Quote 2693
You simply cannot nuance someone into the Kingdom.
There's no way to sanitize and PR the gospel into something that has no inherent offense—the aroma of death lingers to the lost no matter what soft-word-air-freshener you hang on it.
And trying is often the road to compromise.
Brian Sauve
https://twitter.com/Brian_Sauve/status/177549722499224005412.8K
Other Quotes from the Author & Topic
The easiest way to burn out, give up, and live in constant frustration is to believe you're responsible to make huge progress in a short time.
What a joke! Almost nobody does that.
Why? Because we're men, not gods.
Embrace slow, small, faithful moves in the right direction.https://twitter.com/Brian_Sauve/status/1740771808591425694
Too many dreamers, not enough finishers.
Better to do one thing to the end—whether that end is wild success or disappointing failure—than ninety-nine things nine percent of the way.
Dreaming is easy.
Dreams don't have to obey the laws of reaping and sowing.X: 1782418524436341054
If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. Sermons of Rev. C.H. Spurgeon of London ... - Page 333
We are to preach the gospel to all and leave the results to one.
I am very glad to see pastors wake up to the antinomian overcorrections of the "gospel-centered" movement.
Every sermon had to be:
The Bible says to do X.
You can't do X.
Jesus did X for you.
End of sermon.
But you don't believe the Gospel rightly until you obey Jesus.https://twitter.com/Brian_Sauve/status/1744192523592196597
You can scare people toward
God, but you can't scare anybody into loving
him. Fear can be helpful, but is never
decisive.Facebook
If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. Sermons of Rev. C.H. Spurgeon of London ... - Page 333
Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell.
According to the Bible, converting people is not in our power. And evangelism may not be defined in terms of results but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (79)
It is the duty of all the sons and daughters of Adam who hear the gospel preached and Christ offered to them to believe in or receive Christ, be they prepared or not prepared. I say, it is the duty incumbent upon them all.
We have toiled all day, all the days of our lives, and have caught nothing. The net of the gospel hath been always spread out, and not scarce one soul taken in it. We read Acts 2:40 that at a sermon of St. Peter's, three thousand souls were converted to the Lord, but now we may hear three thousand sermons preached, and scarce one soul brought to heaven. Men are altogether of Gallio's mind (Acts 18:17). They care not for these things. Never was there since the days of Adam so much means of grace and salvation as now. Have we not line upon line, precept upon precept, sermon upon sermon, mercy upon mercy, and yet all will not do; men stop their ears.
The key to the Columbo tactic is to go on the offensive in an inoffensive way by using carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation. Simply put, never make a statement, at least at first, when a question will do the job.Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions
We must not offer people a system of redemption, a set of insights and principles. We offer people a Redeemer.
It would upset us, but would we think it unloving if a doctor told us we had a potentially fatal cancer? And would the doctor not tell us if the cancer could be eradicated? Why then do we not tell unsaved people about the cancer of sin and evil and how the inevitable penalty of eternal destruction can be avoided by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
The man who can take deep interest in politics, or field-sports, or money-making, or farming, but none in the conversion of souls, is no true Christian. He is himself "dead" and must be made "alive again." He is himself "lost" and must be "found."Gospel of Luke Commentary
The power of evangelism comes from holy, transformed lives lived out in the world, and the proclamation of the glorious reason for that transformation -- the gospel of Jesus Christ coming out of the lips of credible lives.
Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community, a negative influence by arresting its decay and a positive influence by bringing light into its darkness.. For it is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of truth.Message of the Sermon on the Mount (64-65)
The Savior emphasized that God Himself is the determinative factor in salvation. We who witness for Christ are not ultimately responsible for how people respond to the gospel. We are only responsible to preach it clearly and accurately, speaking the truth in love.Gospel According to Jesus 3e(117)
Much of contemporary evangelism is woefully deficient when it comes to confronting people with the reality of their sin. Preachers offer people happiness, joy, fulfillment, and everything positive. Present-day Christians are taught that all they have to do is find a person's psychological needs then offer Jesus as a panacea for whatever the problem is. It is very easy to get a response, because people are looking for quick solutions to their felt needs. But if that is all we do, it is not legitimate evangelism.Gospel According to Jesus 3e(95)
you are not loving your neighbor as yourself if you're not trying to persuade him toward the greatest and best aspect of your own life - your reconciled relationship with God. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (48)
Who can deny that much modern evangelism has become emotionally manipulative, seeking simply to cause a momentary decision of the sinner's will, yet neglecting the biblical idea that conversion is the result of the supernatural, gracious act of God toward the sinner? The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (80)
Have you heard it said that the doctrine of God's choosing some for salvation (the doctrine of election) undercuts evangelism? It didn't in Paul's life. As he later wrote to Timothy, "I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (2 Tim.2:10). The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (104)
We need to know what "sales" we can "close" and what "sales" we can't-not so that we won't preach the gospel, but so that we won't allow the gospel that is preached to be molded by what finally gets a response. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (109)
If you think that the gospel is all about what we can do, that the practice of it is optional, and that conversion is simply something that anyone can choose at any time, then I'm concerned that you'll think of evangelism as nothing more than a sales job where the prospect is to be won over to sign on the dotted line by praying a prayer, followed by an assurance that he is the proud owner of salvation. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (110)
The Christian call to evangelism is not simply a call to persuade people to make decisions, but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (112)
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2. Charles Spurgeon (135)
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4. John Calvin (107)
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6. John Piper (87)
7. George Swinnock (80)
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