The growing gap between the Christian worldview and dominant culture means that there are a whole load of issues that need to be dealt with before people are prepared to even listen to the good news about Jesus. What Don Carson and others have called “defeater beliefs”—often about sex, suffering and science—are roadblocks that must be removed with care.
But there’s another issue that we ignore to our peril. For those who have not been raised within church life, there is a massive amount of ignorance about the very basic facts about the life and teaching of Jesus. And even for those who have had some “church” in their lives, the stories are half remembered, the details vague and obscure.
And we should not think that this ignorance is their fault, or that they are blameworthy in any way for having no idea, or false ideas about Jesus. But there is an easy and straightforward way to put it right.
Encourage them to read a gospel.
Barriers
For most people, a full Bible is intimidating. It’s huge; it’s filled with difficult numbers titles and terms; and they don’t really know where to start. But to simply ask the question: “Have you ever read one of the four short biographies of Jesus from the Bible?” Can open the door to someone encountering Jesus face to face for the first time.
Each Gospel has its merits as an introduction to Jesus:
But we’d like to suggest that Luke is a great place to start with most people, for a number of reasons:
We believe in the power of God’s word, applied by the power of the Holy Spirit to people’s hearts and minds. So as people read, they come face to face with the teaching, the person and the power of Jesus.
So perhaps the most powerful evangelistic invitation you can give are: “Would you like to read a copy of Luke’s gospel?”
Buy copies of Luke's gospel here