The Gospel should be comprehensible

Many people who have spent enough time in a church have no problem regurgitating the latest systematic explanations of theology in magnificent detail.

I confess, the more I understand, the more I love hearing myself speak. But we have been given the knowledge of God to reach the un-knowledgable with the good news of Jesus Christ. The problem we face among a generation of unchurched Millennials, then, is coming across as pretentious, rather than genuinely concerned with them. By speaking our now infamous Christianese language, we alienate them with our complicated explanations, and indirectly communicate to the outsider that faith in God has no relevant connection to the life they live. Let’s be honest, the depressed teenage girl who got drunk, pregnant, and infected by some creep in one badly intentioned weekend at a dorm needs more from you than to show off your brilliant understanding of the metaphysical models of the incarnation function (or any other crazy topic). She needs to know how the Gospel intersects with the crap in her life now, and she needs it clearly expressed. After all, she probably won’t be taking notes.

Tim Keller pointed out,

If you don’t contextualize enough, no one’s life will be transformed because they won’t understand you. But if you contextualize too much, no one’s life will be transformed because you won’t be challenging their deepest assumptions and calling them to change. (HT: Tullian T, italics mine)

I was talking to a friend who was describing a series of conversations with a new believer. The friend was very knowledgable about theology, but we found a shared struggle in communicating the gospel to a new believer, due to complex explanations!

There’s something beautiful (and constructive) about conversing with someone who has never been churched.

Someone who has never known the baggage of nasty apologetics, silly theological debates, or spiritual abuse. The simplicity of their questions reminds you that the answer is, in fact, very simple. But we’re not always ready for those conversations, right?

We are ready for the convos we will have with atheists, agnostics, Calvinists, Arminians, Mormons, etc. For those, we prepare in en masse! But that why it’s a blessing to speak with non-believers who have never been around the Christian “scene.”

Even if you are the most seasoned veteran of theology, you may find yourself struggling to explain the purpose of the Old Testament, the meaning of animal sacrifice, the “why” behind the cross, and yet, while doing so in a way that an unbeliever, or a novice to the Christian faith will understand, without a prior knowledge of all the jargon you are familiar with. You may have to reach deeply to explain why the atonement matters for the college drop-out, the self-indulgent frat boy, and the promiscuous cheerleader.

You want to learn how to apply the gospel to fit the times you are in? You can start by talking to people outside your church.

Humble conversations with non-believers will strip you of your pride, keep the Gospel from our messy extras, and allow its power alone to transform!

We must begin thinking about how to communicate the gospel clearly and succinctly.

Recent studies have shown that our generation (Millennials) number about 80 million people. In our post-Christian culture, only 15% of these Millennials are Christians. That means there are 70 million Millennials in our country that do not know Jesus Christ, do not know what we’re talking about, and did not necessarily care. That makes our generation the largest mission field in the world, roughly equivalent to the entire population of Thailand.

And they are all on their way to hell.

Shall we start taking ourselves a little less seriously now?