Evangelism - III

A succinct summary of the gospel is:

• Mankind sinned/broke God's law
• God punishes lawbreaking
• God is motivated to reconcile with the lawbreakers.
• God, as Jesus, was born into the world. 
• Jesus proclaimed God's intentions.
• Jesus lived out the life of God.
• Jesus died as a criminal -- even though he was innocent of any lawbreaking.
• Jesus, in death, was substituted for any\every lawbreaker.

Each person must make the decision to apply this Jesus-death-subsitution to themselves. The application seems to have these elements.

• Faith -- Jesus' death and substitution has effectively negated the punishment a person deserves.
• Volition -- The person chooses to let God negate his punishment.
• Volition -- The person chooses to re-align himself with God's purposes for him.

(A choice that includes the acceptance of God's pardon, but not the acceptance of God's rule -- in effect, asserting a right to continue in lawbreaking -- is not how the choice is correctly constituted.)


What happens to the person? He is:

• Justified -- Case dismissed.
• Redeemed -- Ransomed from corruption.
• Sanctified -- Transformed.
• Adopted -- Brought into God's family.
• And on and on and on ...

What are the person's obligations? Succinctly, to follow Jesus' commands:

• Receive Christ -- apply the death substitution.
• Be baptized -- Declaration of that choice.
• Worship\communion.
• Love.
• Give.
• Pray.
• Make disciples.

(The obligations are not my own. I am not correctly remembering the man's name at the moment. George Patterson?)