How It Feels To Hear The Gospel (RUN CHAT GPT)

Before we begin to share the gospel, we need to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of our gospel presentation.

Suppose I came up to you and said, “Hi, I’d like to tell you about Siddhartha Gautama. He was a special guy who lived a long time ago and discovered that life, at its very essence, is suffering. The great news is that there is a way to escape suffering! You can escape the suffering that is life by achieving a state of non-existence called Nirvana! Would you accept and follow the 8-fold path to reach Nirvana?”

Hearing The Gospel Is Uncomfortable: 

How would you respond to a stranger who opens a conversation in this unusual and uncomfortable way? 

If you are like most people, you would say something like, “Why are you talking to me about this? I don’t even know you. Please leave me alone.” 

This is the correct response. That is a weird way to open a conversation. It does not follow the normal way people relate to each other. People usually only discuss religion (or politics) with people they know and trust. And even then these conversations are very difficult. 

Unfortunately, this is basically how Christians are taught to share the gospel with unbelievers. 

Note: I’m not saying that there is never a time to open with the Gospel message. I am saying that this is often an unempathetic strategy that leaves people feeling uncomfortable.

Experiencing the Gospel in this way is uncomfortable because it breaks the normal rules of interpersonal engagement.

How To Share The Gospel Personal Experience – Bad Advice On How To Preach The Gospel To Unbelievers

Growing up in church I recall one leader telling me that a great way to open up a conversation where you can share the gospel is to “ask a stranger where they think they will go when they die”.

In case I need to tell you – that’s not normal behavior. If some stranger walks up to me in public and asks me this, I would be planning on how to defend myself in the scenario where this person turns into a crazed gunman. 

That was bad advice and I know you have heard similar things yourself.

But experiencing the Gospel is not only uncomfortable for your listener, but it is also OFFENSIVE. 

Instead of sharing the Buddhist “gospel”, suppose I came up to you and said, “Hello there, I’d like to tell you about my lord and savior Satan, and why you should live for the glory of the devil.”

Your innermost being shuddered as you read the example! “The Gall of this guy! Who does he think he is?!” 

If someone approached you with this Satanic “gospel presentation” you wouldn’t just be uncomfortable, you would be OFFENDED!

This is how people feel anytime they hear the Gospel message. Christ is the “stumbling stone”. He requires that we deny ourselves, our worldly desires, and our fleshly pleasures. He asks us to leave everything we love and come and follow him. JESUS IS OFFENSIVE TO UNBELIEVERS. 

This means that popular searches online like “how to share the gospel in 5 minutes”, “how to share the gospel in 1 minute”, or even “how to share the gospel in 30 seconds” are absurd. 

Assuming this is a one-on-one conversation with someone who doesn’t know and trust you already, asking how to share the gospel in 1 minute is a tall order. Barring some unusual circumstances where someone just had a life altering experience and is ready for the Gospel, it’s going to be difficult to comfortably and effectively share the Gospel in a short time frame.

That said, there are plenty of ways how to share the gospel in 1 minute if you are speaking to an accepting audience from a stage, but that’s not the scenario we find ourselves in here. 

The moral of the story is when you share the gospel in the stereotypical fashion you have heard in church, people often end feeling angry and defensive. 

They then become even more resistant to the gospel and other Christians in the future.

The great news is there is a more effective approach.