The Good News
Sometimes Christians like to use big words. Sometimes we don't even notice it, it's just part of conversation, especially for those who have grown up in church or have spent a long time studying God and his character. We use words such as sanctification, justification, reconciliation, reformation, protestant, amillenial, post-millennial, transmogrifier. . . Oh wait. (Just in case you don't catch this reference, here's the comic relief).
But in all seriousness, sometimes we get so caught up in the theology of who God is, we miss the beauty of the Good News.
This year, I have the privilege of leading a bible study for high school freshman at my church. My sweet girls come from a variety of backgrounds, in different stages with their walk with Christ. One of my girls recently made the decision to follow Jesus this summer at our camp in Ocoee, Tennessee. Each week she brings a fresh perspective and curiosity about God and the faith we have in Him. I love the innocence and excitement she brings to the mix, something I think we tend to lose.
No matter where you are at with your walk with Christ, your view of Him and the World should always take you back to the cross. We are sinful creatures (Romans 3:23), our hearts are wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and we cannot save ourselves from this and the consequences of our actions. But there is a merciful and just Creator who came to Earth and lived a perfect life for us, so that we don't have to, and died a painful death on the cross, the death we deserve, so that we may have eternity with him (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8). All we have to do is accept the gift he is already offering and believe in him (Romans 10:9-10).
Every interaction, every decision, every situation should be focused on the One who created you. A thought to keep in mind that has been convicting me lately is, "Am I making Christ Preeminent, or just Prominent?" Is He the most important thing in my life, or just one of many, among sports, school, loved ones, and work? If he is PREEMINENT, every conversation, every decision will come to Him. He will fill every moment, because if the gospel is true, and he created us and died for us, hasn't he earned that?
Therefore, if we hold these things to be true, we should desire to share the Gospel with everyone you meet. It's like seeing someone standing on the train tracks with a train barreling down the track towards them. What would you do? You would warn them, right? You would do everything you could to help them. In the same way, the bible is completely transparent about the fate waiting for those who do not have a relationship with Christ. We have the one solution that can save them, the good news. This is a hard thing to do, though, it's scary! We fear rejection, I know, and we are sometimes uncertain how to communicate the right words. But the fantastic thing is, it's not about us, it is NOT our responsibility to save others, we just beed to be obedient to His call. Be obedient and God will provide you the words like he did for Peter, Paul, and the other builders of the early church. But here is one of many guides you can use, called the Roman Road. I referenced it earlier in this post, but here it is in order. A piece of advice my mentor gave me is to find these verses in your bible, underline them, highlight them, make sure you recognize it as different, and then next to each verse write the reference for the next verse in Romans Road (for example, next to Romans 3:23 write Romans 6:23). That way when you have that unique and special moment to share the good news, you don't have to scramble to remember the verses or which order they belong in.
1. Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
2. Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life IN Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5:8- "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
4. Romans 10:9-13 "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
This year, I have the privilege of leading a bible study for high school freshman at my church. My sweet girls come from a variety of backgrounds, in different stages with their walk with Christ. One of my girls recently made the decision to follow Jesus this summer at our camp in Ocoee, Tennessee. Each week she brings a fresh perspective and curiosity about God and the faith we have in Him. I love the innocence and excitement she brings to the mix, something I think we tend to lose.
No matter where you are at with your walk with Christ, your view of Him and the World should always take you back to the cross. We are sinful creatures (Romans 3:23), our hearts are wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and we cannot save ourselves from this and the consequences of our actions. But there is a merciful and just Creator who came to Earth and lived a perfect life for us, so that we don't have to, and died a painful death on the cross, the death we deserve, so that we may have eternity with him (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8). All we have to do is accept the gift he is already offering and believe in him (Romans 10:9-10).
Every interaction, every decision, every situation should be focused on the One who created you. A thought to keep in mind that has been convicting me lately is, "Am I making Christ Preeminent, or just Prominent?" Is He the most important thing in my life, or just one of many, among sports, school, loved ones, and work? If he is PREEMINENT, every conversation, every decision will come to Him. He will fill every moment, because if the gospel is true, and he created us and died for us, hasn't he earned that?
Therefore, if we hold these things to be true, we should desire to share the Gospel with everyone you meet. It's like seeing someone standing on the train tracks with a train barreling down the track towards them. What would you do? You would warn them, right? You would do everything you could to help them. In the same way, the bible is completely transparent about the fate waiting for those who do not have a relationship with Christ. We have the one solution that can save them, the good news. This is a hard thing to do, though, it's scary! We fear rejection, I know, and we are sometimes uncertain how to communicate the right words. But the fantastic thing is, it's not about us, it is NOT our responsibility to save others, we just beed to be obedient to His call. Be obedient and God will provide you the words like he did for Peter, Paul, and the other builders of the early church. But here is one of many guides you can use, called the Roman Road. I referenced it earlier in this post, but here it is in order. A piece of advice my mentor gave me is to find these verses in your bible, underline them, highlight them, make sure you recognize it as different, and then next to each verse write the reference for the next verse in Romans Road (for example, next to Romans 3:23 write Romans 6:23). That way when you have that unique and special moment to share the good news, you don't have to scramble to remember the verses or which order they belong in.
1. Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
2. Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life IN Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5:8- "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
4. Romans 10:9-13 "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
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