Making The Gospel Attractive To Sinners
(something Christians should not do)

I have met very few true Christians in my life who really had a love and zeal for sharing their faith.  And when I do meet those precious few who really love to share the Good News, I often discover that these saints are embellishing the Message in a way that the Lord and the early church never did.  But it seems that nowadays, when a Christian shares the Gospel with people they often add things that are not necessary and not even biblically correct.  And by their additions, they change the gospel and teach falsehood.  Here are some of those things:

1. They tell people "Jesus loves you" How can we make this statement if we are not God? Do we dare decide whom God loves? (see Romans 9:15-18, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5-6).  We, who are on the same playing field as the lost, are commanded to love all sinners but God is not obligated to.  He is far above us and He cannot love those who are not covered in the blood of Christ, those whose filthy sins and ungodly thoughts and ways have not been atoned for at Calvary by the Lamb of God.

2. They desperately try to persuade people to "accept" the Lord, as if the "decision" is in the hands of the clay rather than in the hands of the Potter.  Now I do realize that scripture admonishes sinners to seek the Lord while he may be found (Isa 55:6), but sharing that scripture with a sinner is far different than begging and hounding someone to come to Christ.  When God is ready HE will save those whom HE plans to save.  This will not happen any sooner than God has ordained - from before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4, Rev 17:8).  People need to be convicted of sin (John 16:8), not coached to accept a Jesus they don't even know.

3. They try to get a sinner to recite a particular prayer as if this act of the sinner will cause salvation to occur.  Salvation does not occur after a sinner says something or says anything.  Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9) so it happens when God gives the sinner a new spirit and a new heart (Ezek 36:25-27).  Saying a prayer does not perform the heart surgery that the sinner needs nor does the prayer make God obligated to forgive the sinner of his lifetime of sin.  However, the desire to say such a prayer *may* be evidence of a changed heart - but not necessarily.  The sinner must know his lostness and only God can show that to him and only by FIRST converting the sinner, opening his blind eyes and making him spiritually alive, in Christ.

All the above are what I call unnecessary icing on a cake that is wonderfully complete and gloriously sufficient all by itself thanks to the total sufficiency of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross (Heb 7:25).  That cake is the Gospel, declared plainly and directly from SCRIPTURE:

2Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Ideas that are NOT found in scripture, like the 3 points listed above, are NOT the Gospel.  They are ideas of men that:

1. cater to man's desire to feel that he is not all that bad and therefore capable of turning to God, even though God declares the unregenerated sinner to be dead spiritually and unable to reach out to God (Gen. 6:5, Jer 17:9, Rom 3:11, Rom 8:7-8, Isa 59:1-15).  

2. make sinners feel comfortable in their lostness (1Thes 5:3, Luke 12:19-20, Luke 17:27-35) thinking they can live as they wish and then turn to God anytime they want, at the last minute preferably.   

3. make God a liar, saying He has no right to do with His creatures as He pleases. Rather, His creatures wish to believe that God has no right (nor the desire) to choose whom He wants to grant salvation to, which is of course untrue (see Eph 1:4-11, Romans 9:15-18).  They want God to be "fair" in their sin-blinded view of things and give every rebellious sinner an "equal" chance at salvation.  But being lost, they fail to realize that no unsaved sinner ever WANTS salvation on God's terms, so no one has a chance at salvation unless God intervenes and pulls the spiritually dead sinner out of the bottomless pit he is in from birth (Psalm 58:5).

The scriptures that are most important to proclaim to the lost are those that teach sinners about their need for salvation (their sinfulness) and that teach sinners about God - his holiness and his hatred for sin and His love of righteousness. (See John 6:25 re: taught of God).

MAN: lost, sinful ungodly, unrighteous, spiritually blind, deaf, dumb and dead, rebellious, wicked, abominable, hater of God, utterly unfit for heaven and inability to turn to God in and of himself:

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

See also Isa 59:1-15, Gen. 6:5, Jer 17:9.

GOD: holy, pure, undefiled, perfectly righteous, SOVEREIGN, the only One capable of rescuing lost sinners from there dire situation, the imminent destruction and eternal separation from the Holy One:

Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
1Pet 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.  17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

A very practical way of sharing the above Bible truths is simply to open a bible and ask a person to tell you what they think the above Bible verses mean.

You can also go through the 10 commandments and ask them if they ever broke any of them, for example:

1. Did you ever tell a lie? Assuming they answer "yes", you then can ask them: "then what does that make you?"  the answer being "A liar".

2. Did you ever steal any thing, even something very small or insignificant or short change someone, etc.?  Assuming they answer "Yes", you then ask them: "then what does that make you?", the answer being "A thief".

3. You can go on and point out that Jesus said that if you ever looked a someone with lust in your heart, you are an adulterer at heart.  Did you ever do that?  They will most likely admit "Yes". You then ask them, what does that make you? The answer being "An adulterer".

4. You can also point out that Jesus said that if you ever had hatred in your heart towards anyone, you are a murderer at heart.  Did you ever do that?  They will most likely admit "Yes". You then ask them, what does that make you? The answer being "An murderer".

The biblical principal that this kind of evangelism is based on is this:

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Once people have a knowledge of what sin is and that they are sinners in the eyes of God, then you can go on to tell them about who God is and what He requires of us to be able to be with Him for eternity:

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Mt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Once people are shown the absolute holiness and purity of God - IN CONTRAST TO their ungodliness, sinfulness, and unholiness - then and only then will they see their need for a Saviour and even that revelation will take an act of God, to open the blind eyes of a lost sinner.

Ray Kane