Sometimes we communicate the gospel in a way that makes it very fuzzy and confusing to the listener. One of the passions that Rachel and I have is the clear communication of the gospel. This is something we pray will take place here, across the country, and around the world. It may seem obvious how misunderstanding could happen in another land, when a missionary is attempting to share the gospel with people, using a language which is not the missionary's mother tongue. But what about the barriers to clear communication that exist right here in our country?
One of the main things that makes it difficult to share our faith clearly is that the people we attempt to evangelize probably do not hold to a Biblical worldview. They don't know what God is really like. Maybe the word "God" in their mind evokes the idea of a force, like gravity. How could gravity have a mind and a will or create anything? Or maybe they think that the universe is God. The difficulty is that they lack the foundations of the story of the Bible. Talking about Jesus' death on the cross at this point doesn't make sense, because the lost person doesn't even realize he is lost yet.
Another thing that complicates the issue is the terminology and Christian jargon that we throw at them. We are all guilty of it, but hopefully we can get better at defining our terms for them. Depending on their background, they may have an erroneous definition of a concept. For instance, the word 'grace' is used in the Catholic church...but it is nothing like the grace the Apostle Paul spoke of. But for the less monotheistic person, much preparation and defining of concepts needs to take place so they can understand the pinnacle of the Bible's narrative - the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Besides our theological jargon, there are commonly used phrases within Christendom that seem to fog up the windshield to blur the true gospel. When referring to a person becoming initially saved, or justified, I often hear people say things like: "he made a commitment to Christ", "he gave his life to the Lord", "he asked Jesus into his heart", "he changed his life", or "he committed his life to Christ". I'm not sure where they all come from, but I don't see them in Scripture. When I hear these phrases, they seem to call into question the basis of salvation: is it really about how committed a person is to Christ? Is that the MEANS of salvation? Or is a person saved because of what CHRIST did? I thought Paul told the Philippian jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." If salvation is at all dependent on our performance or our merit, then we are toast!
I don't think that any of us talk to an unbeliever intending to confuse him. Sometimes we have great intentions, but still end up failing to communicate. I am not the model. I make mistakes. We all do. I need to grow in my ability to communicate. But in the meantime, I want to share with other believers the principles God has taught me over the years, through training and talking to people about God and His Word. I want believers to share a crystal clear gospel message.