Evangelism - The Gospel Call
January 30, 2022 Sunday Evening Study

We can talk every week about ways of getting folks to listen to us. We can study generational trends and current cultural phenomena to try and appeal to a full range of individuals when it comes to sharing the gospel. However, no amount of communication or cultural study is going to matter if we do not have content in our gospel presentation - if you are presenting the gospel to someone, what do they need to know to be saved? We discussed this a bit a few weeks back, but I thought it would be a good idea to take a theological approach to this and learn what a gospel presentation should look like if we are following biblical principles more than tradition.

In my research, I found 2 specific doctrines that apply to this. A doctrine is basically a statement that says “This is what we believe about this particular thing, and this is why.” These two doctrines deal with God’s call on our lives - and they are the Gospel Calling and the Effective Calling. God uses The Gospel Calling (our job) to lead to the Effective Calling (the Holy Spirit’s job) to save people. The Gospel Calling is what we do - we tell people the good news of the gospel. The reason we do this? Romans 10:14 states “How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?” The truth is that God gives us the privilege and honor of serving in His mission. The Effective Calling then comes from the Holy Spirit - the rebirth, regeneration that comes with accepting Christ. The Holy Spirit does the saving - we do not and cannot.

So then, what should our gospel call entail? When it comes down to it, there are 3 parts which must be included in a biblical gospel presentation. This comes right out of Paul’s teaching - this is the gospel model he uses regardless of audience. This part is not a cultural thing, or a generational thing - this is the part of the good news which, like God, never changes. These three elements of the gospel that must be understood are these:

• The facts about salvation and our need of it

• An invitation to respond personally to Christ in repentance and faith

• A promise of forgiveness and eternal life

We will unpack each of these a little bit, but this is the outline - truth about us, an opportunity to accept Christ, and the result of doing so. These things outline all we need to know to be saved.

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So if we are going to explain the facts about salvation, this is really just 3 things, again from Paul’s teaching.

1. All people have sinned. (Rom. 3:23)
2. The penalty for sin is death. (Rom 6:23)
3. Jesus dies to pay the penalty for our sins. (Rom 5:8) and He rose from the dead and lives still today (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Those are the facts, simply put. However, understanding these facts, and even agreeing with them - that is not enough to be saved. There must be the opportunity for a choice to be made - accepting that payment for our penalty, and that is the second element.

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When the New Testament talks about people coming to salvation it speaks of a personal response to an invitation from God. We can express that invitation beautifully through Jesus’ own words with passages such as “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

It is important that we understand that these are not just ancient words spoken by someone long ago. As we know the Word of God to be a living document, we want every non-Christian who hears those words to understand that even now, Jesus is speaking directly to him or her in this very moment. Remember the facts of salvation we just discussed - Jesus is a savior who is alive today who calls out to all “Come to me and I will give you rest.” This is a genuine personal invitation from the creator of the universe to accept His love and His gifts.

In fact, we are more than invited - we are pursued. Rev. 3:20 states “behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” And again, just 5 verses from the end of the Bible, there is another invitation - “The Spirit and the Bride say ’Come.’ And let the one who hears say ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev. 22:17)

So what does it mean to come to Christ? That is a lifetime of theological study answering that question. Lets suffice to say these things: If we put trust in Christ to forgive our sins, we must genuinely repent, meaning seek forgiveness and try to turn away from sin. The invitation is simple - forsake one’s sin, and place faith in Christ to save you through forgiveness and grace. We must have both - repentance and placement of faith.

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What is promised for those who come to Christ? What is the benefit of surrender?

Although the words of personal invitation spoken by Christ include promises of rest, power to become children of God, partaking in the water and bread of life, it is helpful to make very clear exactly what Christ promises to those who come to Him in repentance and faith. The primary thing promised in the gospel message is the promise of forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Peter’s preaching of the gospel says “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out. (Acts 3:19)

Coupled with the promise of forgiveness and eternal life should be an assurance that Christ will accept all who come to Him in sincere faith and repentance seeking salvation - “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

So there we have it - we explain the truth of our condition that all have sinned, all have earned death, but Jesus paid the price for us. However, to be saved, we must accept the gift by coming to Him in repentance and in faith. And if we do that, our sins are forgiven, no debt is owed, and we get to live eternally with Him.

So now that we know the skeleton, we are going to add the flesh to this next week by wrapping this gospel truth in our own stories - learning to relate to those we talk to by becoming personally invested. This is where we bear witness - here is the truth, and here is what it has done in my life.