November 12, 2008
It frustrates me to no end to observe those who claim to be evangelical preachers trying to “make ministry happen.” Many do so by using marketing techniques. They seem to think that if they can use the right methods – making unbelievers feel comfortable with “church,” using the right music that appeals to them or short pithy sound bite sermons mixed with as much humor as possible so as not to offend, they can gain bigger crowds. Many preachers stay away from teaching the Bible word-by-word and verse-by-verse because this takes far too much time in preparation, and it is boring and confusing for most everyone.
The absolute truth is this: The gospel, when guided by the Holy Spirit, is the only power on earth capable of infusing spiritual life into the spiritually dead. This is why Paul was “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for (he realized that) it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1:16, comments mine) If one does not hear this good news and believe it, then there is absolutely no chance that the Spirit of God will make the new birth happen, no chance. If one does not preach this good news, there is absolutely no chance that the Spirit of God will make the new birth happen, no chance. This is God’s method of making Christians Christians.
It was in Bible College that I first began to witness the power of the gospel. The entire sophomore class went on a witnessing trip to the beach. The point of the exercise was to give the gospel to as many people as would take the time to listen to us. I was teamed with a small girl named Nelda Salee. She walked up to a stately looking tanned fellow and began to share the gospel with him. He allowed her to get through the facts that the Christ died for sin and that He had been raised again. He even allowed her to ask him if he would believe in Christ.
That was when things became a little tense. He finally responded with a barrage of intellectual sounding words denying everything she had said. He began to scientifically attack the credibility of the identity of Christ and His resurrection. Her response was classic. She said, “I don’t know about all that, but I do know that if you will believe in Christ you will have eternal life.” He came back once again with another barrage of attacks, attempting to discredit her. Her response once again was, “I don’t know about all that, but I do know that if you will trust Jesus Christ to save you, He will.” This went back and forth for some time. I remember feeling the urge to jump into the conversation, but God held me back.
I watched in amazement something that I will never forgot. This man grew quiet and stopped his verbal attack on Nelda. He calmed down and then right there on the sand he gently fell to his knees and acknowledged that he wanted to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. Why? The powerful seed of the gospel is the power that the Holy Spirit uses to bring about the new birth. The power of God is in the message not in the messenger. The gospel is God’s supernatural seed that the Holy Spirit plants into the soil of the mind and when the Spirit germinates it, it results in faith in Christ and new life. It has the power to break down every barrier, every objection, every human argument, and all human rationalization. The simplicity of the gospel insults both human intelligence and human pride. No amount of education, or success, or wealth, can give us a spiritual birth. Only the gospel can make it happen.
This message is not contained in the Muslim Koran, the Hindu Veda, the writings of Buddha, the book of Mormon, or any other so called “holy book.” The Bible alone contains God’s divine seed that the Holy Spirit uses to conceive spiritual life in those who hear and believe.