Ashamed of the Gospel?

Hey there,

I have finished classes at Tech now all that stands in my way are 4 finals. It still hasn't hit me that I won't be coming back here next year. I sure will miss this place. So much growth has happened here. It is sad to leave, sometimes I wish I didn't have to but God has other plans which of course I know very little about. So, as I sit here delaying to start my studying I've got something on my mind which I would like to share. (Its okay, I've still got a day and a half til my first final which means plenty of time to procrastinate)

I love music. I love all kinds of music (normally I would add "except ska" but, I've started to tolerate it, in moderation of course) I especially love artists that are "Christian". When I say "Christian" I mean artists that declare themselves as Christians and also what they say in their lyrics. I still enjoy music by artists that aren't Christian but, for most genres I have a hard time with the lyrics that aren't focused around a life pursuing God. There is one thing though that irks me about some Christian artists and organizations that find themselves in the secular scene, which is the phrase that comes in forms like, "We don't want to be too preachy." or "We don't want to shove our beliefs on people." and "We don't want to be too pushy about our beliefs."

Artists that make these claims have lyrics that are good. They speak of a life worth living, helping others out, the emptiness of pursuing sinful desires, seeking help from God and they might even mention Jesus. Thats the thing though, when you listen to most Christian bands that have a secular following, they rarely speak of Jesus and who he was and what he did. Why not sing about your savior who rescued you from your sins? Why not take the opportunity to speak the glorious truth, the Good News of salvation? Who are you trying to please? Man or God?

Now, as Christians it is not our job to MAKE people believe in Jesus Christ and his atoning death which has saved us from the wrath of God (which we deserve); only God can change the human heart. We cannot shove or push our beliefs on others but what we believe should be the foundation of our lives. Everything that we do should scream "Jesus is my savior!" to people, everything. "Sing to the Lord, all the Earth; proclaim his salvation day after day."- 1 Chronicles 16:23 I'm not saying that every band needs to be making praise music, sound like Hillsong United and make songs that sound like they come straight from Psalms. Lets have songs of hope, godly living, struggle and happiness but speak of how we find hope, overcome struggle and where our true happiness lies; in God, through Jesus.

There could be many reasons why bands and others don't do this. I think most of them revolve around fear of rejection. When Jesus Christ is mentioned as the way, the truth and the life, often times people get angry.

I know I sound kind of harsh. I also know that this is something that I struggle with as well. I sit back on the sidelines when it comes to proclaiming Christ for fear of rejection. This is something that I have always struggled with since I became a Christian and have always felt convicted about. When I went down to Panama City, FL this past spring break with Campus Crusade I was very nervous to share my faith with others. There were practically endless opportunities to talk to people. College kids were EVERYWHERE. Seriously, once I eft my hotel room, people were everywhere, the lobby, the beach, shops, walking everywhere around town. Also, just about everyone was drunk as well. All day long, morning to 3am, people were sipping their alcohol. Everywhere reeked of it. It was a different environment to say the least.

Anywho, in the afternoon our Cru group would hit the beaches to go out and share the gospel with others. This isn't your normal beach adventure with happy families playing games, digging in the sand with others lounging around soaking up some sun. Nowhere close. This was an intense party scene with booze and barely clothed people everywhere. Vendors such as Monster energy drinks, Geico, Garnier, Trojan condoms, Coke Zero and the Marines are giving out free stuff as well as various stages with music and booty shakin' contests. It is very crowded in these areas. Beer cans and trash are everywhere and again, one might be able to get a good buzz just from sniffing the air around. I have never been in an atmosphere like this is. It was hard. Thanks be God I never was interested in the party lifestyle because it was rampant.

The hardest thing was talking to people. Here is the great dilemma: 1. Everybody is pretty much drunk. 2. Guys are looking to impress girls so they wander around with only that on their minds. 3. Girls wear skimpy clothing trying to impress guys and either lie around or walk around as well participating in various drinking games. At first glance, it seemed to me that no one wanted to talk about God. This was challenging for me. I had the hardest time approaching people. I felt that no one wanted to talk to me. I felt like an outsider. I would walk around looking for someone on the outskirts sitting by themselves who looked approachable. Again, I was convicted that even the party-ers need to hear about Christ but I just couldn't get myself to approach them. How do you talk to someone who is laughing up, playing beer pong with all their friends? I would think I don't have that kind of personality.

I ended up only talking to about 5 people on the beach over the course of 3 days. Again, I can't stress how hard it was for me to talk to someone. I can barely put these feelings into words. "My style" I felt was more personable, over a longer period of time, someone who wasn't busy or involved in something at the moment. That just wasn't the case on the beach. Looking back, I lacked so much faith, trust and wisdom. I was leaning on my own power and not God's.

As well as sharing on the beach there was also something called Commando Cru. Commando Cru was sharing with people at night, from 10pm-whenever. This could be on the resort in the hot tubs, on the strip, in the fast food restaurants and by the bars and clubs. I was more comfortable with this. People were walking everywhere and didn't have much to do in between. They were more approachable to me. I had an easier time talking with someone walking next to them to wherever they were going rather than a distracted drunk guy interrupting me every 30 seconds by asking for my confirmation on a pretty girl. I talked to more people and had longer conversations at night.

So, I kind of sound like one of those street preachers/people who go around preaching the gospel. They oftentimes get a bad reputation. I struggled with this as well. Sometimes I felt like I was "selling Jesus". Again, going back to what I am comfortable with, I'd rather develop a relationship over time. Cru advised us to use their spiritual surveys and their gospel tracts when talking to someone. Again, I felt like a salesman, reading my performed script. Instead, I mainly started a conversation off asking them where they were from, how their day was going and such. Then lead that into asking their religious background. That normally went into what they thought a relationship with God was like and how does someone get to heaven. Then went into the gospel (pretty much the tract but just speaking to them instead of pulling it out which looking back I wish I did to give them something to read and look at.) I was mainly trying to make the approach my own and base it on each person.

So, you are probably thinking, "Well how did it go Devin?" I say, "100% successful." Huh? Every single person I talked to became saved? Really? No, just about everyone that I talked to fell into 3 categories: 1. Someone who said they were a Christian but didn't care for being "religious" and thought that just "loving God and Jesus" was enough. 2. Someone who was apathetic to religion in general. Life is about having fun and feeling good. 3. Someone who attacked Christianity and the idea of religion. There might be a higher power but any religion could be right or God does not exist because natural disasters happen.

How am I 100% successful then? Because every conversation I talked about God, truth and the gospel. They listened and how am I to know their heart whether it was after I left or later in their life? Despite my own struggles, I still stepped out on faith, preaching the gospel and allowed God to work in their lives and I was 100% successful in that. We often forget that it is God who does the saving work, not us. We are the means by which truth is spoken. It is then up to God for that heart change. No matter how pretty our message is, how eloquent it is spoken, how attractive it may sound to us, it is fully up to God to do that saving work in their lives. We cannot make anyone believe. Again, this was troublesome for me. I have recorded in a prayer book 14 names that I talked to and shared my faith with. I saw no immediate change in any of them. I was disappointed at first. "It must have been something that I was doing," I thought. I still get some feelings of disappointment occasionally. How wrong I am though. I spoke the truth, the good news about Jesus Christ and in return mainly got "whatever... thats cool for you." replies. But, it does not stop there. It is not fully in my power for them to understand it no matter how long I spend with them, answer their questions and lead them through the gospel. It takes prayer for those words to set into their lives. Matthew 19:25-26, after the rich young ruler approaches Jesus, Jesus speaks to his disciples about salvation, "And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Jesus also states in Matthew 11:27 that, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Also, Paul shows in Romans 3:10-12 (which is referencing to Psalm 14:1-3 and 53:1-3), "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one."(One thing to note, repetition is used to stress importance) I believe what is taught here is that no one by themselves can come to a decision of choosing God. We are so sinful, so lost, so evil, so focused on the things of this world that we don't desire God. Back to my story, it is fully up to God to save those people that I talked to based on his awesome and perfect plan. I earnestly pray that the truth is revealed to them and that they turn from their sinful desires and seek after God and the only true happiness that can be found in him.

Now in a very long round-a-bout way to tie all of this smatter of thoughts together is to stress the importance of evangelism and proclaim Jesus Christ in all we do. When I look back at this, I have started to realize how awesome it is to be used by God as a means of sharing the gospel with people. We don't know who is going to be saved, who God is going to radically change. Romans 10:13-15 says, ""for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." How then shall they call upon Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!"" I like this excerpt from R.C. Sproul that goes along with this passage, "God has chosen the foolishness of preaching as the means to accomplish redemption. I suppose he could have worked out his divine purpose without us. He could publish the gospel in the clouds by using his holy finger in skywriting. He could preach the gospel himself, in his own voice, shouting it from heaven. But that is not his choice. It is a marvelous privilege to be used by God in the plan of redemption. ..... We must never underestimate the importance of our role in evangelism. Neither must we overestimate it. We preach. We bear witness. We provide the outward call. But God alone has the power to call a person to himself inwardly. I do not feel cheated by that. On the contrary, I feel comforted. We must do our job, trusting that God will do his."- Chosen By God.

So, in summary, in whatever we do, do it in the name of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:17). Back to the music I spoke of earlier, I have found to treasure bands, artists and songs that speak about the truth of finding complete happiness in God which is directly spoken in the lyrics. With evangelism in mind it is such an awesome thing to hear the gospel and have it constantly remind me of the awesomeness of it. It is encouraging. So, lets not be ashamed of presenting the gospel in our lives whether it be through song, word and deed.

If you have any questions please ask and I always enjoy your comments. I hope you find this encouraging (sorry for the length).

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20.