Grace Institute: Relating to You World: How to Relate to Your World?

How To Relate To Your World? Relating To Your World Spring 2007

How should we relate to the world? A look at how Jesus and Paul communicated the message to their respective worlds.

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Last week we discovered that it is not an option for a follower of Jesus to cloister or crusade. Instead, it is the command of Christ that we engage in the world, serving as his witness, both in our words and our character. Furthermore, it is God's passion to see the whole world come to know Him, so we must share this passion.

Yet, just because we share the passion of God and desire to be obedient doesn't mean we are ready to relate to the world in the properly. There are many well intentioned believers who are finding very little success because the strategy they employ doesn't follow the biblical model. There is more to relating to our world than sincerity. Scripture gives us specific guidance as to how we should be a witness of Jesus in this world.

Principles of Relating To Our World

Peter, in his first epistle, was writing to people who were under tremendous persecution for being Christians. He was trying to encourage the people in the midst of difficult times. In verse 8 he tells them to “live in harmony,” and to “not repay evil with evil.” That leads up this verse in 1 Peter 3:15 where Peter tells these persecuted Christians how to relate to their world:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander (1 Peter 3:15-16).

If we use this approach to relating to the world, there is no cause for people to slander and persecute Christians. Peter wants their suffering to be for the good that Christ brings them, not for their foolish behavior towards the world.

Paul gives similar advice, but from a different context. Paul is in prison because of his preaching. In Colossians 4, Paul is asking the Colossian church to pray that he might have an opportunity to reach out and share the gospel with whomever he can in prison. From that he encourages the Colossians on how to relate to their world:

Be wise in the way that you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:5-6).

It is as if Paul is saying, “I really wish I could be out their relating to the world, but I'm locked up in prison. Now, you really need to start looking for opportunities to share, because I can't be out there.”

From these two passages, I have gleaned four principles on how to relate to our world.

1. Walk With God

Peter says, “Set Christ apart as Lord.” If we have not set Christ apart as Lord, then we will not be able to properly relate to our world. It begins with our relationship with God.

So how do we set Christ apart as Lord? It is not a singular decision that one makes. It is a daily, perhaps even hourly decision to live the way Christ asked us to live. As we discussed last week, it is taking on the characteristics of the Beatitudes. It is a humble heart that hungers and thirsts for righteousness.

In Colossians, Paul gives us a practical way to set Christ apart as Lord. Paul begins chapter 4 by encouraging his readers to “devote themselves to prayer.” If we are going to properly relate to our world, it begins with dedication to prayer. This is the essence of the Christian walk. Communication with God is the basis of setting Christ apart as Lord.

That's the foundation point for relating to your world. Set Christ apart as Lord. Walk with God. Pray and communicate with Him.

2. Be Prepared

The second principle for relating to our world is to follow the old Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. Paul says, that we should “make the most of every opportunity.” Peter says, “Always be prepared.” We are not to just sit back and wait until we have to relate to the world. We should be looking for opportunities to relate. We must be ready and prepared. We must “seize the moment,” because they don't just come along all the time.

This does not mean that we should force the opportunity or turn around a conversation with someone so it always ends up at spiritual things. Peter and Paul aren't talking about manufacturing opportunities. But they recognize that there are natural opportunities to communicate about Christianity with people. We are encouraged to be ready to communicate when these opportunities arise. Be prepared.

3. Give the Reason for Your Hope

When the opportunity arises, what do we say? Peter says to give the reason for your hope. We will talk specifically about what is the reason for our hope later. Paul says that we should know how to answer everyone. It seems we can infer that there is a dialog going on with the other party. We aren't' standing up and preaching. We are to answer the questions raised by the non-Christian after they have seen we have hope.

Giving a reason doesn't necessarily mean knowing how to answer all objections or having a perfect presentation. It is merely communicating why you have hope in Christ. It may be sharing personal experience. It may be explaining how you came to decide that Christianity was valid. It may require some research on your part. But it is a response to a question, and we need to be prepared for the question.

That is not to say we just wait around until someone asks us why we have hope. We do need to seize the opportunity to share our hope. Perhaps we see a situation or a conversation with a co-worker, neighbor, or family member, where it is leaning towards spiritual issues. We can use the opportunity to ask questions of a non-Christian, engaging them in a dialog that might lead to someone asking us why we have a hope. This is sometimes referred to as a “teachable moment.”

But it is usually not best to jump into the “teachable moment” with a list of answers to questions that haven't been raised. It is better to use the moment to listen to the beliefs, ideas, and concerns of others, and if appropriate, to ask questions which spur their thinking.

Never underestimate the role of listening and asking appropriate questions. Jim Petersen gives this advice on how to make that connection:

"A good question is the best possible teaching tool…Communication takes place whenever understanding is transferred from one person to another. It is not what we manage to say to someone that is important. It is what is heard, what sinks in, that matters. The use of questions is especially effective in communication… Generally we don't give much thought to asking questions. We're usually more concerned about being able to answer the questions non-Christians customarily pose. In fact, Christians often fall prey to two misconceptions…

•  I'm not qualified to get involved in evangelism because I can't seem to answer people's questions.

•  I'm ready for anybody because I've learned the answers to the ten top questions Non-Christians ask (Petersen, 120-22)."

4. Share with Gentleness and Respect

The final principle is to share with gentleness and respect. Paul says our conversation should be always full of grace, seasoned with salt. We should never be seen as harsh, disrespectful, or ungraceful. It begins with a genuine love and respect for the non-Christian. What tone do we use when discussing spiritual matters? Are we judgmental? Do we look at them as enemies, as fools, or worse yet, as prizes to be “won for Christ?”

Gentleness and respect begin with genuine love for someone. J. I. Packer says,

"It must never be forgotten that the enterprise required of us in evangelism is the enterprise of love: an enterprise that springs from genuine interest in those whom we seek to win, and a genuine care for their well-being, and expresses itself in a genuine respect for them and a genuine friendliness towards them (Packer, 15). "

We must be careful that our love is a genuine love. Love is cannot be the tactic we use to “win people to Christ.” It should be the reason why we even want to share the message of Jesus.

Respect means we need to understand what someone else believes and holds valuable. Gentleness means we understand it without condemnation or revulsion. It requires that we, as Jim Petersen puts it, change our mindset.

"…Understanding is accomplished as we put ourselves in the other's shoes for the sake of seeing life from his perspective. This is what it means to change one's mind-set. It involves undergoing a change in our own thinking. Thus we come to understand and empathize with the other's value system. This cultural insight becomes the footing for the bridge that will span the distance between them and Jesus Christ (Petersen, 64) . "

What is the Gospel?

How to relate is one thing. What to share is another. Peter told us to share the reason for our hope. In the beginning of his letter, Peter tells us this:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). "

Our hope is in a singular man: Jesus. Our hope is in his great mercy, which is demonstrated in his death and resurrection. That is our hope. That is the centrality of the message we want to communicate because that is why we have a hope.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us the message he shared:

"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). "

Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead. That is the gospel. That is the reason for our hope. That is our message.

Distractions from the Gospel

We should never try to add more to this message. We should never subtract from this message. We need to be very careful not to become distracted from the centrality of this gospel. We must be careful not to put more into the gospel than this. Our goal is to show Christ to them. Our goal is not to make them pro-life, creationists, political conservatives, anti-homosexuality, pro-family, non-smokers, non-drinkers, or even to have them join our church. Our goal is to show them who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for them. No more. No less.

The Gospel is Not Following Rules

In the early church, the biggest distraction to the gospel was the legalism of Judaism. Christianity was born out of Judaism, and the earliest Christians were strict followers of the Jewish religious law. As non-Jews heard the gospel and believed, however, they did not follow the Jewish religious law, as this was, according to the apostle Paul, not part of the gospel. Others, however, came along to some of these Gentile believers and told them that they needed to adopt the Jewish law.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to these Gentile believers condemning them for adding to the gospel.

(Galatians 1:6-7 NASB) I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7   which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Paul goes on to define this distortion in chapter 2:

(Galatians 2:16 NASB) Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

The gospel is, according to Paul, that we are justified by faith in Christ. The gospel is NOT following after the Jewish religious law. In other words, the gospel is not a lifestyle that we live. The gospel is not a set of rules to follow. The gospel is not a set of behaviors to emulate. The gospel is the Jesus Christ alone.

This has significant implications for us as we interact with non-believers. Our goal is not to get non-believers to live their lives by some moral or ethical code. Our goal is not to get non-believers to give up their “unlawful” habits, behaviors, and attitudes. As we relate to the world around us, our focus should not be on getting non-believers to stop smoking, stop cussing, or stop sleeping around. Our focus should be on Christ instead. We need to show people Christ first and foremost.

Now, it may be appropriate to help non-believers understand their own sinful state. Until one understands that they don't have the capacity to “earn” salvation, there is no need for savior. But this is different from judging non-believers (1 Corinthians 5:11-13) and requiring them to clean up their act as a substitute for the gospel.

Once one has accepted Christ, God will begin the process of sanctification where one slowly begins the process of giving up those “unlawful behaviors,” not because doing so brings acceptance from God, but out of a desire to conform to the justification already received from God.

But changing a non-believers behavior will not bring salvation, peace, and hope. Only Christ can do that.

The Gospel is Not Political

Over the last two decades, evangelical Christianity has become increasingly recognized more for it's political beliefs than for the gospel. This began in the 1980s with Jerry Falwell's “Moral Majority,” and has been carried to the present by such well known evangelicals as Pat Robertson and James Dobson of “Focus on the Family.”

Originally a lot of the political focus was on anti-abortion issues as evangelicals sought to overturn Roe vs. Wade through the political process. However, the political issues have expanded from this original concern over abortion to other issues such as homosexuality, school prayer, religious freedoms, and even lower taxes [1]!

Christ's message while on the earth was not political in nature. Jesus repeatedly skirted religious issues. He did not come to overthrow the repressive Roman government, but instead called for submission to even the oppressive taxation of the Romans (Matthew 22:15-22).

At Jesus trial before the Roman governor Pilate, Jesus stated clearly that his agenda was not political in nature:

(John 18:33, 36 NASB) Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews… 36  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

Pilate understood this, for if he perceived Jesus as a political subversive, he would have rendered a guilty verdict and condemned him to death without hesitation. Instead Pilate declares him innocent and only reluctantly condemns him to death (John 18:37-38).

The New Testament never calls us to take up political issues. Scripture instead calls us to submit to governing authorities, paying our taxes (Romans 13:1-7) and giving no cause for people to perceive us a subversive (1 Peter 2:13-17).

Unfortunately, due to increasing political clout of evangelical Christians, many see Christianity as having a primarily political agenda. Christianity is probably more known today for its political stance than for the saving work of Christ. As a result our political activism has become a distraction from the gospel.

Cal Thomas, who worked with the Moral Majority in the 1980s, reiterates this point:

"(Politically active preachers) corrupt the gospel and suggest in deed and in word that if one is to receive Jesus as Savior, one must also receive the entire political and social agenda of the "Religious Right," which has nothing to do with salvation…. But the unbeliever is unlikely to accept biblical truth when it comes wrapped in the voter guides of the Christian Coalition (Thomas) . "

That does not mean that Christians should not be involved in the political process. We have an obligation and a right to have a voice in the American political arena. But when the message of the gospel is lost in the midst of our political voice, we must willingly give up our rights for the sake of the gospel.

As we interact with the world, we must do our best to avoid political discussions. If the conversation steers towards the political, we need to state emphatically that God is neither Republican nor Democrat and that there are believers who sit on both sides of the political spectrum. We must make it clear that our hope comes from spiritual deliverance from sin, not from political activism.

The Gospel is Not Cultural

We all live within a culture and view the gospel from the subjectivity of our culture. We must be careful, however, to not let the values of our culture change the message of the gospel.

Several years ago a Nepalese Christian named Udaya Sharma shared with a young adults' bible study group the struggles the Nepalese had in differentiating Christianity from western culture. He shared that often people resisted the gospel because they believed that becoming a Christian meant they would have to start wearing western clothing. Sharma constantly fought the misconception that Christianity was a western religion.

The same trap, however, can befall us in America. There is a mixing of the gospel with the Evangelical Christian subculture that exists in America today. Those who have long been involved in the Evangelical church may not even realize that they exist in a subculture. But within our churches we have established cultural norms which define a very specific culture. We have unwritten patterns of behavior which may or may not have anything to do with biblical Christianity. We have our own music, books, and television shows. We have our own jargon. We have our own culture. Most of this has nothing to do with the gospel.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with having subculture. However, it can often distract us from the purity of the gospel message. We will not make a difference in this world by having non-believers conform to the cultural norms of Evangelical Christianity. The Left Behind books and worship CDs are not the gospel.

We need to go out of our way not to alienate people with our strange cultural norms. Likewise, we need to make sure that the cultural norms are not misperceived as the gospel. We must continually focus our conversations and discussions on Christ and not our subculture.

The Gospel is Not Social

Throughout scripture it is clear that we need to seek justice and that we need to protect the oppressed. The Mosaic Law outlines specific steps to ensure that the poor, the foreigner, the widow and the orphan were cared for. The Old Testament prophets condemned the Israelites for the injustice to the poor and the disenfranchised. Jesus often focused his ministry on the poor. The New Testament also encourages the church to care for the poor, widows and orphans. Yet this concern for the poor has often become a point of distraction for the presentation of the gospel.

In the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, there arose a poor urban working class who were exploited by the “robber barons” of the industrial revolution. As Christian groups sought to minister to these poor, a movement known as the “social gospel” arose. Dealing with these social issues became a primary focus of much of the church. This practical Christianity was often seen as ushering in a new era where the church, through its social work, would usher in the kingdom of Christ on this earth.

The original intent of the movement was to provide relief to the poor and suffering in the inner cities so they might be more receptive to the gospel. Some groups, such as the Salvation Army, stayed true to this purpose. Many others, however, replaced deliverance from sin with deliverance from oppression and replaced the hope that comes from reconciliation with God with a hope that comes from improved living conditions.

This same distortion rose again in the 1960s in a Catholic movement called “Liberation Theology.” This movement focused on the poor and oppressed primarily in Latin America and on poor African Americans. Liberation Theology stated that the gospel of Christ was a gospel of helping the oppressed (Enns, 593-600) .

While God certainly wants us to be concerned about the poor and we should have compassion on the oppressed, it does not necessarily follow that people will be more responsive to the gospel if they are no longer poor (Enns, 598) . In fact Jesus specifically says it is harder for rich people to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:25).

Let us not confuse social action with the gospel. Our hope does not come from wealth or economic opportunity. Our hope comes from the grace of God and the work of Christ.

The Gospel Contract

While our intentions are honorable when we develop techniques and tools for Christians to use in sharing the gospel, sometimes these tools and techniques can interfere with the gospel itself. Not all methodologies are going to work with all people, and we can sometimes confuse the message with an inappropriate method.

One of the area of distraction from the message of the gospel is the emphasis on the “gospel contract.” Most evangelism training has focused on sharing “how to become a Christian” rather than the message of Christ. We are so focused on “closing the sale” by getting the non-believer to pray the “sinner's prayer” that we aren't careful to make sure they understand the gospel.

Jim Peterson, in Evangelism for Our Generation says:

"Possibly the most common weakness in our contemporary approaches to evangelism is our tendency to focus our message on the Christian contract- how to transact a relationship with God- rather than on the person of Jesus Christ. We become so intent on helping someone understand how to put his faith in Christ that we overlook the very real possibility that he is almost devoid in his knowledge of Christ.

It is far wiser to focus on Jesus Christ than on the contract. Instead of telling people what they need to do, we want to bring them into an understanding of who Jesus is. As this understanding grows, the response- what the person needs to do- becomes self-evident. I have found that, more often than not, when the truth about Christ is fully understood, the response occurs without my help (Petersen, 55) . "

Instead of focusing on “what you need to do” to become a Christian, we need to focus on what Christ has done for us. It is faith in Christ's death and resurrection that saves, not some magical prayer. Let's make sure to emphasize Christ.

Other Distractions

There are a number of distractions from the gospel that will sometimes take us from the message of Christ. Often these distractions come from the non-believer. For example:

1. Creation vs. Evolution
2. Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice
3. Hypocritical Christians
4. Church Membership

We need to not let these side issues distract us from the pure message of the gospel.

The Progression of the Gospel

That is not to say that there are not some preliminary steps and decisions in the process of explaining the gospel to someone. The road to Jesus can take many preliminary steps. Some of those steps are personal, and some are theological.

The personal steps might include the following (Petersen, 98) :

• This guy or gal is okay.
• I'd like to become friends with him or her.
• This person makes me feel comfortable. She or he accepts me.
• I'd like to know what makes his person different.
• He or she is a Christian, but he's okay.
• I like his or her friends. They are accepting and caring people.
• It seems they get their outlook from the things the Bible says.
• I wonder what the Bible says.

The theological steps might include:

• God exists.
• God is personal, infinite, and benevolent.
• The spiritual or the supernatural is possible.
• The Bible is historically valid.
• Jesus made some amazing claims.
• Jesus claims for divinity are true.
• Jesus death and resurrection actually happened.
• Jesus claims and his resurrection have relevance to me!

We must never get off track. We must never lose sight of the message. There might be a process people go through to get to the gospel. That process will likely be different for everyone. But the process always ends with Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead.

Examples of Relating To Our World

Now that we know how and what we are to relate to our world, we are going to look at four examples from scripture of how to relate to the world. Keep in mind the four “how” principles, and the centrality of Jesus and see how in each of these four cases they apply these principles.

Jesus

John 3

The Story:

Jesus is approached one night by Nicodemus, a prominent Jewish leader. Nicodemus tells Jesus that he and the other leaders know that he is from God. Jesus tells him that he “must be born again.” This is confusing to Nicodemus, so he asks how one can be born again. Jesus tells him, in one of the most important messages recorded in scripture, what one must do to be born again. Included in the message is the famous verse, John 3:16.

The How:

Jesus is giving a reason through a conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus doesn't preach at him but engages Nicodemus in a dialogue. Jesus makes statements that invite a response or a question from Nicodemus. As the conversation progresses, Jesus then ends up answering his questions. It seems in this case that Jesus doesn't approach Nicodemus with a lot of gentleness and respect, especially the respect that one would expect should be given to a teacher of the law. But Jesus is custom-fitting this message, and is intentionally hard on Nicodemus because he should know better as a teacher. Jesus understands where Nicodemus is at and is relating to him in a method that will cause him to think differently. For someone confident of his status with God, Jesus shakes up that confidence slightly to open a crack for the gospel to enter.

The What:

The message pointed back at himself. He infers with Nicodemus that he has come from heaven as the son of Man and that belief in Him would bring eternal life.

The Result:

We know that Nicodemus helped fund the expense of burying Jesus. Whether or not that means he came to accept Jesus as the Messiah cannot be said for certain. But it is clear he continued to esteem and follow after Jesus throughout his ministry.

John 4

Background:

Jesus and the disciples are walking from Judea to Galilee. In between is the region of Samaria. Jews and Samaritans hated one another and didn't even talk to each other.

The Story:

Jesus and the disciples stop off in a Samaritan town. The disciples go on into town while Jesus stays by the well outside of town. A woman approaches the well. It is noon.

The How:

Jesus is making the most of the opportunity. He is prepared to engage her in conversation. He starts an innocent conversation with her and then leads the conversation to spiritual issues. He treats her with respect even in that he talked with her, a Samaritan and a woman.

The What:

Jesus leads her through a series of questions that lead to who he is.

The Result:

The whole town comes to believe.

Contrast of John 3 & 4

Notice the contrasts the John makes between Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus in chapter 3 and with the woman at the well in chapter 4:

Jesus deals with each person individually. With the religious leader He is blunt and harsh. With the sinner He is gentle and kind. How unlike the way the church deals with people today, being harsh and blunt with the sinner and gentle and kind with the "religious." Jesus' message is clearly for everyone, from respected leaders to women of ill-repute living among a despised nation.

John uses great artistic care in these two discourses. He goes out of his way to contrast these approaches in order to show a fuller picture of God. He is strong, firm, and to the point when dealing with religious leaders, yet sensitive and gentle to the heretics.

Yet the purposes of both discourses was to bring them both to “belief in” Him.

Paul

Acts 13:13-52

Background:

Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey, traveling throughout Asia Minor (present day Turkey). They stop in Pisidian Antioch and begin teaching in the synagogue. This was a standard procedure for Paul in his journey. He began his preaching in each town by talking in the synagogue, initially to the Jewish people.

The Story:

As was typical in the synagogue, after the reading of the scriptures, people were given an opportunity to share an encouraging word. Paul does, leading this group of Jews through a history of the Jews and ending with Jesus.

The How:

Paul was prepared. When the opportunity came up, he was ready to share. He shared with gentleness and respect, by sharing a message that began with the familiar. He related to them where they were.

The What:

The message took a long course, beginning with the history of the Jews. But it ended up squarely on Jesus. Paul declares that the Jews crucified Jesus (13:28), that God raised Him (13:30), and that the apostles are witnesses to this fact (13:31). Paul also declares that through Christ sins can be forgiven (13:38).

Paul, however, adds a unique element at the end of his message. Paul states that Christ brings a freedom that cannot be found in the Law of Moses (13:39). This is an intriguing addition to the message given Pisidian Antioch's location in Galatia and Paul's emphasis in his epistle to the Galatians on freedom in Christ. Evidently this was an addition to the gospel which he needed to refute to bring the centrality of the gospel to the forefront.

Acts 17:16-34

Background:

Paul has had to escape the city of Berea, and flees to Athens. In Athens, he is waiting for his friends Timothy and Silas to follow him from Berea. But Paul can't just sit around and wait. He begins engaging the Athenian philosophers in conversation.

The Story:

The philosophers are intrigued by Paul's discussion and bring him to the Areopagus (Mars Hill), where he begins to preach, telling them of their unknown God and how that God is known and revealed in Jesus.

The How:

Paul began by reasoning with the Athenians. He was discussing with them their philosophies. When they moved him to Mars Hill, he was ready and prepared to make the most of the opportunity. He dealt with them in gentleness and respect by beginning with where they were. He understood their philosophy and their religion and began there to share.

The What:

Paul begins debating with some Greek philosophers in the market place. This is Paul's second recorded message to Gentiles. He addresses the Athenian philosophers using their philosophical terminology. He begins by discussing God as creator (17:24) and demonstrating that he is transcendent (17:25). Paul declares that all need to repent of their ignorance, for “a Man” is coming who will judge the world. Paul states this man's authority to judge is based on his resurrection from the dead (17:31). The message ended back with Jesus and his resurrection.

The Result

While Paul lost his audience with his discussion of a resurrection, we can see that Paul was trying to direct the message from that which the Gentiles would understand (God as creator) towards the resurrection of Jesus.

Conclusion

In each of these cases, the speaker was ready to share as the opportunity arose. There was no hesitation. They were looking for the teachable moment and seized it. In each of these cases the audience was treated with respect. Jesus and Paul knew their audience, understood their worldview, and was able to use that as a starting point in the conversation. They did not alienate the people, although the sometimes the audience scoffed at the message. Finally, and most importantly, in all four cases, they always brought the message back to who Jesus is and what he did.

Bibliography

Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1989.

Packer, J.I. "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God." In I'm Glad You Asked , by Kenneth Boa & Larry Moody. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1982.

Petersen, Jim. Evangelism for Our Generation. Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 1987.

Thomas, Cal. "Have We Settled For Caesar." Christianity Today , September 1999.

Footnotes

1. A June 1999 Family News from Dr. James Dobson discussed the need for Christians to be involved in all these issues, including tax cuts for middle class families.