He soothes you with spring breezes, and stings you with a bracing sea gale.  All of this simply for your pleasure and His glory.  Truly God’s love is clearly revealed in all He’s made.

Our memory verse for God’s love as demonstrated in creation and providence is:

Acts 14:27  "He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."

2)  God is King

Not only did God make everything, but He also rules over everything for His own glory.  He is not an absentee landlord, but a present and active King.  He makes laws, and expects them to be obeyed.  He actively guides all things, and sovereignly interferes with the flow of earthly events for His own purposes. 

Psalm 47:7  “For God is King of all the earth.”

The Kingship of God is what sinners deny.  They don’t mind a Creator, but they hate the idea of a King who rules.  Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

“There is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah.  Men will allow God to be everywhere except upon His throne.  The will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion the world and make stars.  They will allow Him to be in His charity ward to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties.  They will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of Heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth… for God on His throne is not the God they love.”

Yet, if the people we’re witnessing to never submit themselves to God’s sovereign rule, they have not entered the Kingdom of God… they are rebels still!  We must, therefore, proclaim that God is King.  When Jesus went around proclaiming the gospel, it was the good news about the Kingdom of God… specifically that God is a good king who is willing to have rebellious subjects throw down their weapons of revolt and enter His kingdom gladly.  Without this understanding, sinners have not truly been converted.

THEREFORE: God is sovereign

Many verses proclaim the sovereign rule of God as King over all the earth.  Our memory verse is as follows:

Psalm 103:19  "The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all."

God’s throne rules over everything.  We have two choices:  bow the knee to His rule or fight it and be destroyed.  Thankfully (as we have already seen), our King is a good and loving King.  So bending the knee should be a delight, not a crushing burden.

THEREFORE:  God also makes laws

Finally, because God is a King, He has the right to make laws which govern His Kingdom.  The Bible contains many hundreds of commandments, but the most important are the Ten Commandments and the Two Great Commandments:

1)  I am the Lord, you God;  you shall have no other gods beside me.

2)  You shall not make any idols; you shall not worship any idols.

3)  You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.

4)  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5)  Honor your father and mother.

6)  You shall not murder.

7)  You shall not commit adultery.

8)  You shall not steal.

9)  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10)  You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Of course, God gave many more commandments than these.  Jesus summarized all the commands of God into two commandments:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

Love your neighbor as yourself.

These commands form the basis of conduct and character in God’s Kingdom and they must be obeyed. 

3)  God is Judge

As King, God makes laws; as Judge God, has also set a day when He will judge the world in righteousness based on those laws:

Psalm 96:13   "He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his truth."

 On that day, God will execute justice on all His creatures based on the laws He has given them.

THEREFORE:  God is holy

In order to judge the whole earth, God must be holy Himself, and He is.  God is separate from His creation, raised high above it.  He is also separate from all evil, so He can judge it perfectly.  The holiness of God is perhaps the most important thing a rebellious sinner needs to learn about God:

Habakkuk 1:13  Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong.

If God cannot even look at evil, he will certainly never tolerate it when He judges the universe.  If He cannot even look at evil, He will judge it completely.  Most lost people grossly underestimate the holiness of God and think they will be fine on Judgment Day.  Our job as evangelists is to press the holiness of God home so that people fear His wrath and are drawn to the Savior.

 

Practical instruction

 

1. Personal holiness and evangelism

1)  Personal holiness essential

We have already covered this before, but one more emphasis is worthwhile.  I am convinced that a lack of personal holiness is one of the biggest obstacles to a fruitful life in evangelism.  Sin cuts us off from God in many ways, and the fourteen ways that the Spirit prepares us to witness cited above are all hindered significantly if the Spirit is grieved with us.  We must be absolutely committed to a life of personal holiness:  we must put sin to death daily in order to be fruitful.  Paul spoke directly to this issue when he wrote his final letter, 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:19-22  "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.  In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.  Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Peter also says that, to be fully prepared to give an answer for the hope we have, we must “keep a clear conscience” (1 Peter 3:16).  If we want to be fully usable to God we must cleanse ourselves from all wickedness.

2)  Confessing sin

Since we sin in so many ways (James 3:2), how can we be cleansed and made ready for the Master’s use?  Only be the blood of Jesus Christ!  We experience that cleansing power by confession of sin:

1 John 1:8-9    "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

We cannot lie to God and say we have no sin.  As soon as our conscience testifies that we have sinned, we must bring that sin to God openly in confession.  The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and make us clean vessels for His service:

Hebrews 10:19-22  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

3)  Producing fruit in keeping with repentance

Confession is just the first sign of repentance.  Genuine repentance involves a settled determination never to sin that way again.  God desires that we make good on our vows, and prove the sincerity of our convictions by “producing  fruit in keeping with repentance” as John the Baptist said (Matthew 3:8).  God wants to see the fruit… actual changes made in the way we live.  Without that fruit, we can’t expect much evangelistic fruit.

4)  God is gracious

Having dealt with these serious topics of personal holiness, we must realize also that God is incredibly gracious, not just to us as sinners who are His co-laborers, but also to those who desperately need to hear the gospel through us.  God will even use you when you’re at your worst.  Make the most of every opportunity, even if you haven’t had time to confess and repent from sin yet.  Just determine that, when you next get time alone with God, you’ll do that work of repentance.  Furthermore, God can use you even if you haven’t fully studied to show yourself as approved workmen with the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15), or haven’t been fully prepared to give an answer for the hope you have with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15)  God is gracious in the whole matter of evangelism.  And this makes sense, for it is the good news of God’s saving grace!!

  Homework

• Review: three-part overview, four-part presentation, key question
• Memorize: “God” section with Scriptures

 

Preparation

Introduction:  Introduce yourself

Interests:  Ask general questions about their life interests

Involvement:  Ask about prior involvement in church; listen for clues as to their spiritual state

Inquiry:   Key Question “In your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?”

Presentation

God:

• God is Creator

Genesis 1:1  "In the beginning, God created heaven and earth."

Therefore, God is loving

Acts 14:27  "He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."

• God is King

Psalm 47:7  "For God is King of all the earth."

Therefore, God is sovereign

Psalm 103:19  "The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all."

Therefore, God also makes laws

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)

The Two Greatest Commandments (Matthew 22)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

Love your neighbor as yourself.

• God is Judge

Psalm 96:13   "He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his truth."

Therefore, God is holy

Habakkuk 1:13  "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong."