When Jesus began His public

minisby he said, ' Repent for the

Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,'
Mark 1 :15. Peter preached at
Pentecost, "This Jesus ... yod hath
made both Lord and Christ - this
Jesus whom you crucified: Acts
2:32, 36. The yospel was
proclaimed in the context of the
O,T. Scriptures and promises of
Yod. ,There was a context for
hearing and understanding the
message. What is the context in
which We must
proclaim the yospel
today! Do people
believe in the authority
of Scriptures! Are
many people like the
man who responded to
the proclamation,
'Jesus is the answer"
with 'What' s the
question!" Jim
Peterson, the author of Living
Proof, said " finally realized that
there were many people in my
community .. .for whom the
church and its message no longer
held any interest," and "The idea
that the Christian faith could
serve as a basis for living never
even crosses the mind of most
people: Uim Peterson, Living
Proof, pp. 13-14, 21-22). Alan
Bloom in his opening sentence to
The Closing of the American
Mind, said,'1bere is one thing a
(university) professor can be
absolutely certain of: almost
evel)' student entering the
university believes ... that truth is
relative: These statements reflect
something of the cultural context
in which we live and in which
we rnust proclaim the Yospel.
We no longer live in a culture
where the Bible is generally
accepted as the Word of Yod. It '
is also a culture where virtually
evel)'one has heard some form of
the "Yospel.
N
Many have
outright rejected the message or
having "tried" it have dropped
out because the promises of
health and wealth didn't
"materialize: Many others
falsely think they are Christians
or that they will become one
some time in the future, certainly
before they die. Many of those
who are "born again' Christians
do not believe in giving a
"reason" for the hope that is in
them and also do not believe that
the Bible has anything to say to
culture in general. Thus, they
"undermind
N
the yospel and cut
the vel)' heart and hope of the
yospel out by presenting
salvation as something that is
only relevant for the future after
you die. The world is looking for
solutions to problems now. By in
large, self-fulfillment is the
driving value of our generation
and religion is seen to be a means
to self-fulfillment. The fact that
"Baby Boomers" are going back to
church does not mean that they
are seeking or willing to submit
to yod, the Christ, and the
teachings of the Bible. We must
acknowledge the fact that we live
in a day when many people are
turned off by the church, tuned
out to the church, and have
dropped out of the church.
22 THE COUNSEL of Ch.lcedon November, 1995
How do we get people who
have been evangelized and
secularized even to listen to the
Gospel! How do we bridge the
present distance from unbelief,
indifference, antagonism,
ignorance, and callousness!
Someone (I can' t remember
where I stole this from) has said
that probably the world's least
attentive audience is the people
flying home on a Friday
afternoon. The plane is full of
business men who
have made hundreds
of flights. A
stewardess appears
who gives safety
instructions which
they have heard
numerous times and
no one listens. Why!
Because. (1) Nothing
she says is new.
They've heard it countless times.
And. (2) The danger for which
she is preparing folks is vel)'
remote. Their felt need is zero,
zilch, nada (I am multi-lingual).
Now. what would it take for the
stewardess to capture their
attention! If the plane began to
nose dive. then the people would
perk up and listen. They would
be properly motivated. We have
to consider where people are and
ask what will it take to motivate
people today to listen to the
yospel!
, Evangelism does not take
place in a vacuum, in isolation
from persona!, philosopi)ica!,
religious. social. cultural 'beliefs.
What do we know about men
that prepares us to approach
them! Paul. hi Acts 17:22-24
said concerning the Athenians. ' I
perceive that you are very
religious." He approached
Oentiles, Oreeks, differently than
he did Jews, 17:1-3. In Antioch,
13:13-34, he preached in tenns
of O.T. promise and fulfillment.
At Lystra, 14:6-16, to mostly
unlearned peasants he preached
simple truths about Ood. Before
the Sanhedrin, 3:11, Paul
outwitted them by referring to
the Resurrection. Evangelism
must take the audience into
mind, what are their beliefs,
presuppositionsl All men need
the Oospel, the same Oospel, but
not all men are the same. Jesus
never dealt with two
3. He knows that Ood is holy
and sin-hating, Rom. 1 :18.
4. He knows that Ood is
worthy of worship, Rom. 1 :1,
25.
5. He knows that he should
be thankful to Ood, Rom. 1 :21.
6. He knows that his idol is a
lie, Rom. 1: 25.
7. He knows what sin is,
Rom. 1 :26, 29, 3.
8. He knows that those who
practice such things deserve
death, Rom. 1 :32.
We must proclaim Jesus as the
way, the truth, and the life, John
14:6. All other religions are false
religions, Acts 4:1 . That does
not mean that all religions are
utterly false, they are essentially
false. There may be elements of
truth in them. All other religions,
false religions, are corruptions of
the true religion, and evidence of
the religious nature of man as
created by Ood. Most people
believe in a personal supreme
being. They believe in prayer,
offerings, charity, worship, etc.
Paul uses that to
people the same way.
Evangelism must be
persona!. What do we
know about men that
serves as a foundation
for preaching the
Oospell
I. The Spiritual
Context of Evangelism:
"We must point out the gods that
people often unknowingly,
unconsciously worship ... making them
self-conscious about their faith
commitments, aware that they are
operating on beliefs that are assumed."
proclaim the good
news, Acts 17:23,28,
(7-29). When
someone makes a
comment, an
observation that is
true, say "Did you
know that's what the
There are two constants and one
variable.
A. All Men Are Created By
Ood in the Image of Ood and
Cannot Escape the "Sensus
Deitatis," the Sense of Ood, the
Knowledge of Ood. Men are
religious by nature, creationally
religiOUS. He is created in the
image of Ood, Oen. 1 :6, 7,
5:1-3, Rom. 1:18ff., Acts 17:8-
9. Even the atheist is religiOUS,
often praying, "0 Ood, if there is
a god, save my soul if I have a
sou!. " Man is inescapably self-
conscious and Ood-conscious.
And we know that all men are
ultimately accountable to their
creator.
1. He knows that the true and
living Ood is there, Rom. 1 :0.
2. He knows that Ood is a
infinite spirit, Rom. 1 :23.
Paul said that you men
worship an unknown Ood. We
must point out the gods that
people often unknowingly,
unconsciously worship:
materialism, rationalism,
empiricism, existentialism,
nihilism, moralism, etc., making
them self-conscious about their
faith commitments, aware that
they are operating on beliefs that
are assumed. Most people are
presuppositionally unconscious!
We must make them aware of
what their gods are, and then
destroy their idols. We must
meet the non-Christian who
believes in equal rights, human
rights, sexual rights, woman's
rights, morality, etc., and show
them they have no basis to
believe in any "rights" or
"wrongs" unless the Bible is true.
The Bible explains reality.
Bible says." Or, you
can counter someone with
"What do you base that belief
onl " or "The Bible says .... "
B. All Men Are Fallen in Sin.
Contrary to much teaching and
preaching, the heathen are not
naturally hungering and waiting
for the Oospel, they do not have
a natural receptivity to the truth.
They have a natural animosity,
hatred for the truth, Rom. 8:7.
Men do have a natural desire to
be happy, to ease their guilt, to
be wealthy, to be well, to solve
their problems. They even have a
natural interest in religion as long
as it serves their purpose, their
self interest. Do not interpret that,
however, as openness to Christ.
Do not either assume that
because you know Christ is the
answer, that they are seeking
Christ or that their motives for
November, 1995 'f THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'f 23
seeking Christ are godly. Many
followed Jesus for the loaves and
fishes, John 6:2. Men are naturally
dead in trespasses and sin, Eph.
2:1-3. So great is his depravity that
though he needs nothing more
than Christ, there is nothing less
that he desires!
What do we know aboutthe
natural man that helps us witness
to himl
1 . Vnregenerate man has a
sense of good and evil, Qen. 3:5,
22. They know it is good to do
good and evil to do evil even
though they can't properly
distinguish or determine good and
evil. The wicked call good evil and
evil good, lsa. 5:20. The
requirements of the law are
written on his heart, Rom. 2:15.
He may suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, Rom. 1 :18, but
still he knows that there is a
difference between good and evil.
Men also have a true sense of
guilt. We must proclaim to them
that they really are guilty, and that
guilt can be pardoned.
2. Man experiences futility,
(jen. 3:17-19, Eccles. 2:22-23.
Men are often hopeless, despairing
of life, and insecure. Things looked
forward to with anticipation never
quite measure up. They marry the
person of their dreams, get the job
and wealth of their dreams, have
children and the home of their
dreams. Somehow, however, they
are still unfulfilled and unhappy.
We must proclaim to them that
the chief end of man is to glorifY
(jod and to enjoy Him forever.
We proclaim that only Qod can
fill the void of the human heart.
We proclaim hope to those whose
lives are a tangled mess of sin that
in Christ we are new creations, 2
Cor. 5:17. We proclaim that a
Sovereign (jod has been and is
working out His eternal purpose
in the world and in our daily lives
and He calls you to surrender to
His sovereign and revealed will.
3. Man experiences death,
Psalm 38:3-4. Man has a desire to
live, to extend his life, to know
that he has eternal life, Eccles.
3:11. The Bible, however, says
that all who hate Qod love death.
We have the answer to life and
death. Jesus is the answer! He is
the answer to gUilt, to futility, and
to death. However, he is not the
answer men are looking for apart
from the grace of Qod
regenerating the heart. They are
like the stranded mountain climber
who yelled "Is anyone else up
there!" when an unseen voice
hollered to him that he would
have to cut his rope in order to be
rescued.
C. Man is Influenced by His
Society, see Lev. 18:3, Rom. 12:2.
24 ~ T H COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ November, 1995
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A man is influenced by his
particular society and associates in
which he lives, his family, friends,
neighbors, teachers, media,
philosophies, and religions. Provo
13:20 says "He who walks with
wise men will be wise, but the
companion of fools will be
destroyed." Man is influenced,
conditioned, molded, shaped by
his cultural context for good or for
evil. This is not the same as
environmental or hereditary
determinism or fatalism.
However, people are deeply
influenced by others. We are
living in a time when the world
and people have been proselytized,
evangelized, secularized,
materialized, democratized,
pluralized, polarized,
psychologicalized, moralized, and
neutralized according to the culture
in which they live. (TO BE
CONTINVED.)