Question: Why is it of utmost importance that Christians quote Scriptures from the Bible when proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelieving people? Answer: We are speaking to dead people – spiritually dead people that is, who must become alive spiritually before they can properly understand what it is God is saying to them. Only the Holy Spirit is capable of making that happen. That’s why Jesus said, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life John 6:63. Believers or unbelievers, the Holy Spirit always tells people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
When we fail to quote Scripture, it is almost certain the gospel message will get watered down in some way. Example: Jesus said, “Repent.” That means, ‘do a 180° turnaround; turn away from yourself and turn to Christ; submit yourself to Him as Lord of your life.’ That explains why repent is an increasingly rare word in Christian vocabulary presently; “make a decision for Jesus” or some such non-offensive statement has replaced repent in most churches. The same applies to the word sin. It means ‘lawlessness towards God.’ It is a rare church that preaches, The soul who sins shall die Ezekiel 18:20. The wages of sin is death Romans 6:23. Non-offensive words like “mistake” or “stuff-up” is the vocabulary for sin these days. But those can be made without lawlessness towards God!
Christians favoring a non-offensive, watered down gospel proclamation may believe they are speaking into the inner depths of a person’s heart, but it’s a misguided belief. The best they can ever do is touch his/her mind or intellect, not the heart. It’s the latter that must be reached otherwise they will never believe they are as bad as God says they are. God has nothing to say to the natural man, only the spiritual man (person). Why? But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned 1 Corinthians 2:14. (Underline mine). True, the natural man knows he’s not right in the sight of God but he believes he can get himself right by working on it in some way.
Spiritual discernment is a Holy Spirit-given gift; it cannot be received or manufactured by way of human cleverness no matter how clever the human may be. Paul the apostle was one of those but even he made that point clear: And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God 1 Corinthians 2:4-5. Paul was more qualified and certificated than the so-called uneducated and untrained men, Peter and John Acts 4:13, but none of it meant anything to him once he had been with Jesus, as they had been long before he came on the scene. Until that encounter, Paul was as spiritually dead as those he later proclaimed the gospel to.
As born again Christians (there is no other kind of Christian), it is wise to allow the Holy Spirit to remind us from time to time that we also were once spiritually dead. The Spirit will not do that to put a guilt-trip on us, but it is a great way of keeping us humble and thankful to God for our new life and to pray for opportunities to speak to the spiritually dead in our circles. And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you walked according to the course of their world…… even when we were dead in trespasses and sins He (God) made us alive together with Christ…… Ephesians 2:1-2, 5. Quote: “Not only diseased, but dead; absolutely void of all spiritual life; and as incapable of quickening yourselves, as persons literally dead.” – John Wesley.
A common belief among Christians is that people are born inherently good. They strongly disagree with people like Paul and Wesley. “Times have changed,” they say. “People are more enlightened these days.” With that misguided belief dominating, they make their gospel appeals to such goodness. And, if the hearers like what they hear or are even flattered by it, they will “make a decision for Christ.” After all, even though they don’t doubt they are good people at heart, they know they could be better. What’s the result of that though? There may be a change in the head but there will be no change in the heart. An intellectual change is never a guarantee for a spiritual change to follow. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:7.
Whether the churches are in the First, the Second or the Third world, there are more people occupying their pews in possession of an intellectual change than there are a heart change. If there are a 100 people in each one for example, there may only be 1 in 10 who are the real deal. That may change in the future as we continue interceding in prayer to God on their behalf, but at the same time we must be reminded that truth has never been popular; that’s why the gospel message of repentance gets watered down. Hearers can cope with the words of the human messenger; not so easy is it for them to cope with the words of the Holy Messenger. A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense 1 Peter 2:8; Isaiah 8:14. That’s the biblical Jesus they’re referring to.
Quote: “If the truth offends, then let it offend. People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while.” – John MacArthur. If you think that is an offensive statement, then how about God Himself: The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one Psalm 14:2-3. Those who say the Bible is the word of men, not the word of God, why do they say that? Only one reason in my opinion; they are offended by what they read and hear from it! They see themselves in it. The one thing the word of God is certain to do, is cut across the unregenerate will.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account Hebrews 4:12. No word of man is capable of achieving any of this no matter how sincere, no matter how certificated, no matter how qualified, no matter how experienced, no matter his position or title or lack of. God’s purposes are always accomplished through His word and never our word. Christians favoring the latter over the former are the primary reason why there are so many spiritually dead churches across the globe.
What might a living and powerful, sharp and piercing word from God accomplish if it was habitually proclaimed, preached and taught in context and in greater measures than it is presently? For a start, people’s concepts of God and Christ would be more accurate than they presently are. There would be a greater respect and reverence for both, which would cause more people to humble themselves and turn to Them. That’s what happened in the debauched, perverted, idolatrous Greek city of Corinth during the time of the apostles. The gospel of Christ was fearlessly and boldly preached and the city was turned upside down. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous people, drunkards, revilers and extortioners were miraculously transformed 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
What else might happen? People would be released from legalistic, religious obligations and practices. The usurpers who introduced them would be told to humble themselves, repent and embrace the spiritual liberty and freedom the gospel of Christ offers through the indwelling Holy Spirit or, get up and leave. That’s what happened in the church at Galatia. The apostle Paul didn’t hesitate to sort that mess out when he found out what was going on. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage Galatians 5:1. Jesus had no time for religious legalists either. Of all His enemies, this crowd was the worst of them. It’s the same today; they think nothing of twisting the Scriptures to conform with their twisted minds!
What else? Marriages restored; peace and order in the home; husbands honoring wives and vice versa; children honoring parents, elders and teachers; people honoring one another; physical and mental sicknesses and diseases greatly diminished; likewise, poverty and financial lack. That’s simply a part of what happens when Christ is given first place in one’s life – everything else falls into order after Him. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you Matthew 6:33. Take Christ seriously and He will take you seriously! There is no other way of experiencing authentic spiritual liberty and freedom. If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free…. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed John 8:31, 36.