How to preach 'Jesus'

[KingJ]

I see many in the mission field failing hard in how they teach Jesus to the lost.

''You must believe in Jesus, that He is Lord, then you will be saved and go to heaven''. This statement ends up with the lost questioning how a man can be God. It becomes a whole debate and we 'can' become very unfruitful, very quickly.

We need to properly understand a few key facts.

1. Nobody can by default believe a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago and prayed to God the Father, is Lord, God of the universe.

2. Believing Jesus is Lord is only possible with the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 12:3 No one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says 'Let Jesus be cursed! ' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit.
Matt 16:16-17 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

3. It is possible to deduce that Jesus was not merely a man. A. You can logically deduce that no ordinary man would preach as He did and die for sins 'of the world' in such a cruel fashion, sins that nobody at His trial could list. B. As a Jew, go full heartedly in the direction He did and perform the miracles He did. C. Change the entire world and find His empire on love, 'turning the left cheek'.

As Napoleon said: 'I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity. Alexander, Charlemagne, and myself all tried to found an empire on force and we failed. Jesus Christ is building an empire on love, and today there are millions of people who would gladly die for His sake.'

4. The message Jesus taught was 'repentance of sins'. That is the 'main' message to preach.

The difference between sinners in hell and sinners in paradise in the OT was that those in paradise had repented of their sins.

A sign that you have truly repented of your sins, is having a belief in Jesus being Lord. When people repent of their sins, then we can ask them to accept Jesus as Lord and baptize them in water. Trusting that God, will reveal Jesus as Lord to them and baptize them in the Holy Spirit.

 

[Brother Paul]

I see many in the mission field failing hard in how they teach Jesus to the lost.

''You must believe in Jesus, that He is Lord, then you will be saved and go to heaven''. This statement ends up with the lost questioning how a man can be God. It becomes a whole debate and we 'can' become very unfruitful, very quickly.

We need to properly understand a few key facts.

1. Nobody can by default believe a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago and prayed to God the Father, is Lord, God of the universe.

2. Believing Jesus is Lord is only possible with the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 12:3 No one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says 'Let Jesus be cursed! ' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit.
Matt 16:16-17 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

3. It is possible to deduce that Jesus was not merely a man. A. You can logically deduce that no ordinary man would preach as He did and die for sins 'of the world' in such a cruel fashion, sins that nobody at His trial could list. B. As a Jew, go full heartedly in the direction He did and perform the miracles He did. C. Change the entire world and find His empire on love, 'turning the left cheek'.

As Napoleon said: 'I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity. Alexander, Charlemagne, and myself all tried to found an empire on force and we failed. Jesus Christ is building an empire on love, and today there are millions of people who would gladly die for His sake.'

4. The message Jesus taught was 'repentance of sins'. That is the 'main' message to preach.

The difference between sinners in hell and sinners in paradise in the OT was that those in paradise had repented of their sins.

A sign that you have truly repented of your sins, is having a belief in Jesus being Lord. When people repent of their sins, then we can ask them to accept Jesus as Lord and baptize them in water. Trusting that God, will reveal Jesus as Lord to them and baptize them in the Holy Spirit.

King! I am not sure I 100% agree with all you have said because it does not indicate what you mean. In other words, can only a person already regenerated by the Spirit respond to the gospel? I do not believe that is what the Bible teaches.

However, what I wanted to address is that because of the way many preach the message, many, many, people are repulsed and repelled thinking the gospel to be "Accept Jesus or suffer eternal torment". They think how arrogant? How rude! How closed minded. And are driven away from the Kingdom. It just does not seem like "good news". In my studies and conclusion the trut gospel is we are already condemned. We are already on our way to Hell. We already are the self willed lords of our own lives (like Genesis 3:5) and the provision of Christ by the Father is THE SOLUTION not the issue or problem.

By analogy, it is like we have all in our "self" lordship jumped off the pinnacle of the highest structure and are headed for a sudden Ssspppllattt, because they believe that IF GOD really loves us and knows all things He should save us (like the Devil promised to Jesus in Luke 4:9-11), but we are already sspppllattt because we have ALL sinned separating our self from God (Isaiah 59:2). Not that He has separated Himself from us but we did it. So now imagine you are mis plummet and suddenly one comes and offers you a net, the only net that can save. Do you accept it or Ssspplllaatt!

So the gospel is that though we are already condemned (the fruit being we become as gods deciding good and evil for ourselves, not an apple or as pomigranite) God has offered us a way to be saved (which revelation begins in Genesis 3:15) and the death, burial, and resurrection of His Christ is that net. OUR sin has separated us from God and through His redemptive atonement we are reconciled. Now that is Good News.

 

[KingJ]

King! I am not sure I 100% agree with all you have said because it does not indicate what you mean. In other words, can only a person already regenerated by the Spirit respond to the gospel? I do not believe that is what the Bible teaches.

The gospel from God to mankind from day one to today, is simply repentance of sins.

You do not need to be 'regenerated by the Spirit' in order to repent of sins. If that was the case, God would be partial. Partiality is wicked. God is impartial Acts 10:34.

I would agree that once we repent, God draws closer to us then He could to any in the OT as a result of the Holy Spirit being here and Jesus already being the sacrifice for our sins. Uniting us with God, right now. This I believe is due to the fact that as Christians we will endure hardships from day one. More so then a person in the OT that would repent. Today, it is repent and then branded by all as 'a Christian'. True repentance goes hand in hand with receiving a revelation of Jesus being Lord and being born again.

However, what I wanted to address is that because of the way many preach the message, many, many, people are repulsed and repelled thinking the gospel to be "Accept Jesus or suffer eternal torment". They think how arrogant? How rude! How closed minded. And are driven away from the Kingdom. It just does not seem like "good news".

I agree. This was the main point I wanted to address in the OP.

Jesus is the way the truth and the light, nobody comes to the Father but through Him John 14:6. But now it is a Christians 'one' job to properly represent God / Jesus to the lost and explain scripture that appears 'odd'. A Christian must explain that true repentance leads inevitably to Jesus. James 4:8 and Ref 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. We 'open' the door by repenting of sin Psalm 51:17. This is when we are given a measure of faith to believe Jesus is Lord Rom 12:3. We can only call Jesus Lord if we are given the faith and a revelation of Him from the Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12:3 / God Matt 16:16-17.

In my studies and conclusion the true gospel is we are already condemned. We are already on our way to Hell. We already are the self willed lords of our own lives (like Genesis 3:5) and the provision of Christ by the Father is THE SOLUTION not the issue or problem.

I don't agree .

1. In the OT, simply repenting of sin got you into paradise. If Jesus never died, this would not ever result in those in paradise going to hell.
2. Original sin is a fallacy False teaching.
3. God is not a fool that would send babies to hell. As God is impartial, they will get their day with the devil, but not as babies. Most believe the milennium is the time for them as the devil is released from the abyss to tempt mankind for the last time Rev 20:7-8.
4. God spared all 19 and under in the wilderness Num 14:29. All committed sin that God ordained the death penalty for and yet He spared these children who actually committed the sin / chose from free will to commit a mortal sin. As God is impartial, this is the closest scripture to the age of accountability that we can use.

To understand the significance of Jesus and the cross we need to consider what He did for those in the OT that were already in paradise. He united them with God. They were no longer separated. Thus today, there is no need for Abrahams bosom.

By analogy, it is like we have all in our "self" lordship jumped off the pinnacle of the highest structure and are headed for a sudden Ssspppllattt, because they believe that IF GOD really loves us and knows all things He should save us (like the Devil promised to Jesus in Luke 4:9-11), but we are already sspppllattt because we have ALL sinned separating our self from God (Isaiah 59:2). Not that He has separated Himself from us but we did it. So now imagine you are mis plummet and suddenly one comes and offers you a net, the only net that can save. Do you accept it or Ssspplllaatt!

When scripture says 'all' have sinned, it is only referring to adults. If you consider Sodom and the discussion Abraham had with God in Gen 18:16-33, you will note that God says there are less then ten righteous. In a large city there are certainly more then ten babies.

All 'adults' will inevitably sin. Paul had to make the statement 'all have sinned and fallen short' as many thought they were not guilty of sin. When one considers that simply an immoral thought can be a sin Matt 5:28, we see Paul's wisdom and accuracy in Rom 3:23.

So the gospel is that though we are already condemned (the fruit being we become as gods deciding good and evil for ourselves, not an apple or as pomigranite) God has offered us a way to be saved (which revelation begins in Genesis 3:15) and the death, burial, and resurrection of His Christ is that net. OUR sin has separated us from God and through His redemptive atonement we are reconciled. Now that is Good News.

I really don't like the line 'we are already condemned'. We will sin in heaven. We will never stop sinning. Sin, ironically is not the issue. Repenting verse not repenting, is the issue. The moment we lose the ability to sin, we lose free will. We are made perfect to God by Jesus, but make no mistake, we will never be perfect like God Mark 10:18.

I see it as follows:

Gospel from God to mankind = repent of sins.

Good news = Jesus died for us. True repentance will result in being born again. Born into the family of God. We can be adopted into His family and call Him, our Father. We can enter eternal life, the second we truly repent of our sins. We can talk to God and have a real expectation of hearing back from Him.

 

[KingJ]

OUR sin has separated us from God

I don't agree. I don't believe sin ever separated us. It is our lack of repentance that separates us from God.

God visited Cain after he murdered Abel. When Cain hardened his heart to repentance, he then said this ''I will be hidden from your presence'' Gen 4:14.

God planned Jesus and the cross before the foundation of the earth 1 Pet 1:20. Think on that. Before the foundations of the earth a path to Him for those that would repent of their sins was made. IE Sin was never something that would separate us from God. Only a hard heart that refuses to repent.

It gets a bit confusing as we are humans. But if we place ourselves in God's shoes, one who can see the beginning and the end, we see that 'sin' would never separate those who would repent. God always saw us in Jesus.

I am certainly not making a pro Calvinist argument. We remove partiality by clearly stating that God saw the 'whomsoever' will repent, in Jesus. As John 3:16 clarifies.

Sinning never ends

Case for sin never ending: If we ever say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves 1 John 1:8. Jesus had one important message for all, repent Luke 5:32. Those that go to hell, go there because they harden their hearts to repentance Heb 3:15. IE They are unrepentant. Humans go to heaven...

www.talkjesus.com

 

[B-A-C]

I don't believe sin ever separated us.

Isa 59:2; But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

 

[B-A-C]

But if we place ourselves in God's shoes, one who can see the beginning and the end, we see that 'sin' would never separate those who would repent. God always saw us in Jesus.

I am certainly not making a pro Calvinist argument.

And yet, this is the very core of Calvinism. God knows who will repent and who won't, so He doesn't give the ones who won't a chance. Predestination 101.
It's all unbiblical of course, but hey... don't let that stop you.

2Pet 3:9; The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

1Tim 2:3; This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
1Tim 2:4; who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Rev 2:21; 'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.

God gives everyone a chance. Whether they accept it or not.

In fact, if He doesn't give them a chance... they can stand before Him and say "you never gave me a chance to be saved, it's your fault!"

 

[Brother Paul]

The gospel from God to mankind from day one to today, is simply repentance of sins.

You do not need to be 'regenerated by the Spirit' in order to repent of sins. If that was the case, God would be partial. Partiality is wicked. God is impartial Acts 10:34.

I would agree that once we repent, God draws closer to us then He could to any in the OT as a result of the Holy Spirit being here and Jesus already being the sacrifice for our sins. Uniting us with God, right now. This I believe is due to the fact that as Christians we will endure hardships from day one. More so then a person in the OT that would repent. Today, it is repent and then branded by all as 'a Christian'. True repentance goes hand in hand with receiving a revelation of Jesus being Lord and being born again.



I agree. This was the main point I wanted to address in the OP.

Jesus is the way the truth and the light, nobody comes to the Father but through Him John 14:6. But now it is a Christians 'one' job to properly represent God / Jesus to the lost and explain scripture that appears 'odd'. A Christian must explain that true repentance leads inevitably to Jesus. James 4:8 and Ref 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. We 'open' the door by repenting of sin Psalm 51:17. This is when we are given a measure of faith to believe Jesus is Lord Rom 12:3. We can only call Jesus Lord if we are given the faith and a revelation of Him from the Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12:3 / God Matt 16:16-17.



I don't agree .

1. In the OT, simply repenting of sin got you into paradise. If Jesus never died, this would not ever result in those in paradise going to hell.
2. Original sin is a fallacy False teaching.
3. God is not a fool that would send babies to hell. As God is impartial, they will get their day with the devil, but not as babies. Most believe the milennium is the time for them as the devil is released from the abyss to tempt mankind for the last time Rev 20:7-8.
4. God spared all 19 and under in the wilderness Num 14:29. All committed sin that God ordained the death penalty for and yet He spared these children who actually committed the sin / chose from free will to commit a mortal sin. As God is impartial, this is the closest scripture to the age of accountability that we can use.

To understand the significance of Jesus and the cross we need to consider what He did for those in the OT that were already in paradise. He united them with God. They were no longer separated. Thus today, there is no need for Abrahams bosom.



When scripture says 'all' have sinned, it is only referring to adults. If you consider Sodom and the discussion Abraham had with God in Gen 18:16-33, you will note that God says there are less then ten righteous. In a large city there are certainly more then ten babies.

All 'adults' will inevitably sin. Paul had to make the statement 'all have sinned and fallen short' as many thought they were not guilty of sin. When one considers that simply an immoral thought can be a sin Matt 5:28, we see Paul's wisdom and accuracy in Rom 3:23.



I really don't like the line 'we are already condemned'. We will sin in heaven. We will never stop sinning. Sin, ironically is not the issue. Repenting verse not repenting, is the issue. The moment we lose the ability to sin, we lose free will. We are made perfect to God by Jesus, but make no mistake, we will never be perfect like God Mark 10:18.

I see it as follows:

Gospel from God to mankind = repent of sins.

Good news = Jesus died for us. True repentance will result in being born again. Born into the family of God. We can be adopted into His family and call Him, our Father. We can enter eternal life, the second we truly repent of our sins. We can talk to God and have a real expectation of hearing back from Him.

Good comments and well supported. I also reject original sin doctrine and also believe babies are a gift from God. When I said all have sinned I was referring to after we have. It is then that our sin separates us from Him. Thanks for clarifying your position.

 

[KingJ]

Isa 59:2; But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

BAC, you need to read someone's post properly or at least the full line before you cherry pick and reply like this.

If you read the whole of Isa 59 you will see that the people are hardening their heart to God. Giving in to sin full measure. Kind of like what Cain did, when God removed Himself from his presence.

We all sin, but those that continue in sin unrepentant, well God withdraws from them. That is the point being made....

Isa 59:3-4 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

 

[KingJ]

And yet, this is the very core of Calvinism. God knows who will repent and who won't, so He doesn't give the ones who won't a chance. Predestination 101.
It's all unbiblical of course, but hey... don't let that stop you.

You are misreading or not reading my posts. God does not know who will repent and who won't. Do you believe He does?

Since hell exists and is a place of eternal torment, if God foreknew that our decision would be to reject Him later in our lives, it would be evil of Him to make us. Calvinists hold to Rom 9 as a gospel fact. When Rom 9 is just stating that God is God, He is able to do whatever He wants. He can make a vessel of a lump of clay unto honor or dishonor. This DOES NOT mean He does do it. As Christians we need to understand the 'rest' of scripture and help all understand that God always chooses to do what is good and right. IE Make a vessel from clay with true free will.

God is righteous in all His ways Psalm 145:17
God is light with no darkness in Him at all John 1:5
It is unthinkable that God would be wicked and pervert justice Job 34:12