A Secular Creed (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this Secular Creed series, I defined a creed as, “a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions." Creeds are evident all around us in lawns, bumper stickers, and social media, yet increasingly in these creeds God is alarmingly absent. How do we engage with a culture like this? How do we share the good news of Jesus? In this post, I will share the first two of seven strategies.
#1 Pray
Prayer is subversive. In answer to prayer, the Holy Spirit gets behind the heavily defended fortress walls of the human heart.
J. Sidlow Baxter said this about prayer: “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.”
We can pray in at least three ways when it comes to proclaiming Jesus.
First, as Jesus did in Matthew 9:35-38, we can pray that God would send out to all kinds of people messengers of the good news. We can't be everywhere, nor can we speak to everyone. But we can pray that God would send out laborers to fields of harvest we will never see.
Second, we can pray for those who are nearest and dearest to us that they might know Jesus. Friends and family members come to mind. In Romans 10:1-4, Paul prayed for the Jewish people: his culture, heritage, and birthright. How his heart must have ached for the people he grew up with who had all the advantages and benefits of God's promises yet failed to see Jesus as Messiah! Yet he prayed that they might be saved.
Third, pray for boldness in the proclamation opportunities God gives us. Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote Ephesians 6:19-20. Yet with two Roman soldiers chained to him day and night, he had ample opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. Maybe you're confined at home. You can still interact with those you come in contact with. Let's pray for Holy Spirit boldness.
We believe that God always goes before us. He arranges circumstances, sets up "chance" meetings with people, and softens hearts. He truly makes divine appointments when we pray. William Temple said that coincidences happened much more often when he prayed.
#2 Ask yourself if the gospel is working for you
We tend to share freely and spontaneously those things we are most passionate about.
We're passionate about Ducks or Beavers football, the Seahawks, maybe a hobby or other interest. We're not always so spontaneous when it comes to Jesus. Part of the problem comes from not believing in our hearts that the good news is not really that good for us.
Christian author Jerry Bridges coined the phrase, "Preach the gospel to yourself every day." Bridges is not saying we need to be reconverted or saved again. He is saying that we need to be reminded of the truths of the gospel and internalize them into our lives. Paul prayed that we might “know the love of God which surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).
Preach the gospel to yourself every day. Call to mind those great passages of Scripture that detail God's great love and grace for you in Jesus. If you don't know where those passages are, find someone who does.
We will not share convincingly what we have not internalized ourselves. May David's prayer in Psalm 51:12 be ours: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation."
Before engaging your secular neighbors, start with these two strategies: prayer and preaching the gospel to yourself. This will go a long way in preparing you for the strategies to follow in future posts.