The Gospel and Pretexts

“And Philip ran there to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you indeed understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30)

This incident happened to Philip. Philip was an apostle of Jesus and called by Jesus to follow Him. (John 1: 43) Philip then brings in Nathanael. (John 1:45-51) Philip is again mentioned when Jesus fed the five thousand. Jesus asks Philip how they were going to feed the multitude that followed them. (John 6:5-13) He is the one that asks Jesus to show them the Father. (John 4:8-11) And after the Resurrection, Philip evangelizes various regions. He is called Philip the evangelist.

Saul was ravishing the church with persecution and the believers were scattered. Philip went to Samaria and preached the Gospel there. The magician Simon believed through Philip’s preaching, but when Peter and John went to further teach them specifically about the Holy Spirit, Simon wants to pay for the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:4-24) After Peter and John return to Jerusalem, Philip hears an angel direct him to go a certain way. Philip obeys. There he encountered an Ethiopian eunuch who served under Candace queen of the Ethiopians. He’d been in Jerusalem to worship God and was returning home. The eunuch is reading from Isaiah. The Holy Spirit tells Philip to join the man. When Philip asks him if he understands what he’s reading.  “And the content of the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away, and who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." (Acts 8:32,33; Isaiah 53:7, 8) The eunuch answers Philip. “And he said, How can I unless some man should guide me? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” (Acts 8:31) Then Philip was able to share the Truth of the Scriptures. The eunuch was saved and Philip was taken to another place to evangelize.

All it took was a general question from Philip. And that is all it takes from us. Just an opening, a place to start the conversation that leads to our sharing the miracle of our life through Jesus. I didn’t mean to offend this lady at the grocery story, but she was purchasing candles and idols which led me to infer that this lady had a problem she was going to tackle in the spirit realm. So I asked her. “Will all this work?”  She didn’t get offended but replied that she hoped it would. I was able to give her the answer that she needed. She only needed Jesus.

Many of the brethren are reluctant to share the Gospel because they feel they don’t know all the Scriptures they need to share Jesus. But it’s our testimony that we need to share with the simple sentence to begin. “I was...” (fill in the blank). Then proceed with what the Lord did. There’s only one Scripture you need and that is John 3:16. We all know that Scripture. And I believe we all can explain it.

One of the pretexts that people might come up is that their sin is too great to be forgiven. You might ask if it’s bigger than Paul who persecuted the church. Is it greater than Mary Magdelene who was a had seven demons or the Samaritan woman who had been married five times and was then living with a man not married? If Hitler had repented, he would have been forgiven! Any other excuse that doesn’t pertain to being saved bring back to the issue that it all begins with surrendering to God and receiving His merciful and gracious gift of life everlasting.

Another excuse is that they belong to a certain church and attend services. God never said in the Bible that going to church will save you. But he did say you need to be born again. He told Nicodemos, a religious leader, “...Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Most people think they are good because they don’t do the big sins like stealing or killing. But we can combat that with the Ten Commandments. Did they ever say, “Oh my God!” They have broken one of the commandments and have used God’s Name uselessly. Did they miss church?  Did they tell a lie. All sin is the same to God and is worthy of death because He is so holy. A lie is the same as killing to God. There is no big sin and little sin to God.

Another excuse people make is that they’re not ready. We can respond with no one is guaranteed the next second. We don’t know what will happen suddenly. God is offering His gift now for a reason. Would they wait if they knew that they’d be stricken with a heart attack the next minute? We never know why God chose this minute to offer them eternal life.

Some may say they have too much to lose or too much to give up. We’re in this world temporarily. No one will live forever here on this earth. But after death, there is eternity. That is forever. What if they had everything this world has to offer. And when they die they had nothing for eternity but suffering and torment? Are they willing to have the world which will be destroyed and not eternal life which is love, joy and peace?

Some may say that the Christian life is too hard. But we can respond that it’s only hard because some are trying to live it on their own strength. The Christian life is a spiritual life. If we allow God to be King over our lives, He will fight for us and provide us with everything we need. We can answer in the same way to anyone who says he’s tried being a Christian and couldn’t do it.

Maybe the person is waiting for some emotional feeling. And he is “not feeling it.” We can respond it by faith, not feeling. It’s believing that God is Who He says He is and did what He said He did. He sent Jesus to take our punishment and payment of death for us. Does he believe that?

What if the person says, “I don’t care about it.” Or he says that he’s not worried about it. You can respond, “But you will be when the time comes and you cannot help yourself, when no one and nothing on this earth can help you. Only Jesus can help you if you come to that time, because we all will come to the time that only Jesus will help us. And if we have Jesus, we have no fear of what comes next. This was my response to a man who was an atheist and didn’t want to receive Jesus. His time came and he was in great fear and torment before he passed away. I only hope he remembered my words and cried out to Jesus in the end.

Some may say they’ve tried reading the Bible and can’t understand it. It’s a private love letter to those who believe. We can only understand it with the help of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit only abides in those who believe and have surrendered to Jesus.

In summary, there are many reasons people will give to avoid receiving Jesus. But we must remember that these and other excuses are demonic driven. They make no sense and are fears of the devil. It is necessary to be in communication with the Holy Spirit when we testify of Jesus. Ask Him of open up their eyes and ears of understanding. Only the Holy Spirit can tell you exactly what they need to hear in order to understand and receive the Gospel. Philip the evangelist taught us how to approach the sinner. It’s a God appointed time and we must yield to it in obedience. Many Scriptures will not be understood or received by sinners. We must use words that they understand but yet are Scriptural. John 3:16 should be quoted because it talks about God’s love and reason for sending Jesus, what they must do to be saved and what happens if they do or don’t receive Jesus. Another Scripture they need to hear is “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) All sin is death. That’s what we deserve. But Jesus took our death. Those two Scriptures with our explanations should give a person reason to receive Jesus as King and Lord over their lives.

Let us pray:

Holy Father, You are so good to me. You gave me life when I expected death. Joy when I was miserable and hope when I was desperate. There are no words to express how grateful I am. I love You Lord. I know that You want me to speak the Good News to all who will hear. I feel inadequate and confused when I try. But only You my Lord through the Holy Spirit can help my speech and my mind to think clearly and speak in a way that others can understand the Gospel. Give me the ability to speak Your Words of life and light to those in darkness. I ask You Lord to give me the anointing of the Holy Spirit that is needed to testify of You wisely. Thank You Lord. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.