This document is intended for mature Christians who are interested in evangelical methodology.
The
outline part of “Steps to know God” is
as brief a presentation as possible while maintaining biblical accuracy. If it is still too long, you could fit the
first part on a small piece of paper and append the scripture references below
in parenthesis (as if anyone ever looks those up anyway).
I
remember being an 18-20 year old unbeliever, who did not have the time or
interest to read a long explanation of what it means to be a Christian. So I tried to keep the steps brief, yet,
expandable. My target audience is the good soil anyway, since they are the only
ones in the parable of the seed who abide.
Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which
in an honest and good heart, having
heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience. (KJV)
I
made it expandable to reach those with questions that neither gospel tracts nor
most Christians can answer. All these
questions are addressed via layers of links in the “Steps to know God”.
They
are also found on the FAQ page.
Some
sites with good content are not accessible to a non-Christian. Visitors may not
know where to begin, lost in Christian jargon and complexities. This becomes information overload. The
central claims of Christ cannot be emphasized when EVERYTHING is emphasized. A
non-believer might be better off just reading the entire bible. Many of them admit, however, that they cannot
understand it.
Acts 8
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah
the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to
come up and sit with him.
Romans 10
14How, 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? 15And how can they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!"[1]
The
site has a glossary which defines unfamiliar terms to the non-Christian
visitor. The navigation system is a
series of organized questions related to the Gospel. The idea behind the site is that a visitor
can quickly access an understandable biblical answer to their question.
Why write unique
content? The answer lies in the answer
to these two questions;
Matthew
24
13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And
this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the
end will come.
1
Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel
you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you
have believed in vain.
1
Corinthians 15:1-3 (in Context) 1
Corinthians 15 (Whole Chapter)
As you can tell, “this gospel” has conditions mentioned in these
passages: Namely standing or holding
firmly to the end. This website exists
mainly because most other presentations of the gospel leave out this important
part of the gospel message.
Colossians
1:22-24
22But now he has reconciled
you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight,
without blemish and free from accusation— 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from
the hope held out in the gospel. This is
the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature
under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
This conditional gospel IS
the THE gospel: Paul’s gospel, Jesus’s
gospel, Abraham’s gospel. This gospel
must not only be believed, but obeyed:
2
Thessalonians 1:8
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
2
Thessalonians 1:7-9 (in Context) 2
Thessalonians 1 (Whole Chapter)
One
of the commands that is often not taught as the only viable biblical Christian
initiation right in Evangelical circles is water baptism. It is often replaced in Gospel tracts with a
“sinner’s prayer”. Thankfully, someone
else already wrote about why this is a bad idea.
http://www.bible.ca/g-sinners-prayer.htm
This
article was a catalyst for me that shook my religious foundations regarding what theGospel is.
I decided to leave my Christian training behind and rely on the
scriptures instead. I looked at how
Jesus and the apostles “gave an answer”:
Matthew 19
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked,
"Teacher, what good thing must I do
to get eternal life?"
17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied.
"There is only One who is good. If
you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
Most Gospel tracks talk about how to “get
eternal life”. I still have not found
one that offers obeying the commandments
as an answer to that question though. So
I wrote one.
Why
does this site exist? I felt like I had
to write my own gospel tract in order to “be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks…”.
1 Peter 3
14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.
"Do not fear what they fear[1]
; do not be frightened."[2]
15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that
those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed
of their slander.
I
noticed that other apologetic sites (that answer educated inquirers questions)
charge money for their articles and books.
Anything on this site (there are roughly 80 articles that average 8
pages in length, so that is at least 600 pages) is all free. I don’t care if people use it either, as long
as they do not quote me out of context, or make money off of its use.
Return to thisGospel.com's
home page.