Spiritual Development September 2017
Principles for Living with Gospel Purpose
At the most recent Growth Initiative weekend we talked about how to live with gospel purpose. This simply means that you are living your life with the intention of building relationships with others so that you are able to share with them the truth of the gospel and invite them to repent and believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. For most Christians this may seem very intimidating because we tend to freak out when we think about sharing the gospel with others. At this last weekend, we looked at some principles from the book Sharing Jesus without Freaking Out by Dr. Alvin Reid that help us think about evangelism correctly.
Here are a few of those principles that we examined:
- God created you for his glory, to advance his gospel with the gifts, talents, and opportunities he gave to you.
- In order to share Jesus confidently and consistently with others, first share him confidently and consistently with yourself.
- Shifting from giving an evangelistic presentation to having an evangelistic conversation takes pressure off the witness and relates the gospel more clearly to an unbeliever.
- God has sovereignly placed you in this world at this time with the abilities and gifts you have to bring glory to him and show the joy of the gospel with others.
- Effective evangelistic conversations connect the unchanging gospel with the specific issues people face.
- Expect people to be open to the gospel, and learn to share Jesus where they live.
- Talk to the actual person in front of you about Jesus inside of you; let them see and hear the change Jesus makes in you.
- Developing a lifestyle of sharing Jesus consistently flows out of a plan to share Jesus regularly.
As we think about reaching those in our homes, our churches, our workplaces, and our communities, these principles help us to see that sharing Jesus should be a natural part of our new lives in Christ. We also shared about a tool called the 3 Circles Life Conversation Guide that helps you begin gospel conversations with other people. For more information about this tool, you can download their app, visit their website at lifeonmissionbook.com, or check out the book Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations by Jimmy Scroggins and Steve Wright..
At the conclusion of the last session of this weekend, we challenged people to think of one person that you know needs to hear the gospel and to pray for opportunities to share with that person in the upcoming weeks. I would encourage everyone to do this same thing and be open to the opportunities that God will give you to share with anyone that comes your way.