First Presbyterian Church      Rev. Michael J. Imperiale

Salt Lake City, Utah                 October 24, 2004

             

Evangelism Sunday

“Why Didn't You Tell Me?”

Romans 10: 8-19

Introduction

It probably happens every day. A traffic cop gives a citation to a driver who turned right on red without coming close to a stop or exceeds ten miles over the speed limit, or punches a red light. This time as the officer hands the ticket to her through the window, she snaps back, “You can go straight to hell!” So the officer takes her to court. A few days later they appear before the judge and he dismisses the officer’s complaint about the woman’s language, because he said, and I quote, “It wasn’t a command, or a wish, but a statement of fact, for going to hell is a distinct possibility.”

We are accustomed to saying or hearing the phrase in anger or with flippant reply: “Go to hell!” Yet we don’t hear much about hell anymore from the pulpit or in Sunday school. We prefer hearing of the God of heaven, the God of love. Perhaps we have forgotten that “going to hell is a distinct possibility.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus often spoke about the “danger of the fire of hell” (Matt. 5:22), of being “thrown into the fire of hell” (Matt. 18:9), of “being condemned to hell” (Mt. 23:33), “the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:42, 50). In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus where hell is described as torment and agony of fire along with a chasm between heaven and hell that no one cross (Luke 16: 19-31).

Without the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, it is the clear witness of the Bible that many can be lost to this eternity without God in an awful judgment. Only when we realize what is truly at stake (pun intended), will we realize the urgency of getting about the business of telling, sharing, urging others to consider saving faith in Christ. As Dante’s The Inferno expressed centuries ago, inscribed over the gates of hell, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

I. Heaven and Hell Here and Now

There are lots of good human beings who want to and try to help others in need. Some of you here have a heart for the homeless and hungry here in Salt Lake City. You take up the initiative and hard word to help. Some of you here will stop at a roadside breakdown to help fix a flat tire or make sure help is on the way. People actually volunteer to go into a burning building to rescue those at risk of perishing. People actually volunteer to race through the streets in an ambulance to get a person in crisis to the hospital.

But who among us is ready and willing and actively seeking the spiritually lost with the message of hope. “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (from the grave, from the pit, from hell), you will be saved.”

Just as the apostle Paul did for the Roman church community, you and I need to share the message: The word that saves is right here. It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to set things right for us. This is the core of evangelism, the point of the “good news.” Just say the welcoming word to God embracing, body and soul, God’s work of saving.

But Paul asks us, “How can people call for help if they don’t know who they can trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them unless someone is sent to do it?” Good questions!

The difference between heaven and hell will come for some people when you and I are sent from here this morning, tell others about life in Christ, invite them to trust in him as Savior and Lord.

II. Sharing Your Faith

Might I suggest one of many simple ways of speaking with others about the good news of God in Christ? It’s probably not a good idea to start by telling someone that they can “go straight to hell,” although everyone needs to realize that it is a “distinct possibility.”

I suggest a four-step conversation. Since the Bible begins with a description of God, the one who created all things good, talk with your friends or family members about what they enjoy in life. Whenever there is joy and goodness, point to the Lord who is the one who has created us with the special awareness of a good life. Indeed it is common to all human experience and every culture to think about or describe this creator god. The Bible reveals this God to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as sole creator of all things. And this God is good.

“For the beauty of the earth… For the wonder of each hour… For the joy of human love,” the hymn has it. Whether the love for fly fishing or skiing, sunsets or night sky, mountains or beaches, the love of family or friends, all these things are graces that come from the hand of God. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have abundant life, life to the full” (that’s John 10:10).

In everyday conversation, the problems of life come up regularly. It is clear in every human life and every culture that something has gone wrong in God’s good creation. The Bible calls it the Fall. Sin has affected us all. So ask people about their disappointments in life, their mistakes, their taking for granted or wasting of life. And be willing to share your sins, failures, your problems. “There is no difference,” says the Bible, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (that’s Romans 3:26).

Now here comes the good news. Here’s the evangelism we can share. The Bible offers the solution. Sin and guilt can be replaced by forgiveness and freedom. This new life is made possible by faith in Jesus Christ. So, ask people if they would like to have a new start. Let them know that God has a better way. Share how the Lord has made a difference in your life.

Here’s a Bible verse that summarizes what God has accomplished through Christ. It’s Romans 6:26: “The wages of sin is death (the world and our lives are in a terrible state; sin and death are all around us; we’ve earned awful consequences) but (there’s one of my favorite words in the Bible “but”) the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (God doesn’t want to leave me or you in that fallen state, he wants to save, rescue, forgive and redeem; it’s a free gift to be simply received with thanks).

Creation, Fall, Redemption. Now comes the risky part. Whether in a single conversation or a series of conversations in your relationship with others, there will come times when you can ask if they sense that God is opening their lives to this new life and faith. Tell them how you came to the saving knowledge of Christ; how you accepted God’s offer to trust in Jesus by faith. God’s grace is offered to everyone.

“God loved the world (loved me, loved you) so much that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (that’s Romans 10:10). Faith is just saying “yes” to God. Give them the opportunity to say “yes.”

Conclusion

You can go straight to hell? Or, you can go straight to heaven? Heaven and hell are real. We experience both to some degree in the here and now. They will be ultimate realities when this brief human life ends. I often wonder about people that I have neglected or failed to tell about salvation in Christ. Will they have the opportunity to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Evangelism is simply telling one’s own first hand experience and story of how God has created and redeemed one’s life. Evangelism is sharing the story of God’s love for us human beings expressed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Evangelism is inviting another person to consider becoming a believer and follower of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Here’s a prayer to share with someone in your life during and after these conversations about life and faith.

“Dear God: thank you for the gift of life; for all the wonderful things about being a human being; for the beauty and majesty of your creation; for the joys I experience; for loving relationships I’ve had.

“Lord God, I also admit and acknowledge how I have messed up my life along with how the whole world had turned away from your goodness. I have sinned in thoughts, in word, and in deeds. I need help.

“I have heard how Jesus came from heaven into this world to offer himself as a sacrifice to redeem, to buy back anyone who trusts in him. I want to receive forgiveness and new life in his name.

“Lord Jesus, come now into my life. Give me the hope and assurance of your saving love, that I might live in your grace and goodness and become the person you created and redeemed me to become. Amen.”

Go now and share the love of God with others.