As part of our Christian walk we have the
privilege of being a part of God's plan for other people's lives, which,
depending on the situation, includes sharing the gospel. Teleios recently
evaluated midlife evangelicals in a well-taught Bible-believing church in the
Midwest and their attitudes in telling others the plan of salvation.
We found that there was widespread hesitancy
to share the gospel mostly because of social fear, not knowing what to say, nor
answer objections. These church members opted for other perceived avenues to
share the gospel such as lifestyle and invitations to church as opposed to
explicitly stating the plan of salvation.
Teleios evaluated the same type of questions
in young Christians by surveying visitors to the Instagram accounts SpiritualWord
(n=100) and GodsHolyScriptures (n=357). There were 457 total participants of
whom about 2/3 each < 18 years of age, protestant and evangelical.
The results showed that young Christians
recognize the need to share their faith with most doing so about once/year or
once/month (62%) although some never tell others (17%). They indicated on
average less fear in sharing the gospel (80%) or any aspect of their faith (53%)
than their elders in the prior survey. However, they also seemed to have high
levels of guilt for not sharing the gospel (96%) and thought they should tell
others more (98%).
Like their older counterparts those who feared
sharing the gospel generally did so because of social awkwardness, as well as not
knowing what to say, how to answer questions and the contents of the Gospel
itself. In fact, verbally expressing the gospel to others was their fifth favorite
way to share the plan of salvation (7%) whereas lifestyle, encouragement,
praying and loving others were the preferred choices.
Importantly, almost all our participants (>90%)
indicated the Bible is inerrant and true.
However, like their
elders, young Christians have inhibitions in expressing the gospel and do not know
its contents. The survey participants may be unfamiliar that scripture says for
people to believe they explicitly must hear the gospel message (Romans 10:14-17).
Otherwise, people are unable to interpret our love and lifestyle as knowing how
to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. It takes a succinct verbal expression of the
gospel for people to understand and believe (please see bottom of the page).
To the participants
point, however, our lives must be framed in godliness (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12) to
be an effective witness for Christ. But that life would be wasted if we cannot
teach others how to become Christians.
For example, if your
teacher stood before class and said nothing while living a good quiet life and
then handed out a test, and you failed because you didn't know the information,
you might be furious because she failed to teach you. Same with the gospel, our
lifestyle just doesn't teach what God intended and we need to say it.
Another vital point
from the survey, believers saved by grace through Christ should not feel
guilt. Those forgiven have no reason for guilt and there is no
injunction in the Bible to suffer with it.
At Teleios we believe the Bible is true instruction to salvation and healthy lives. What
we offer to society is correct and true. In contrast, what the world offers
through globalism, humanism, communism, identity and statist politics cannot
match the glory and the benefits from of our blessed Savior. We should not
recoil from the world but realize what we have is good for our family, friends
and society.
Thanks for visiting my
blog. Next week and we will discuss ways to share the gospel and avoid those
awkward fearful emotions. Please join us then!
WC Stewart
Do you know salvation is a
gift from God?’
How to become a Christian:
· Each person has done
misdeeds (sin) that deserve punishment from a perfect and just God.
· However, God being
loving, sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins on the cross to take
the punishment we deserve.
· Consequently, when we
simply accept, through faith alone, the forgiveness that Christ provided by his
death and resurrection, we receive a permanent relationship with God and
eternal life!
(Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans
10:9-10, and Romans 3:21-26).
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