A church bulletin listed the sermon topic for the morning as “Gossip.” Immediately following was the hymn, “I Love to Tell the Story.” While that hymn concerns telling the story of the gospel, all too often God’s people love to tell someone else’s story. I think that, along with pride, gossip is the most widely tolerated and most destructive sin in the church.

We tolerate gossip because we’ve all been guilty of it. It’s easy to condemn people for sins you’ve never committed, but it’s not so easy to face up to sin which you have done and have encouraged others to do by listening to their gossip. So we tend to shrug it off. Or we spiritualize it: “I just wanted you to know so that you could pray.” But we need to own up to gossip as a serious sin that can destroy people.

To develop and protect proper relationships in the church, we must deal with the sin of gossip.

One of the tricky aspects of this subject is defining the term. Sometimes we fall into the sin of gossip because we’re fuzzy about what it is. Sometimes it involves a judgment call and we cross the line inadvertently. But if we would just deal with what we’re clear about, it would go a long way toward healing broken relationships and preventing further damage in the church.

What is gossip?

Webster defines gossip as either “a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts,” or as “a rumor or report of an intimate nature.”

One of the biblical words used means “a whisperer” (Rom. 1:30, 2 Cor. 12:20) which points to the intimate nature of the material shared.

Another word means “busybodies” (2 Thess. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13).

Another word means to meddle in business which doesn’t pertain to you (1 Pet. 4:15).

Another word comes from a verb meaning “to babble,” suggesting that gossip is empty, pointless talk, often not completely factual (1 Tim. 5:13).

Another word, translated “malicious gossips” (1 Tim. 3:11, Titus 2:3) is the same word that is most often translated “devil.” It comes from a compound word meaning to throw something against someone. It ought to scare us to realize that when we gossip we enter into the very nature of the devil!

I’m going to boil all these nuances down by defining gossip as sharing information which damages another person’s reputation with those who have no need to know.

It may be completely factual. More often, the one sharing it has not bothered to check out the facts, which get distorted for the sake of making it more interesting.

If the one who is sharing the information knows that it is not completely true and his motive for sharing it is to damage the other person, it moves from gossip to slander.

The Hebrew word most often translated “slander” means to give an evil report about someone.

The Greek word means to speak against someone. James says that if we do that, we make ourselves the judge of both our brother and God’s law, usurping God’s rightful place (James 4:11, 12).

This might describe what often happens in a local church.

A person gets hurt over some incident. They feel like the church failed to meet their needs. They grow bitter, blaming the leadership for not caring about their problem. The hurt person intends to go talk to one of the leaders about things, but it doesn’t happen. Then, one day he runs into someone else from the church who seems caring and concerned. So he shares his complaint. The devil says our words aren’t that bad…I don’t yell like my mother, or lie like my boss. It’s not gossip because I’m bless-her-heart-concerned about her.

The “caring” person replies, “Well, it doesn’t surprise me. You’re not the first to have this kind of problem with the leaders, you know.” “Really?” “Oh, yes, in fact I was just talking with another family who ran into the same brick wall.” [He goes on to describe that situation.] “Those people just don’t seem to care. We need some leaders who would care about the needs of good people like you.”

That’s gossip and slander in operation! The person who felt hurt had no business telling anyone about it except the one against whom he had the complaint. The gossip tested the waters by saying, “It doesn’t surprise me. There are others, you know,” implying that he had inside information he was willing to share.

The hurt person took the bait by saying, “Really?” Then the gossip took up the offense, assumed the position of neutral judge (which the Lord had not assigned him) and shared more damaging gossip which he had no business sharing.

Through it all he showed a concern for the hurt person by subtly contrasting himself with those insensitive leaders. Satan uses that scenario over and over to destroy churches and church leaders.

I want to deal with two questions: First, How can I deal with my own gossip? Second, How can I deal with gossip in others?

How can I deal with my own gossip?

1. See gossip as serious sin and confess it to God.

One of the main reasons we don’t deal with gossip is that we excuse it as no big deal. It’s not seen as a “bad” sin, like adultery or homosexuality or armed robbery (but see 1 Pet. 4:15). So we rationalize it and tolerate it. But we need to see the destructive power of our tongues and confess and forsake the sin of gossip.

Proverbs 18:21 states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, …” The Japanese have a proverb which says that though the tongue is only three inches long it can slay a man six feet high. Proverbs 16:27, 28 states, “A worthless man digs up evil, while his words are as a scorching fire. A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.” Gossip spreads contention and contaminates those who come in touch with it: “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down. Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the body” (Prov. 26:20-22).

Professional boxers need to be careful not to get into fist fights outside of the ring, because their hands are considered lethal weapons in a court of law. We need to see our tongues that way. James 1:26 says, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” The tongue, like an unbroken horse, needs to be bridled or restrained. James also says (3:2) that “the man who can claim that he never says the wrong thing can consider himself perfect, for if he can control his tongue he can control every other part of his personality!” (Phillips paraphrase). Until we see that our tongues are capable of terrible evil and confess our loose tongue as sin, we won’t conquer gossip.

2. Realize that you can’t conquer gossip in your strength.

James 3:7-8 asserts, “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” No one can tame the tongue! That shows the power of sin over fallen human nature. Jesus said that evil speech stems from our hearts, which are evil (Matt. 15:19). Until we realize the utter depravity of our hearts and cry out to God for His deliverance, we will never conquer the sin of gossip.

3. Yield your tongue to God as an instrument of righteousness.

Paul says (Rom. 6:12-13) that rather than let sin reign in our bodies, where we go on presenting the members of our bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, we are to present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead and our members as instruments of righteousness to God. It is a choice of masters: Either we serve sin or we serve God.

Memorizing Scripture is a powerful weapon for overcoming sin. A verse that has helped me in the battle to control my tongue is Proverbs 12:18: “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” The word picture is that my tongue can either be a sword or a scalpel. I can speak rashly and wound another person like sword thrusts; or, I can consider what I say and use my tongue as a scalpel to bring healing. That leads to the next step:

4. Make a commitment to build others in Christ, not to tear them down.

Ephesians 4:29 gives us this contrast: “Let no unwholesome [lit., “rotten”] word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Have you ever bit into a rotten piece of fruit? You want to spit it out of your mouth and rinse your mouth out. That’s how we ought to feel about speech that tears others down. When you say things behind someone’s back which tear them down or ruin their reputation, it’s rotten speech. It may even be true, but the person you’re sharing it with has no need to know.

By way of contrast we are to say things which build up others according to their need, that it may give grace to those who hear. That doesn’t mean that we paper over people’s faults or make them look good when they did us harm. Paul sometimes warned his readers of individuals, whom he named, who were causing problems for the church (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 1:15; 4:14, 15). He told the church in Rome, “Keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them” (Rom. 16:17). So we aren’t to have a “Pollyanna Positive” view of people where we never say anything bad about anybody. But we need to make a commitment to build up others, not to tear them down, whether in our presence or not.

5. Fill your life with meaningful work.

In 1 Timothy 5:13-14, Paul talks about younger widows who were idle and went about from house to house as “gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” He instructs them to “get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.”

Even though men are as prone to gossip as women, most of the New Testament injunctions against it are directed to women. In Titus 2:3-5 Paul writes that, among other things, older women are not to be malicious gossips so that they can teach younger women to love their husbands and children and to be workers at home. One requirement for deaconesses is that they not be malicious gossips (1 Tim. 3:11). Whether for men or women, it takes time to spread gossip, so if you want to avoid the problem, fill your life with meaningful work and service for the Lord.

6. Examine your motives for sharing information about another person.

Why do I need to share this with this person? Is it to make me look good and the other person look bad? Maybe I have a gripe about the other person, and I’m trying to win people to my side by running down the other guy. Perhaps I want to share information because it feels good to be in the know. Then others will look to me as one who always has the inside scoop. Perhaps the other person threatens me and I’m trying to put him down to make myself more secure. There are a lot of fleshly reasons for sharing something about another person behind his back.

The only right reasons for sharing damaging information about a person behind his back are to seek to bring help to the person or to warn someone who could be damaged by this person. You must be very honest before the Lord in this, because it’s easy to play games! If a person is not directly involved in the problem and isn’t a part of the solution, and if they don’t need to be warned for their own protection, they don’t need to know details. If they ask questions, you can simply say, “Yes, there are some problems, but I’m not free to divulge details.”

7. Refuse to listen to those who want to spread gossip.

Proverbs 20:19 states, “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip.” If you listen to gossip, you’ll be tempted to pass it on. If you refuse to listen to it, you won’t have fuel for that fire. A gossip will contaminate you with damaging information which may hinder you from relationships which could help you grow in the Lord.

You ask, How do I refuse to listen to someone who wants to spread gossip? That leads to the final question:

How can I deal with gossip in others?

It’s never easy because sometimes it sneaks up on you. But often a gossip will test your spirit before he gives you the information. If you seem interested, he will give you more. Sometimes he will create curiosity by dropping comments that indicate that he knows something that would interest you. If you take the bait, he tells you more.

Bill Gothard shares five questions to ask before you listen to an evil report. I find that often I can’t ask these before, but as a person starts to share something with me, I’m mulling the first one over in my mind, and I ask it as soon as I can.

1. What is your reason for telling me?

You’re asking the person their motive for sharing this information with you. Is it so that you can be involved in the solution? Why you and not someone else? If it’s none of your business, then tell the person, “I am not the one to talk to about this matter. You should go directly to the person involved.”

A few years ago, an elderly lady in our church didn’t like the fact that we started using the guitar in our worship services. She started calling other women in the church, trying to win them to her side, running me down in the process. But she made the mistake of calling the wife of one of our elders, who told her, “You have no business calling me or any other person. You need to talk to Steve.” Then this elder’s wife told me what was going on. I went to visit this lady and gently tried to tell her that if she had a problem, she should go directly to the one she had the problem with. Well, that was totally foreign to her mode of operation! The next time I called on her she snapped at me, “Have you come to bawl me out again?” But, to my knowledge, she stopped spreading dissension in the church.

2. Where did you get your information?

If a person refuses to identify the source of information, he is probably spreading an evil report. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was open about his source of information: “I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you” (1 Cor. 1:11).

3. Have you gone to those directly involved?

Jesus was clear: If you have a problem with your brother, go directly to him and seek to clear it up (Matt. 18:15). If a person has not done this, he is not interested in helping restore an offender, but only in spreading gossip (unless he’s never been instructed in how to deal with such matters). You can say, “I can’t verify the things you’re saying. Before you talk to anyone else, you need to go directly to this person and talk to him about it. If you need help on how to do that, I’ll be glad to coach you. Then I’d like you to tell me how it went.”

4. Have you personally checked out all of the facts?

Often, gossip is based on hearsay or misinformation. Or the person spreading it has listened to only one side. Proverbs 18:17 (NIV) observes, “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” By the time gossip travels down the line, it gets even more distorted. We are to speak truth with one another (Eph. 4:25). If you haven’t checked the facts, it’s only a rumor, not verified truth.

5. Can I quote you if I check this out?

A gossip doesn’t want to be quoted because he’s not sure of his facts and he doesn’t want to be involved in the solution.

Conclusion

A professor at Princeton University ran an experiment to test the velocity of gossip. He called six students to his office and in strict confidence informed them that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were planning to attend a certain university dance. Within a week this completely fictitious story had reached no less than 2,000 students. City officials phoned the university demanding to know why they had not been informed. Press agencies were frantically phoning for details. The professor observed, “That was a pleasant rumor–a slanderous one travels even faster.”

If we want to develop and protect loving relationships in this church, we’ve got to deal with the sin of gossip. First we need to confront it in our own lives. Then we’ve got to deal with gossip in others by refusing to listen to it and by gently correcting anyone who tries to spread gossip to us. Let’s love to tell the story of Jesus, but let’s hate to tell anyone else’s story unless it builds up the body of Christ.

Be Careful What You Say

In the course of your conversation each and every day,
Think twice, try to be careful of what you have to say;

Your remarks may be picked up by someone’s listening ear,
You may be surprised at what some people think they hear.

Things that you innocently say, or try to portray, Can be changed, and greatly exaggerated along the way;

Many stories change for the worse as they are retold. So try to keep any questionable remarks “on hold.”

May I give all of you some very sound advice?
When you speak of others, say something nice. Try to say good things, regardless of who is around, If you have nothing good to say, don’t utter a sound.

“Some people will believe anything if it is whispered to them.” – Pierre de Marivaux

So live that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip. – Will Rogers

If you don’t say it, they can’t repeat it. – Chuck Swindoll

 

 

 

A statement often said: ‘If a person really understood the gospel, I don’t see how he could reject it.’ His point was that if we could just make the gospel absolutely clear, everyone would perforce accept it.

Our minister was then preaching a marvelous series of sermons from Romans, making clear the message of justification by faith, and the all-sufficiency of the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thought that if only this saving gospel of Romans 1:16 could be made just as clear to all men, every heart would joyfully receive the gospel.

What has become painfully clear to me is that, no matter how clearly the gospel is presented, men will reject it. That brings us to ask the question: Why will men not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved?

Of course there is one answer, and there are a hundred answers.

We are asking what is the precise perversity and blindness in sinful man which leads him to reject the gospel of Christ? Let the answer come in the words of Thomas Boston, the eighteenth-century Scottish divine. The following notes are taken from Boston’s sermon on Isaiah 61:1 (Works, vol. 9, pp. 540-541).

Thomas Boston states that man’s rejection of the gospel is traceable to certain sinful weaknesses. We shall quote Boston’s main analysis phrase by phrase and then add explanatory comments of our own.

1. ‘NO DUE SENSE OF SPIRITUAL WANTS’.

Proverbs 27:7: ‘The full soul loatheth the honeycombe’.

This is the old Laodicean sickness (Rev. 3:17). A man says, ‘I do not sense any great hurt or lack or failure in my life. I have a good education; I have achieved vocational success; my marriage and children are fine; my personal life is one of morality and integrity.

I have respect for the church, I believe in God, but I do not see any overwhelming need in my life — nothing that compels me to cry out to Jesus Christ to save me.’

This is the man who hears of the treasure hid in the field. He replies, ‘Yes, many people could really use that treasure, and I am sure they would find it good for them, but thank you anyway, I have enough treasure of my own.’

2. ‘NO TRUE SIGHT AND SENSE OF THEIR OWN SINFULNESS’.

He says, ‘I’m no angel, I’m not perfect, sure I’ve done wrong, call it sin if you like, but. . .’ There is always that ‘but’.

Many method booklets prescribe that we ask a question such as, ‘Do you admit you have sinned?’ The usual answer is, ‘Of course I do.’

There is always the crossed finger, or a qualification, though. ‘It depends on what you mean by sin; I am no serial killer. I was not in the Nazi party, I am not a pervert.

So if you mean, have I been less than I ought, yes. But if you mean that I am some sort of depraved person, then no. Certainly God and religion could make me a better person, and we all need that. But I do not consider myself a ruined sinner, with a corrupt life, whose only hope is in the mercy of God.’

3. ‘THEY DO NOT SEE THE CLOUDS OF WRATH WHICH ARE HANGING OVER THEIR HEADS’.

Our apprehension of our wretchedness is directly proportionate to our apprehension of the glory of God. The same ratio holds true for our sinfulness and God’s holiness.

What man comes before God as did the prophet Isaiah (chapter 6)? What man sees God as unapproachable, a consuming fire, a pure and utterly holy and excellent Being?

No, men have dealings with a ‘god’ who is much like themselves. How does a lost man react to Boston’s image of ‘clouds of wrath hanging above his head’? He replies, ‘Those are old-fashioned clouds and a new wind has blown them away.’

Now that those old clouds are gone, man imagines he can see God clearly. ‘He is a God who suits man’s self-indulgence, a God who is waiting to bless men in their sin.’ But such a view of God is drawn from man’s imagination.

4. ‘THEY ARE STRANGERS TO THEIR UTTER INABILITY TO HELP THEMSELVES’.

Many people have heard the basic gospel message, and it ends with, ‘Now here is what you must do. . .  Exercise simple faith. Raise your hand. Say yes.’ Most men say, ‘I understand the steps. Now I can take the final step to salvation as and when I please.’

That ‘step’ however, is about ten miles. Men think it is just that last little step, into the kingdom. That ‘final step’ is a giant step, an impossible step for man to take of himself.

Consider a man trapped in a burning house. He senses no dire need, because he is just one doorway from his drive and from safety. What he does not realize is that the door is locked and he has no key.

5. ‘THEY DO NOT FEEL THEIR NEED OF CHRIST’.

The natural man says, ‘I see that Christ could help me in many ways. I can see that his cross is the way for my sins to be forgiven.’

What he does not see, though, is his own need for Christ to save him. He does not painfully and sensibly ‘feel’ that he is lost, condemned and helpless before God.

He does not feel the horrible realization that if Jesus Christ does not do the saving work, he is going to an eternal hell of fire. He does not feel the desperate bondage in which his sins have chained him.

6. ‘THEY SEE NOT THEIR OWN UNWORTHINESS’.

Self-worth is the catchword of our day.

Allegedly, men need to have a good ‘self-image’, a positive ‘self-­concept’, a strong ‘self-affirmation’. That is what popular Christianity tells them.

It is the language of popular psychology, popular media talk and popular paperback books. In fact, today’s gospel goes so far as to say that a poor self-image is hurtful. It is keeping you from the fulness of God’s blessing.

The whole point of the gospel, so it is now said, is to give a good ‘self-worth’. Obviously, men do ‘not see their own unworthiness’. In fact, it would nowadays be deemed wrong to do so.

Boston puts it in this way: ‘They cannot see how the Lord can reject (them). The thought that God may rightfully reject me, the very idea that I am unworthy of God — that is said to be a harmful subject to broach with sinners.

7. ‘THEY HAVE NO ANXIETY FOR THE SUPPLY OF THEIR SOUL WANTS’.

Here are the foolish virgins, sleeping on through the night. Why do they sleep, when they know that the Bridegroom is coming? Because they have worn themselves out with the activities of the day.

They have been diligent, thoughtful and devoted to many things. They have built up their supplies of financial security, of pleasant housing, of physical fitness, of community standing, of family togetherness.

But what about their supply of ‘oil’? Time enough for that! They have felt no need to be anxious about the oil of grace which saves and supplies the soul. ‘God would not want us to be upset about religion or about spiritual matters. God does not lay a “guilt trap” on us. No, God wants us to be at peace.

He does not send nightmares or sleeplessness upon men. Surely spiritual anxiety could not be from God!’ With such language sinners deceive themselves and perish.

8. ‘THEY ARE NOT CONTENT WITH CHRIST BUT ON TERMS OF THEIR OWN MAKING’.

Here Boston, with great perception, exposes the sinner’s fatal mistake. Man realizes he needs the gospel, but he has set a limit on the price he is willing to pay.

If the asking price is too high, he will go without. Or else, he will look for a ‘Christ’ who is less demanding. If the demand of Christ is to pluck out the right eye, the price is too great.

Man will look around for a gospel which allows him to keep his ‘eye’ — and also his ‘right’ hand, lusts, and riches — and still go to heaven.

If the gate is too narrow, then widen the gate! The terms of the gospel are now set by men, not by Christ.

Stephen Charnock wrote, ‘The happiness the gospel proposeth is naturally desirable. . . but not the methods which God had ordained for the attainment.’

EXCUSES

Today people might say, “It’s not my fault if I don’t understand Jesus’ message!” They may have a variety of excuses:

• “It’s too difficult. I can’t grasp these abstract concepts.” Our responsibility is not to become theologians, just willing listeners.
• “I’m not old enough to make life-changing decisions.” But even children understand love, doing right, and spiritual authority.
• “I know too many ‘Christian’ phonies, jerks, and nerds.” The name “Christian” is used today by racist hate groups, political revolutionaries, and fraudulent money-making schemes. It’s sad that the name is detached so far and so often from the reality. But the reality is Jesus’ message, and that comes right from God to you, today, with life-changing power. Don’t fool with excuses. Embrace and receive Jesus’ message as the foundation of your life.

Bruce B. Barton, Matthew, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), 264.

Other thoughts

1) The gospel doesn’t fit their plausibility structure

Plausibility structures “are accepted beliefs, convictions, and understandings that either green-light truth claims as plausible or red-light them as implausible.” (41)

For example, most would red-light a claim of a UFO landing as implausible. Although Christians would green-light the truth claim of Jesus rising from the dead as plausible, such a claim may not fit into a non-Christian’s plausibility structure.

Chan explains how community, experience, and facts and evidence build such structures. And if the gospel doesn’t connect with these three buckets, people will often reject it.

2) Christians haven’t looked for common ground

When the apostles evangelized, they looked for some common ground that both they and their audiences already held to be true as an introduction to sharing the gospel. Chan writes: For a Jewish audience, that common ground was Scripture. But for a gentile audience, unfamiliar with Scripture, the common ground was God’s common grace, general revelation, universal human desires, and their cultural authors. (67)

This isn’t to say Christians shouldn’t use Scripture when presenting the gospel; we just don’t have to begin there. Instead, common ground is key to ensuring someone doesn’t reject the gospel outright.

3) They don’t understand sin and guilt

Though sin has a prominent place in gospel presentations, our culture doesn’t understand the main model we use to describe it: the guilt model of sin. Instead of guilt, “shame is becoming more prominent in our postmodern society.” (78) We need to leverage this insight when we share the gospel.

Chan has switched from using guilt language to shame language when he presents the gospel: “I’ve been using the language of shame—we have ‘shamed God,’ we have ‘not been honoring God’—and the room is silent. All eyes are on me. They get it. It’s personal.” (79)

If we don’t make the switch, people may reject the gospel because they don’t understand sin.

4) Their questions aren’t answered

In the 1980s, Chan grew skillful at answering tough questions about his faith. Soon he shared his strategies in church talks to help Christians answer tough questions like “How do you know there’s a God?” or “How do you know there’s life after death?”

But in the 2000s he gave the same talk at a youth conference, and the audience was neither impressed nor persuaded by his answers. What happened?

“I found out that they weren’t even asking—or being asked—the tough questions that I was answering. They had a new set of questions. And they wanted a new set of answers.” (102) When people reject the gospel, often we’re either answering questions they aren’t asking or not answering the ones they are.

5) Ethics are a barrier to belief

“When our non-Christian friends think of Christianity,” Chan reveals, “they don’t think of good news, salvation, forgiveness, restoration, justice, mercy, or love. Instead, they think of hate, fear, power, and violence.” (115) For a variety of reasons, they think Christians are unethical.

However, non-Christians consider their stances as ethical because they empower, liberate, and restore justice to the marginalized. Their ethics are about choice, equality, rights, or justice.

“In postmodernity, Christians are viewed as the oppressors and haters while non-Christians are viewed as the ones on the side of love, justice, and mercy.” (115)

In other words, we have an image problem, and people often reject the gospel because of it.

6) The gospel isn’t real in Christians’ lives

In past generations, the first question people asked was, “Is it true?” Now, another question is all that matters: “Is it real in your life?” In other words, do we walk the walk and talk the talk?

This should lead us to think about how we evangelize to our postmodern friends in a way that communicates authenticity. While the gospel is something we speak, words that communicate God’s truth, there is also a sense in which we ourselves are a component of how the message is communicated. (116)

When we speak words of truth, they must be embodied, and in love, so that it is real in our lives. According to 1 Thessalonians 1:5, the Thessalonians didn’t just believe the gospel to be true, they saw it was real by Paul’s authentic living. Similarly, people will reject the gospel if it isn’t real in our lives.

7) Wrong evangelistic pedagogical methods 

Evangelism in this postmodern day requires a lifestyle change when it comes to our pedagogy. Chan explains:

With moderns, we used to employ this logic:

Truth, Belief, Praxis

• This is true.
• If it’s true, then you must believe it.
• If you believe it, now you must live it.

But with postmoderns, I believe a better pedagogical sequence is:

Praxis, Belief, Truth

• The Christian life is livable.
• If it’s livable then it’s also believable.
• If it’s believable, then it’s also true. (125)

When our non-Christian friends see how the Christian life works they will discover it is livable, leading to believability. “And if they see that, they might also acknowledge that it’s true” (125).

This kind of pedagogical method is key to helping people embrace the gospel.

8) Culture’s existential cry goes unanswered

The gospel isn’t merely a set of propositional truths about Jesus.

It answers the existential cry of culture, and we need to “speak to the audience in their culture, using the language, idioms, and metaphors of their ‘cultural text.’” (158)

As an example of such ‘texts,’ consider the cultural phenomenon of serving drinks in cafés using Mason jars. Chan explains: The message of the Mason jar is that we need to be connected to a transcendent, grander narrative. God sends us his Son, Jesus, to offer us a grander narrative. If we connect ourselves with Jesus, then Jesus will connect us with God’s story, history, and tradition. With Jesus, we will find the transcendent narrative that we’ve been longing for. (166)

If we don’t connect the good news of the gospel to the existential cry of culture, people will often reject it.

9) Christians try to win the mind before emotions

If tomorrow you woke to the headline, “The Bones of Jesus Have Been Discovered!” would you believe it and leave behind your faith in Christ’s resurrection? Probably not. Why? “Because we have prior truth commitments that override what we are hearing and seeing.” (248)

Chan explains the point of this thought experiment: It’s to show…exactly what it’s like when we present facts, evidence, and data to our non-Christian friends about Jesus’ resurrection. It’s no different for them. When they hear us talk about Jesus and the resurrection and our belief in God and the Bible, we are announcing what is contrary to fact for them. (248)

Which is why “we need to win over the emotions before we win over the mind.” (248) When we win over emotions, the door is open to short-circuit prior truth commitments.

10) Prior beliefs aren’t adequately dismantled

After establishing common ground, we need to use reasoning and evidence to dismantle a nonbeliever’s presuppositions using a method to answer today’s defeater beliefs:

• Resonate: Describe, understand, and empathize with their presuppositions.
• Dismantle: Show a deficiency or dissonance in their presuppositions.
• Gospel: Complete their cultural storyline with the gospel.

Unless we can dismantle someone’s faulty worldview and present the Christian worldview as an attractive alternative, they may reject the gospel.

TRAGEDY OF EVIL

Followers of Jesus do not fear God’s final judgment, but we must respond to it with

• tears, for the separation and suffering that will fall upon evildoers. We must never gloat over or feel indifferent to the fate of those facing judgment. God mourns over lost souls, and so should we.
• sharing the gospel, since many need to hear and all who respond in faith will be saved from judgment. Christians ought to always be witnessing people.
• lifelong service, because no matter what your job, profession, or education, all you do should be dedicated to God. God uses your work to advance his kingdom and overcome evil.

The early morning crash of a Brink’s armored truck on a Miami highway in January held up a mirror to our nation’s cultural decline. While the driver and a fellow Brink’s officer lay bruised and bleeding, a festive atmosphere broke loose outside the truck as thousands of dollars blew n the breeze.

Motorists stopped in rush hour traffic, then scooped up cash before resuming their commutes to the office. Thousands of crisp bills and shiny coins rained down an overpass onto a Miami neighborhood. Below, mothers with babies grabbed coins and piled them into strollers. An elderly woman filled a box. A young school girl dumped her book bag and loaded it with coins and bills.

Onlookers and participants had plenty of justifications and rationalizations.

“Which is more moral,? asked one resident of the impoverished neighborhood, ‘to return the money and leave your children improvised-or maybe send them to college and enrich the family for generations”‘

“We deserve a little something,? said another.

“The Lord was willing for it to happen here,? one man commented. ‘there’s a lot of poverty. It was a miracle.’

Police estimated that more than 100 people helped themselves to money during the melee. Middle class on their way to work made off with thousands.

Was this a shocking event? It shouldn’t have been. What happened in Miami was born out of a cultural drift that has left us unsure of absolute right and wrong or at least unwilling to live by such a code. We reward rule-breakers and ridicule those who extol morality. Life’s ultimate reward is money and having it is the end to our worries.

Maybe the Miami incident says more about character than we care to consider.

There were some heroes on that day in Miami. Several people came forward and turned money over to authorities.

“I have children, and I needed to set a good example,? said Faye McFadden, a mother who earns $5.00 an hour at a department store. “It was important for me to do what I felt was right.’

Herbert Tarvin, 11, came forward after his teacher at St. Francis Xavier Elementary School lectured students about making the right decision. He went to police with 85 cents.

“I knew it was wrong for me to keep anything,? Herbert told a television reporter, “and I knew if I kept it I would have been stealing.’

Manny Rodriguez, a firefighter who recovered a bag containing $330,000 in cash, summed things up pretty well.

“People were almost killed in that truck and people are calling it a blessing from God. That wasn’t a blessing; it was a test. The rich, the poor, the middle class-everybody should have a conscience.?

The trouble with the advice, “Follow your conscience” is that most people follow it like someone following a wheelbarrow—they direct it wherever they want it to go, and then follow behind.

Conscience tells us that we ought to do right, but it does not tell us what right is—that we are taught by God’s word.

Did you know that ever since 1811 (when someone who had defrauded the government anonymously sent $5 to Washington D.C.) the U.S. Treasury has operated a Conscience Fund? Since that time almost $3.5 million has been received from guilt-ridden citizens.

Myself

I have to live with myself, and so I want to be fit for myself to know, I want to be able, as days go by, Always to look myself straight in the eye;

I don’t want to stand, with the setting sun, And hate myself for the things I’ve done.
I don’t want to keep on the closet shelf A lot of secrets about myself, And fool myself, as I come and go, Into thinking that nobody else will know The kind of a man I really am; I don’t want to dress up myself in sham.

I want to go out with my head erect, I want to deserve all men’s respect; But here in the struggle for fame and pelf I want to be able to like myself.

I don’t want to look at myself and know That I’m bluster and bluff and empty show. I can never hide myself from me; I see what others may never see;

I know what others may never know, I never can fool myself, and so, Whatever happens, I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free. Edgar Guest

Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil. – Sidney J. Harris

Conscience is that faculty in me which attaches itself to the highest that I know, and tells me what the highest I know demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what it regards as the highest authority. If I am in the habit of steadily facing toward God, my conscience will always introduce God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The point is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I walk without offense. I should be living in such perfect sympathy with God’s Son that in every circumstance the spirit of my mind is renewed.

The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When there is any debate, quit. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks. – Oswald Chambers

What is conscience and why is it important? Conscience is the inner sense of right and wrong that guides our actions and choices. It helps us to act in accordance with our moral values and to avoid harming others or ourselves. But what are moral values and where do they come from? Morality is the system of principles and rules that governs our behavior and judgments in relation to ourselves, others, and the world. Morality can have different sources, such as nature, reason, emotion, intuition, tradition, culture, religion, or law.

Conscience is not a fixed or universal concept, but rather a dynamic and personal one that can vary depending on these sources of morality. Conscience can also change over time as we learn from our mistakes and grow as human beings. Conscience plays a vital role in our ethical decision-making and moral behavior. It helps us to evaluate the consequences of our actions and to choose the best course of action in different situations. Conscience also motivates us to act on our moral convictions and to stand up for what we believe in. Conscience can also help us to cope with guilt, remorse, or regret when we fail to live up to our moral standards or when we harm others or ourselves.

Conscience is not always easy to follow or to understand. Sometimes we may face dilemmas or conflicts between our conscience and other factors, such as social pressure, self-interest, or emotions. Sometimes we may ignore or suppress our conscience because we fear the consequences of acting on it or because we rationalize our immoral behavior. Sometimes we may have doubts or uncertainties about what our conscience is telling us or whether it is reliable or accurate.

Conscience is not a perfect or infallible guide, but rather a fallible and imperfect one that requires constant reflection and evaluation. We need to examine our conscience regularly and critically, and to seek feedback from others who can help us to clarify our moral values and judgments. We also need to educate and inform our conscience by learning from various sources of moral wisdom, such as philosophy, religion, literature, history, science, and art. We also need to respect and appreciate the diversity of conscience among different people and cultures, and to engage in dialogue and cooperation with them.

Conscience is a precious and powerful gift that makes us human and moral beings. It enables us to act with integrity, responsibility, compassion, and justice. It also challenges us to grow and improve as individuals and as members of society. Conscience is not something that we have, but something that we are.

9:19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them.

In our text today, Paul asserted that he was free to yield certain rights in matters that did not compromise the gospel message. In such a way, he could vary the style of his message or other minor matters, becoming a slave to his audience so that [he] might win more of them.

Paul’s goals were to glorify God and to bring people to Christ. Thus he stayed free of any philosophical position or material entanglement that might sidetrack him while he strictly disciplined himself to carry out his goals.

By being a slave to all, Paul was communicating the heart of his mission strategy. He had a willingness to accommodate and adjust to different settings. When with Jews, he ate kosher food; when with Gentiles, he ate regular food. In Philippi, he accepted support; in other places, he did not.

Was Paul a chameleon, merely adapting to each environment? In some ways, he was; but his principles were higher than self-protection. He wanted people of all cultures and backgrounds to listen to the gospel. Whenever missionaries go to another culture, they should consciously embrace and adapt to every element in that culture that doesn’t hinder the gospel or violate biblical ethics.

9:20    To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.

Paul never compromised the doctrines of Scripture, never changed God’s Word in order to make it more palatable to people in any given place. He never went against God’s law or his own conscience. In matters that did not violate any principle of God’s Word, however, Paul was willing to become like his audience in order to win them to Christ. Three groups are mentioned in these verses: Jews, Gentiles, and those with weak consciences. By saying, to the Jews I became like a Jew, Paul was stating that, when necessary, he conformed his life to the practices of those under the law even though he himself was no longer under the law (because of his freedom in Christ; see Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:20–26). If, however, Paul had gone into a Jewish synagogue to preach, all the while flouting the Jewish laws and showing no respect for their laws and customs because of his “freedom in Christ,” he would have offended the very people he had come to tell about Jesus Christ. But by adapting himself to them, by conforming to their regulations and restrictions (Paul had been a Pharisee), he had gained an audience so that he might win those under the law. Again, Paul was careful never to violate any of God’s commands in his attempts to serve his listeners. He never conceded that those regulations had to be kept in order for people to become believers, but he conformed to the laws to help the Jews come to Christ. The line was a difficult one to walk, for the book of Galatians records a time when Paul rebuked Peter for acting like a Jew among the Gentiles (see Galatians 2:11–21).

9:21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

As Paul conformed himself to the Jews, he also conformed to those not having the law, referring to Gentiles. Paul met them on their own turf, becoming like one not having the law. This did not mean that Paul had thrown aside all restraints and was living like a pagan in hopes of winning the pagans to Christ! As he explained, he always remembered that he was not free from God’s law but [was] under Christ’s law. Paul lived according to God’s law and his conscience, but he did not put undue constraints on his Gentile audiences. Unlike some false teachers of the day, called Judaizers, Paul did not require the Gentiles to follow the Jewish laws in order to become believers (see Acts 15:1–21). Instead, he spoke a message that would win those not having the law (see, for example, Acts 17:1–34).

9:22–23 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.

“The weak” refers to those with a weak conscience, a subject Paul had discussed in chapter 8. In that chapter, Paul had explained that believers who were free in Christ ought to set aside certain freedoms in the presence of another believer with a more sensitive conscience. Paul followed his own advice, saying that he became weak when with such people (meaning that he had set aside his freedoms and had lived by their restraints for a time) so that he might win the weak. The “weak” were already believers, but they needed to grow into a deeper knowledge of Christ and a deeper understanding of their freedom in Christ. Paul did this delicately, becoming as they were in order to gain their listening ears. He chose to become all things to all people (the Jews, the Gentiles, and those with weak consciences, 9:20–22) in order to save some. Paul never compromised the gospel truth, God’s law, or his own conscience; in other matters, however, Paul was willing to go to great lengths to meet people where they were. He had one focus:  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.  Paul’s life focused on taking the gospel to an unbelieving world. He did not preach with pride, counting the numbers of converts; instead, he preached with love for the gospel and for people, so that in the end, he and all believers could share together in the blessings of knowing Christ.

First Corinthians 9 reveals several basic principles for effective ministry:

1. find common ground with others
2. avoid a know-it-all attitude
3. make others feel accepted
4. be sensitive to others’ needs and concerns
5. look for opportunities to tell about Christ.

Paul immediately practiced his strategy of identifying with his audience by using an athletic lesson. Because Corinth was the site of the Isthmian Games, Paul knew that the Corinthians would be able to understand that winning a race requires purpose and discipline.

Paul used this illustration to explain that the Christian life takes hard work, self-denial, and grueling preparation. As Christians, we are running toward our heavenly reward. The essential disciplines of prayer, Bible study, and worship equip us to run with vigor and stamina.

Don’t merely observe from the grandstand; don’t just jog a couple of laps each morning. Train diligently—your spiritual progress depends upon it.

He wanted every believer to run in such a way that you will win. In other words, every believer should be putting out the kind of effort for the reward of God’s kingdom that an athlete puts out to merely win a wreath. The athletes practiced strict self-control so as to win a prize that will fade away.

Believers, therefore, ought to willingly practice self-control with a focus on bringing others to Christ because they are running toward an eternal prize. They have all already “won”; the prize is not dependent on how they run the race. Because they already are assured of the prize, they should live for God with as much focus and enthusiasm as did the ancient runners at the games.

Paul pointed to the self-control of runners. They must make choices between good and bad. Christians’ choices are not always between good and bad. At times we must even give up something good in order to do what God wants. Each person’s special duties determine the discipline and denial that he or she must accept. Without a goal, discipline is nothing but self-punishment. With the goal of pleasing God, denial seems like nothing compared to the eternal, imperishable reward.

9:24–25 Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

Paul’s exhortations in the previous verses—for the believers to give up their own rights, to think of others first, to be wholehearted in their focus on bringing others to Christ—called upon the Christians to deny themselves as they looked forward to future reward. Paul compared this to a race, picturing the ancient “games.” The Olympics were already operating in Paul’s time. Second in popularity only to the Olympic games, the Isthmian games were celebrated every two years at Corinth. Athletes would come from all over Greece, and the winners of the games were accorded the highest honor. To get into the games, and especially to emerge as victors, required that each athlete prepare diligently with self-denial and dedication. Typically, for ten months prior to the games, the athletes-in-training denied themselves many ordinary pleasures in order to prepare and be in top condition for the competition. Each put forth his greatest effort during the contest, setting aside all else in order to win the prize. Everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. The coveted prize, and the honor accorded with it, meant the world to these athletes. They would give up everything else in order to obtain it.

9:26–27 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Paul not only preached the gospel message and encouraged the believers to self-discipline and self-denial, he also practiced what he preached. He too had to live by the gospel, and he too practiced self-denial like the athletes just described. Paul did not run the race aimlessly, nor was he like a boxer who misses his punches. Instead, he kept his eyes focused on the goal, running straight for it, with purpose in every step. He did not allow himself to be sidetracked and he did not waste time becoming lazy. He kept on, disciplining and training his body. Paul pictured life as a battle. Believers must not become lazy—for Satan seeks to cause them to stumble, sin continues to buffet, and sorrow and pain are a daily reality (see Romans 7:14–25). Instead of being bound by their bodies, believers must diligently discipline themselves in their Christian lives in order to stay “in shape.”

SELF-CONTROL

Whatever happened to self-control? Many books and speakers guide wandering souls to self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction, and self-awareness. Not many tackle self-control.

Self-control requires an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses, with emphasis on the latter. It means building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes.

• No to friends or situations that will lead you away from Christ.
• No to casual sex, saving intimacy for marriage.
• No to laziness in favor of “can do” and “will do.”

Self-control is a long, steady course in learning attitudes that do not come naturally, and channeling natural appetites toward God’s purposes.

This passage describes the spiritual maturation process, the period of growth during believers’ lives on earth when they are living “in” the world while not being “of” it.

The time between a person’s acceptance of Christ in that burial in water in order to have sins forgiven….and his or her death is the only time when growth in Christ can occur. Paul wanted to grow diligently and receive a reward from Christ at his return.

WHY WE DON’T GIVE UP

Perseverance, persistence, the prize! Christ never promised us an easy way to live. These verses (9:26–27) remind us that we must have a purpose and a plan because times will be difficult and Satan will attack. We must be diligent, all the while remembering that we never run alone. God keeps his promises.

Walk in My Shoes” by Victoria T Zicafoose

Walk in my shoes just one step, you will feel my pain and how I have silently wept.

Walk in my shoes just one foot, you will feel how I struggle every day to stay strong and be tough as wood.

Walk in my shoes, just one yard, you will feel my heart ache and be able to empathize how some days are truly hard.

Walk in my shoes, just one mile, you will feel the frustration I feel in having to keep a phony smile.

Walk in my shoes for a day, you will suffer the pain I feel, when the judgment you subtly pass is so obvious to me.

Walk in my shoes for a week, you will then come to realize how much respect you really have for me.

No need to walk any further, for you are able to step out of my shoes. You will now know all the struggles it takes to survive and all the stress that is juggled.

Before you judge me, just try a walk in my shoes, even if it is for a moment.

For you will never know when you will be wearing the same shoes too.