A Complete Gospel

By Tony Stone
www.reachrecords.com

Lately, I have been thinking about the many issues our modern churches face when it comes to trying to get more people in the Church and attracting new members. I've been dwelling in the book of Romans frequently, since this is the book that I have been teaching through for the last year with the youth at my Church. Spending that much time in the book of Romans has made me think about the gospel message and how it's presented in our day and age. More than ever, I've noticed people not mentioning sin, in an effort to not make the unsaved feel better and, hopefully, stay in the Church. We've confused bodies in the Church with actual successful conversions. So I want to deal with two major elements of the gospel message: Law and Grace.

The Law

The Law is both wonderful and dreadful at the same time. When I say Law, I'm not talking about 5-0 chasing down your cousin Pookie, but I am talking about the Law of the Lord as summed up by the 10 commandments. The Law is wonderful because it shows us how God feels about sin. As Christians, when we think on it daily, it has a way of pushing us towards Christ. Psalm 1:2 tells us

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

However the Law has a very opposite effect to those who are not in Christ. The Law brings us to an understanding of our sinful nature. Romans 3:19-20 says:

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

So the Law of the Lord will make a sinner specifically aware of their sinfulness, because we all have sinned.

Law without Grace

There are many of you who have had Law only presentations. You were told about the Law and your sins. You were told about a God of wrath who punishes sinners. Although this is true about God, if that is all you are taught about Him, then that is not a complete picture of the Gospel. As a result of hearing a Law only presentation you lived your life with a heavy burden, trying to earn God's approval and righteousness by attempts at Law keeping. You would try to clean up the outside act, being one way in front of your parents and Church people, but still living with the internal problem of sin. This is because the Law doesn't save us by itself, but it is key in bringing us to our knees to realize that we are not as perfect as we thought we were. That's where grace comes in.

Grace

Grace is truly amazing! Grace is God letting us off the hook when we deserve otherwise. Grace is the favor of God given to us despite our sins. It is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 tells us:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

If it were not for grace, none of us could be saved! I thank God that He saves by grace and not by the merit of our works, else we'd all be destroyed. Grace, however, must be understood in contrast to works. For the person who thinks that they have not sinned against God, how can they understand that grace is undeserved pardoning of a sinner? In the mind of the proud, they deserve to be pardoned by God. But the humble knows their works are evil and that they deserve the punishment of their sin. They then see the greatness of grace.

Grace is what salvation boils down to: God graciously loves us and gives salvation unconditionally. Jesus sheds His blood on the cross even though He's innocent. He sheds it for guilty sinners who should be paying that price in their own blood. This is grace: believers given what we don't deserve. What a relief it is to be in Jesus!

Grace without Law

Like the Law, Grace is one of those Biblical truths that has been told in part, also. Many of us have been told a message of Jesus that only included love, kindness, and grace. You may have heard about this loving Jesus who loves you and cares for you, who wants to be with you. While these things are true about God, if you are given a grace only presentation, you are not getting a complete picture of the gospel. I think more Churches and youth groups fall into this category because we really don't want to offend people. We don't want to turn people away from such a great gift of salvation when we know it's wonderful!

But consider the drastic results of a love only presentation. I admit that leaving out the Law feels better and seems to produce more people passionate to accept Jesus, so it must work, right? Well, if we were to examine the motives of people who come to accept Jesus when there is no understanding of sin, you'll find that many there had a very different idea of what they were "accepting Christ" for. Some may have very legitimate reasons why they feel they need a Savior. Some has illnesses. Some have issues with money. Others are in need of good grades. While these are all real problems that we face in life, they are not the motivators of true conversion. The only motivation that draws us genuinely to the foot of Christ is the recognition of our sinfulness and need for a redeemer. The only means by which we are saved is by grace through faith.

Apply it!

We have discussed the Law and Grace and the importance of both of these elements being present in the gospel presentation. When you share your faith with others, it's important that there is an awareness made of sins and offences against God. Without this, men don't understand why they need Jesus. However this alone will cause people to persue works righteousness as a means for salvation, which is impossible. It's also important that you share the grace of God with men. They need to know that a suitable atonement is in Christ alone! They need to know the love of God and that we are saved by His grace alone by faith alone. Without this element, it men are left without answers as to how a man can be saved. But presenting a love only message leaves people unaware of the sins that we have and the need for grace.

Be unashamed of the gospel! Point to the reason we need salvation. Point to the grace of God. Let's go out there and glorify Christ in our evangelism!

This and many good articles can be found at www.reachrecords.com

Car Show (Part Two)

This is part two of the Car Show evangelism story. You can read part one of this story by going to www.bringthenoiz.com. I encourage to read part one first and then revisit this blog to read the final encounter of our day.

After my brother NOIZ handed out numerous gospel tracts at the car show we decided to call it a day and head back home. On our way back I remembered that NOIZ needed to stop and get gas or we would be walking. So he stopped at the local Hess station to fill up. Prior to filling up we had decided to go in to the gas station first to grab a snack. On our way in NOIZ said lets go next door to the 7 Eleven instead because this Hess always smells funny and the smell of the station gets trapped in the food and makes it taste funny. So I said okkkaaaaayyyy? So we walked back to the evanga-truck, hopped in and drove over to the 7 Eleven.

After pulling up to the pump we got out and repeated exactly what we had done at the Hess station. After walking in the store and grabbing a snack we brought our goods to the check out counter. As I was checking out I thought that I noticed the man behind the counter. He had looked like someone that I knew from back in my S.C. High School days. So I asked my brother NOIZ (standing next to me) for a million dollar gospel tract while the store representative was away from me doing something else. Then after I signed my debit card receipt I asked him if he had ever seen a million dollar bill before. He replied no and said that he noticed it as I had it out while I was paying. I told him to read the back, that it was a gospel tract that contained the good news of Jesus Christ on the back. He immediately looked pleased by the tract. Then I told him that he looked really familiar and then his name came to my mind (praise God for that). I asked him is your name Jovan? He said yeah! He said he didn’t recognize me at first because I had put on some weight since high school. Then NOIZ remembered him as well and we all had a small, short reunion in the gas station and most importantly the gospel was given first and foremost. As a matter of fact Christ stayed at the center of the conversation. He asked me what church I attended and I told him G.O. (Greater Orlando) Church on Moss Park Road. I also shared our burning passion to learn and share Christ. Before departing I left him with a Concrete Angels hip hop evangelism CD and an accompanying magazine as well as a business card to gain access to us via the web or telephone. I told him to contact me that I would love the opportunity to get together with him and talk. As I was leaving he asked me to please stop back in and see him, he said that he was there all most all of the time. I said that we would stop back in and see him soon. Then I walked out the door back to the evanga-truck and jumped in.

Before we left I reminded NOIZ that God made all of this happen. It was all answered prayer. What I didn’t mention earlier in the story was that we had prayed before the car show (at lunch) for us each to have at least one encounter and until that stop I was batting zero. So God moved from our original gas stop over to the 7 Eleven so that we could run in to Jovan. Please keep Jovan in your prayers for the power of prayer is extraordinary!

One last thing, NOIZ later told me that he had not been to that 7 Eleven since high school and never has had any reason or desire to go there but yet he was the one who wanted to leave where we were at to go there instead. That’s just another indication that this appointment was divine! God is truly awesome!

A Lifesaving Station

This afternoon I experienced another bout with my fear of hitting the streets. As usual when this happens to me I take time to reflect and hit the Bible for answers. This time I went to Matthew 28:19-20 to remind myself of the command to go and make disciples of all nations. Then I read some commentary on Matthew 28 and eventually found the story below on the Grace To You website. This story really impacted me and I pray that it does the same to you. Please check it out!

A Lifesaving Station

An unknown author wrote that on a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for their safety they went out day and night, tirelessly rescuing the lost. Many lives were saved so the station became famous.

Some of those who were saved, along with others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station. They gave of their time, money, and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, new crews were trained, and the lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided, so they replaced the emergency cots and beds and put better furniture in a new, larger building.

Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do the work.

The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club's decorations, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where club initiations were held. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the lifesaving activity because they thought it was a hindrance and unpleasant to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted on lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out they were still a lifesaving station after all. They were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of various kinds of people shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast, which they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that coast today, you'll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent, but most of the people drown.

Isn't it easy for the church to lose sight of its mission?