One of the popular quotes in Christian culture today is, “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.” While not completely wrong [the Gospel needs proclamation through Christ-like actions], in Romans 10:17 the apostle Paul teaches, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Unbelievers need to hear the verbal proclamation of the Gospel. Witnessing Gospel-influenced actions certainly aids the presentation of the Gospel, but it is not equivalent to verbally communicating the Gospel.
Read John 4:1-45.
- Did Jesus present the Gospel while conversing with the Samaritan women?
- How did Jesus proclaim the Gospel?
- Contextualizing [in the Christian Context] is proclaiming the Gospel with language, concepts, and metaphors faithful to scripture and understandable to people [Patrick, 2010].
- What metaphor or image did Jesus use to contextualize the Gospel?
- How can you contextualize the Gospel with your peers?
Read Exodus 4:12.
- Does God equip us for proclaiming the Gospel?
- In what ways does God equip us to share the Gospel?
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