BOOK 6 Six Ways To Move From Gospel Confusion to Gospel Clarity

A SAMPLE OF ENDORESMENTS The following are some of the endorsements for Julian’s 900+ page book called Evangelism: Strategies from Heaven In the War for Souls. Some people are daunted by such a big book so Julian made a small book out of each chapter of the 900+ page book. What you are about to read is just one of the chapters of the larger work.

David Cole, YWAM Campaigns Asia/Pacific Board of Regents Chairman University of the Nations.

“This book is one of the most in depth looks at what Evangelism really is (and what it isn’t) that I believe has been written in the last century. I have been so inspired in my own calling through its content and often use it as a text book for teaching and imparting to young leaders in YWAM training courses as well as throughout other parts of the Body of Christ. Thank you Julian not only for such a valuable resource as well as for modeling the outworking of its content in your own life over the past few decades.”

Pastor Mike Smith, Melbourne, Australia

“An incredible book that all pastors should read. I have been a Christian for 28 years and a pastor for many years, and when I picked up this book, I thought, I doubt this will teach me anything new about evangelism. I was so wrong. It has revolutionised my thinking.

This is an incredible book that all pastors should read.”

Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland

“The best book I have ever read.

I am a solicitor (54) and a partner in a law practice.

I unhesitatingly give my endorsement for Julian s book.

Indeed, I would rate it as the best book that I have ever read!”

Grant Buchanan LLB, B.Com, Auckland

Michael Angulo, Pastor and Church Leader

“Truly a work of Ministerial art. I really like this book and every true evangelist will love it also. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO PUT IT DOWN, BUT WILL BE THINKING WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO READ IT AGAIN! A truly very well written book with good retrospective learning ideas. No true evangelist should be without this book. It is worth what it is worth and it will catapult you into great, deliberate PROVEN, ministry approach. Great book and I highly recommend it. Get this one, you won’t be disappointed!”

Julian Batchelor, M.ed (Hons), B.Th, Dip.T’Ching

SIX WAYS TO MOVE FROM GOSPEL CONFUSION TO GOSPEL CLARITY!

Copyright Julian Batchelor, 2017 Evangelism Strategies International Press Auckland New Zealand

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Acknowledgements I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people for the production of this Mini Series: Sheryl Kampenhout, who transferred a mountain of material from Power Point shows into Word documents and who served and encouraged me in such a loving and kind way; to Matthew Old, a faithful friend and fellow evangelist, who has been a Barnabas. He reached out his hands when the hills seemed steepest, loved me in spite of my failures, stimulated me with his sharp mind, and made me laugh when I wanted to cry; to Janice Teo, and her intercessory prayer team who are as vital to the ministry I direct as the heart is to the body; to the team of editors, including Ken Francis and Julie Belding; to all the financial supporters who have given so generously to me over the years. I especially want to thank Paul and Tina Richards, of Club Physical, owners of a gymnasium chain in Auckland, New Zealand, and Derek van Beynen, who have faithfully sponsored my ministry for over a decade. Few people have the privilege of being able to leave secular work to write and produce resources to further the cause of the evangelisation of the world, and to motivate and equip the Church to do the same. You, and all my other financial supporters, have made this possible; to those I live with who have not seen me for years because I have been locked away in my office writing, I give my sincere thanks. Special thanks to Neil Pollock. To Jenny Windeyer, the graphic artist, who designed the cover of the original 800 page book (which we’ve turned into this Mini Series), and to Jenny’s husband Drew for going beyond the call of duty so that Jenny could focus on this project; to faithful Bernie Anderson who has sacrificed and given way beyond what a leader would expect of a dedicated co-worker; to Eleanor Goodall and Sue and George Jeffrey who epitomise love and true friendship; to the team at ESI for keeping all the various aspects of the evangelism ministry moving forwards whilst I directed most of my time to write this Mini Book Series; for Dr Martyn Bowis who did all the programming for the electronic version of the gospel called “Proclaim it!”; for Henoch Kloosterboeror for producing all the brilliant

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drawings; Dr David Stewart, retired Principal of the Bible College of New Zealand for nearly two decades of encouragement and mentoring; Denise James and Anne Bartley, staff at the Bible College of New Zealand for helping with research; all those who have helped proof read the manuscript and given comment, particularly Dr Marie Sewell, Gill Donald, Gill Lukey, Donna Hansen, Ainslie Vines, Ann Hunter, and Miriam and Ted Martin; to the academic staff of the Bible College of New Zealand for giving me a grounding in theology; for all those who have given financially and sacrificially to pay for specific aspects of the publishing of this Mini Book Series; for my friend Ray Comfort, for his inspiration and encouragement.

There are few evangelists today who have journeyed on the road of trial and tribulation to achieve breakthrough as Ray Comfort. For John Stott, the academic evangelist for his coaching and input via his many books.

For all the people who we have trained in evangelism around the world who are out there doing it – you are the heroes in the battle for souls; for the many hundreds of pastors, leaders, and lay Christians around the globe who have contributed to my life as a Christian, and to this Mini Book Series; and finally, I thank Jesus Christ, whose amazing grace and love has inspired and kept me. All the revelations in this Mini Book Library about evangelism and the gospel were given by Him – to Him be all the glory..

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How To Read The Mini Books In This Library This Mini Book is one of a Library of 27 Mini Books. The Library is a detailed critique of the battle between light and darkness which is relentlessly raging all over the earth for the souls of men and women.

The insights and revelations in each Mini Book are hierarchical i.e.

Mini Book Two builds upon Mini Book One, Mini Book Three upon Mini Books One and Two, and so on. Hence, the ideal is to try and read all the Mini Books in the library in sequence. If you skip Mini Books, or even parts of Mini Books, you might miss something vital, and open yourself to misunderstanding or even defeat.

Having said this, after you have read Mini Books One to Seven, which are the foundational books in the Library, each Mini Book is designed to stand alone. So, read Books One to Seven first. This is essential.

With respect to evangelism, if you follow the advice I am giving here in the pages of each Mini Book, you’ll position yourself perfectly to be used by the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus in ways you’d not imagined possible. How so? Read the 27 Mini Books in the library and find out.

Along with Mini Books 1-7, I suggest you also purchase Mini Book 27, which is the “Evangelism Fitness Test.” This is a diagnostic survey which will tell you the extent to which you have been unwittingly influenced by the devil with respect to evangelism. Sit this test before you read anything. Then do the same test again after you have read all the Mini Books to check to see if all his devices have been thoroughly purged from your mind!

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Six Ways To Move From Gospel Confusion To Gospel Clarity!

“The message of the true gospel has been lost and is rarely preached anymore.”1 Mark Anderson, International Leader of Impact World Tour, Youth With A Mission

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hen it comes to knowledge of the gospel, there are basically three groups of Christians. The first don’t know what the words of the gospel are, and so cannot proclaim them. American Evangelist Greg Laurie says many people who say they are “preaching the gospel” have no idea what the term actually means or what the gospel message really is.2 The second group do know but find it hard to articulate it to others so they don’t proclaim it.

The third group know what it is and are proclaiming it. This third group is tiny and shrinking. Actually, it’s only 2% of the Church.3 So we have three challenges if we want to mobilise 100% in 1

Lon Allison and Mark Anderson. Going Public With The Gospel. IVP, 2003, p.33

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Greg Laurie. How To Share Your Faith. Tyndale books, 1999, p.47

3 The truth is, because of all the devices of the enemy, many godly, gifted people have been misunderstood and marginalised, and have dropped out of evangelism. They are now using their skills in real estate sales, insurance, or business. For them, the discouragment they encountered whilst trying to clear the spiritual weeds (remember the analogy I used in Mini Book Two?) has proved to be all too much. When I say we have already suffered heavy casualties in the battle for souls, this is partly what I mean. Where have all the evangelists gone who are supposed to be “equipping the saints for the work of ministry”? (Ephesians 4:11-12)

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all churches to “go into the world” according to the command of Jesus. First, we need to educate the first group as to what the Words of the gospel are. Secondly, we must motivate and equip the first and second groups to communicate it. Thirdly, we must fund, encourage, cherish and empower the third group.

With 98% of the Church in the West falling into groups one and two, we face a monumental challenge.

It will not be until group three is pregnant with church leaders and pastors that the Great Commission will experience a resurgence. And since pastors and leaders generally come from theological colleges, seminaries and Bible colleges, it is only logical that these institutions take a strong lead. If evangelism does not return as the Queen of their curriculum, and if graduates leave without knowing what the Words of the gospel are, and how to communicate them, and start evangelising, what hope is there?

According to researcher Martha Grace-Reece, out of 72 mainline seminaries surveyed, only 10 required a pitiful half course in evangelism.4 Thankfully, some leaders are waking up to this tragic situation.

David Neff, for example, editor of Christianity Today, has noted that “many evangelicals lack a thorough knowledge of the gospel and few can actually articulate it.” In fact, when it comes to setting forth just how Jesus saves, he says, “most of us flounder.” 5 Our enemy in the battle for souls wants to keep it this way. His priority is to target leaders, pastors and evangelists. I talk more about his special attacks on leaders in Mini Books Fourteen to Nineteen.

Here are eleven key questions for leaders, pastors and 4

http://churchexecutive.com/archives/no-more-whining-handwringing-over-evangelism-—-just-do-it-now

5 Cited in: Ravi Zacharias et al. This We Believe. The Good News Of Jesus Christ For The World. Zondervan, 2000. p.15

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evangelists that the enemy would love you to answer with a “No.” 1. Do you really know what the Words of the gospel are, as Jesus used the phrase in Mark 16:15?

2. Is your knowledge of the Words of the gospel based on Biblical understanding?

3. Have you ever seriously studied this subject?

4. Are you leading by example? That is, are you proclaiming or spreading the Words of the gospel regularly, on a one-on-one basis, to non-Christians?

5. If you do know what the Words of the gospel are, can you show others in the church how to proclaim it to non-Christians?

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Are you accountable? Would anyone know if you were or weren’t doing it?

7. Are the rest of the people in the leadership of your church accountable in evangelism?

8. Do you know whether the people in your church know what the Words of the gospel are and whether they are proclaiming or spreading them?

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Is there serious, on-going training in personal evangelism happening in your church?

10. Would you say that the culture of your church is evangelistic?

In other words, if someone was to ask random people in your congregation what is most important to you as their pastor, would “Evangelism” be their first response?

11. Did you know that evangelising the world and mobilising all believers to do it is Jesus’ priority for His Church?

The enemy’s plan is for you to answer ‘no’ to all these questions. One of the purposes of this book is to move you out from under his influence so you can say ‘yes’ eleven times.

In Mini Books Three and Four we discussed his ten devices to redefine ‘evangelism.’ His next cluster of devices are designed to mess up our understanding of ‘the gospel’.

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“Hmmm,” he murmurs. “There are some Christians who know evangelism is simply the proclamation or spread of the gospel.

So my only way to stop them being effective in evangelism is to confuse their understanding of the phrase “the gospel!”’

Five devices to confuse our understanding of the gospel…

First, he has persuaded us to proclaim ‘other gospels’ instead of the gospel.

Secondly he wants us to confuse the words of the gospel with its works and effects.

His third device is to blur in our minds the distinction between the general use of the term ‘the gospel’ and the sharply-defined way it is used in the New Testament.

Fourth, he has subtly persuaded some Christians that ‘the gospel’ cannot be defined so that we will never come to grips with its content.

Fifth, he wants us to water down the gospel in order to preserve unity. He wants us to fear losing our non-Christian friends and family if we tell them the genuine gospel.

For this reason many Christians proclaim only the bits of the gospel they think their friends and family will like.

He also tries to persuade Christians to water down the gospel in order to preserve unity between churches and church members.

In this Mini Book I am going to discuss each of these five devices, revealing how they undermine our efforts to evangelise the world.

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EVICE # 11 Have us proclaim “other gospels” instead of THE gospel.

Jesus didn’t say He would return when everyone had heard any gospel. In most of the references to the gospel in the New

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Testament, the definite article the is used.6 For example: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel” (Mark 16:15).

“The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). “The gospel must first be preached in all the nations” (Mark 13:10).

The definite article suggests the message is both specific and definable. After careful study of the New Testament, distinguished professor of theology at Western Seminary, Portland, and the author of the widely-acclaimed Christian Theology, Dr Millard Erickson, came to this conclusion. He maintains Paul was the New Testament writer who used the phrase ‘the gospel”’ more than any other.

Erickson says it clearly had “…a meaning sufficiently standardised that Paul’s readers knew precisely what he meant. It is apparent that when Paul uses ‘the gospel’ as the direct object of a verb of speaking or hearing, he has in view a particular content, a body of facts.”7 When Mark, Jesus, Paul and others used the term they knew their listeners understood what it meant. Sadly, many Christians no longer have that understanding. Once Christians come to believe that ‘the gospel’ cannot be defined, the dangers for evangelism are threefold. First, any Christian message becomes ‘the gospel’.

Secondly, Christians, not knowing what to say, say nothing. When these things happen a third danger emerges. We open the door to the spread of ‘false gospels’. ow not knowing the content of the gospel helps propagate false gospels…

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us non-Christians have “eternity in their hearts.” Through conscience and creation, human beings are either consciously or subconsciously seeking spiritual things. Many non-

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6 Occasionally Paul calls it “my gospel” (e.g. 2 Timothy 2:8) or “our gospel” (2 Thessalonians 2:14) or “the glorious gospel” (1 Timothy 1:11) or “this gospel” (Colossians 1:6). These are exceptions rather than the rule.

7 Millard Erickson. Christian Theology. Baker Books, 1988, p.1062

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Christians have no doubt there is a God, and in their pubs, clubs, restaurants and homes they sometimes discuss ‘God’, who He is, and what He is like. I was one of them. Having not heard the true gospel from the lips of a Christian, they formulate their own answers to these questions. Then, as they share their conclusions with others, false gospels are spawned and spread. In a sense, they falsely ‘evangelise’ their friends and family.

Tragically, many Christians have adopted these ‘other’ gospels also. And why have they done this? If a bank teller doesn’t know what a genuine $20 bill looks like, he’ll lack the capacity to detect a counterfeit. Not knowing the content of the genuine gospel message has left Christians vulnerable to taking on board that which is false. xamples of false gospels…

Here are just some of the ‘other’ gospels circulating in nonChristian circles today – and in some churches: • “The liberal gospel” which states that everyone is already a Christian because God loves everyone.

• “The universalist gospel” in which all religious people worship the same God. • “The we are all Christians gospel” where everyone is already a Christian because this is a Christian country.

• The “I go to church at Easter and Christmas gospel” which states that attending church at special times (like Easter and Christmas) makes you a Christian.

• “The Christian rituals gospel” which states that participating in rituals such as baptism or christening makes you a Christian.

• “The good luck charm gospel” which sees Jesus as a good luck charm. In many countries people wear crosses around their necks and say they believe in Jesus. But they have never turned and surrendered to Him and have no personal relationship with Him. • “The good works gospel”, in which I am going to earn my ticket

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to heaven.

• “The Jesus-loves-you-anyway gospel”, where no one needs to change any aspect of their current lifestyle to become a Christian.

With this gospel, the cost of discipleship is hidden. When you become a Christian you come as you are, and stay as you are.

• “The denomination gospel” which tells me I am saved if I belong to a particular denomination or church.

• “The keep-your-fingers-crossed gospel” where nobody can be assured of salvation and ‘followers’ live under a cloud of uncertainty.

• “The set-of-scales gospel” where a person hopes all the good things they have done will outweigh the bad things, so that God will judge them favourably after death.

• “The being kind to others makes me a Christian gospel”.

These are people who believe they are saved because they are kind. Kindness is the fruit of genuine salvation but never its root.

• “The do unto others as you would have them do unto you gospel.” These are people who think they are saved because they are living according to this motto. Doing good unto others is the fruit of salvation but never the root of it.

Thus, the enemy confuses our understanding of the gospel by drip-feeding into the Church and the non-Christian community many “other” gospels – with stunning success.

But Paul has warned us: “Even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned” (Galatians 1:8). Be clear about this: there is just one gospel.

Theologian Dr Millard Erickson writes, “Because the gospel has been, is, and will always be the way of salvation, the Church must preserve the gospel at all costs. When the gospel is modified,

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the vitality of the Church is lost. The Church dies.”8 Signatories to the document entitled The Gospel Of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration have this to say: “This gospel is the only gospel: there is no other; and to change its substance is to pervert and indeed destroy it.”9 These are strong words.

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EVICE # 12 Cause Christians to confuse the words of the gospel with its works and effects.

I touched on this in the previous Mini Book and I am going to elaborate here.

Let’s say I build a house for a poor family. The building is a work of the gospel. The poor family who own the home find protection from the rain and the sun, and experience the joy of living in a proper house. These are the effects of the gospel.

But the family has still not heard the words of the gospel. This differentiation helps lift the heavy fog from the minds of many Christians about what the gospel is and isn’t. The following are just some of the verses in the Bible which relate solely to the words of the gospel.

• “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel” (Mark 16:15) • “The gospel must first be preached in all the nations”(Mark 13:10) • “Woe to you if you preach another gospel”(Galatians 1:6-9) • “The gospel is the power of God for salvation”(Romans 1:16) We know these verses are referring to the words because the Greek word for ‘gospel’ in these verses is either the same or a close variant of the Greek word euaggelion meaning “good news.” Whenever this word appears in the Bible, we understand it to mean the words of the gospel. The following table shows some examples of the difference between the concepts.

8 ibid, p.1066 9 Ravi Zacharias et al. This We Believe. The Good News Of Jesus Christ For The World. Zondervan, 2000, p.240

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The Works of the gospel

The Effects of the gospel

The Words of the gospel

• Feeding the hungry.

• Clothing the naked.

• Visiting those in prison.

• Setting up orphanages.

• Setting up hospitals.

• Christian aid projects.

• Penetrating society through the arts, literature, politics, education, sport, etc with Biblical principles and perspectives.

• Praying for people.

• Serving people.

• Loving people.

• Sending Christian sports teams abroad to bring testimonies.

• Constructing buildings for people in poor countries.

• Physical, emotional and mental healing.

• Spiritual deliverance.

• Personal liberation from the power and presence of sin through the power and work of the Holy Spirit.

• Changed societal attitudes.

• Transformed lives and attitudes.

• A full stomach replacing hunger; clothing replacing nakedness.

• Freedom replacing oppression, and justice replacing injustice.

A carefully crafted salvation message which explains why a person must be saved, how Jesus can save them, what they must do to be saved, and the cost of discipleship.

These words are concerned with the state of a person’s soul, the regeneration of their heart, whether they have been reconciled to God or not, and their eternal salvation.

When Christians confuse the works, the effects and the words of the gospel, usually the words are left unproclaimed. Let me give you some more examples. ow the confusion stops evangelism…

A local Christian newspaper10 ran an article about a large Christian organisation’s annual conference. The president described what his organisation was trying to do as follows: “What are our marching orders? We read in the Great Commission about going into the world and proclaiming the gospel.

What are we doing about this? Are we serious about it?”

The article went on to report testimonies from three men about

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10 Challenge Weekly, New Zealand’s Christian Newspaper. Vol.62, Issue 39, October 18, 2004, p.7

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how they had advanced the Great Commission. But really, they had not advanced it at all. All they had done was share their testimony about the effect Jesus had on their lives. No presentation of the words of the gospel was given as they gave their testimonies.

Evangelism hadn’t taken place.

One had been in a spiritual battle with suicide and told how God had helped him overcome. Another was an Olympic bronze medallist and told how God had helped him succeed. The third was an older man who told how God had prompted him to change his lifestyle and become a policeman.

Victory over suicide, success in sport, and a change of lifestyle are effects of the gospel – not to be equated with going into the world and proclaiming its words.

If the message is that victory over suicide, a change of lifestyle, and success in sport are comparable to going into the world and proclaiming the gospel, what happens? These Christians will not go on to proclaim the words of the gospel because they think they are already doing it. Worse still, these devices were spread through the Christian community by the Christian newspaper. Remember, the enemy is fanatically committed to confusing our understanding of the Great Commission and “the gospel” and he’ll jump on any willing vehicle to do it.

Two more examples…

Imagine a Christian aid organisation undertaking a project in Africa where they are digging a water well, a work of the gospel.

The aid project creates an effect, because the poor in Africa now have water. However, the leaders would be mistaken if they thought the project was fulfilling the command of Jesus to go into

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the world and preach the gospel.11 Another example: When I hear the phrase “Go into all the world and preach the gospel,” I think of a verbal message with specific content.

Other Christians might hear the same command but understand it differently. They might picture, perhaps, someone being prayed for and healed from a physical illness in the name of Jesus. This differing interpretation plays into Satan’s hand. As long as people think that being used by God to effect a physical healing is the same as preaching the words of the gospel, the enemy is happy.

Sure, he is not pleased that someone is healed, an effect of the gospel, but on another level he is delighted – because the words of the gospel are not being proclaimed.

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EVICE # 13 Blur the distinction between the general use of the term ‘the gospel’ and its sharplydefined New Testament use.

Given that the word gospel means ‘good news’, the whole Bible is in one sense ‘the gospel’. We could use the term gospel in this way because there is indeed much good news in the Bible. David slew Goliath, the five thousand were fed, liberty replaced bondage, the sick were healed etc etc. All good news.

Christian newspapers and magazines often report encouraging stories and testimonies and call them ‘Good News’ papers. They may even say they are a ‘gospel publication’ meaning they report stories of God at work within the Christian community. They are using the term ‘the gospel’ in a wide and general sense.

But the gospel, as Jesus referred to it in Mark 16:15, is different from a good story or testimony. In Mark 16:15, Jesus is referring to 11 Interestingly, the Lausanne Covenant asked and answered an important question. “If we had to choose between the words of the gospel or the works of the gospel, what should have priority?” Their answer was the words. Three reasons were given. 1. The immensity of the task. World evangelisation requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. 2. The Church is God’s agent for evangelism. 3. The Church is God’s appointed means of spreading the gospel. The Lausanne Covenant, from Let The Earth Hear His Voice, World Wide Publications, 1975, p.29

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very specific good news. The particular good news is a carefullycrafted message about personal salvation which lies within the pages of the Bible.

We could say that this message is the gospel within the gospel.

I have called this message “the sharply defined New Testament gospel.” i.e. the SDNTG he enemy is the author of confusion…

The enemy is committed to making Christians confuse the wide and general gospel (i.e. TWAGG) with the sharply-defined New Testament gospel.12 (i.e. the SDNTG) He is constantly targeting you, your family, your pastor, your elders, your Christian radio and TV station, your theological colleges and your training centres. But he shudders when Christians wake up to the difference.

In fact, it is his worst nightmare that you are reading this book.

Below are four examples of how the confusion between the TWAGG and the SDNTG has stopped Christians from proclaiming or spreading this vital message: xample one: A pastor exhorts the people, “We need to get the gospel to the lost” (and he means the SDNTG). Those in the congregation who do not know what he means may default to the TWAGG meaning of the word, and think they are already doing what the pastor says.

“Hey, I sponsor a child in a poor country,” thinks one person.

“I’m already getting the gospel to the lost.”

“I’m being a friend to non-Christians,” another thinks happily, “so I am preaching the gospel through my kindness!”

“I have been learning to love my wife like Jesus said, and my

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12 From now on in this book I shall use “the words of the gospel,” the “sharply-defined New Testament gospel,” and “the gospel” interchangeably. They are the same thing.

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marriage has really improved,” thinks yet another. “I’ve told some of my non-Christian mates about how it’s a Biblical principle and how it has been such good news for me. So am I not already getting the gospel to the lost?”

Thinking that they are already proclaiming the gospel through their actions and words, these TWAGG Christians will not go on to proclaim the SDNTG. It’s easy to see why the enemy is resolutely committed to propagating the confusion. xample two: I was visiting a church one day when a man approached me. “Julian,” he said, “I don’t agree with your definition of the gospel. It’s too narrow. I believe the whole Bible is the gospel.

If I communicate truth from the Bible to a non-Christian, I am proclaiming the gospel.”

This man doesn’t know the difference between the TWAGG, and the SDNTG. The enemy is pleased that every time this man explains a truth from the TWAGG to a non-Christian person, he thinks he is proclaiming the gospel the SDNTG. The enemy knows the man is not likely to go on to proclaim the SDNTG. xample three: Imagine a Christian lawyer who fights for the disadvantaged in court to ensure they are not being treated unjustly. In the wide and general use of the phrase ‘the gospel,’ the lawyer is “good news from God to the poor.” The lawyer believes he is thus fulfilling Jesus’ command to go into the world and proclaim the gospel. However, there is a great difference between being good news (a vital aspect of the wide and general gospel) and proclaiming the SDNTG. As long as the lawyer thinks one equals the other, he will not go beyond achieving justice for the disadvantaged and move on to preaching the SDNTG. The enemy hates to see lawyers working to bring justice for the poor, but he is just as delighted when the SDNTG is left unproclaimed as they go about their excellent work.

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xample four: A Christian group inside a university is planning an evangelism initiative. They decide to flood the university with the Gospel of Mark. One member of the group, who is acutely aware of the difference between TWAGG and SDNTG, exhorts the group: Brian: “We need to explain the gospel clearly, at the back of the Gospel of Mark.”

Another student on the organising committee objects.

Mary: “I am not sure what you are talking about, Brian – the Gospel of Mark is the gospel!”

Brian: “Yes, the Gospel of Mark is ‘the Gospel’ but it’s not the same as the gospel as Jesus used it in Mark 16:15. The Gospel of Mark we are distributing covers a multitude of topics and issues. The gospel we are to proclaim narrows right down to cover four essential areas of content: why we must be saved, how Jesus can save us, what we must do to be saved, and the cost of being a disciple.”

Mary: “If you read through the whole Gospel of Mark, I am sure you will find those points in there!”

Brian: “True. But if we really loved and cared for the non-Christians that are going to be reading this Gospel of Mark, wouldn’t we want to help them discover the essential, core message inside? Shouldn’t we explain what it is really all about, rather than just leaving them to discover it? Remember the classic account in Acts 8 where the Ethiopian eunuch was reading through the book of Isaiah and didn’t understand what he was reading? Philip went over to him, and helped him understand what he was reading. After that, he went on to explain the gospel to him.” See the table below for more examples.

Examples of statements Christians make which indicate they are talking about the wide and general gospel 1

Examples of statements Christians make which indicate they are talking about the sharply-defined New Testament gospel

1 Some of these (in both columns) could also be in the other column., e.g. “I shared the gospel with my neighbour” – the phrase could mean either wide or sharp, depending on what was being referred to. If I gave my neighbour a whole Bible, I would be sharing the wide and general gospel. If I explained how his soul could be saved, I would be sharing the sharply-defined New Testament gospel.

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• On a poster: “Taking the gospel to the nations!”

• In a magazine: “We must get the gospel to the poor.”

• From the pulpit: “The gospel will liberate the disadvantaged.”

• On a flyer: “The gospel brings justice.”

• A book cover: “We must take the gospel to the whole world.”

• “The gospel broke their bondage.”

• Speaking of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John: “There is great truth in the Gospels.”

• “The gospel calls us as Christians to express hospitality and care for the poor, the displaced and the foreigners.”

• “He was convicted by the gospel message.”

• “She preached the gospel with power.”

• “I was able to share the gospel with the man.”

• “We used gospel tracts on the outreach.”

• “We went door-to-door proclaiming the gospel.”

• “I shared the gospel with my neighbour.”

• “I explained the gospel to my friend but he didn’t agree with everything I said.”

• “I took my work mate through the gospel at lunchtime today.”

• “The gospel was explained very clearly.”

1 Some of these (in both columns) could also be in the other column., e.g. “I shared the gospel with my neighbour” – the phrase could mean either wide or sharp, depending on what was being referred to. If I gave my neighbour a whole Bible, I would be sharing the wide and general gospel. If I explained how his soul could be saved, I would be sharing the sharply-defined New Testament gospel.

Summary There

is a big difference between the TWAGG and the SDNTG but the enemy doesn’t want you to see it or understand the difference. He wants to keep you oblivious to the subtle but all important difference.

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EVICE # 14 Persuade us that “the gospel” cannot be defined.

I have already touched on this device at the beginning of this Mini Book, but I expand on it here. Dr G. D. James, founder of Asia Evangelistic Fellowship, writes: “In order to proclaim or communicate the gospel effectively, we need to have a clear definition of its meaning and message.”13 The enemy knows this and so he reasons, “If Christians cannot define the gospel, then they will soon think that anything they say to non-Christians is the gospel. If everything is the gospel, then nothing

13 Dr G.D James. Equipment For Evangelism. G.D James Publishers. Epping, Sydney, 1985, p.54

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is the gospel. Perfect! I’ll sow a seed of doubt along these lines.”14 Hasn’t he done well! As I have taught about evangelism around the world, I have heard many Christians unwittingly promote the idea that the content of the gospel cannot be defined. xample one: “When we talk to strangers about God, we should just flow with the Spirit and say whatever He tells us to say. The gospel we give to non-Christians is going to be different for every person and only God knows what each person needs to hear.” xample two: “The gospel is not like a ‘one size fits all’ garment. Each person is different, and so what we say to each person should be unique. As long as what we say is relevant to them, we can say we are proclaiming the gospel.”

As usual with the enemy, these two examples contain a mixture of truth and error.

What is the truth? We should flow with the Spirit when we deliver the gospel and we should be ready for the Spirit to give us words of knowledge or particular insights into people so that our conversations truly connect with them. We should also be sensitive to cultural and social differences between people as we deliver the gospel, while recognising that all need the same salvation.

We should understand that each person comes to the evangelism situation with a unique set of life circumstances, and that tuning in to that uniqueness helps build rapport. However…

The gospel can be defined… listen to the experts.

The gospel is essentially the same for every person, and, according to the experts, it can be defined.

Church historian Dr Michael Green writes, “What Mark says about the gospel is important (i.e. Mark 16:15). In the first place, it

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14 The thought that “the gospel” cannot be defined is reinforced by the spread of false gospels. When Christians hear of so many different gospels they soon conclude any Christian message must be “the gospel.”

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is a message with quite specific content… a recognisable message which a man can proclaim and believe in.”15 Theologian and author Dr David Larsen concurs: “The Christian communicator is called to proclaim the gospel of Christ, not with fuzziness but with forcefulness. Essential to this mission is certainty of message and clarity in articulation. The gospel is not ‘almost indefinable’ as some maintain. We must part company with those who seem to revel in uncertainty. It is little wonder that many mainline denominations are haemorrhaging to death. We dare not stammer …as to the essential content and core of the redemptive gospel.”16 Evangelist Greg Laurie, too, has insisted, “…the essential gospel is the same for every person.”17 In a defining document released by the churches in Britain, the authors state, “It is the presentation of the gospel, not its content, that changes with succeeding generations and their varying conditions.”18 Past President of the Southeastern Baptist Theological seminary Dr Lewis Drummond has conducted his own review of the literature on this topic and concludes: “Believers have a definite gospel to proclaim.”19 Dr R.C. Sproul contends that an indefinable gospel is an oxymoron:20 “Before we can believe the gospel,” he says, “we must have some idea of its content.”21 Theologian Dr Harry Poe, Professor of Faith and Culture 15 Michael Green. Evangelism In The Early Church. Suffolk: Highland Books, 1970, p.62 16 David L Larsen. The Evangelism Mandate. Recovering The Centrality Of Gospel Preaching. Crossway Books, 1992, p.90 17 Greg Laurie. How To Share Your Faith. Tyndale Press, 1999, p.29 18 ‘Towards the Conversion of Britain.’ Cited in John Stott, Our Guilty Silence. The Church, The Gospel, And The World. Hodder and Stoughton, 1997, p.33 19 Lewis A Drummond. The Word Of The Cross. Broadman Press, 2001, p.214 20 According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, an oxymoron is “a figure of speech or expressed idea in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. bittersweet).

21 R.C. Sproul. Getting The Gospel Right: The Tie That Binds Evangelicals Together. Baker Books, 1999, p.27

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at Union University, Jackson, Tennessee, concurs: “Though the apostles used different terms in different settings, they spoke about the same basic matters, telling of Christ from eternity, through earthly ministry, to eternity.”22 Dr Ray Ortland, on the council of the Gospel Coalition, states “This [gospel] has specific content. It can and must be defined, and from the Bible alone.”23 So on one hand, we have scholars affirming we have a precise gospel to proclaim. On the other, we have Satan suggesting to millions of Christians that the gospel cannot be defined. Those who believe it to be indefinable will proclaim something vague and wishy-washy or nothing at all. But proclaiming an insipid gospel is something Paul specifically warned against in Galatians 1:6-9. s a result of this device, wishy-washy gospels multiply...

On top of the ‘other gospels’ I have already mentioned, wishy-washy ones include: • “Jesus loves you. Come to Him and He’ll make everything in your life sweet.”

• “God is exciting and awesome. He is fun! He is the Father you never had!”

• “If you want eternal life, peace, joy, happiness, love, just come to Jesus! He’ll give you everything you ever wanted!”

As we have seen, the enemy likes to mix truth with error, and so each of the above examples contains an element of truth. For example, it is true that God is our Father and that He does forgive. It is also true that God the Father could be the dad you never had. Moreover, He is a God of love and the Christian life can be exciting. The problem is that whilst none of these appeals represents the sharply-defined New Testament gospel, they can pass smoothly under our heresy radars as ‘the gospel.’

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22 Harry L. Poe. The Gospel And Its Meaning. Zondervan, 1996, p.44 23 Dr Ray Ortlund. The Gospel. How The Church Portrays The Beauty Of Christ. Crossway, 2014, p.15

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ay good-bye to wishy-washy gospels…

Wishy-washy gospel messages will have little impact (they are like a feather duster) on the non-Christian listener. This being the case, the Christians delivering them, thinking that their wishy-washy gospel is the gospel, will lose confidence in further proclamation. Thus, these ‘other gospels”’ give the gospel a bad name.

Sadly, the wishy-washy gospel messages never go away.

Young Christians, seeing that the Bible clearly says we should be proclaiming something, run with them, and they spread like wildfire.

There is certainly nothing wishy-washy about the gospel.

Leading nineteenth century Scottish theologian Dr R.C.H. Lenski parallels preaching the gospel with plugging an appliance into mains power: “When we come into contact with the gospel in any way, we come into contact with this blessed power [i.e. the very power of God flowing down from His throne to save people] and when we preach the gospel, we bring others into contact with this power.”24 et the gospel’s power flow…

When we proclaim the gospel, we plug non-Christians into God’s saving power. His saving current flows into their precious minds and hearts.

“When we proclaim it [i.e. the gospel],” writes pastor, teacher and author, Dr Norman Harrison, “it becomes ‘direct current’ to human hearts.”25 Theologian and prolific author, Dr Thomas Robinson calls the gospel “…the highest manifestation of divine power.”26 Dr Rob Frost, National Evangelist of the Methodist Church in

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24 Dr R.C.H.Lenski. The Interpretation Of St Paul’s Epistle To The Romans. Wartburg Press, 1960, p.74 25 Dr Norman Harrison. His Salvation As Set Forth In The Book Of Romans. Moody Press, 1926, p.28 26 Dr Thomas Robinson. Studies in Romans. Expository And Homiletical. Kregel Publications, 1982, p.61

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the United Kingdom, describes the seed of the gospel as having “…mind-blowing power.”27 This is why, in the battle for souls, our most powerful weapon is the gospel. he Early Church - following their example…

There are many accounts in the Bible which indicate that the early believers were sure about what they were preaching. Here are just two Scriptures: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they (i.e. the Apostles) never stopped teaching and proclaiming the Good News (the gospel) that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:42).

“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:20-24).

These Scriptures quoted above give us further insights into the gospel: 1. Since they went door to door, the message must have had a beginning and an end.

2. The message must have been sufficiently short for the Apostles to have preached it throughout the city, house to house.

3. The message must have been succinct, pithy and potent enough to have sustained the attention and interest of the occupants of each house.

4. If they had been preaching ‘other gospels’ the Apostles would have got a poor response. When proclaimers keep getting poor responses, they become discouraged, and stop proclaiming.

5. Paul and his colleagues viewed the proclamation of the gospel as their core business. aving a definite gospel to proclaim helps non-Christians understand the Bible…

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27 http://www.goodnewsmag.org/magazine/1JanFeb/jf00frost.html

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Understanding the gospel as being a specific and precise message means, among other things, that giving out whole Bibles or large portions of Scripture to non-Christians cannot truly be called ‘evangelism’. This is not to say that Bible distribution is unimportant. If we could, we ought to flood the world with Bibles, since faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). I like what the Gideons do. They put a gospel message in the back of every Bible they distribute. This is the ideal.

When Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel,” He did not intend for us to simply give out the whole Bible in the hope that non-Christians might stumble across the sharply-defined gospel inside. Why leave it to non-Christians to piece the SDNTG together from inside the Bible, when we have been commanded to do it for them? We have a divine duty as ambassadors of Jesus to make the gospel clear and accessible to seekers – as He did. Paul said, “…setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). We are not making the SDNTG plain to nonChristians if we just shove a Bible in their hands and expect them to work out what the SDNTG is.

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EVICE # 15 To persuade us to water down “the words of the gospel” in order to preserve unity.

Christians tend to water down the content of the words of the gospel for two reasons. First, they fear that if they proclaim the gospel to their friends they might lose the friendship; and secondly, they worry about causing disunity within the Church. I want to discuss each of these in turn. (a) Not proclaiming the gospel for fear of losing friends Not wanting to risk their friendships, some Christians dilute the message to make it more palatable. The extreme outworking of this is to only tell your friends and neighbours, “Jesus loves you,” thinking 27

you are fulfilling your obligation to evangelise. But when your message to others becomes simply and only, “Jesus loves you,” you are guilty of proclaiming ‘another gospel’.

I say, “Let God choose your friends.” If you proclaim the gospel lovingly and graciously, when the time is appropriate, and you lose the friendship, so be it. At the final judgment, we will not be judged unfavourably for putting Jesus first and losing a friend. But we will be judged unfavourably for disobeying Jesus and putting a friendship first. I don’t see Paul or the Apostles compromising on the gospel for the sake of preserving friends. In fact, I have found that the friends I have made as a result of proclaiming the gospel are infinitely better than the friends I chose myself! When you let God choose your friends, it’s way better.

Ultimately, we have to leave to Jesus the consequence of proclaiming the gospel. Having said this, I freely admit that losing a friend for the sake of the gospel can be heartbreaking. Jesus Himself experienced this many times. The Bible tells us, “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). hat would you do if you were Betty?

I once went to a particular church to teach members how to proclaim the gospel. Soon afterwards one woman who had been trained emailed me. Betty said that for ten years she had got on well with her non-Christian neighbour and that they had become friends. Betty took the liberty to share the gospel lovingly and graciously with this neighbour, who discovered in the process that she was a sinner, out of relationship with God and headed for hell.

She subsequently stopped talking to Betty, and their friendship was possibly over. Betty expressed her regret to me at having shared the gospel with her.

My question is, what do you think Jesus thinks of this situation?

Betty could have shared “another gospel” with her neighbour.

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She could have simply told her, “Jesus loves you” and gained favour and strengthened the friendship. But would Betty have gained the favour of Jesus?

Some might argue Betty could have started softly with “Jesus loves you” and then, as the relationship deepened, she could have found the opportunity to present the full gospel. I would make four comments about this situation: 1. Most often, despite good intentions, Christians never get beyond “Jesus loves you” or “Why don’t you come to church?”

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People frequently move to other locations. What happens if Betty’s neighbour moves away and all she remembers is “Jesus loves me”? When facing eternal judgment, she will say, “For heaven’s sake, why wasn’t my Christian neighbour Betty honest with me?” It could be argued that Betty’s neighbour may move to a street where another Christian could share the SDNTG with her, but we should never presume this. We should take opportunities while we can, for Jesus specifically commanded us not to delay by making excuses. He said “Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22). As we have seen, one of the great issues we face with the collapse of evangelism in the West is that everyone thinks everyone else is doing it – or going to. So we must work on the presumption that if our loved ones or friends don’t hear the full gospel from us, they will never hear it. And if people get to hear the SDNTG several times over, well and good.

3. Merely saying to people “Jesus loves you” is like spreading another gospel, which Paul warned us not to do (Galatians 1:69). In Matthew 10 Jesus warns us to expect trouble, division and unpopularity when we evangelise. The question is, then, to whom should we be loyal?

4. If Betty shared the SDNTG with her neighbour, and her neighbour understood the message, but didn’t believe it, that’s 29

OK. Why? The Holy Spirit will go to the neighbour, in His own perfect time, and convict her of the truth of the gospel Betty shared. You see, evangelism is not all about us. It’s about us co-operating with God. God is the big player in evangelism.

We just need to be faithful with our bit and He will do His bit.

We have to remember our time on earth is so limited. While we are discussing the lost and why we should or shouldn’t proclaim the SDNTG to them, millions are pouring into hell, never having heard it once.28 We don’t ever want to end up on our deathbed with a thousand regrets about some person to whom we should have given the whole gospel but didn’t because of this, that or the other reason. As Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1150) once said, “Hell is full of good intentions.”

So it is wise to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and on Judgment Day and let that motivate today’s behaviour and decisions. “We fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). By the way, this is my all time favourite Bible verse. on’t leave it too late…

One day, during another seminar in which I was teaching people how to proclaim the gospel,29 I was talking with the group about taking opportunities and leaving the results with God. One

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28 Many people ask me if those who have not heard the gospel will go to hell. What about babies? What about the intellectually handicapped? We have produced a set of readings called ‘His Gift, Our Opportunity’ which answers these and other tricky questions. These readings can be purchased at www.esisite.com 29 I don’t want you to become worried and stressed about the thought of going to all your neighbours and friends with the gospel. Before you are able to do this, you need training on how to do it. Going to your friends and neighbours in your current untrained state would be extremely stressful! After good training, your confidence will increase. When your confidence in your skill increases, and knowing that God is really helping you, your anxiety will decrease. And when your success increases, so will your joy and love for evangelism. So, rest easy. Start by being trained in evangelism. The best place to start is to attend our ‘Six Lost Truths’ Conference. Why don’t you host one in your church? Contact me : julian@esisite.com. Or we have a home group style DVD series with work books and study guides for small groups called Evangelism!

Strategies from heaven in the war for souls. In this way, you can learn from home.

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lady began to cry and asked if she could come to the front and speak.

“I had an elderly neighbour for ten years,” she said. “He came to our place for dinner often and I used to take him cakes. Over the years he became like a member of our family. We talked about God and Christianity in a light and friendly way, but for a variety of reasons I never got around to sharing the full gospel with him.

I must admit I didn’t know how to, and I didn’t want to lose the friendship. One day he committed suicide. It just dawned on me that with what happened I had suffered a double loss. I didn’t honour Jesus and I didn’t love my neighbour.” et Jesus choose your friends…

Our faithfulness is first to Jesus. If we lose all our friends as a consequence of doing the will of God, then so be it. I have found that since I started proclaiming the gospel I have lost some of my non-Christian friends but gained others.

It seems to me, as I read the New Testament, that people either loved or hated Jesus and Paul. There was little in between. One thing Jesus and Paul did not do was compromise the message of the gospel in order to preserve unity with their friends. Betty is not an isolated example. The pressure to proclaim ‘another gospel’ weighs heavily on many Christians because they love their friends. But do they really love them? hat it means to truly “love your neighbour”…

Charles Spurgeon says we cannot really love our friends if we don’t share the gospel with them: “We are to seek our neighbour’s conversion because we love him, and we are to share God’s loving gospel with him in loving terms, because our heart desires his [or her] eternal good.” 30 So far in this discussion, I have explained how the enemy has tried

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30 Charles H Spurgeon. The Soul Winner. Focus Publication, 1992, p.14

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to persuade us to water down the gospel for the sake of preserving unity with non-Christians friends and family. Now I want to show you how he tries to manipulate us to water down the gospel in order to preserve unity with fellow church members. (b) Not proclaiming the gospel for fear of causing disunity within the Church Think about this for a moment. When someone in a church defines the content of the SDNTG – explaining clearly what message we should be proclaiming in the non-Christians’ world – and their definition contradicts the ‘in-house gospel’ being proclaimed by the leadership of that church, controversy is likely. The leader proclaiming the ‘in-house gospel’ will likely feel threatened. And not only the leader. For some church goers who hear the gospel for the first time it can be an offensive, even shocking, experience! So at a leadership level and a congregational level, introducing the gospel can have explosive consequences for so called ‘unity’. How will this fear of creating disunity stop believers from proclaiming the gospel?

To avoid the charge of fostering disunity the person who wants to introduce SDNTG ends up shelving it and they learn to live with the resident “in-house gospel” being proclaimed in their church i.e. the SDNTG gospel is shut down.

The suggestion that we must preserve unity at all costs is a clever device of the enemy, with three positive outcomes for him.

First, most Christians will never come to know what the SDNTG is because its nature and content are muted.

Secondly, those who are proclaiming “the in-house gospels” are left unchallenged and their false gospel messages freely propagate within the community.

Thirdly, and directly resulting from the first two, non-Christians don’t ever come to hear the SDNTG from the Christians meeting at the “in-house gospel” church.

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nglican vicar witnesses the power of the gospel…

Recently I taught a group of ministers how to proclaim the gospel. One of the tools they learned to use can be viewed at www.

Biblein11.com. Among the trainees was an Anglican vicar who went back to his church and used the tool to proclaim the gospel on Sunday morning to his congregation.

Now there were two Sunday morning services in this particular church, the first being more conservative. When the gospel was shown with a lot of grace and love during this service, two church members walked out halfway through.

At the end of the service, one threatened to leave the church if ‘that presentation’ was ever shown again! The reasons given? He objected to the suggestion that there was a literal place called hell.

The other member was offended at the thought that Jesus would not accept her on the basis of her good life alone.

The vicar told me he hated controversy and disunity. I think we all do. He did not enjoy being disliked and scorned. He also confessed he would miss the tithes from those members if they left.

Yet at the same time, he said, he felt strongly that he should not be intimidated by these threats and should stand with Jesus on the truth of the SDNTG. All of a sudden, having shared the gospel, he witnessed its raw power. But that is not the end of the story. alvations at the 10 am…!

The reaction of the second congregation, at the 10am service, was completely different. They applauded spontaneously after the gospel was proclaimed, and there was an altar call and a response.

People were saved.

When I thought about the vicar and the threats of the members in the earlier service, I remembered Matthew 10, including verse 34: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Verses 37-38 go on to say: “Anyone who loves his father or

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mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” My Anglican friend continues to proclaim the SDNTG. He concluded that not compromising on the content of the gospel was more important than not ruffling the feathers of the parishioners, character was more important than the lost tithe, and faithfulness to Jesus was more important than membership numbers. Unity built on compromise, he concluded, was no unity at all. He is still working with everyone in the early service, processing the concerns of those who were deeply offended and planning to lead them into a place of genuine faith. The Anglican vicar is a hero in heaven because he did not dilute the SDNTG message in order to keep the peace. ow the quest for Christian unity and the goal of evangelising the world can cancel each other out…

Paradoxically, this device of the enemy, to cause us to water down the content of the gospel in order to preserve unity among Christians, does hinder evangelism most severely when Christian leaders in a town or city are working hard to build unity between their churches.

Let me explain. Right around the world, there has been a desire among Christian leaders of different denominations to unite and work together. This is a brilliant initiative and long overdue.

These leaders are standing on certain promises in the Word of God which connect unity with God’s blessing (e.g. Psalm 133:1-3) and powerful witness (John 17:20-26).

However, if we try our best to get along with one another but have to compromise on the essential content of the SDNTG and on the priority of Jesus to evangelise the world in order to do so, we become a big disappointment to Jesus. What help will it be to the Christian soldiers if they are getting on well, but enter the fray with cheap rubber swords and fail to do what Jesus commanded them to

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do? You know the answer. If we don’t have unity with respect to the SDNTG, we don’t have unity. Period.

Dr Billy Graham urges us to work towards unity in the uncompromised content of the gospel. “Our greatest need is for the Church to be baptized with the fire of the Holy Ghost and to go out proclaiming the gospel everywhere. We must first have spiritual unity in the gospel.”31 hen we unite on the basis of the content of the gospel and the priority of evangelising the world, we have the basis for true Christian unity…

When we align ourselves with the priority of God’s revealed will which is to evangelise the world, and we don’t compromise on the gospel content, Jesus promises to show up. “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him” (John 14:21). Who else believes that the foundation of our unity ought to be our commitment to the essential content of the SDNTG, and to evangelising the world? First, there is Dr Joseph M. Stowell, past President of the Moody Bible Institute, Chicago. “To keep truth as the standard or basis for unity,” he freely admits, “has been an ongoing struggle for the Church.”32 Dr Stowell then goes on to discuss what ought to be the basis of our Christian unity. The doctrine of the Trinity is first, followed by the doctrine of salvation and the doctrine of Jesus Christ.33 These lie at the heart of the gospel. Conclusion: if we are united regarding the SDNTG, and in our priority and responsibility to spread and proclaim it universally, (i.e. the whole Church taking it to the whole world) we have a true foundation for Christian unity. Charles

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31 http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/berlinaddress.htm 32 Cited in: Ravi Zacharias. This We Believe. The Good News Of Jesus Christ To The World. Zondervan Publishing, 2000, pp.212-213 33 ibid. p.213

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H. Spurgeon is another leader who wrestled with the difficulty of getting along with one another but not at the expense of compromising on the content of the SDNTG. “To remain divided is sinful! Did not our Lord pray that they may be one? (John 17:22).

A chorus of ecumenical voices keep harping the unity tune. What they are saying is, Christians of all doctrinal shades and beliefs must come together in one visible organisation regardless… unite, unite! Such teaching is false, reckless and dangerous. Truth alone must determine our alignments. Truth comes before unity.

Unity without truth is hazardous. Our Lord’s Prayer in John 17 must be read in its full context…Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. Only those sanctified through the Word can be one in Christ. To teach otherwise is to betray the gospel.”34 on’t think for a moment that being united in the content of the gospel and in the priority of evangelising the world is going to be easy…

Pastor and theologian Walter Chandry has written an excellent book urging leaders not to compromise on the SDNTG for the sake of unity. He warns of the challenges ahead as we wrestle with the issues. In the following extract he pulls no punches. There is a tinge of sarcasm here, but please don’t let this put you off what he is trying to say. “In a large congress of evangelism,” he writes, “we could not insist on a truth of God’s word that would offend any evangelical brother. Thus we must find the lowest common denominator to which all born-again Christians hold. The rest of the Bible is labelled ‘unessential’ for missions. It is for this reason that mission boards are hesitant to answer the question, ‘What is the gospel?’ Thoroughly to answer that would condemn what many of their own missionaries preach. It would destroy the mission society, which is the federation of churches who have differing

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34 Cited in: Ravi Zacharias. This We Believe. The Good News Of Jesus Christ To The World. Zondervan Publishing, 2000, ibid. pp.212-213

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answers to that question. To adopt the position of one church would be to lose the support of five others. The whole system built on unity and generality would crumble. The local church may not get too specific about truth either. It may affect its harmony with the denomination or association. To define the gospel carefully will bring conflict with the organisations working with teenagers.

Giving too much attention to the gospel will mean friction with other evangelicals.”35 I believe there are enough strong Christian leaders on the earth right now who have the depth of character, grace, passion for world evangelism, and love of truth to overcome this toxic device of the enemy. If you belong to a ministers’ association, and you are working with other ministers to build unity, ask your colleagues the following questions: 1. Is the foundation of our unity a united commitment to the essential Biblical content of the SDNTG message? Are we agreed about the content of the SDNTG message?

2. Is the foundation of our unity a united commitment to the priority of Jesus Christ which is to evangelise the world for His glory, starting with our own Jerusalem? (Acts 1:8).

When you can say “yes” to these questions, you have a true basis for Christian unity, and you have positioned your churches to receive the fulness of God’s blessing on your dreams and visions. You will have made massive advances in the war for souls. eep it pure…!

In his excellent book, Tell The Truth, Will Metzger shares the same concerns as Stowell, Spurgeon, Graham and Chandry.

“Man-centred evangelism,” he says, “shortens the message. It so focuses on man that it reduces God. It so fears doctrinal division among true Christians that it allows the most imprecise gospel

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35 Walter Chandry. Today’s Gospel - Authentic Or Synthetic? Banner of Truth Trust, 2001, pp.11-12

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messages to become common currency.” 36 he gospel is worth fighting for…

Theologian and author Dr R.C. Sproul presents a passionate plea to love and defend the content of the gospel and to be united in our commitment to proclaiming and spreading it to everyone everywhere.

“The loss of Christian unity at any point is tragic and destructive,” he says. “When that loss threatens our unity in the gospel itself, it is catastrophic. To work towards unity in the gospel is not a matter of ecclesiastical politics; it is a matter that touches the soul of the church itself and the souls of all its members. To seek unity in the gospel is neither a quixotic crusade nor a frivolous search; it is a matter of the most urgent priority for the Christian. All who embrace the gospel and love its content are visited by a divine mandate to preserve that unity and to defend it together. The gospel is our hope and life, the most excellent and sweet truth we have.

Beside it, lesser theological differences pale into insignificance.

In the gospel we experience the power of God unto salvation and hear not only ‘good’ news but the best of all possible news.

This unity is so priceless that it is worth contending, fighting and dying for. It is a family matter for the people of God… the truth of the gospel must be maintained for Christ’s sake and for our own. Indeed it is our eternal link to Christ and the means through which we become His in the first place. In the gospel we meet the One who is our only hope, who will never leave us ashamed.”37

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EVICE # 16 “If hell is a necessary component of gospel preaching it would be included in the summaries of the gospel message. Acts and Paul do not

36 Will Metzger. Tell The Truth. IVP, 1984, p.31 37 R.C. Sproul. Getting The Gospel Right: The Tie That Binds Evangelicals Together. Baker Books, 1999, pp.9-10

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mention hell at all. How can we say it is “necessary” when the apostles and early church don’t?”

Someone wrote to me with this question. They were basically saying ‘Julian, hell is part of the gospel you teach people to proclaim. I don’t think hell should be part of the gospel message.”

The doctrine of hell can cause pastors and Christians to divide which in turn has caused some to drop out of doing evangelism. So the questions above is a good one. Here is my answer to this question.

Jesus refers to hell more than all the Biblical writers combined. When scholars form their opinions about what the content of the SDNTG is and isn’t, they use systematic theology. That is to say, they look at what the whole counsel of God (i.e. the Bible) has to say about a subject (i.e. in this case ‘hell’), not just isolated verses or even portions of scripture, or even only what Paul (for example), one author of the books of the Bible, or Acts (for example), one book in the Bible, has to say about a subject.

Having said this, it is a fact that theologians draw heavily on the four gospels when they are considering what the content of the SDNTG ought to be, but they are not restricted to the four gospels. Hence, they use systematic theology. To undertake Biblical scholarship in this way is to be true to the whole counsel of God. Their conclusions? Hell was a vital component of the preaching of Jesus, describing ultimate final reality for those who rejected Him. Although Paul never mentions hell directly, he does refer to it very obviously in veiled terms all through the New Testament e.g. Romans 2:3-6 says “So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God 39

will repay each person according to what they have done.”

Romans 5:8-9 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be SAVED FROM WRATH through him.”

Ephesians 2:3-6 says, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature THE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 5:5-6 “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person— such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”

I Thessalonians 1:9-10 “...for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

The writer of Hebrews had this to say about it: Hebrews 10:31 “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” So why didn’t Paul (or Luke, the author of Acts) use the word “hell” directly? We could ask the same thing about other writers of Scripture, why they did not mention, or deal with other topics in depth in their particular book? For example, not all the books in the New Testament talk about divorce and remarriage, faith, works, the Trinity, etc. Why? The obvious answer is that each author, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, dealt with exactly the topics that God wanted.

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Conclusion? The doctrine of hell is a vital component of any authentic SDNTG message. After 30 or so years of giving the gospel to the lost, I can say that the doctrine of hell is one of the components of the gospel which must never be omitted. Over and over, I can see with my own eyes that when it’s mentioned with love and tenderness, as part of the overall SDNTG, it has a positive impact on the lost.38 I can see why Jesus spoke so much about it. By ‘hell’ I mean eternal conscious torment39. There is no room to let this doctrine stop anyone from evangelising. If we say “Well, I am not going to give any gospel message which mentions hell to the lost” and we stop evangelising, the devil has won a great victory in our lives. Don’t let him have this pleasure! If you are one who really struggles with the doctrine of hell, and speaking about it to people you meet, I urge you to go to the Word of God and study this topic. Read the gospels over and over. See what Jesus had to say about it. Read what the great Christians in history have had to say about it. Read Bible commentaries. Examine your own heart. Are you afraid of losing friends? Do you fear rejection?

Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life? If after all this, you still struggle with saying the word ‘hell’ in your evangelism, just substitute it with the word ‘down’ e.g. “At death, our soul goes either up to heaven or down.” Non-Christians will know exactly what you mean.

They already know about hell because they have been hard wired by God to know about it40. This too has been my observation over the 30 years I have been an evangelist.

But whatever you do, don’t stop evangelising!”

This discussion about systematic theology is a reminder to us that we need to be faithfully reading through the entire Word of God as we seek to find answers to important questions. There are no contradictions in the Bible, but God used different authors to deal in depth with different 38 Even if I didn’t see this impact, I would not take hell out. We don’t just take content out of the gospel based on our own observation about what we think personally is right or wrong. It’s not our place to do this. We are not God. We must let Scripture speak and bow to it authority.

39 Later in this book, I discuss the doctrine of annihilationism.

40 Ecclesiastes 3:11

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topics.

Above all, don’t compromise on the essential content of the SDNTG, and don’t succumb to his devices which are designed to cause you to water down or compromise on the content of the SDNTG.

S

ummary

• Realise the gospel has immense power to save people.

• Proclaiming the gospel brings real life to the believer.

• Everyone on the earth needs to hear the essential content of the gospel message, as detailed in this Mini Book. Generally speaking, the content should not change from person to person.

• CTION POINT: Urge fellow Christians not to compromise on this content for the sake of unity. It takes courage and fortitude to proclaim the gospel in a situation where a false gospel is the accepted norm. Have the fortitude to stand strong for Jesus.

CTION POINT: Proclaim the gospel to everyone • everywhere and leave the results to God. If you lose all your friends, so be it. God will give you others more precious and wonderful than the ones you lost.

• The true foundation of Christian unity is unity with respect to: 1. The missions task (i.e. establishing a church in every people group) 2. The evangelism task (i.e. making sure every person in every people group hears and understands the gospel) 3. The content of the gospel (i.e. agreeing to proclaim only the Biblical, historic SDNTG gospel).

• The doctrine of hell is a vital component of the gospel.

A A

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•

A

CTION POINT: You might ask “Why can I do to help get the truth in this Mini Book to others?” Start spreading awareness of the issues raised in this Mini Book to other Christians, particularly leaders. Email it to everyone on your address book and encourage them to do the same.

Send them a PDF file. If you are reading a hard copy of this Mini Book, you can obtain a PDF copy by sending an email to julian@esisite.com.

Make no mistake, however. Even if we are clear about what ‘evangelism’ is and isn’t, and what ‘the gospel’ is an isn’t, and what the devices of the enemy are to confuse and distort the two, he will not let up.

His next dirty device is to convince us that mobilising everyone in our churches to proclaim the gospel is not the priority, and that other things are more important.

In Mini Book Five, I show how I came to the conclusion that evangelising the earth is the priority of Jesus – and therefore ought to be my priority, your priority, and the priority of your church. Come with me and I’ll show you how I came to this earth shattering, life changing, church revolutionising, conclusion!

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Real Life Story Never Too Late To Start Levin, New Zealand.

This is a testimony of how an elderly couple decided to learn how to evangelise – and ended up with a vision to evangelise their entire town going door-to-door.

For approximately 30 years we sat faithfully in a church, enjoying worship, fellowship and the usual activities.

I had no idea we would be sharing the gospel with the lost, but God always knew we would do so.

One Sunday, Julian Batchelor preached in our church about evangelising, and described the tools his ministry had developed to help Christians proclaim the gospel.

This was interesting and made sense. The tools seemed effective, especially because they were designed for the way people think today.

Our pastor saw the potential in this style of sharing the gospel and sent us to an evangelism training school in Auckland.

He was keen for us to lead evangelism in our church. We felt totally inadequate, of course, but, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we learnt a lot and put the teaching into practice.

It was scary but also fulfilling. By taking the first steps and learning how to proclaim the gospel, we knew we were starting to do what all Christians are meant to do.

We live in Levin, a North Island town of about 19,000 people. Four or five times every week, we aim to go out sharing the gospel door-to44

door. When we started, we set a goal to reach the whole town with a clear, loving, uncompromising gospel message.

We just wanted to obey Jesus when He said we are to first focus on our “Jerusalem” (Acts 1:8). We keep persevering, encouraging each other and pushing towards the goal.

To date, and by God’s grace, we have reached about two-thirds of Levin.

As well as doing evangelism ourselves, we have been training and equipping others in our church. In doing this, we realised we were starting to function as Ephesians 4:11-12 evangelists. A big part of the mandate of an Ephesians 4:1112 evangelist is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” – to teach others how to share the gospel. Some of the other members of our evangelism team are now also going door-todoor sharing the gospel.

In order to fulfil our vision of reaching the entire town, we have adopted a systematic approach. We use a street map, marking off each house after someone in that house has heard the gospel. Sometimes, if we find no one at home, we visit the same house three times!

Our goal is to share the gospel with at least one householder in every home. Of course, we don’t always succeed.

Some refuse to listen, some never seem to be home, and fences and dogs guard other houses. This disappoints us, but God asks us only to go, and to try, and we pray someone else with the gospel will reach those we miss.

Every recipient of the gospel is different, and it is a great honour to share God’s precious message with him or her.

There have been various reactions – some think they are going to heaven because they have been to Sunday school or attend a particular 45

church, others because they are just “good” people.

This last group would be predominant. Most are completely dumbfounded when they discover that just being a “good person” does not make us acceptable to God. They are stunned when they discover that without repentance and faith, they are going to hell.

Our experience is that most people in our town have never heard the gospel.

Yet there are churches everywhere.

It has become obvious to us that we are living in an unevangelised town.

Most people have no idea that Jesus took their place and was punished for them. We often watch and listen in awe as people discover and understand God’s great love for them. There have also been Satanworshippers who try to shock us with abominable remarks, but God is greater and whatever they say makes no difference to our determination to push on. The good times far outweigh the difficult.

People have often commented that they don’t usually allow people to talk to them about “religious” things but they found the presentation “so good” and appreciated us calling.

Going door-to-door has given us so much joy, and a sense of God’s approval, that we now understand why the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have this focus.

I encourage you and your church to get going so you don’t miss out on the blessing.

Any success we have had is the Holy Spirit’s enabling and we praise him for guiding and empowering us to carry on loving people with the gospel.

We never dreamt we would be actively involved in helping to fulfil the Great Commission in our later years in this way.

It has been one of the highlights of our entire lives.

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Julian’s comments.

Ron and Jean are a remarkable couple for so many reasons. First, they have a heart for God. What was in their heart was to serve God and to do what was right. This led to them going to the expense and trouble of attending an evangelism school in Auckland.

Second, they were committed to doing what they learnt, or putting it into practice. So many of us attend conference camps, and listen to sermons, but we don’t follow through. Not so with Ron and Jean. They were ‘doers of the Word, and not merely hearers only’ ( James 1:22).

Third, the showed great character. They were disciplined. To reach 2/3 of their town, over a few years, shows just how much character they had.

Fourth, they speak a lot about the joy they experienced. This is the John 10:10 life I wrote about in Mini Book 2.

Its my belief that the vast majority of the Church are just going through the motions, not really experiencing John 10:10. If we want to know where to find it, follow Ron and Jean’s excellent example!

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The Full List Of Books In ‘The Truth About Evangelism’ Mini Series Book One

Evangelism Lost! Exposing The True State Of Evangelism In Today’s Church

Book Two Seven Deadly Motives Exposing How The Enemy Is Shutting Down Evangelism.

Book Three

The Sorrowful Collapse Of The Great Commission- A Dangerous Redefining Of Evangelism

Book Four Evangelism Redefined? Six Subtle Yet Devastating Redefinitions Of Evangelism

Book Five Confusion Busters 7 Things You Should Know About The Gospel Message

Book Six

Six Ways To Move From Gospel Confusion To Gospel Clarity

Book Seven

The Evangelisation Of The World Is The Ulimate Purpose Of The Church. 7 Irrefutable Reasons It Is Time To Prioritise

Book Eight

A Gift, A Call, Or A Commission. Are All Christians Commanded To Evangelise

Book Nine

12 Keys To Fearless Evangelism In The 21St Century

Book Ten Take Them Down. 12 Road Blocks And How To Get Through Them

Book Eleven

The Key To Victory. Start Viewing Evangelism As An Event, Not A Process

Book Twelve

Confidence In The Gospel, Come Back! Four Essential Steps To Reclaiming Lost Ground!

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Book Thirteen Prepare To Be Amazed! What Jesus Really Taught About Evangelism!

Book Fourteen

What Leaders Must Do To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism

Book Fifteen

A Plan Of Action To Cause A Resurgence In World Evangelism

Book Sixteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 1)

Book Seventeen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 2)

Book Eighteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 3)

Book Nineteen

Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 4)

Book Twenty Church Leaders! This Is Your Time To Step Up! (Part 5)

Book Twenty One

Climb On Board! 4 Reasons Why Doing Evangelism Will Help Create A Better World!

Book Twenty Two

Devastation! How Pseudo-Conversions Hinder Evangelism And What You Can Do To Stop The Rot!

Book Twenty Three

“Friendship evangelism.” What’s good about it, and what’s heretical?

Book Twenty Four

Unholy Grief! Five Ways Evangelists With The Gift Can Grieve The Holy Spirit

Book Twenty Five

The Highest Motive For Doing Evangelism? You’ll Be Amazed What The Bible Teaches!

Conclusion

Book Twenty Six Appendix One : If We Fail To Evangelise, We Fail. Period. By Dr K.P. Yohannan

Appendix Two : The Pastor Evangelist. By Dr. Roger S. Greenway

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Appendix Three : True Gospel Must Be Heard, By Kevyn Harris

Appendix Four : This We Believe Signatories

Appendix Five : Device 84. “I don’t like being told to do evangelism!”

Book Twenty Seven The Evangelism Fitness Test

To order, please visit Www.evangelismtruthbooks.com

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