“Get out of jail free” card 1
This weeks Three word contains an article written by Greg Stier
Greg is the director of dare2share ministrys, a great website that has a lot of helpful information to help you take the plunge and break the sound barrier
One of my favorite board games is monopoly 
- I’m very competitive.
- I’m very bad at computer games.
Growing up ,this is the one game I played most I liked picking out which icon would represent me (top hat, mini race car, etc), trying to aquire properties and the like.
You can even get other editions of monoploy to play now, they even have a NZ edition ,how cool is that!!
One of my most favorite parts of playing was when i uesed to win the “Get out of jail free” card .That made me very, very happy. Just knowing that if, through the roll of the dice, I ended up in jail I could whip out my special card and be out Scott free. Yeah!!!
I wanted to carry the card in my pocket all the time. It seemed powerful beyond the game. Growing up I wondered if I could use the “Get of jail free” card if I ever got in trouble with the cops. I wanted to take it to school and use it (for those trips to the Principal’s office), at home (for the times Mum got mad at me for forgetting to clean my room or do my chores) or whatever other difficult suituation I was in.
Sound silly? Before you yell out a convincing “YES” consider this: Most Christians today are carrying them around and using them wherever they go. How often do they pull that special little card out when it comes to evangelism. I see at least three different types of these “Get out of jail free” cards when it comes to sharing the message of Jesus,and will share these over the next 3 weeks
- The “Preach the gospel if necessary use words” Card
I’m sure you’ve read this bumper sticker quote somewhere. Its a great quote . I have never met him ,but I’m sure that St. Francis never intended it to be a “Get out of jail free” card for evangelism and would be shocked to know how many Christians today have interpreted it that way.
If you read the bible seriously,and obediently you will discover when it comes to outreach Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations and to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
You just can’t read the New Testament and evade evangelism, the kind of evangelism that uses words just like Jesus and the disciples did.
Evangelism doesn’t just present us with a take it or leave it option,it lovingly demands, that we intentionally, lovingly and strategically seek to convert people to Jesus…!
How do we do preach the gospel to people? We do it with hearts filled with compassion and knees bent in prayer. We do it by strategically presenting a clear gospel message to the person listening,that they can relate to and embrace . We seek to gently convince them that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life”.
Good article isnt it?
Like two wheels on a bike, the words of the gospel is wheel one and the works of the gospel is wheel two, working in tadem together, We share that message with our words and we back it up with our lives. Then we allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in them, and leave it up to God for the results.
A student was once on a plane with Dr. Howard Hendricks and asked the professor, and man of God something like, “Which kind of evangelism is more important, lifestyle or verbal ?” The wise teacher answered, “Which wing on this plane is more important?”
Point made. A gentle verbal witness ,backed up by a life that matches ,has great power !!We must live the gospel incarnationally for all to see and we must share it verbally for all to hear. No “Get out of jail free” card here.
