When we follow Jesus without conditions, choosing to crucify ourselves in his cause (Galatians 2:20) and sacrifice our lives in his service (Romans 12:1), he transforms us into his character (Romans 8:29) and then uses us to lead those we influence into his transforming love (Acts 1:8).
Some people are universalists, believing that because God loves all of us, all of us will go to heaven. Others are “Christian universalists,” believing that Jesus died for everyone, so everyone will go to heaven whether they believe in him or not. You don’t need to know about Jonas Salk to benefit from his vaccine; you don’t need to have a personal faith in Jesus to benefit from his sacrifice, or so some say. However, God’s word regarding the necessity of personal faith in Christ is clear.
In his recent book, Mark Mittelberg tackles the challenge and calling to communicate faith in this cultural moment. It’s called Contagious Faith, and it teaches believers to communicate to a world looking for better answers.
“Thinking with the end in mind” is necessary for any church, Christian school, or other Christian organization committed to discipleship. On most of our websites, we use language to communicate our commitment to discipleship, but how clear are we on what a disciple is? Do we have a clear enough vision of what a disciple looks like in order to contextualize and guide all of our programs, books, sermons, teaching series, small groups, and other discipleship tools that we so often employ?
As Paul, in a city overrun with religious vanity, unapologetically ascended Mars Hill and graciously spoke the truth, can we face our own Mars Hills of unbelief and do likewise?
According to Koukl, “representing Christ in any era requires three skills.” First, we need a “basic knowledge necessary for the task.” Second, “Our knowledge must be tempered with the wisdom that makes our message clear and persuasive.” Finally, we must not forget that this knowledge and wisdom “are packaged in a Person.”
