I listened to a fabulous discussion over at the Whitehorse Inn. The topic for discussion was which is the makes for the best evangelism tool; our personal testimony or the gospel. Here are a few quotes from the forum:
“What happened to us is the result of the gospel. It isn’t the gospel. The gospel is what happened to Jesus Christ. Its His story, not ours, and it is precisely because of that fact we can be grafted onto His story.”
“Instead of making Him (Jesus) a supporting actor in my life movie, I need to realize that I am a supporting actor in His story.”
“It’s the best news for you and your neighbors that you are not the gospel. What has happened to you is not the gospel, what has happened in you is not the gospel. The gospel is that Jesus was crucified for our sins, was raised for our justification, and because that is the gospel you can have experiences of His peace that do not depend on your experience of His peace. You can have the Fathers love in His Son even when you feel his displeasure. You can know that you are a child of God even when you are a prodigal squandering your inheritance in the pig pen. And you can always come back because you know objectively He has always left the door opened for you. In fact, you are coming because He has always called you and He has already prepared the celebration for your return. It’s all about God. It’s all about what God has done for you, not about you and what has happened inside of you. Because of that, things do happen inside of you." -Dr. Michael Horton
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
The Gospel is the power of God. The Gospel is good news because it enables sinners to have peace with the Almighty God who is angry with their sins and will hold them accountable for those sins. The Gospel will change us, but that change is a by-product of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. We must never forget, that the Gospel itself is the power of God, not our story.
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I had never thought about that before. Using the gospal vs. our testimony! Loved hearing that! New to your blog, love following fellow adoptee families!
ReplyDeleteI had never really thought about it either so that whole discussion was a great reminder to strive to present the gospel when I talk to others.
ReplyDeleteI also love following adoptive blogs! From where did you or are you adopting? (Korea?)