That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between few and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Character Check Who among my friends and colleagues might be open to the things of God?
In Business TermsSometimes in [evangelism] we try to assume the Holy Spirit’s role, but the much greater problem is our hoping the Holy Spirit will do our job for us. One popular version of evangelism says, “If I just live as a consistent Christian, people will see it, figure it out, and come to Christ.” But that approach isn’t biblical, and it doesn’t work. In Romans 10:14 Paul said we have to go and give people the message. We have to initiate conversations and trust that the Holy Spirit will work as we bring the message to them.
Another temptation is to ride on the positive experience people have when they come to a church program and think they will be interested enough in what they’ve seen to figure it all out on their own.
Years ago a girl I knew from high school started coming to a Bible study I was leading. She learned the songs and started talking like us and hanging out with us. One day I said to her, “I’m glad you’re part of our group.”
“I love it,” she said.
“Have you ever come to the point of committing your life to Christ so you know you’re forgiven of your sins?”
“No, I’ve never done that,” she said, “and no one ever told me I needed to.”
We have to keep spelling out the basics.
—Mark Mittelberg
Something to Think About Consumer relationship development is as important as product development. – Frank P. Perdue
