{"id":31986,"date":"2022-09-10T15:51:48","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-7-most-dangerous-words-in-evangelism\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:51:48","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:51:48","slug":"the-7-most-dangerous-words-in-evangelism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-7-most-dangerous-words-in-evangelism\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 Most Dangerous Words in Evangelism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><\/div>\n<p><em>By Aaron Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Growing up in the Bible Belt, I heard many gospel presentations during my childhood. So much so, that by the time I was eight, I knew the following phrases by heart:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.<\/li>\n<li>While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<\/li>\n<li>The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.<\/li>\n<li>Now, all you have to do is\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, of course, one of these things is not like the others. While the first three sayings come from Scripture, the latter is a man-made clich\u00e9 that often pops up in gospel presentations.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, that phrase was recited to me so often as a child, I gathered it made up the text of John 3:17. I assumed the gospel that begins with, \u201cFor God so loved the world\u2026\u201d concluded with, \u201cNow, all you have to do is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m eternally grateful for every person who shared the gospel with me growing up and believe the people who used this seven-word call-to-action with me did so with good intentions. But while the phrase, \u201cNow, all you have to do is\u2026\u201d aims to highlight the vital truth that redemption is complete in Christ, I believe it actually serves as an unhelpful\u2014and, at times, even dangerous\u2014Christian catchphrase.<\/p>\n<p>Here are three reasons to consider dropping the well-worn clich\u00e9 from gospel presentations.<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0;clear: both'> <\/div>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>1. It Sets the Stage for Minimal Discipleship.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The phrase, \u201call you have to do is\u2026\u201d often transitions the redemptive narrative\u2014a story grounded in history\u2014to the present day imperative to repent and believe. Such a transition is needed as it answers the question the gospel originally evoked among the crowd at Pentecost: \u201cBrothers, what shall we do?\u201d (Acts 2:37).<\/p>\n<p>The <em>\u201c<\/em>all you have to do\u201d response, however, is dangerous in that it establishes a nominal understanding of what discipleship entails\u2014an approach that runs in stark contrast to how Jesus presented His gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of laying out a minimal threshold for discipleship, Christ always raised people\u2019s expectations of what it means to be His follower. Rather than telling potential disciples, \u201cHere\u2019s <em>all <\/em>you have to do,\u201d He presented difficult sayings such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You must hate your family and your own life (Luke 14:25).<\/li>\n<li>You must carry your cross daily (Luke 14:27).<\/li>\n<li>You cannot put your hand to the plow and look back (Luke 9:63).<\/li>\n<li>You will be hated for my name\u2019s sake (Matthew 10:22).<\/li>\n<li>You must lose your life because of me (Matthew 16:25).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are even parts of Scripture where it seems Jesus is trying to discourage people from following Him (Matthew 8:18-22, Luke 9:57-62). But Jesus wasn\u2019t being discouraging; He was instead asking people to deeply consider what it means to be His follower and commanding them to count the cost of discipleship (Luke 14:25-33).<\/p>\n<p>Given these biblical warnings and commands, is it really helpful to tell people, \u201cHere\u2019s all you have to do for Jesus?\u201d Shouldn\u2019t evangelists rather say:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThere are weighty reasons to not become a Christian. Your life will be far easier in this world if you keep to the course you\u2019re already on. But if you want to know truth, live for the purpose you were created for, and gain eternal life, Christ\u2019s gospel is offered as a free gift.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The kind of discipleship that perseveres over time flows from a commitment to truth, not an easy life filled with minimal expectations and demands.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>2. It Creates Confusion About Salvation.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In a 2013 interview, J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh, Durham, N.C., and current president of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke to \u201cassurance issues\u201d in evangelical churches and why clarity is important when sharing the gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Greear alluded to the number of people who, \u201cpray a sinner\u2019s prayer and think they\u2019re going to heaven because of it, even though there\u2019s not a detectable difference in their lifestyles from those outside the church.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:1em\">\n<div class=\"centered-text-area\">\n<div class=\"centered-text\" style=\"float: left\">\n<div class=\"ufee5a60e7d17c81fada457986a5d2de5-content\">See also&nbsp; 5 Ways Personal Hobbies Can Help Pastors Reach the Unchurched<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaButton\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Such confusion about conversion is fueled by phrases like \u201call you have to do&#8230;\u201d As a result, people living in long-term, unrepentant sin, may claim to be saved because, \u201cI was told <em>all I had to do<\/em> was pray a prayer and I prayed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While salvation is a free gift, true faith is marked by a new life that bears fruit for God\u2019s Kingdom (James 2:18). Lowering expectations of discipleship by saying, \u201chere\u2019s all you have to do\u201d often creates false assumptions for people to think they expressed saving faith merely because they signed a card or walked an aisle.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that God wants His people to have a firm assurance of eternal life (1 John 5:13). This assurance, however, comes from the sufficiency of Christ and one\u2019s posture toward the gospel\u2014not a one-time event marketed as a low-cost ticket into the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>3. It makes the gospel sound like commercialism.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cBut wait, there\u2019s more\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrder now, and we\u2019ll throw in\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith just five easy payments of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll you have to do is pick up the phone\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Statements like these are trademark pitches infomercials use in an attempt to close their must-have deals by appealing to a sense of urgency and ease. Unfortunately, similar language of the \u201cnow, all you have to do\u2026\u201d variety can also creep into gospel presentations so that, in an attempt to communicate free grace, Christians actually broadcast cheap grace.<\/p>\n<p>Dietrich Bonhoeffer highlighted this danger in his book,<em> The Cost of Discipleship<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline\u2026Cheap grace is grace without discipleship\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCostly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Bonhoeffer\u2019s imagery, the compelling nature of infomercials is specifically tailored to keep people from counting an offer\u2019s cost. Christians should never feel the need to pad the gospel message entrusted to them by borrowing gimmicky language from TV.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>But Really, Here Are the Most Dangerous Words.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Let me clarify that the most dangerous words in evangelism are actually ones that are never said\u2014it\u2019s better to stumble through the gospel than to never share it in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t mean, however, that Christians shouldn\u2019t develop the ability to proclaim the good news with theological precision. The Church should readily preach salvation by faith alone while also clearly communicating the biblical response to Jesus\u2019 gospel\u2014belief and repentance.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s refrain from saying, \u201c<em>Now, all you have to do<\/em> <em>is<\/em> believe and repent.\u201d If Christ is to be taken seriously, we should prepare straight-and-narrow travelers for hardships along the way.<\/p>\n<p>In this manner, those who count the cost of discipleship will be prepared to not turn back when the going gets tough.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-profile-box square gb-has-avatar gb-font-size-18 gb-block-profile gb-profile-columns\">\n<div class=\"gb-profile-column gb-profile-avatar-wrap\">\n<div class=\"gb-profile-image-wrap\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gb-profile-column gb-profile-content-wrap\">\n<h2 class=\"gb-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Aaron Wilson<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gb-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\"><strong>@AaronBWilson26<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"gb-profile-text\">\n<p>Aaron is associate editor of LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"gb-social-links\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#000000;border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#333333;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px\">Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"one-third first\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"two-thirds\">\n<h3>Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved<\/h3>\n<p>J.D. Greear<\/p>\n<p>  FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class='yarpp yarpp-related yarpp-related-website yarpp-template-thumbnails'>\n<h3>Related posts:<\/h3>\n<div class=\"yarpp-thumbnails-horizontal\">  What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times?  What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation?  Building Relationships Without Losing Discipleship  3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Wilson Growing up in the Bible Belt, I heard many gospel presentations during my childhood. So much so, that by the time I was eight, I knew the following phrases by heart: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-7-most-dangerous-words-in-evangelism\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The 7 Most Dangerous Words in Evangelism&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31986\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}