Following Jesus into the World
How Jesus Related to People
Zacchaeus: https://navigators.co.uk/blog/navresources/zacchaeus/
1st-century Judaism was concerned with maintaining personal holiness, but this undermined the heart of Old Testament law: mercy. Biblical holiness is being merciful to sinful people. Jesus calls us into the world just as he was in the world. This talk is for anyone who wants to follow Jesus into our world.
Woman at the well: https://navigators.co.uk/blog/navresources/samaritan-woman/ In His gracious dealings with the Samaritan woman, Jesus demonstrates His depth of love for us. Our calling is to go to the world, not just our own people. Jerram reveals the beauty of Jesus’ example of reaching people who are different. PDF presentation
Bible Scholar: https://app.box.com/s/g2mv0hnyiteynyxfs2t4n4wdy9l63b4g
the man who asks how to inherit eternal life. Jesus does not tell him the whole Gospel. He tells him what he needs to know at that moment. That is, He tells him what it truly means to love your neighbor as yourself and how he is miserably failing to do that. That is the area where he is challenged so that he will return another day to hear the good news about Christ. He needs to hear the good news about what God's law truly means and then the impact that has on his life. You should declare the aspect of God's truth that is appropriate for where this person is in your conversations with them and challenge them there. There are many different aspects for the good news of the Gospel in addition to Christ's death and our call to repent and have faith in Him.
Rich Young Ruler: https://app.box.com/s/tyztk0iace16buny13tj4bpusxfc9f96
Jerram looks at the way Jesus interacted with the rich young ruler and the lawyer. He unpacks the worldviews of these devout men and the way Jesus subverted their questions to reveal the gospel to them. This talk is appropriate for anyone interacting with people who believe they are good enough without God.
(PDF summary of several people Jesus met)
PDF “Apologetics & Building Bridges”
Book “Learning Evangelism From Jesus” https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Evangelism-Jesus-Jerram-Barrs/dp/1433503182
Book “the Heart of Evangelism" Table of Contents:
Section One: Mission ot the World
“Whom Shall I Send? And Who Will Go for Me?”
After Prayer, What Comes Next?
Living Faithfully in the Workplace
Section Two: The Kindness and Perseverance of God
The Importance of Our History
God’s Infinite Variety of Means I
God’s Infinite Variety of Means II
Section Three: Barriers in the Way of Communicating the Gospel
Barriers Within Ourselves
Barriers Between the Church and the World I
Barriers Between the Church and the World II
Barriers Between the World and the Church
What Is My Neighbor Thinking About Me?
Memorized Summaries of the Gospel
Section Four: Making the Gospel Known
Showing Respect–Principle I
Building Bridges for the Gospel–Principle II
Understanding What Others Believe–Principle III
Revealing the Heart’s Secrets I
Revealing the Heart’s Secrets II
Speaking the Right Language–Principle IV
Reasoned Persuasion–Principle V
Answering the Objections to Reasoned Persuasion
Clarifying the Good News–Principle VI
Challenging the Heart and Mind–Principle VII
This book contains the call to share in the joy of the gospel with those who are local and distant — i.e. to those close to us / similar to us and to those that are far away / not like us.
The breadth of this call, and the work required in this call can make us feel intimidated.We are finite, very limited in our knowledge, power, and love. But God sets us in particular places, in contexts of work, study, and play where we meet a limited number of people. He wants us to pray for them, for our relationships with them, for the impact of our lives on them, and for their salvation. He can handle the big picture; He wants us to concentrate on our small part of the vast landscape that He is painting.(p. 48)
Jerram Barrs reminds us of the impact humility can have on others:
“So often as Christians we behave as if we have everything to give to the non-Christian and nothing to receive. We imagine that it would be demeaning for us to acknowledge any weakness or need. Christians are supposed to “have it all together,” and we fear that letting unbelievers see that we don’t, might bring discredit on us and on the gospel. This is folly, for the truth is that we are always weak and needy and the gospel is not served by pretending otherwise. To acknowledge, as Jesus does, our need of the kindness, gifts, wisdom, or advice an unbeliever can give us is encouraging and ennobling to those who might have been led to expect only scorn or condescension from us.”
Here’s the bottom line. It’s not enough to do good work, there has to be something attractive about our character. And especially, the ability to admit our failures and brokenness stands out in stark relief to the culture around us. People need to smell the sweet aroma of Jesus’ presence in our character, which comes most strongly through the humble character he creates in us.
Jerram Barrs is Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture at Covenant Theological Seminary, Missouri, as well as an author and speaker. He was a student of the late Francis A. Schaeffer and spent 18 years with L’Abri Fellowship in England, where he also served as a pastor in the International Presbyterian Church.
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