Why Certain People Cannot Communicate a Gospel Message to Others

[Jason76]

Well, they would be one or more of the following: hypocrites, obsessed with illogical things, racist, obnoxious, rude, mean. Any of these attributes, even if excused as "just being human", simply ruin the marketing.

 

[Lamb]

The Gospel is foolishness to those who don't believe as scripture tells us and we realize that when we try to give the Gospel message and get the weird looks or the people mocking us. It's hard to share the good news with those who don't want to hear it. That's why building a relationship first with others makes it far easier.

 

[Jason76]

Well, I'm not saying people have to be on "tippy-toes" over-sensitive, but I really feel like many cannot communicate with other groups. Well, this isn't targeting whites necessarily, blacks don't seem to want to get out of a bubble either.

 

[tango]

Well, they would be one or more of the following: hypocrites, obsessed with illogical things, racist, obnoxious, rude, mean. Any of these attributes, even if excused as "just being human", simply ruin the marketing.

You mean like when Simon the Sorceror tried to buy the Holy Spirit and was roundly rebuked for his efforts? It turned him right off the message, right?

Oh, wait....

 

[Josiah]

IMO....


The Gospel often doesn't get effectively shared because:


1. A lot of Christians don't know it. Even at THE most basic, central point of Jesus is the Savior. I find a LOT of Christians VERY fuzzy and confused even on the central, keystone point... a LOT of Christians blurring Law and Gospel, self and Christ... a LOT of Christians presenting a soteriology that actually is more akin to Judaism or Islam or some forms of Hinduism than Christianity. I'm NOT at all saying their faith is wrong (I'm sure their heart is 100% Christian) but how they understand this and thus communicate this is often VERY confused and something the Holy Spirit has a hard time using.


2. I think a lot of Christians are universalists. They don't believe in hell, they believe that everyone is God's child and so everyone will go to heaven. I read something from the owner of a small funeral home in the mid-west. He commented that in like 40 years, he has YET to hear a eulogy for even one person that did not say this person was in heaven. If everyone goes to heaven, then there's no need to evangelize.


3. I think a LOT of Christians are relativist. It's not WHAT you beleive but THAT you believe. A LOT of Christians think it doesn't matter what the OBJECT of faith is, just that faith is. "He was sincere in his faith that being a Republican would save him." "He belie"ved...." in WHAT seems not not matter. "What is truth?" to quote a Roman Governor. "There are many roads to heaven." "Who knows which religion is right?"



4. To just restate Lamm's point (but it's a good one!), a lot of evangelism is out of context. "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." Silly trying to convince of a loving God when you are unloving. Hard to show that Christ makes a difference when there is zero evidence of that in you.




.

 

[tango]

2. I think a lot of Christians are universalists. They don't believe in hell, they believe that everyone is God's child and so everyone will go to heaven. I read something from the owner of a small funeral home in the mid-west. He commented that in like 40 years, he has YET to hear a eulogy for even one person that did not say this person was in heaven. If everyone goes to heaven, then there's no need to evangelize.

Do you think Christians don't believe in hell, or are just trying to avoid the "turn or burn" approach associated with the 80s and early 90s? It's easy to see why people avoid the approach that sounds like "or you'll go to hell and then you'll be sorry" and end up erring the other way.

3. I think a LOT of Christians are relativist. It's not WHAT you beleive but THAT you believe. A LOT of Christians think it doesn't matter what the OBJECT of faith is, just that faith is. "He was sincere in his faith that being a Republican would save him." "He belie"ved...." in WHAT seems not not matter. "What is truth?" to quote a Roman Governor. "There are many roads to heaven." "Who knows which religion is right?"

I can't help wondering if this is an actual belief in relativism or a sense of walking on eggshells in a world that takes offense at every little thing. Paired with the issue of hell it's a much more palatable message to suggest that maybe Jesus is a better path to follow, as opposed to Jesus being the only path to follow that doesn't lead to eternal fire and brimstone.

4. To just restate Lamm's point (but it's a good one!), a lot of evangelism is out of context. "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." Silly trying to convince of a loving God when you are unloving. Hard to show that Christ makes a difference when there is zero evidence of that in you.

Yep... I think it was Ghandi who said something like "I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians, they aren't much like your Christ". Peter wrote that we should always be ready with an answer for the hope that is within us. To have an answer implies that people will ask us about the hope within us. If people don't see that we are different in some way perhaps we would do well to ask ourselves why.

 

[atpollard]

Well, they would be one or more of the following: hypocrites, obsessed with illogical things, racist, obnoxious, rude, mean. Any of these attributes, even if excused as "just being human", simply ruin the marketing.

And here I thought that it was God that changed human hearts, how disappointing to discover that Christianity is really just an ‘Amway’ type pyramid marketing scheme dependent on human beings to “sell it”.

 

[Jason76]

IMO....


The Gospel often doesn't get effectively shared because:


1. A lot of Christians don't know it. Even at THE most basic, central point of Jesus is the Savior. I find a LOT of Christians VERY fuzzy and confused even on the central, keystone point... a LOT of Christians blurring Law and Gospel, self and Christ... a LOT of Christians presenting a soteriology that actually is more akin to Judaism or Islam or some forms of Hinduism than Christianity. I'm NOT at all saying their faith is wrong (I'm sure their heart is 100% Christian) but how they understand this and thus communicate this is often VERY confused and something the Holy Spirit has a hard time using.


2. I think a lot of Christians are universalists. They don't believe in hell, they believe that everyone is God's child and so everyone will go to heaven. I read something from the owner of a small funeral home in the mid-west. He commented that in like 40 years, he has YET to hear a eulogy for even one person that did not say this person was in heaven. If everyone goes to heaven, then there's no need to evangelize.


3. I think a LOT of Christians are relativist. It's not WHAT you beleive but THAT you believe. A LOT of Christians think it doesn't matter what the OBJECT of faith is, just that faith is. "He was sincere in his faith that being a Republican would save him." "He belie"ved...." in WHAT seems not not matter. "What is truth?" to quote a Roman Governor. "There are many roads to heaven." "Who knows which religion is right?"



4. To just restate Lamm's point (but it's a good one!), a lot of evangelism is out of context. "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." Silly trying to convince of a loving God when you are unloving. Hard to show that Christ makes a difference when there is zero evidence of that in you.




.

There's plenty of need to evangelize in the case of Christian Universalism, not general universalism. Bottom line, whatever the corrective punishment is - you don't want to find out!

 

[tango]

There's plenty of need to evangelize in the case of Christian Universalism, not general universalism. Bottom line, whatever the corrective punishment is - you don't want to find out!

The trouble with too much focus on punishment is that you can so easily end up with a message that's little more than a derivative of Pascal's Wager. The wager works when there are only two options but as soon as you throw in different religions, each with their own requirements to avoid punishment and their own punishments, the choice rapidly ceases to be trivial.

 

[Jason76]

The trouble with too much focus on punishment is that you can so easily end up with a message that's little more than a derivative of Pascal's Wager. The wager works when there are only two options but as soon as you throw in different religions, each with their own requirements to avoid punishment and their own punishments, the choice rapidly ceases to be trivial.

Punishment exists for an age, but not eternal (many are not interpreting scripture correctly). Since churches preach "eternal damnation" it simply promotes God as being monstrous - and a hypocrite, since he demands Christians to practice never-ending forgiveness, but doesn't do it himself!