Daily Devotional: Day 155
“So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved” (Acts 28:23-24, NKJV).
In Acts 25:10, Paul appealed to Caesar Augustus. Consequently, per Roman law, Paul was sent to Rome to have his case heard by the Emperor himself. This is the background to today’s Bible passage. Shortly after arriving in Rome, Paul sent for as many Jews as he could invite, welcomed them to his own rented house and shared the Gospel with them. Based on today’s Scripture passage, we will identify four tips for sharing the Gospel.
Tip 1. When we share the Gospel with people, we should be ready to adequately explain it, testify about it and persuade people about it. While speaking to the Jews about Messiah, Paul did some explaining, some testifying, and some persuading. This approach is based on sound reasoning from the Scriptures which allows the light of the Gospel to be revealed.
Tip 2: Being familiar with the Law and the Prophets will come in handy when we minster to people about Christ. Paul persuaded the Jews from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. This tells us that Jesus is in the Law and the Prophets. In other words, He is in the Old Testament scriptures. To be effective witnesses for the Gospel, we need to study, not just the New Testament, but the Old as well.
Tip 3: If we have to spend hours or days or weeks to explain the message of salvation to people, it is worth it. Paul shared the message from morning till evening. He had a sense of urgency, but he was in no rush to get people ‘saved.’ The message of salvation is the most important message Jesus entrusted to us. We need not rush through it as it unfortunately happens today with the ‘sinner’s prayer’ or ‘salvation prayer’ and ‘altar call’ Christians have invented.
People deserve to understand the details and the implications of what they are being invited to accept, and we should make time for it. If we can spend weeks preparing for summer picnic, we certainly can make time to explain the Gospel message to those we are inviting to believe in Jesus. Let’s offer people time to reflect on the message we deliver, pray about it, process it, be convicted by it, verify what we’ve said, ask questions, and give feedback. This is the approach we see in the New Testament.
Tip 4: The Gospel is proposed, not imposed. Some people believed Paul, others did not. You should not ‘push’ people to believe anything. You should not employ any form of manipulation (emotional, psychological or spiritual) to make people sign up for your message. Don’t do anything to interfere with people’s free will and intelligence. Those who accept the message, have them baptized, and help them to mature. Those who don’t accept, let them go. It’s their right.
May the Lord equip you with wisdom for proclaiming His message! Amen.
For further study: John 6:28-69
Higher-Self Realities 