What exactly does it mean to share the gospel?

 

Welcome back to my blog. I'm happy that you came to visit.

Teleios recently evaluated how often evangelical Christians share the gospel and what makes a person fear doing so.  We surveyed all attendees at one Sunday worship service in a midwestern evangelical church. Approximately 370 people participated (full results at https://teleiosresearch.com/explaining-the-gospel-and-wellbeing-among-christian-evangelicals/).

 Last week we discussed that this survey indicated Bible-believing Christians have generally high ratings of wellbeing. Although some respondents confessed to fear in explaining the gospel to others, they continued to present with better wellbeing than those who do share the gospel.

 Approximately 30% said they share the gospel verbally once a month or more. However, they also indicated that they felt a need to exaggerate how frequently they actually evangelized! Why? Perhaps they overstated how much they shared because of their hesitancy to tell the gospel to others.

The survey also discovered what many people consider to be sharing the gospel may not necessarily include a verbal explanation! In fact, a verbal gospel message came in at only #5 on the list of how people say they share. Most common methods are noted below.

Is it important you actually verbalize the gospel? Is simply living a pure life or praying for others sufficient?

The Bible indicates in Romans 10:13-15 that someone has to actually hear the words of the gospel to understand salvation. Further, the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10 noted that although he worked day and night to live a blameless life in front of the Thessalonians, he still verbally spoke the gospel to them. In other words, non-verbal efforts, although important, will not bring somebody to belief. A non-Christian needs to hear the specific gospel message.

Is sharing the gospel message to be feared? In a humanist society where Christians often are demonized as judgmental, and our adversaries claim they are more loving because they accept all religions (except Christianity), we often feel ashamed. Yet if our God is the God of the Bible, He has given us His power and truth to salvation and for daily living. We have a wonderful message to give our colleagues, family and friends. We are correct and society is wrong! Therefore, we should be confident in sharing these truths in a patient and loving manner (2 Timothy 2:24-25). 

As a physician, if I knew the truth about someone's life-threatening medical condition and also knew how to cure it, would I withhold disclosing the diagnosis in case my patient found it offensive or didn’t believe me?  If so, I would be a terrible doctor! We have the truth which we can help others. Our society needs the truth of the gospel!

How do we effectively share the gospel in our complex culture? That's a great question and we'll discuss this next week. Please join me as we discussed how to share the gospel.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com/

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Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

Do you fear sharing the gospel?

 

Do you ever fear sharing the gospel? Almost everyone does, so you're not alone. Today’s blog will discuss the results of a recent study evaluating how often evangelicals tell others about the plan of salvation and what makes them fear the process? The results are very interesting! You might discover something about yourself and God.

 

We surveyed all attendees at one Sunday worship service a midwestern evangelical church about telling others the gospel. Approximately 370 people participated. Full results can be seen https://teleiosresearch.com/explaining-the-gospel-and-wellbeing-among-christian-evangelicals/.

 

Almost all (96%) participants said they feared ‘sharing the gospel’ but thought they should explain it more often to others (5.1/6.0 rating). Further, participants confessed to some guilt in not explaining the gospel (3.0/6.0 rating). In total, 31% indicated that they shared the plan of salvation verbally with someone once a month or more frequently. However, perhaps the fear or social pressure to explain the gospel might have caused participants to confess they exaggerate how often they actually explained the gospel (4.9/6.0 rating). 

 

Why do people fear sharing the gospel? Participants indicated most often that they do not know what to say (56%). This makes some sense to me personally from teaching individual Bible studies, because I've never encountered one single student who was able to explain the plan of salvation clearly. Other common reasons were fear of offending the non-believer (28%) and an inability to answer objections (36%). The participants expressed hesitancy although they overwhelmingly believed that the Bible is true.

 

However, participants who disclose the gospel to others compared to those who do not, were statistically more likely to demonstrate better wellbeing (i.e., peace, joy, contentment and purpose). Why would this be? Several causes might be possible: 

·       Believers may feel better after discussing the gospel realizing they are fulfilling an injunction from the Bible.

·       A Christian who explains the message of salvation may derive joy knowing they are providing good advice and helping others.

·       If a Christian does not know how to share the Gospel with someone else, they may not be able to even convince themselves of God’s faithfulness in times of personal doubt, which may hurt their own wellbeing.

 

Also of interest in our survey was that those who told others about the gospel were more likely to be adherent in other areas of their Christian life including: teaching others, praying, praising God and having meaningful Christian fellowship. These extra measures of adherence, especially in associating with other believers, may have contributed to wellbeing (1,2).

 

Warning: Participants also noted a moderate level of guilt which potentially could have occurred, at least in part, from not explaining the gospel to others. A believer’s guilt, however, is not part of biblical Christianity. Prior research has shown that greater knowledge of the faith helps prevent guilt and enhances wellbeing (1,2).

 

Our study suggests that practicing, Bible-believing Christians generally have high ratings of wellbeing. Although Christians may fear explaining the gospel to others, those who do so show better wellbeing than those who do not.

 

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope that you'll come back again next week.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

 

1.     MacIlvaine, W.R., Nelson, L.A., Stewart, J.A., Stewart, W.C. (2013). Association of strength of religious adherence to quality of life measures. Complement Ther Clin Pract, 19:251-255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.05.001.

2.     MacIlvaine, W.R., Nelson, L.A., Stewart, J.A., Stewart, W.C. (2014). Association of strength of community service to personal well-being. Community Ment Health J, 50:577-582. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9660-0.

 

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos/

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

 

Service with a smile!

 

 

Welcome back to the Teleios blog! We are exploring together what the Bible says about personal wellbeing. Otherwise, how can the Bible assist you living a more contented purposeful life?  

 

Last week we began a fascinating discussion of using our biblically enhanced wellbeing to help other people. We first emphasized that our speech should not be used to satisfy primarily our own emotions or purposes, but to meet the needs of others. That takes some work!

 

However, to serve God we should turn our thoughts away from ourselves, as we are able, and reach out to others, not only using gracious speech, but our actions as well. Amazingly, the service we provide to others further enhances not only our knowledge of God, but our own wellbeing as well (Colossians 1:10). 

 

In a survey Teleios performed at Grace Community Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, pastored by Dr. Rod MacIlvaine, we found among over 300 attendees that those who were involved in church or community service demonstrated greater personal wellbeing (Read full article, MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of community service to personal wellbeing. Community Ment Health J 2014;50:577-582).

 

Why would this be? We do not know for certain, but we could speculate the following: first, those who serve other people have the satisfaction of knowing they are meeting the desires of God; second, their own problems are put into proper perspective not only by perceiving the suffering of other people but also by ordering their own priorities under God’s; and lastly, by serving they will focus less on their own troubles perhaps reducing the emotional burden of these problems.

 

Of course, the benefit of serving others is not limited to the person giving but also to the individuals or communities receiving the help. The benefit of service has been little studied in the medical literature, to our knowledge, however, we believe that assistance to communities and giving to individuals promotes a gracious and courteous culture which allows all to pursue their best. 

 

Consider too that a generous local community helps people to remove their dependence on state subsistence which requires taxpayer funding and limits local community action and individual care for one another. Such dependence on a distant government may result potentially in a cold and self-focused community.

 

Thank you for joining me today. I welcome your comments and questions.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos/

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

 

Using our words for good!

 

Welcome back! Thanks for visiting my blog! We are exploring together what the Bible says about wellbeing. Likewise, how can you live a more satisfied, fulfilling life.

 

Today we begin the exciting journey of using our good wellbeing to help other people. Ultimately, to know and to serve God we must turn our thoughts away from ourselves and on to others. Amazingly, however, that service we provide to others further enhances not only our knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10), but our own wellbeing as well. Read one of our captivating research studies on this topic at https://teleiosresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CV-TELEIOS-GCC-II-CMHJ-2013.pdf.

 

We can divide this topic into two sections: our words and our actions. Today we start with our words! The manner in which we speak to one another is of vital importance. The Bible implores us to control our tongue and reminds us how destructive our speech may be (James 3:1-13). How do we do this in a practical way? Biblical speech can be broken down into three basic steps:

 

1. Foundational biblical thinking

2. Biblical planning

3. Biblical speaking

 

Let’s discuss briefly each point in turn.

 

Foundational biblical thinking

 

The first step to speaking to one another in a godly way is to control what we think about other people. Ultimately, what we think about someone will influence our behavior and speech. The apostle Paul is a good example to us in that he typically begins each epistle to a church by expressing gratitude, commendation and his commitment to pray for those to whom he is writing. It's very difficult to be nasty to someone for whom you are thankful, you realize the good things God has done in their life and you are praying. Such profitable thinking is critical to Bible oriented speech.

 

Biblical planning 

 

Thinking well of someone is not the end of the process of developing biblical speech. We must consider specifically how we might help a person. This takes some consideration (1 Timothy 4:16). In our busy lives it's not easy to know or even notice a person's need. Consequently, taking a few minutes to consider a person's situation in life and potential needs is critical. What if you cannot think of any needs? That's easy, ask them! This demonstrates your love and care and helps you to know how to love them. In summary, develop a plan!

 

Biblical speaking

 

Once you have a mindset that is favorably disposed towards someone and a plan to meet their need(s), you are better positioned to speak with them. Indeed, how we speak to each other as Christians is very important. The Bible indicates (Ephesians 4:29) that we should speak to one another’s need. Further, the whole concept behind the Greek word for love agape (αγαπη) is to love based not primarily on emotion, but on the other person's needs. This includes speech. Our speech is not a tool to use primarily to express our own emotions but to help other people. Such thinking and speech processes then will give you the opportunity to give away the lessons of wellbeing that you have learned from scripture and have incorporated in your own life. Wow, what transformative ideas! The Bible is a wonderful tool.

 

Thank you for joining me today. Next week we will continue this discussion regarding service to others.

 

William C. Stewart, MD

 

Email – info@teleiosresearch.com

Website – http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos/

 

Disclaimer – This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author alone and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.