Several times in the NT, either Jesus or his apostles are asked the same question, or its equivalent: “What must I do to be saved?” And yet the answers are not at all identical. That fact alone should make us a little cautious about employing a one-size-fits-all approach to evangelism.
A Cautious Seeker (John 3:1-15)
In this familiar story, the prominent Pharisee Nicodemus visits Jesus by night and makes a statement indicating his belief that Jesus is a teacher sent from God. Without further ado, Jesus then proclaims that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. At this point, we should realize two things regarding this encounter: (1) Nicodemus is obviously afraid to come in the daytime for fear that he will lose his standing with his fellow spiritual leaders and (2) Jesus has read his mind and knows why he has come.
In reply to Jesus' rather cryptic statement, Nicodemus asks for further clarification since a literal meaning to those words would be absurd. But all Jesus does is confuse him further by talking next about being born of water and Spirit. Nicodemus leaves and we hear no more from him until the end of John's Gospel where he re-appears to help Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus.
It seems as if Jesus is treating Nicodemus as he does the crowds who follow him later to listen to his teachings and see his miracles. They are given spiritual truths in the form of parables and figurative sayings since most are not yet ready to hear the plain truth. Instead, in this way Jesus has planted seeds in their minds that will continue to grow until the appropriate time to bloom. And apparently this technique worked in the life of Nicodemus, as evidenced by his rather public way of proclaiming his faith at the end.
An Insincere Seeker (Luke 10:25-37)
This second encounter is between Jesus and a lawyer who wants to test Jesus. This could mean that the man wanted to trap Jesus or just that he wanted to determine if Jesus' teachings were in keeping with the OT law. The trick question he asks is “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus turns the question right back at the lawyer since it was obvious that the man should have known the answer himself. The lawyer cites the Ten Commandments in their most basic form by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, the latter passage commanding the love of neighbor. But the lawyer needed to justify himself at this point. That may mean that he wanted to save face after asking a question for obviously insincere motives, or it may indicate that he wanted to justify his own lack of love for those outside his immediate surroundings. In either case, Jesus tells him the Story of the Good Samaritan and tells the man to do likewise.
A Sincere Seeker (Luke 18:18-25)
In this case, the man who comes to Jesus is a ruler who asks the exact same question as the lawyer did. But this time, Jesus doesn't beat around the bush at all, but goes straight to the heart of the man's one barrier to obtaining eternal life: his money. When he tells the man to sell all he has and give the money to the poor, the man goes away sad “for he was very rich.”
A Convinced Crowd (Acts 2:1-42)
The final example takes place on the Day of Pentecost when Peter and the apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit and preach to the crowd. Peter explains to them that the man they have helped to get crucified is actually the promised Messiah. They are “cut to the heart” and ask the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” The answer given them is echoed to one extent or another through the rest of the Book of Acts: repent and be baptized.”
One of our problems is that although we may have the Holy Spirit in us, we are certainly no mind readers as Jesus was. Therefore, it is usually necessary to cultivate friendships to the point where we are aware of other peoples' mindsets and needs before launching right into a canned presentation of the five spiritual laws, etc. Otherwise, we run the risk of boring or even antagonizing those to whom we are witnessing.
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