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CELLS-CHURCH CONSULTANTS INTERNATIONAL

RELATIONAL

EVANGELISM

Relational Evangelismis an adaptation of Friendship Evangelism,a training resource originally developed by

Church Army Australia

PO Box 12

Hazelbrook, NSW, 2779

AUSTRALIA

www.churcharmy.com.au

This adaptation was completed in December, 2011,

with permission from Church Army Australia

by Bill Joukhadar

Founding Director

Cells-churchConsultants International

25 Runaway Bay Avenue, Runaway Bay, QLD, 4216

AUSTRALIA

[email protected]

TRAINING

SERIES

2
http://www.cells-church.com/http://www.cells-church.com/http://www.cells-church.com/

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C E L L S - C H U R C H C O N S U L T A N T S I N T E R N A T I O N A L

RELATIONAL EVANGELISM

Table of Contents

EXPLAINING RELATIONAL EVANGELISM ........................................................................... 4

WHY SHOULD WEEVANGELISE? ................................................................................................ 4

WHY DID THEYEVANGELISE? .................................................................................................... 4

WHY DONT WE GO?.................................................................................................................. 6

DOING EVANGELISM.................................................................................................................. 8

BECOMING USEFUL.................................................................................................................... 8

ITS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY..................................................................................................... 9MOST OF THE PEOPLE DROWN................................................................................................. 10

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS........................................................................................................... 11

RELATIONAL EVANGELISM RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY ................................................. 12

PRESENCE,PROCLAMATION AND PERSUASION.............................................................................. 12

GUIDELINES FOR SHARING GODS LOVE....................................................................................... 12

COMMUNICATING IN AND THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS..................................................................... 16

BUILDING BRIDGES OF FRIENDSHIP............................................................................................. 16

BEING GOOD NEWS............................................................................................................... 18


SHARING THE GOSPEL THROUGH DIALOGUE.................................................................. 20

DEFINING EVANGELISM............................................................................................................ 21

FOLLOWING THE LORDS EXAMPLE............................................................................................. 22

INCARNATIONAL EVANGELISM................................................................................................... 22

UNDERSTANDING THE GOSPEL................................................................................................... 22


GETTING THE MESSAGE RIGHT ...................................................................................... 28

HIS MESSAGE IN OUR WORDS.................................................................................................... 28

MANS DILEMMA AND GODS ACTION......................................................................................... 29

WONDERFUL IMPLICATIONS...................................................................................................... 33


HELPING A FRIEND RESPOND TO GOD ........................................................................... 36

CARING FOR THOSE WHO SAY YESTO GOD................................................................................. 37

PROGRESSIVE GOALS FOR DISCIPLING.......................................................................................... 40


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Explaining Relational Evangelism

The aim of this book is to help you become moreactive andeffective in helping

your unchurched friends know, accept and follow Jesus Christ with their lives. In

other words, help you to become an effective evangelist ... a fisher of men

(Matthew 4:19).

How important is it for Christians to become effective evangelists? The following will help

you to explore this question about both the importanceand urgencyof evangelism.

Why Should We Evangelise?

List five brief statements that would answer the question: Why should we evangelise

(share the Good News about Jesus)?

1)

_______________________________________________________________________2) _______________________________________________________________________3) _______________________________________________________________________4) _______________________________________________________________________5) _______________________________________________________________________Why Did They Evangelise?

The average Christian feels little urgency about bringing other people to

know, accept and follow Jesus Christ with their lives. In the early Christianchurch people would risk their lives to do so. Michael Green describes their

attitude:

The enthusiasm to evangelise which marked the early Christians is one

of the most remarkable things in the history of religions. Here were men

and women of every rank and station in life, of every country in the known world, so

convinced that they had discovered the riddle of the universe, so sure of the one true God

whom they had come to know, that nothing must stand in the way of their passing on this

good news to others... They did it by preaching and personal conversation, by formal

discourse and informal testimony, by arguing in the synagogue and by chattering in the

laundry. (Evangelism In The Early Church - Hodder, 1970.)

What was the secret of such zeal? What motivated them to such tireless and unselfish

evangelism? Its possible to glimpse something of their inner motivation and passion when

you consider the following reasons:

Session

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Gratitude and Privilege

Paul said:

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And

God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ,

reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He

gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.So we are Christ's ambassadors; God

is making His appeal through us.(2 Corinthians 5:18-20a).

This high sense of privilege was expressed not only in Paul's letters, but equally in the

priority that he and his colleagues gave to evangelism.

And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and

preach this message: Jesus is the Messiah (Acts 5:42).

Expression of Love

It is also obvious that evangelistic ministry was a very real expression of the love for other

people that had filled their hearts since they had received the Holy Spirit:

We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God's Good News but our

own lives, too(1 Thessalonians 2:8).

A Terrible Alternative

Those first Christians simply thought that the Good News was too good to keep to

themselves. This concern was touched with a definite sense of urgency, for they well knew

that even in the message of hope that they proclaimed there was also expressed the

danger of neglecting so great a salvation.

For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone

who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life(John 3:16).

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus(Romans 8:1).

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His

Son.Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life.

(1 John 5:11-12).

This fear for the souls of those who did not believe in Christ was not merely a product of

their own imagination, but had been placed in their hearts by the Lord Himself when He

said:

Go into the entire world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.Anyone

who believes and is baptised will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be

condemned (Mark 16:15-16).

How Else Shall They Know?

Unlike so many believers today, those early Christians did not believe that people could

just guess the Gospel if they werejust merely kind to them. So Peter would plead with his

congregation:

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your

Christian hope, always be ready to explain it(1 Peter 3:15).

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While Paul, also blunt and direct, would say:

Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him

to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have

never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells

them?(Romans 10:13-14).

Privilege Carries Responsibility

All privilege carries with it responsibility, one that we are answerable for. Those early

Christians, who like Isaiah, had said, Here am I Lord, send me,would also know the Word

of God through the prophet Ezekiel:

Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a

message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, 'You are

under the penalty of death, but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their

sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths.If you warn them and they refuse

to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved

yourself because you obeyed me Ezekiel 3:17-19).

While Paul said:

Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by

God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News! If I were doing this

on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given

me this sacred trust(1 Corinthians 9:16-17).

Jesus says to us:

Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere (Luke

16:15).

Why Dont We Go?

If the New Testament places so much emphasis on the need for personal evangelism, why

then are so many Christians indifferent to this great demand? Consider the following

explanations for this lack of zeal:

Personal Experience of God

Perhaps itsbecause of a lack of a deep personal experience of God. Some attend church

regularly, participate in all its functions, yet they lack a personal relationship with God and

His Son, Jesus Christ. They travel along on the strength of last Sunday's sermon but lack a

close relationship with the Lord through prayer, Bible study and obedience. Having nopersonal relationship with God, they have nothing to give away.

I dont know enough

A second reason why people fail to witness for Christ is because they feel they do not have

enough Bible knowledge. If we wait to share Christ until we have a degree in theology or we

have spent time researching answers to every conceivable question then we will probably

go through life without ever once testifying to our faith. Beverley Shea, the well-known

Christian singer, was asked by a friend, How much do you know about God? Not very

much,replied Beverley, but what I do know has changed my life.

This does not mean that we should be content with our ignorance. The fact that God canuse us with a minimum of knowledge does not mean that we can ignore the Scriptural

command to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2

Peter 3:18). Four disciplines are suggested for knowing more:

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Daily devotion Belonging to a small group Exercising your gift/s in the life of your church Discipling others who are younger than you in their faith

Im not the type

Another reason why people fail to share their faith is becausethey saythey do not have the

right temperament for talking to people. Jeremiah, when the call of God came to him,

pleaded, I can't speak for you! I'm too young! (Jeremiah 1:6). But he offered that

trembling hesitation to God and when he did speak how mighty was his word. When God

called Moses, he too pleaded that he wasslow in speech. But God met him at his weakest

place, loosed him from his affliction and, when he got started, he made a speech that

covered the whole book of Deuteronomy. He becamestrongestat his weakestplace!

Im not good enough

A further reason why some Christians fail to witness is because of the weight of their own

personal problems. I have so many problems of my own, they say, I would feel a

hypocrite telling others that Christ can solve all their problems. Jon White, a Christian

psychiatrist in the USA writes,

Has it never dawned upon you that the essence of witnessing is just plain honesty?

God has done a work in your life. Dont try to shine. Let that light God has put there

shine out. Letting your light shine demands no more than honesty before unbelievers.

Coming to Christ does not mean that our problems disappear. It does mean, however,

that we have someone to steer us through our problems and turn them into

possibilities.

Ill be rejected

One of the biggest reasons why people fail to share their faith is the fear of being rejected.

And lets face itrejection by others can be a very real possibility whenever we begin to

witness for Christ. Whenever we share our faith we should expect a certain amount of

rejection. This will not serve to put us off but it will help deepen our commitment. Of

course, whenever we face opposition or rejection as a result of our witness, we will feel a

degree of fear. The question we must then ask ourselves is this: Who or what is going to

rule my lifefear or Jesus Christ?

No Obvious Results

Wevebeen looking at some of the reasons why Christians fail to share their faith. We now

come to the last of these which isdiscouragement due to no obvious results. Such a person

says, I have tried to witness but it doesnt seem to accomplish anything. So what's theuse? This attitude stems from the fact that one feels inwardly compelled to come up with

results. Evangelism is not defined by a positive response on the part of those to whom we

witness. God has called us to do two things:

1) Proclaim the Good News; and2) Disciple (spiritually nurture) those who respond to Christ.

The actual producing of results is always in Gods hands.The following text spells this out

quite clearly, It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's

important is that God makes the seed grow(1 Corinthians 3:7).

If our efforts do not yield results, it may be right, of course, to ask ourselves whether or not

our approach is right or whether our evangelism is biblical. If we are sure that we are doing

everything God expects of us then we should leave the matter with Him, and carry on

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witnessing whether we see results or not. Remember, too, that your witness may be just

one of many important links in Gods chain.

Doing Evangelism

There is an old saying that goes different horses for different courses. This is obviously

true in relation to the way in which each method of communicating the Gospel has helped

different people more than others. For this reason it is important that we do not stereotypeevangelism and see any one specific activity as theway to do evangelism.Regardless of

which form of evangelism is employed it must be concerned with making disciples.This,

as Leighton Ford describes, can happen in many different ways:

We make disciples by telling the story of Jesus Christ. We make disciples by

discovering and using the unique gifts God has given each of us. We make disciples by

loving, by demonstrating the reality of what we talk about, by the way we relate to

other Christians. We make disciples by living His Word, modelling in our lifestyle the

reality of the Kingdom of God. By our words, our gifts, our love, our actions, we

proclaim the Good News and invite men and women to respond to Jesus Christ, to

accept Him as Saviour, to follow Him as Lord, to identify with His Body, the Church, todo all things He has commanded (Good News is for Sharing, Cook Publishing Co.

1977).

Relational evangelism places the emphasis on natural sharing through relationships, in

everyday situations. Rebecca Manley Pippert points out how easily people come to regard

evangelism as a set program rather than a natural response to God-given opportunities in

our daily life:

I once asked a girl if she felt comfortable about evangelism, Oh yes! she responded,

I do it twice a week. Somehow it sounded like taking multiple vitamins. Evangelism

(to her) was just something you do out thereand then get back to normal living.Evangelism involves taking people seriously, getting across to their island of concerns

and needs, and then sharing Christ as Lord in the context of our natural living

situations.(Out of the Salt Shaker - Evangelism as a Way of Life. IVP, 1979.)

Effective evangelism requires:

Preparation of the person involved An understanding of what we are called to communicate An awareness of how to communicate it, and, above all The development of a sensitivity to people and situations that will make our

communication of the Gospel appropriate and effective.

Becoming Useful

If we are going to be of use to God in this work we have to becomeuseful. This means

developing attitudes, knowledge andskills in the things that need to happen if people we

know are going to hear the Gospel in such a way that they can make an effective response.

What then makes fruitful relational evangelism a reality? Ray Smith suggests the

following things that have to be considered if we are to get anywhere:

Associatewith those who need Christ Befriendthose who need Christ Createan interestwith them in Christ

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Declarethe Good News Encouragea response to Christ Follow-upthe response

Any person wanting to succeed in evangelism needs to develop effectiveness in each of

these areas. For this to happen there needs to be an awareness of the attitudes, knowledge

and basic skills that can enable us to do each of these things well.

Itsa Shared Responsibility

You will be relieved to know that we dont have to tackle evangelism on our own we do

it in partnership with the Lord. Inapproaching the task of sharing Gods love with others,we need first to understand what ourresponsibility is, and what Godsresponsibility is:

a) It is ourresponsibility to believe that, in Jesus Christ, we have the answer all menshould seek.We cannot bear witness to what we ourselves do not believe.

b) It is Godsresponsibility to prepare the hearts of those with whom we would shareJesus Christ.God may only want us to sow seeds within the person seeds that

He will later use as part of the total process of preparing that person to receive

Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It may take the loving concern of twenty Christians

to reach an individual, and we may be number twelve on the list.

c) It is ourresponsibility to take the risk to be vulnerable, to be willing to fail in tryingto share Gods love. We may be ridiculed or even rejected for our faith in Christ. We

are not guaranteed immunity from that. In fact, we are promised quite the

opposite.

d) It is Godsresponsibility to redeem our honest mistakes.He asks not for ability, butfor our avail-ability, and He uses our willingness to proclaim Christ, no matter howinadequate or imperfect that proclamation may seem to us.

e) It is our responsibility to prepare to share Gods love with the different types ofpeople we will meet.Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us in what to say as we

proclaim Him, but that does not mean we simply open our mouths and God speaks.

Evangelism is a cooperative venture; God certainly does His share, but He rightfully

expects us to do ours. Note what 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to do: Instead, you must

worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope,

always be ready to explain it.

f) It is Gods responsibility to lead the person to Jesus. Although we may be theinstrument through which the person wants to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour,

God has prepared his/her heart and He will, by His Holy Spirit, bring about the

acceptance of Christ on the part of the individual.

g) Finally, it is ourresponsibility to be guided by the Holy Spirit as we share Gods lovewith others. We should not program ourselves to say and do certain things in

certain situations. Rather, we should continually seek Gods guidance about what to

say and when to say it. Lets forget techniques and arguments that is not Gods

way. If we are truly willing to share Christ with others and have prepared ourselves

to do so, then God will guide us, gently but clearly, in what to do, how to do it, and

when to do it.

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It would seem, then, that God has only three responsibilities, while we have four; yet

consider the heavier weight of responsibility that He carries compared to what we

shoulder.

Note:Evangelistic ministry is successful if the person or persons concerned have really

got the message that counts, if they really have had a genuine opportunity to say Yesor

No to Jesus as Lord and they really do know how vitally important that decision is.

Regardless of whether it is Yesor Noor Not yet! we will have done our job and will begreeted by the Fathers approval well done, good and faithful servant.

Most of the People Drown

Consider this scenario:

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude 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 and, with no thought for themselves,

went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and

various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and

give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought

and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude

and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the

first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency stretchers with beds

and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a

popular gathering place for its members and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it

exquisitely,because they used it as a sort of club.

Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired

lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the clubs decorations,

and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held. About

this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat-loads

of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them had black

skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property

committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of

shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At their next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members

wanted to stop the clubs lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the

normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary

purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally

voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who

were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the

coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in

the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History

continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of

exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the

people drown!

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Discussion in your small group

Session 1: Explaining Relational Evangelism

Q1: What caught your attention in this session?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

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Q2: Is there anything you dont understand? If you could ask the

author or the Lord questions about this session, what would they be?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Q3: What is a personal application for your life (be specific)?

________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

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Relational Evangelism Responds Appropriately

hissession looks at different ways in which people, in different life situations, need

to be helped to discover the truth about Jesus and have a valid chance to say yes

or no to Him.

Presence, Proclamation and Persuasion

Church growth expert Peter Wagner sees effective evangelism normally requiring three

interrelated components -presence,proclamationandpersuasion.

He likens the evangelistic task to a three storey building. Persuasion, he says, is the goal,

but this rests on proclamation. There can be no persuasion without proclamation. But

proclamation cannot be accomplished in a vacuum. This in turn rests on presence. Presence

gives relevance and credibility to proclamation. Pull out the first storey and the whole

structure topples.

Effective personal evangelism depends greatly on those who are involved being particularly

sensitive to the situation in which they are ministering. The ministry offered must be

appropriate to the situation.

Questions we must ask ourselves

1) Is it a situation where a Christian presence has created anenvironment that will provide a responsive attitude when one is

involved in proclamation (telling about Jesus)?

2) Is it a situation where persuasion (helping the person concerned tomake an actual commitment to God) is the appropriate action?

3) Is it a situation in which neither proclamation nor persuasion would be relevant orfruitful? Is it a situation in which the Gospel needs to be lived and demonstrated before it

can be effectively verbalised (presence)? The Gospel travels best between people via well

established, sincere relationships. For this reason the long, hard (but worthwhile) job of

building relationships is an integral part of effective evangelistic ministry. It is an aspect too

often neglected.

Guidelines for Sharing Gods Love

In her book Sharing Gods Love, Rosalind Rinker suggests that there are ten types ofpeople to whom we might be called upon to witness. Her book provides detailed advice on

how to minister to such people in different situations. The following notes provide a

summary of what she has found effective in her own ministry to such groups of people:

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Person One: The one who invites an invitation

This is the person who is ready to accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He has discovered

Christ through reading a book or during worship services on Sunday mornings. He simply

wants to know what he needs to do to become a Christian.

a) We should be able to talk with this person about Christ in our lives (our testimony)b) We should be able to tell this person who Christ is, what He did for us, and why we

should believe in Him (our witness)

c) We should be able to lead this person, through prayer, to surrender their life toChrist as his personal Lord and Saviour.

Person Two: The one who shows an interest

This is a person who has shown an interest in our lives as Christians, in Christ Himself, or in

the church. We want to help her to come to a decision about Christ, but we must deal with

her in a slightly different manner from Person One. We should have in mind all of the

background items listed under Person One. Further, we should consider the following:

a) If the persons interest is in the church or in our lives, we should lead her towardsthe opportunity to bring Jesus into the conversation in a meaningful way.

b) We should be sure she understands what we are saying by asking non-threateningquestions and learning her viewpoints as we talkand as we listen.

c) We should always leave the door open if we cannot lead the individual through it tosurrendering of their life to Christ.

Person Three: Our uninterested friend or relative

With this person, we should first consider why sharing Christ with them can be difficult.

a) He knows us too well. (He sees us at our worst and he knows all the things we havedone wrong.)

b) Being over-zealous with our faith.c) The very closeness of the relationship between us makes any change in our lives

threatening to them.

d) Such discussions are also threatening to us because we fear offending our friend orrelative.

Person Four:Our uninterested neighbour

There are similarities between sharing Gods love with this person and with Person Three.

a) We may invite this person into our lives through non-threatening social activities,such as inviting her to coffee, dinner, sporting event, or other recreational activity.

b) We should look for what is lovable in our neighbour and focus upon that,reaffirming her.

c) We should do something for her and let her do something for us so that we createa feeling of mutual reliance and interdependence.

d) We should be open to hearing her challenges.e) We should continually get the message of God loves youacross to her.f) In any neighbourhood controversies that develop, we should be willing to go the

extra mile with our neighbour (surrendering our rightswhere necessary).

Person Five: The one with whom we come into contact

This is a person with whom we come into contact daily (and yet who is neither friend nor

relative) in our work or as we go about the day, or he may be the person God brings into

contact with us (perhaps on a one-time basis) as we sit together with him at lunch, on a

plane, or elsewhere.

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a) We should consider the significance of external signs and symbols that might helpus to connect with them in a friendly way.

b) By showing a warm, personal interest in this person, we may be able to develop aconversation that will lead to a discussion about Christ.

c) We may, of course, pray to be led to the prepared heart, in which case God willdirect us to those people whom His Holy Spirit has already prepared to hear our

message about Christ.

d) We have an excellent opportunity to just listen to this person.e) We may love people all day long through our eyes, our smiles, and our spirits if we

have prepared ourselves, through prayer, for Christs love to flow through us.

Person Six:The one who opposes what we believe

We should realise that there is more potential in leading this person to Christ than the

person who is apathetic. This individual knows she has a need, but she is not presently

accepting Christ as the answer to that need because of some prior problem with

Christianity or the church. There are some special ways in which we can show Gods love to

her.

a) We should avoid arguments.b) We need to listen,and then ask how she reached that view point.c) We should allow her freedom to talk, rather than being busy trying to think of

answers to what she is saying.

d) We should expect her to disagree with us.e) We must not take this personsattitude personally.f) We should not defend God. (He can take care of Himself!)g) We should not avoid encounters with this person.h) We should sow God loves youseeds as we have an opportunity to do so.i) We should remember that we have the answer (Christ), but we do not have all the

answers.

j) If the opportunity presents itself, we might ask the question, Have you ever readthe New Testament (or Gospels) in a modern translation?

k) As we have an opportunity, we should express our belief in Christ so that she knowsshe has not talked us out of our position. Leave the door open for further

discussions.

Person Seven:The nominal ChristianThis individual is already technically a Christian he has been baptised and confirmed and

perhaps attends church occasionally. However, he is strictly nominal in his affiliation with

the church. We must deal with this person in a diplomatic manner, because he may believe

he is justas good a Christian as you are.

a) We should realise that this person has probably accepted Christ with his mind butnot hisheart.

b) We should be sure that our life reflects Christ.c) We can often do our homework in preparation for contacts with this person. As

we reveal this knowledge in talking with him, he will know we really care about

him. We should be sensitive, following the leading of the Spirit. We should know or

discover what may be troubling Person Seven about the church and be sensitive

to it.

d) We should avoid being judgmental and self-righteous.e) Never use spiritual jargon.f) Avoid telling this person what he needs to do.

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f) As appropriate, we should ask the person, May I pray for you. Then we should doit immediately, in his presence, using simple words.

g) As we pray with this person, we should be sure to admit our own needs so that hemay identify with us.

h) We can take the opportunity to pray with him over the telephone, if that isappropriate.

Communicating In and Through Relationships

The Gospel message travels best through well established personal relationships. The care

we take in building these relationships will determine the degree of success we experience

in our efforts to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Aspects of witnessing

Witnessing to others about Jesus Christ should be a natural expression of our love for them.

There are three settings or categories for effective witnessing:

The first is witnessing in passing. Most of us pass by many people each day. Usually we

have the opportunity only to speak or nod to those we pass. Sometimes we can do more. In

these situations, our lifestyle (the way we relate to others, and the way we affirm the worth

of each person) will count more than anything we say. A bad encounter with others, even

though brief or anonymous, can prevent the later possibility of helping them. It can even

spoil the chances others have to communicate with them.

The second could be called witnessing inperson. Usually such an opportunity comes about

because someone asks us to share our witness. Such opportunities depend entirely on the

existence of an already established relationship. A person may say:

How do you keep going in the midstof ...?

How do you remain so cheerful when ...?or

What can I do to ...?

We must look for the opportunity to share our faith, and we must be prepared to share

simply, clearly, and to the point. When asked to share your faith, do your best to keep

your responses briefleaving them ample room to ask more questions.

The third setting in which we witness can be called witnessing in process(of conversion). It

is a high privilege to walk with a person through an act of commitment to Jesus Christ and

to help guide that person to assurance of forgiveness and on to a new life in Christ. This is

not hard to do but most of us need help to learn how to do it.

Building Bridges of Friendship

Danny Morris, writing in The Intensive Care Unit, comments on these three aspects of

witnessing (passing, person, process):

The only one in which a personal relationship is not required is the first, witnessing in

passing. For the other two, it is virtually impossible to be an effective witness for Jesus

Christ, unless we walk across the Bridge of Friendship. A personal relationship is

essential for the deeper dimensions of effective witnessing.

Unless we specialise in building bridges of friendship or use the bridges already built,

we are left with only chance opportunities to witness in passing.

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We presently have deep relationships which link us with other people. We can walk

across those bridges and share in their needs or witness our faith and expect to be

heard.

There are people all around us who are longing for a caring relationship. How better

can we spend our time than in intentionally building a bridge of friendship with one or

more of them? Let us contact that person deliberately and get to know that person for

his or her own sake. Let us establish a relationship.

Remember, many people live on little islands of loneliness because there are too few

bridges of friendship over which to walk.

Leighton Ford has this to say about bridge building:

Jesus is often described as the great High Priest who opened the way to God. The Latin

word for priest is pontifex which means bridge-maker. By dying, Jesus, the bridge builder,

opened the way for us to come into Gods presence (1 Peter 3:18). Now, Jesus has sent us

to bebridge builders as He was.

Bridge builders have a genuine concern for people. Sometimes my biggest problem in

witnessing is being so involved in my own affairs that I dont have time to think of others.

Jesus was other-person centred, the man for others, and we are called to be so. If we see

witnessing as going around looking for someone on whom we can dump spiritual truth, we

will turn most people off. But if our concern for people is so genuine that sometimes we are

not even aware of the transition to verbal witness, people will be drawn like a magnet.

Jesus was a friend of sinners. He was criticised more often for not being separatethan for

anything else.

He was constantly inviting others to share His daily life. When two of John the Baptists

disciples asked, Rabbi, where are you staying?,He knew that what they really wanted to

know was who He was, not where He spent the night. So He answered, Come and you will

see. They spent the day with Him, and as they got a close view of how He lived, they

became convinced that He really was the Messiah (John 1:37-41). He also constantly

accepted invitations to share others lives. Think of His frequent visits to the home of Mary

and Martha, and Lazarus, how often He accepted invitations to eat with Pharisees as well as

publicans. Jesus didnt care if He was host or guest as long as He could build bridges.

Does that concern for people, as they are, fill your life? This genuine, open love is the key

to sharing.

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Being Good News

In his book, Lifestyle Evangelism, Joseph C. Aldrich says:

Evangelism is expressing what I possess in Christ and explaining how I came to

possess it. In the truest sense, evangelism is displaying the universals of Gods

character His love, His righteousness, His justice, and His faithfulness through the

particulars of my everyday life. Therefore evangelism is not a special activity to be

undertaken at a prescribed time. It is a constant and spontaneous outflow of our

individual and corporate experience of Christ. Even more specifically, evangelism is

what Christ does through the activity of His children as they are involved in

proclamation,fellowshipand service.

Aldrich goes on to point out that evangelistic activities are weakened by what he calls, The

imbalance between the verbalisation and the incarnation of the Gospel. What does he

mean by this?

He says, Christians are to beGood News before they sharethe Good News. The words of

the Gospel are to be incarnated (en-fleshed) before they are verbalised. Let me put it

another way. The music of the Gospel must precede thewordsof the Gospel and prepare

the context in which there will be a hunger for those words

What is the musicof the Gospel? The musicof the Gospel is the beauty of the indwelling

Christ as lived out in the everyday relationships of life. The Gospel is the Good News that

Jesus Christ has solved the problems of mans sin and offers him the potential of an

exchanged life, a life in which the resources of God Himself are available for his

transformation. And as the Gospel is translated into music it makes redemptive

relationships possible the best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their

certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also

Christians when they are sombre and joyless, when they are self righteous and smug in

complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive then Christianity dies a

thousand deaths.

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Session 2: Friendship Evangelism RespondsAppropriately

Q1: What caught your attention in this weeks session?

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Sharing the Gospel through Dialogue

he aim of this session is to explore ways in which dialogue evangelism, done

properly, can provide a means of communicating the gospel in such a way that

people will really get the message, and be able to make a free response to its offer

and challenges.

Defining Evangelism

The Lausanne Conference defined evangelism in these terms:

To evangelise is to spread the Good News that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was

raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord He now

offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and

believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is

that kind of dialogue whose purpose it is to listen sensitively in order to understand.But evangelism itself is theproclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and

Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to Him personally and so be reconciled

to God. In issuing the Gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of

discipleship. Jesus still calls all who follow Him to deny themselves, take up their

crosses, and identify themselves with His new community. The results of evangelism

include obedience to Christ, incorporation into His church and responsible service in

the world.

However, it is possible to do these right things in a wrong way. Our

Christian presence can become an unfair imposition on people. Our

proclamation can become indoctrination instead of sharing and ourpersuasion can easily become sinful coercion. When this happens,

what we do and the way we do it, will speak louder than what we say

about the Gospel. Then it will be our fault, not theirs, if they reject it.

How apt are Leighton Fords words in Good News is for sharing:

In communicating our faith, the challenge is to combine a sense of the absolute truth

and the urgency of this Good News with a sense of dignity and the significance of other

people. If this Gospel is true, we have an obligation to share it. We have no right to

hold it to ourselves. But neither do we have any right to force anyone else to respond.

Not everything that goes under the name of evangelism can get our stamp of approval.

Some presentations of the Good News are anything but.

The way we share our faith has to be judged by what the Bible teaches concerning the

nature of the Gospel. If I try to get people into the Kingdom of God by arm twisting and

Session

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brain washing, then I am repudiating the love of God. His love is relentless but never

coercing. I am also denying what the Bible tells me about the nature of man. Man is

made with responsible freedom allowed by God even to deny Him.

Following the Lords Example

Witnessing involves all that we areand therefore what we do. It goes far beyond what we

sayat certain inspired moments. So the question is not will we witness (speak), but how do

we witness? When we trust Jesus Christ as Lord, as well as Saviour, He enables us to live

and speak as faithful witnesses.

From the Lords interview with the Samaritan woman we discover some practical, basic

principles to follow as we try to represent Him in a realistic and natural way:

Principle 1: Contact others socially (John 4:1-7)So often, Christians tend to speaktoother Christians andatunchurched people. Jesus

likened evangelism to fishing and any angler knows that you dont catch fish without

going where the fish are. When we choose to socialise mainly with fellow Christians we

choose to lessen the possibility of winning people to Christ.

Principle 2: Establish a common interest(John 4:7-8)Jesus started a conversion with a Samaritan woman with something she was thinking

about, namely water. He laid a simple foundation upon which to build the conversation.

How easy it is to shoot from the hipwith religious jargon that is meaningful to us but has

no significance to the unchurched because they have a completely different frame of

reference to us.

Remember, we are the ones who want to communicate. Therefore, it is our responsibility,

not theirs, to find a common groundwhere communication is possible.

Principle 3: Arouse interest(John 4:9-15)Jesus did this in two ways. Firstly, He came to where she was. Secondly, He showed an

interest in her concerns. Jesus, a male Jew and a Rabbi, related to a woman who was a

Samaritan (bitterly hated by Jews) and a person rejected by her neighbours (having to draw

water at midday rather than with the other women). By talking with her and asking for her

help, He communicated acceptance of her and she was startled. That was His starting point.

We need to align our messagewith our actions, and learn to love and accept people as

they are. Nothing startles people more than unconditional acceptance. This was Jesus

way of arousing interest.

Principle 4: Dont rush things (John 4:10-15)Despite her obvious interest and curiosity, Jesus didnt give the Samaritan woman the

whole story at once. Gradually, as she was ready for more, He revealed more about

Himself. Then, when her curiosity had reached fever pitch (v26), He identified Himself as

the Christ.

How often Christians rush in and rattle off the whole Gospel the moment they sense a

glimmer of interest. Then, when the fragile relationship shatters, we shift the blame to the

person concerned and believe that they have rejected Christ, when they didnt really get

any chance to take it all in.

Principle 5: Dont condemn (John 4:16-19)Note how Jesus leads the woman to see her real need without condemning. To condemn is

to express a person's worth as being determined by their performance/job. The opposite of

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condemnation is love, which is to accept a person on the basis of their worth (which is

declared by God, not us) and not their behaviour or advantage to us.

By not condemning the woman, Jesus denied the message fed to her by satan that she had

to prove herself to get accepted. Once she realised that God would treat her like Jesus did,

she responded to Gods offer of eternal life.

Principle 6: Dont get sidetracked (John 4:20-26)Jesus did not allow secondary issues to sidetrack Him for one moment. How easy it is to talk

about where to worship, how to worship, but never get around to whom to worship.

Jesus kept coming back to two things, the womans need and Himself as the answer.

Principle 7: Bring them to a direct confrontation of Christ

It would be easy to start with a confrontation and end up with an argument. But the need is

that they should, step by step, come to see Jesus as He really is. It is not so much that we

should confront people, but that He will confront them if only they get a chance to really

see and appreciate Him for who He is, and for what He has done.

Incarnational Evangelism

Joseph Aldrich contrasts confrontational-intrusional evangelism with the more biblical

incarnational-relationalapproach to ministry. He describes the pattern that our Lord gives

us in the following way:

The Word became flesh. Jesus Christ became the visible expression of the invisible

God. This was His strategy. He told His disciples,Anyone who has seen Me has seen the

Father(John 14:9). He was, as it were, a visual aidto reveal the nature of His Father.

He didnt just talk about love; He loved and the sinners considered Him their friend. He

didnt just preach on forgiveness; He forgave. And sinful, guilt-ridden people fell at His

feet, forgiven and cleansed. He didnt just proclaim the necessity of justice and

righteousness; He attacked the unrighteous institutions of His day. He didnt start a

Bible institute and establish a chair of theology in His Fathers name; He invited men to

live with Him twenty-four hours a day. His strategy was to become flesh and live

among them (Life-style Evangelism).

Our evangelistic ministry must move beyond merely broadcasting a message to actively

sharing in life. It must involve participation in the problems and pressures, and the fears

and frustrations of humanity. An incarnational evangelismdoes not approach people with

ready-made answers to lifes problems; rather it listens to the questions which people raise.

We who would evangelise as our Lord did must experience a self emptying of anything

that would separate us from the people with whom we would share the Gospel. Any

expression of superiority, by which we condescend in relating to people, is a denial of the

incarnational principle.

Understanding the Gospel

The early church saw itself preaching the same basic Gospel message with the same basic

elements of proclamation. However, this did not mean that they all did the same thing,

the same way. A study of ministry in the New Testament shows the early church

translatingthe unchanging message into different forms of presentations that suited each

particular situation.

How do we translate these basic elements into communicable terms suitable for today?

The presentation of the Gospel that follows is a simple example of one way in which this

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has been successfully done (in the Anzea tract How to Know God). Note that points 1 to 3

really constitute pre-evangelism. They are essential foundations that need to be laid before

the Gospel itself can be effectively proclaimed. To quote the author of the tract:

"The first three sections are a summary of basic concepts needed to be understood

before anyone can effectively proclaim the Gospel. If you experience problems with

any one of these points, then stop and talk it out. Until that issue is resolved, it is

unlikely the person will come to a true faith in Jesus Christ.

1. This is God's world

a) This is Gods world because He made it. We belong to God because we are apart of His creation.

b) God made man to enjoy His friendship forever, to experience His care andprovision, to work the earth and to live in community.

c) God gave man first place in His creation. God has given man authority over theanimal kingdom, the birds and fish, and all earths natural resources.

d) But man himself is under authority. We are not free agents, independent ofGod. We are responsible to God for our lives and all that we do with them.

2. What is God like?

a) God is supreme: He is still in control of this world and the destiny of mankind.b) God is real: He exists, whether we choose to believe in Him or not! He has

always been there and always will be.

c) God is personal: He is not just a force in the Universe, but a Person to beknown. We see God's invisible qualities (His power and greatness) in His

creation. But we see God's character as a loving God by looking at Jesus Christ.

d) God is just: Despite many seeming injustices, all His acts are fair and right.Although God allows evil to exist in the world at the moment, in the end

complete justice will be done.

3. What is mankind like?

a) Mankind is rebellious: Man has rejected Gods authority over him and theworld, even though man rightly belongs to God.

b) Mankind is self-centred: Man is mainly concerned with his own comfort andsecurity, and puts his own selfish ambitions first. He cares little if his actions

hurt others.

c) Mankind remains unconcerned:Not only has man turned his back on God; healso could not care less about God. He doesn't bother God and hopes that God

will not bother him! But passive disinterest is as much a crime against God as

active rebellion. Why? Because man was meant to have a living relationship

with God.

d) Mankind is still accountable:Man cannot simply opt out of his responsibility toGod. God, to be God, has to deal with his rebellion by punishing him. The

penalty is spiritual death absolute separation from God (Romans 6:23). This

sentence of death rests on all men and women.

e) Mankind is deceived: Having rejected Gods authority and friendship, manlooks for something to replace Him. Instead of honouring the true God, man

worships false gods, such as:

SEX LEISURE DRUGS MONEY

CULTURE SPORT KNOWLEDGE THE OCCULTPOWER RELATIONSHIPS MATERIALISM NATURE

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None of these counterfeit gods do not satisfy, or replace knowing God for

oneself and serving Him.

f) Mankind is proud:Many people are so proud of their own achievements thatthey think God doesn't matter. Others think that to be a Christian we must live

a good life. But God cannot accept a person who is rebelling against Him or

ignoring Him, however good that person thinks he/she is! To receive Gods

forgiveness, man must change his attitude to God and God's right to rule him.

4. What God has done

a) God has not waited for man to turn back to God. He has taken the initiative.b) God has intervened in human history by sending His Son to live among us. Jesus

Christ came into the world:

To show us what God is really likeloving and just. To reveal His authority as the Lord and Master of the Universe. To rescue man from the terrible penalty facing him for his disobedience to

Gods law.

"No one has ever seen God. But His only Son, who is Himself God, is near to the

Fathers heart; He has told us about Him(John 1:18).

5. What Jesus has done

a) He has answered mans dilemma: Gods justice demands that man's rebellion, self-centredness and

unconcern be punished. Man deserves this punishment.

Man cannot meet Gods requirements a life of perfect obedience to Godslaw.

Because Jesus fulfilled Gods law perfectly, He alone is qualified torepresent us before God and stand in our place.

b) Jesus died on our behalf, the innocent One for the guilty: Jesus Himself was innocent, but God allowed Him to take our punishment

(2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus did not wait for us to improve (an impossible task), but did this for uswhile we still disobeyed God's law (Romans 5:8).

His death did what we cannot do restored our broken friendship withGod, changing us from enemies to friends (Romans 5:9-10).

c) Jesus did not stay dead; He walked out of the tomb alive! His coming-to-lifeagain demonstrated that:

Jesus is God: As the Son of God, Jesus was not merely an exceptional manbut had God's very nature. Because He is the Son of God, Jesus was raisedfrom death (Romans 1:4). It was impossible for death to hold Him prisoner.

Death isn't the end: Jesus totally defeated not only spiritual death (absoluteseparation from God), but physical death as well (Romans 6:9). We never

need to be afraid of death again!

Man has a future: Those who believe in Jesus will also be raised. Theresurrection of Jesus is a guarantee of our own physical resurrection (1

Corinthians 15:20). We can look forward to life with God forever.

6. What must we do?

a) Itsnot enough just to agree with these truths. We must apply them personally.b) Gods gift demands a response. We must do something about it. There are threeessential steps to receive Gods gift:

We must turn away from our past rebellion against God, and have acomplete change of heart and mind towards Him. Also we need to be

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genuinely sorry for all our wrong actions toward others, asking God to

forgive us. This radical change of attitude is called repentance.

We must trust in Jesus Christ and in what He has done for us. We mustmake this real in our own lives by saying, Jesus died for me; Jesus rose

again from the dead to bring me new life. This is what is meant by

believing in Jesus (John 3:16).

We must acknowledgea new Master, Jesus Christ. We must surrender toHim as Lord of our lives, and be responsible to Him. Instead of letting our

wills rule our lives (being self-centred), we must let Christ rule our lives (be

Christ-centred). This is what is meant by obeying Jesus (Matthew 28:20).

c) Are you ready to take these three steps (above)?If not, keep thinking about these things. In the meantime, heres a promise to

encourage youGod says in Jeremiah 29:13

"If you look for Me in earnest, you will find Me when you seek Me. I will be

found by you.

If, however, you are ready to take these three steps, why not pray to God right

now? You may like to pray the following prayer:

Dear God,

I know I am not worthy to be called a child of God. I don't deserve Your gift of

eternal life. I am guilty of rebelling against You and ignoring You. I need Your

forgiveness.

I want to turn from living my life according to my will. I believe that Jesus died

for me and rose again to give me new life. I now acknowledge Jesus Christ as the

Lord and Master of my life.

Make me a member of Your family. Please help me to love and serve You always.

Amen.

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Session 3: Sharing the Gospel through Dialogue


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John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will

not see life, for God's wrath remains in him.___________________________________________________________________________

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Romans 8:1 - "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

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Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own

doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast.

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Mans Dilemma and Gods Action

In evangelism, God ministers through us to get the message to men

and women. Effective evangelism requires that we understand and

appreciate why the Gospel is Good News. It is easy to use a Gospel

outline or to quote relevant Scripture passages, but it is our

responsibility to make sure that we really do understand what these

things mean. There are ideas to be grasped, concepts (like propitiation,

justification, and atonement) to be understood. To be able to understand, appreciate and

share the Gospel, we particularly need to grasp three things:

1) Mans dilemma (the barrier that his rebellion has erected between himself andGod)

2) Gods action (what God did to remove that barrier)3) Wonderful implications for those who come to Jesus

Mans Dilemma

Man has erected a barrier that effectively separates him from God, from eternal life, and

from the power to live effectively now either with himself or with others. This wall is so

impenetrable that all the religions, philosophies, idealism, good works and ingenuity of men

cannot pull it down. Man fails, ironically, because of the barrier.

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Barrier one: A debt of sin

The first barrier is the unpaid debt of sin. Man has chosen

not to give God what he owes Him. Man had declared I will

rule this is my world. Sin and rebellion are synonymous.

Man's rebellion has placed him in debt a debt which he

must pay or perish. The penalty for this debt is death, a debt

which has to be paid by man or, if possible, by someone

qualified to take his place.All have sinned and fallen short

of the glory of God(Romans 3:23).For the wages of sin is

death(Romans 6:23).

Barrier two: Slavery to satan

The second barrier is "slavery to satan". Man was created to

live in a special relationship with the Creator, that of Father,

Son and Holy Spirit. Within that family relationship man could

draw on the life of the Father and live spiritually. Once man

rebelled he lost the ability to live spiritually and with this loss

came the spoliation of every aspect of his capabilities,

emotionally, volitionally, relationally and spiritually. Not only

did he become captive to these limitations, but he also lost

his ability to withstand the pressures of evil and is therefore

open to satan's lies and influence. By default, satan, grasping

what is not his by right, has taken control of man's life and

holds him in bondage.

Jesus replied,"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin(John 8:34). .... the

world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). You are slaves to the one you

obey(Romans 6:16). The God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that

they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He that

does what is sinful is of the devil(1 John 3:8).

Barrier three: Spiritual death

The third barrier is the fact of man's spiritual death. The

most important part of man, his spiritual faculty, is dead. It

just does not function. Man, unlike the animals, was created

with not only physical life but also with spiritual life. This is

God's life or breath in man. So man, through his "physical

life" relates to the physical world - but without true "spiritual

life" he cannot relate to God. Unable to relate to God, he

cannot find new life, he cannot live as "true man", and only

true man can respond in an adequate way to deal with themess mankind is in.

Sin entered the world through one man, and death through

sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned(Romans 5:12). ... the soul

who sins is the one who will die(Ezekiel l8:4). ... the wages of sin is death(Romans 3:23).

Gods Action

Man, cut off from God, spoilt by sin, helpless under the influence of a force hostile to God,

spiritually dead, and unable to do anything about his plight, is in a hopeless mess.

What can God do about it? He cannot ignore it because His nature is love. By nature, the

Creator longs for fellowship with the creatures He made for a special relationship with

Himself. Yet He is also by nature holy, just and righteous. He cannot "pretend" things are all

Debt

of sin

G

O

D

Debt

of sin

Slavery to

satan

G

O

D

Debt

of sin

Slavery to

satan

Spiritual

death

G

O

D

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right. He can only offer mankind a "new start" on a justbasis. His justice must be satisfied

by an act that makes it right and just for mankind to once more relate to Him. The debt

owing by mankind has to be paid, and the spiritual slaves redeemed or bought back. Only

then can God relate again to man and, by that relationship, restore his spiritual life, lifting

him up again from the level of his lower nature (the flesh) to an existence on the spiritual

levelwith eternal life.

The Gospel tells us the amazing way God does this. God became man. He lived life as a mana new Adambut this time an Adam who did not rebel, and did not lose His spiritual life

and who did not fall short of the glory of God. Now humanity can offer the offering of

perfect obedience, in Christ. Humanity can now pay the debt, in Christ. Humanity can break

the hold of sin and satan, in Christ. Humanity can die and live again, in Christ.

As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive(1 Corinthians 15:22).

Jesus was without sinand made a point of staying that way. He was therefore our second

start. His whole life was pleasing to God. In that perfect human life and that suffering death

on the cross He offered a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, for the sins of the whole

world.

The Bible uses four descriptive words to picture the way Christ's death breaks down the

wall of separation between God and man (propitiation, redemption, substitutionary

death, and reconciliation).

Propitiation

God offers propitiation (appeasement). God's wrath against man's sin is real, but so too is

His solutionHis Son's propitiatory death on the cross.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an

atoning sacrifice (propitiation)for us(1 John 4:10).

G

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Propitiation

Debt

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Slavery to

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Spiritual

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Redemption

God brings about redemption.The price is paid! The debt is cancelled and satan is publicly

shown to have no just hold over man.

When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to

redeem those under law, that we might receive the full right of sons(Galatians 4: 4,5).

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

who gave Himself as a ransom for all men(1 Timothy 2: 5, 6).

Substitutionary death

God provides a substitutefor man. Man in Christ dies as he must die. But man in Christ rises

again. Death is no longer permanent.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so tha t we might die to sins and live

for righteousness; by His wounds we are healed(1 Peter 2: 24).

Propitiation

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Reconciliation

God brings about reconciliation between man and God. Those who have died with Him will

live with Him and reign with Him. In union with the Son, we share in His perfect union with

the Father. We are home again and all the benefits of that intended relationship are open

to us as we choose to take them up.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your

evil behaviour. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death

to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Colossians

1: 21, 22).

Wonderful Implications

These are the wonderful implications of Christs propitiation on our behalf, His act of

redemption, His substitutionary death, and reconciliation, of man and God in Christ:

Justification

Man, in the person of Christ, has pleased God (offered a full, perfect and sufficient

sacrifice). Therefore all who are in union with Christ share equally in His achievement.

While our performance falls short, His perfect performance is credited to us and God

declares us righteous. To put it another way, when God looks at the person in Christ He

sees us as if we are His Son. He sees us as if we had done what Christ has doneand relates

to us accordingly from the moment we, by faith, accept that grace.

We have peace with God through our justification (Romans 5:1). Therefore there is

no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). He was delivered

over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification (Romans 4:25). so

that having been justified by grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal

life(Titus 3:7).

Forgiveness and Freedom

Real forgiveness involves not only accepting apologies but, more importantly, it means

treating the other person as if they had not hurt you. This is what God can and will do

because Jesus has made it possible for His Father to act justly in forgiving us.

Notice the two aspects of freedom which the redemptive work of Christ has made

available:

Firstly: We have been set free from the penaltyof sin by the death of Christ for us (1

Corinthians 15:3), and

Secondly: His death also provides believers with the daily deliverance from the power

of sin, as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, makes us want to live right, and enables us

to do so.

If the Son shall set you free you shall be free indeed (John 8:36).Their sins and

lawless acts I will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

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Regeneration to Eternal Life

What does it mean to be born again (regenerated)? It means that instead of lacking

spiritual life we have His life in us. With this new life comes a new relationship. We live

truly as the children of God, in His care and open forever to all that He would do for Christ.

I assure you, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have

eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed

from death into life (John 5:24). God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His

Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life. I

write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may

know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).

A New Position

Christs self-offering (propitiation) provides our justification; His work of redemption

provides forgiveness and sets us free free to grow into His likeness; His substitutionary

death opens for us the opportunity of a new birth to life eternal; the reconciliation He

brings about between God and ourselves places us in an incredible New Positionhere and

now.

Many people who have accepted Christ as their Saviour lack any real assurance of salvation

and a real sense of being accepted as they are by a loving Heavenly Father. Many have

never grasped the Good News that we have peace through our justification. Gods

attitude to us is not based on our performance. It is based on Christs performance which

was adequate for all time, for all of us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has

come (2 Corinthians 2:17).So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are

a son, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:7).

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Session 4: Getting the Message Right


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Helping a Friend Respond to God

he aim of this session is to share and discuss our attempts to relate the Gospel to

normal life situations and to learn how to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of

ministry.

Turning to God

What happens in a person's life when he or she responds to the Good News?

A study of each New Testament instance of both individuals and groups responding to the

Gospel shows three distinct facts:

1. They were men and women who hadchanged their minds about their old way oflife and were willing to turn their backs on an inadequate past. They called this

change of mind repentance.

2. They were men and women who (because of their change of mind), had changedtheir direction to a new one of trust and loyalty to Christ, who had begun to reign in

their lives as King. They called this radical change of direction Conversion and the

trust and loyalty, faith.

3. They were men and women who realised that such a changed position in life gavethem a greater responsibility and a better sense of values to live by. And with God's

help, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, they endeavoured to live up to that higher

standard so that they might more effectively be His agents and instruments in the

world. They called this active obedience and vulnerable availability discipleship.

Baptism

It is very noticeable in the New Testament that in every example of such a change of heart,

leading to a new direction and a new trust and loyalty in Christ, there was always the

seeking and receiving of the sacrament of Baptism. They believed that in this act God

affirmed the new relationship they so much desired and brought them into a new covenant

relationship with Himself. That act of commitment with the covenant sign of baptism

declared their participation in the essential blessings of the Gospel: cleansing from sin,

unionwith Christ, dyingto the old life, risingto the new life, the giftof the Holy Spirit, and

incorporationinto the Body of Christ (the universal Church).

Sudden or Gradual?While it is right to teach that turning to Godshould be a very definite act, it is wrong to

confuse definiteness with suddenness. For an experience to be definite it does not need to

be sudden or emotional. It can be sudden (and for some it is emotional), but more likely it

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will be the gradual work of God leading a person to see His great love as seen in Jesus Christ

and, as a result, progressively surrender to His Lordship. But at some point in his turning

about, a person must become aware that he is facing in a new direction and, because of

that new direction, is able to go forward in a new direction.

Caring For Those Who Say Yesto God

Jesus did not merely send the church out to make converts. The Great Commission

(Matthew 28:18-20) is quite clear that the goal of the effective evangelist is to make

disciples. Even the Christian seeking to witness in everyday situations must also accept the

responsibility of ensuring, as much as is possible, that the new infant in Christ is both

nurtured at the beginning and provided with the means to grow towards a maturity which

eventually results in the acceptance of her own responsibilities as an active disciple. Paul

clearly indicates the goals of his ministry:

Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we

may present every man mature in Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy

which He mightily inspires within me(Colossians 1:28-29).

Luke, in Acts 14:21, 22, describes the pattern of Pauls evangelistic campaign:

When they had preached the gospel to that city, and had made many disciples, they

returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the

disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many

tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God.

Who Cares?

John Mallison, in Caring for People,clearly affirms the responsibility of the evangelist to

see that effective follow-up is provided. However, he also stresses that this should not

happen in isolation from the community life of the Church. Mallison says

The new birth is the first step to a new life. As Paul puts it: If any man be in Christ, he

is a new creation (I Corinthians 5:17), and if any person is brought into a new and

mystical relationship with Jesus Christ, life begins again, life takes a new direction.

Conversion should result in a changed life. The nurture of this new life is the solemn

responsibility of the Christian carer. It is important to note that, consistent with the

overall emphasis of the New Testament, Paul sees the growth of new life taking place

within the framework of the Community of Faith. Christian growth, while having an

individual dimension, needs the corporate support, protection, care and facilitation of

the Body of Christ. The babe in Christ is born into the Christian family. The new

Christian does not have to go it alone.

Unfortunately, the Church has not always faithfully undertaken its nurturing of new

disciples. Much evangelism has been criticised because those who have responded

have slipped away. The critics have not seen that more often than not the fault lay not

so much with the message and methods of the evangelist or the witnesses, but in the

lack of adequate, if any, follow-up by the local church. Human babies, unlike most

animals, need a family to survive. The same is true in the spiritual realm. The care of

new spiritual life requires great sensitivity, patience and skill. The Church needs to

spend more time in training people for spiritual obstetricministriesequipping people

for spiritual baby health careonly then will there be less spiritual infant mortality.

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Establish a Right Relationship

The person who accepts the responsibility of nurturing and/or discipling a new convert

must first establish and maintain a good relationship with those whom he or she is

following up. Consider the following suggestions made by L.I.F.E. Ministries:

1. Trust the Holy Spirit to use you and the many opportunities available to follow-upand disciple many people.

2. Do not feel that you must push those who are slow to develop. Pray for them tomature, and, in the meantime, keep on evangelising and following up those who

are responsive.

3. To develop good rapport with the person you are following-up, consider thesesuggestions:

a) Be faithful in prayer for him (Philippians 1:7, 8).b) Be a friend to her (Proverbs 18:34).c) Share your life as well as your message (I Thessalonians 2:6, 7).d) Set a pattern of conduct worthy for him to follow (Philippians 4:9).e) Accept the individual on the basis of love and trust, rather than performance.f) Let her see that you are interested in her and are not just looking at her as a

number. She needs to know that she is important to you and that you are

always available.

g) Sympathise with personal problems and relate them to Christ. Such problemsas family, making friends, goal in life, job or studies, etc.

h) Never chide him or lau

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