I’m going to ask you to go back in time – back to when you first believed the gospel and trusted in Christ for forgiveness and salvation. How did the person or group presenting the gospel do it? Did they use fancy words or phrases—perhaps convince you with their wit or personality? What was it about the message that made you want to believe?
Let me go a step further. What if they had presented the gospel to you in a language you could not speak or understand? Would you have been convinced of your need to trust in Christ? How would this affect your perception of the gospel and the Word of God? Chances are you would not have come to a correct understanding of God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus in a way that would help you respond in faith and belief. So, with that in mind, I believe we need to get back to the foundational building block for evangelism: the Word of God.
So how do we balance our zeal to share our faith with good principles and practices in doing so? We need to return back to the Word – to what’s true. Also, we need to return to biblical obedience. After all, God will work through our obedience as we rely on Him. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22, ESV). Part of not just hearing the Word but doing what it says involves obeying His command to share it with others. To go a step further, God has commanded us as believers to teach and disciple those who come to faith, so that they can continue to grow in maturity and knowledge of the Word as they follow Christ. Therefore, we will need to know the Word ourselves and study it well so that we can help others in their walk with Christ.
As we consider the Scriptures and how to teach them to others, there are certain truths we need to know and be convinced of—truths that will help guide us in our efforts to share the gospel and make disciples. One of the most important things to understand about Scripture is the fact that it is inerrant and inspired by God. Because it is inerrant, it is also authoritative in life and ministry.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
-ESV, 2 Timothy 3:16-17
If we believe this to be true, then this changes how we understand our role in sharing the gospel with others. When I was growing up in Paraguay, I noticed that sometimes there were false teachers who would come in and try to teach the Paĩ people their view on God and His Word using Spanish, the trade language, rather than Guarani, their heart language. Generally speaking, this did more harm than good in helping people come to a biblical understanding of sin, God, and our need of a Savior. In fact, it sometimes even led to miscommunication of the message and even steered people to adopt a more legalistic or works-based “gospel” that really wasn’t biblical.
Thinking Biblically
The authority of the Word of God isn’t just something we want the unreached to grasp. As messengers, we need to consider whether our own thinking is continually shaped by Scripture. What wisdom is impacting our own lives? Generally speaking, our mind is the greatest battleground where the devil can get a foothold.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
-ESV, Philippians 4:8
Are you thinking of these things? Is this what you dwell on, day-to-day? While this is not easy, it is, nonetheless, important as we work in a cross-cultural context, or any context in which we serve as ministers of the gospel, for that matter! I would challenge you today to continually renew your mind through truth yourself so that you can share God’s Word effectively and make disciples who can follow Him whole-heartedly. Discipling people well in God’s Word take times and effort, and many prefer to choose a seemingly quicker, “easier” route in terms of discipleship. While it may not be the popular route chosen by people wanting quick results, cultivating a worldview centred on God’s Word is worth it for the long-term gain.
