Laying the Groundwork for the Gospel

Jerry look this over and give Ysavel the green light if you are on board. I kept this blurb fairly generic and we can talk specifics tomorrow when you have some time.

Laying the Groundwork for the Gospel

We are rapidly morphing into a culture that has a smaller and smaller understanding of the basics of salvation. Many people have no knowledge of the history of salvation. The Old Testament underpinnings of God’s chosen people with a coming Messiah seem like the story line of a video game to many. The New Testament is just one of many moral books and if Jesus is known, He is just another moral teacher. So we can learn some valuable lessons from Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:1-18.

When Paul and Barnabas preached to the Jews they were able to draw on common knowledge of the Old Testament. In the synagogues they could proclaim the history of Israel and explain the prophecies pointing to Jesus. All who heard him could follow their logic whether they accepted Christ or not. They all had a common religious familiarity. But now as they began teaching among the Gentiles and Greeks in different Roman cities, they were confronted with a Biblically illiterate people. The people of Lystra had no real knowledge of Abraham or Isaac or understanding of the Psalms and prophets. So how do you share the gospel with a group of people who might stare blankly at you when you talk about Jesus as the Savior of the world? They cannot connect with what you are saying.

In these verses we hope to unpack the tools God has given to share with all people. A seven year old may not understand the full depth of sin as a twenty-seven year old. One neighbor may have gone to church as a teen and can grasp some basics of the gospel while another neighbor from another part of the country may not have the slightest notion of what you are talking about. The message never changes but we must be sensitive to begin on a level of where the hearer is. We will learn as Paul and Barnabas learned.