What's our message, anyway?

As we talked about yesterday, we want to continue to move beyond our comfort zone in order to engage and love unbelievers. But it’s not enough to stop there. At some point we have to actually open our mouths and share a particular message with them! After all,

We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

So, today I want to ask a very basic—but utterly critical—question: “What’s our message, anyway?” 

The apostle Paul summarized the essence of the gospel message in 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3: 

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you … that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures …

Now, please don’t assume this means you have to repeat this word for word or that there’s only one way to present the gospel. The room for creativity in the way you present this timeless message is unending! 

Here’s just one example of a great way to share the gospel—by retelling the biblical story. Randy Newman in his book Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did says,

“If we can share the gospel by retelling the biblical story, we might get more of a hearing than we’re used to receiving. Our message draws people in, so they want to hear how the tension is resolved rather than hope we’ll just finish as soon as possible.”

One way Mr. Newman has done this is by scribbling four words on a napkin, and then leading his listener through the unfolding story:

• Creation
• Rebellion
• Redemption
• Consummation

You’ll find a very similar approach with “The Story of His Glory” on Revive Our Hearts’ website. 

An important disclaimer: I’m not asking you to memorize any method, but to familiarize yourself with the general plot of the gospel story so that you don’t stall when you do have a natural opportunity to share it with others. 

So what do you think? Does the message you’re sharing line up with the message the apostle Paul shared above? In what ways are you adding to this basic but profound message (either through your life or your words)? In what ways are you diminishing this message?