How Do I Share the Gospel with Someone Who Thinks They Don't Need It?

How do I share the Gospel with someone who thinks they don't need it? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, it's Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us with your question at 833-THE-CORE. Our phone lines will be open for the next 25 minutes or so, and we'd love to hear from you.

That's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our social media sites. In fact, we have a YouTube channel. We'd love you to check us out on YouTube, and you can submit your questions to Adriel that way. And of course, you can always email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Oscar. What can you do when your senior pastor goes home to be with the Lord and the elders that are left are not trained, are not mature spiritually, just holding positions, and the church is better standstill with the wolves creeping around that they go to church?

Thank you. Oscar, I am sorry to hear about the death of your pastor and the situation that your church is in right now. When you talk about the wolves at the door of the church, or maybe already within the church, right? You think about what Paul says in Acts 20, and I want to read this from Acts chapter 20.

I'm sure it's got to bring a lot of grief and pain to your heart. The first thing I want to do is just read this exhortation that Paul gave the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20. Actually, this is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. You can just feel Paul's emotion here as he's admonishing these men who he's not going to see anymore.

Listen to what he says. This is Acts chapter 20, beginning in verse 18. He says, "'You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time, from the first day that I set foot in Asia serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Let me just stop there. Oscar, that's what the leadership in your church needs, that's what each of us as Christians need. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, and for the elders, you know, what he says here, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood. I know, Paul said, that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease, night or day, to admonish everyone with tears."

Wow. Again, you can just feel, you could sense the apostle Paul's emotion there. I'm sure, you know, tears in his eyes as he's pleading with these brothers saying, okay, I'm not going to see you anymore, but remember what I've told you, and be on the alert, because there are savage wolves out there who are seeking to draw the disciples away after themselves. In other words, they're not looking to have you follow Jesus. They want you to follow them.

They want to build their platform. They want you to serve them, and it's something that we, especially as leaders in the church, we have to be alert with regard to. And this situation that you're in, Oscar, again, I'm so sorry to hear about it, sounds like you had a good pastor who had that vigilance and who has since gone to be with the Lord. Now you have other elders in your church who don't have that same zeal, perhaps, and one encouragement to you would be maybe just to have a conversation with them.

Maybe bring them to Acts chapter 20 and say, brothers, I'm concerned because we've experienced this great loss, and, you know, anytime you're going through this kind of season of loss, you're vulnerable. We are vulnerable right now, and there are people who might want to come in and fill the void who should not fill the void. You know, oftentimes when there's an opening, there's a leadership opportunity.

There are people who think, oh, this is my perfect opportunity to take the reins, to get in control. People who are looking for power and the ability to call the shots but aren't looking to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this is where there does need to be vigilance and alertness, and maybe you can be used by the Lord, Oscar, in making that clear, in encouraging your elders, coming alongside of them, obviously as one who wants the best for the church and just saying, hey, this is something I'm really concerned about. Certainly you need to be praying that the Lord would guide you and your church through this difficult season, and that the Lord would bring a good pastor, a solid pastor, who is faithful to the Word and qualified according to what Paul says in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 1. And I just want to take a moment now to pray that for you and for your church. And so let's pray for Oscar and for his church that's gone through this difficulty recently. Father, we lift Oscar and the church that he's a part of up to you, and Lord, we ask for your protection over that church. We pray, Lord Jesus, that you would guide them. We pray that you would bring the right minister to that congregation. We pray that you would bless the elders of the church, Lord, granting them that vigilance and alertness and also great humility and love to serve the body. We pray that you would give our brother wisdom as he seeks to encourage the church, Lord.

Would you be with him? Would you be with them, Lord? And I pray that you would continue to be at work in the ministry that takes place there. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Just a follow-up question for you, Adriel. I know there are a variety of views about denominations, and some people say, well, I don't like the bureaucracy of a denomination. But in a situation like this, oftentimes the the structure and the oversight and the accountability of a denomination can be very helpful.

Yeah, absolutely. There, I mean, right, no church is perfect, no denomination is perfect. I minister in a conservative Presbyterian denomination, high view of the Scriptures, the authority of the Holy Scripture, high view of the Great Commission, but I don't think anybody in my denomination would say, oh, we're perfect. But we are seeking to serve the Lord faithfully under the Word and to work together and to support each other as best we can. And that's one of the benefits, I think, of being a part of a network of churches or a denomination, is we need that kind of support as churches, as local congregations. We need others around us as well.

And so you're totally right, Bill. I've been really blessed over the years by many in the denomination that I minister in, many who have encouraged me and come alongside of our church at times, and so something to consider. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about maybe church life, something going on in your church that you're concerned about or confused about, or maybe there's a passage in the Bible that you've always sort of struggled with and you'd like some clarification on that.

Adriel would be happy to dig into that with you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Now is the time to call. We'll be taking calls for the next 15 minutes or so. Let's go to Tammy, calling in from Nashville. Tammy, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes, hello. Thanks for taking my call. I am a Christian and I feel like I'm very close to the Lord, but I struggle with dealing, like when I go to the store and I'm going through the self-checkout, you know, I just, I want to justify that this is too expensive and just put it in the bag and nobody will see you, and I don't understand why, because I know that we're not supposed to steal, and I'm just seeking help, really, because I'm struggling with that. Well, Tammy, thank you for confessing that struggle and just being honest. Is this something that you've kind of had a history of struggling with? Is it something where you find yourself putting things in the bag every so often, or is it just a thought that pops into your mind? Well, it is a thought, and I don't do it very often, but, like, a few minutes ago I went to the store and I went to this self-checkout and I wanted to just keep the paper products buggy, you know, and not pay for it, but I did pay for it. But I had that thought, you know, and I knew it was wrong, but it was like I was struggling whether I should pay for it or not, but I still know that it's wrong.

That's right. Yeah, um, so I was wondering so a couple of things. One, I mean, that those thoughts that come into our mind, whether it's a temptation to steal something, temptation to lust, um, covet, you know, we have those thoughts, and I think the evil one, one of the ways he tempts us is and can be through, you know, slipping those thoughts to us, and the real question is, okay, what am I going to do with that thought the moment it comes? First, you know, the desire to take that which is not ours, or, um, you know, to lust after another person sinfully, that's sin. So we can confess that to the Lord and say, God, man, forgive me for, for I know that this is wrong, but I still find myself wanting this. My, my, my, my very desires are disordered in this way, and as you said, Tammy, it's, it's so interesting, because when we struggle with sin, that's, that's exactly what we do. What we do is we begin to justify, right? We'll say, well, this is too expensive, I should just have this, or I deserve this, um, with any kind of sin.

I mean, this is what begins to happen. So again, it's taking that to the Lord, and you can take that to God, Tammy, and say, have mercy upon me. Man, I, I don't want to think in this way. I don't want to feel these thoughts.

Now, it doesn't mean that they're just going to go away, but again, it's what do you do with those thoughts? You know that stealing is a violation of God's law, and, and you know, I love the way Paul puts it in Ephesians chapter 4, verse, verse 28, you know, thinking about how we, as believers under the new covenant, apply the very word and law of God. He says, look, let the thief no longer steal, this is Ephesians 4, verse 28, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. And so maybe every time, Tammy, you, you feel that temptation to take something that you know you shouldn't, that's not yours, saying, God, help me to commit myself to working hard so that I might have to give to those who are in need, and pursue that, pursue that. You know, you, you, you mortify by the grace of the Spirit, you mortify, you put to death those ungodly desires, you, you bring them to the Lord, and then, and then you pursue that which God calls you to, which is not just, stop stealing, we shouldn't, I mean, it's a violation of God's law, but God, instead of using my hands to take things, help me to use my hands to work for your glory so that I might have something to give to those who are in need. That's what the Lord calls you to, Tammy, and when you struggle with those feelings, again, you, you, you confess that to the Lord and know that he's gracious to you, and merciful, and forgives your sins, never, never, never, you know, a justification for, okay, you know, let's just sin because God will forgive us, no, no, not at all, and of course there are consequences to our sin, but here, bringing this to the Lord, and I want to take a moment to pray for you, Tammy, and to ask that God would give you that, that heart, that desire to honor him and free you from, from this battle. Our Father in Heaven, we lift our sister Tammy up to you. Lord, I thank you that she was willing to call in and to share this struggle, and I know that there are other people probably listening right now who maybe struggle with the same thing, or with, with a different sin, but, but in a similar way, the temptation to justify it, the temptation to say, oh, I deserve this. Oh, God help us, Lord, we confess to you how crooked our desires can be, how disordered our desires can be, and we want you to purify our minds and our hearts so that we might honor you, Lord, and for our sister Tammy, I pray, as she would indeed honor you, with her thoughts and with her actions, God, that she would see herself through your Son Jesus as one who is alive from the dead, that, that the instruments of her body, Lord, her, her mind, her eyes, her hands, her feet, that she would see them as instruments for righteousness, for your glory, and that she would use her hands, Lord, to work in whatever capacity that you've given to her so that she might serve you and have, not to take more, but to give to those who are in need. Lord Jesus, please cause the light of your love and of your presence and of your grace and forgiveness to shower our sister, we pray. Be with her and grant her strength in this battle. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Tammy, thanks so much for your call and for your honesty.

We appreciate hearing from you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We're still taking your calls. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

Our phone lines will be open for the next 10 minutes or so, so now's the time to call. By the way, it's graduation season. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of high schoolers have graduated over the past few weeks, and we are excited to offer a booklet that is specifically for teens or young adults called How to Keep Your Faith After High School. Yeah, as Bill says, it's a great resource for graduating seniors, those who are heading into college, or really any young adult who is in the season of life where they're trying to make their parents' faith their own, where they want to understand more deeply what God calls them to as Christians.

And this booklet, How to Keep Your Faith After High School, is an excellent resource for parents and for young adults alike, and so get a hold of it over at corechristianity.com. By the way, it's free, and we'd love to get that in your hands. Just go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers. That's corechristianity.com forward slash offers. And just a reminder, we have a wonderful YouTube channel here at Core Christianity. Love to have you check that out, and you can also subscribe to it, and you can send your questions to Adriel through YouTube as well. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity. Here's one that came in from one of our listeners. This is Matt in San Diego. I was just wondering, how would you advise a Christian to present the gospel to someone who's maybe only heard a few church stories and thinks that they already know all that they need to know about Christianity and maybe doesn't feel like they need it?

Thank you. How do you share the gospel with people who think they already know it and don't need it? There's a lot of people like this, so I'm glad that you asked this question, because I've found that a lot of people who even reject Christianity, they say, oh, I was raised as a Christian, and they assume that they understand the gospel, that they tried it and it didn't work, but then you ask them, okay, well, what is the gospel?

What is the Christian faith all about? And typically, a lot of times, not every time, but a lot of the times where I've had this conversation, people really can't give you a clear-cut answer with regard to what the gospel is. For a lot of people, they just think, well, it was about being a good person and keeping God's law, keeping His commandments, and I tried that, and I lived under that guilt for a really long time, and now I've been freed.

And by free, what they mean is I just stopped caring about trying to do that, and I no longer live under that burden. I've had that conversation before. But of course, that's not the gospel, right? So this person thinks they've tried the gospel or they understand the gospel, but the reality is they don't.

What they've tried is religion or the law, to keep the law as best they can. They realize, I didn't. And so sometimes, depending on the conversation, as you're having this conversation, it's an opportunity to get some clarification, to ask, well, what is it that you understand about the Christian faith? And you come to realize, okay, well, actually, there's some gaps here. There are things that are missing, and it can be an opportunity then to preach the good news of the gospel, the fact that you can actually be free from your sins, but it's not by indulging in them or just casting aside God's law. It's through the forgiveness that God has offered in His Son Jesus that then, by the Spirit of God, enables us to love and follow God.

And that's what so many people are missing. Another thing that I would say is, you know, sometimes, you know, these people who they just assume, I know what Christianity is all about. You Christians are, you know, you're really judgmental, you're bigots, and I hear this. I think, you know, just through your behavior as you seek to honor the Lord, as you seek to be a person who's full of charity and love, even going out of your way to be a good neighbor to this person, to serve them, to come alongside of them in whatever way or capacity God has allowed you to do that, sometimes what that does is it also provides an open door because it creates this cognitive dissonance in their mind. They think, oh, I've assumed that all Christians are, you know, these uneducated, you know, people full of hatred. And while I might, I think I disagree with you, you know, they might say, with regard to a number of these things, I realize that that's not who you are.

You're not a person who's just this sort of like caveman, you know, looking to beat down everybody who thinks differently. And that's not what God has called us to be. God has called us to correct others in love, to be respectful, to be full of charity, but never to compromise. And so you can, I think, love this person who thinks they understand the gospel, but maybe they don't really understand it, and demonstrate the love of Christ, the goodness of God, and pray that the Lord gives an open door there, that they would begin to realize, maybe actually I didn't fully understand what Christianity was all about or what Christians are all about. And that, I've seen, you know, can be an open door for sharing the gospel as well. But ultimately, whether I would say, you know, relying upon the Holy Spirit and prayer, praying that God opens up the heart, because apart from the Spirit of God, and this is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the natural man, the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, nor can he. They're folly to him because they're spiritually discerned. And so there is something spiritual here at play. There's a battle that's taking place, and this is why you need to pray.

Let me just read that text. It's 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. Paul said, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

And so here's what the world needs. I just preached on this this last week. The world needs a revelation of the Holy Spirit. If they're going to understand the gospel, the wisdom of the world, our own ability to reason our way up to God or whatnot, it's futile.

We can't, apart from God, apart from His grace, we wander aimlessly. And so pray that God's Spirit would penetrate into this individual's conscience and heart, that they might realize, I don't understand, and I need Jesus. God bless you.

Really well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. You can send us an email anytime with your question at questions at corechristianity.com.

And Adriel, here's a question from one of our listeners named Jean. She says, is it a violation of the second commandment to portray Jesus in film like in The Chosen? I know the Bible says, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or likeness of anything that's in heaven above or that is in the earth or that is in the water under the earth, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them or serve them.

What do you think? Hey, thank you for that question. I think, if you're asking for my personal opinion, that the answer is yes, that it is a violation of the second commandment, because Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and we're not to make images of God. We're also not to venerate them or bow down before them. This is something that the Church in the earliest days really understood. I mean, they weren't making icons of Jesus and venerating them, bowing down before them. There's been a lot of study, a lot of research that's been done on this, and so it wasn't until much later that essentially Christians began to venerate iconography to make images of Jesus for worship or in the context of worship. And so, yeah, I typically say, you know, when people talk to me about the chosen, you know, the book is always better, as you hear. If you want to understand who God is and what Jesus is like, go to the Word and let the Spirit of God illuminate the Scriptures to give you understanding.

This is where we have to be careful, and I've not seen the chosen, but I've heard criticisms of some of the artistic freedom that they take in their depiction of Jesus's personality. So this is what we have to be discerning, and it's always best, brothers and sisters, to stick with the Scriptures. God bless you. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, go to corechristianity.com forward slash radio, or you can call us at 1-833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, let us know how we can be praying for you, and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.