Word For The Day: Evangelism and the Conscience

At times we may hesitate to share the gospel because we do not think the other person has any interest, or perhaps they have a completely different set of beliefs. Be of good cheer!

God has given everyone a point of contact for the gospel. Every person has built into them by God a sense of Deity and a sense of responsibility for our moral actions.

Romans 2.14-15
14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

This sense may be buried, denied, or suppressed, but it is there. The truth of the gospel fits how man is really made. Our job is to remind them of what they already know: God exists and has created them to act rightly. We are to reinforce, educate, and illuminate the conscience of unbelievers!

Ultimately the acceptance of the gospel is a moral problem, not an intellectual one.

John 3.19-20
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Jesus spoke to the conscience of unbelievers – Samaritan, Nicodemus. Peter preached a message on Pentecost that spoke to the conscience (Acts 2.37). Paul appealed to Agrippa’s conscience in Acts 26.

Only the Holy Spirit can sensitize the conscience and bring conviction. Still, the spirit has given us tools in the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and other passages that explain true righteousness.

As you love the lost and reach them for Christ, remember, the most loving thing you can do for a non-believer is to show them their guilt! If a person does not acknowledge their guilt of sin, they cannot embrace the good news of salvation from sin.

Let’s take the Scriptures we talked about yesterday, and go with the gospel this week!

Pastor Phil