If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. —Romans 10:9–10
Quite often we Christians overcomplicate things and present a very complex gospel to the world though it is actually quite simple. The word confess means “to see or speak as the same” or “to agree.” So agree with God that you are a sinner, and believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and you shall be saved. Paul reiterates here what Jesus had already said in Matthew 12:34: that out of the heart, the mouth speaks. When you believe, confession is made, or your mouth speaks what your heart believes.
As I was talking with our young adults last week, we made the observation that only Christians share their ugliest sins and failures with others in hopes of glorifying God and bringing others to Him. This is the mouth speaking out of the heart. What most people try to hide about themselves, Christians share openly because their hearts have been changed and they truly believe.
Christianity has its complexities, to be sure, but the gospel has none. It’s simple, easy, and understandable. “God changed me when I gave my life to Him” is an irrefutable statement for sharing your faith. But some Christians, unfortunately, try to argue the complexities of Christianity in hopes of convincing nonbelievers of Christianity’s claims. This often results in cyclical arguments that never lead to anything but frustration. However, “Once I was blind, but now I can see”—who can argue with that?
You may have an antagonist in your life who wants to argue about a God of love allowing suffering or any of the other issues people have with God. It’s always best to keep it simple. “I gave my heart to Jesus and believe He is the only Savior, and you can know Him too” is about as complex as you need to get. Now that’s not to say that sharing your faith should never go any deeper than that, but the majority of the time, it will be enough for those whose hearts God has already prepared. You are never the pioneer when it comes to reaching others with the truth. The truth is, God sends you to people He’s already been working on.
So keep it simple with nonbelievers. They can argue all day about Jonah in the whale, the parting of the Red Sea, or any other issue they have with the Word of God. But what can they say to someone standing right in front of them who says, “I know Him and believe He died and rose again for me, and knowing Him has changed everything for me and even about me”?
Be careful about arguing the Bible with people who don’t believe it. If they don’t believe the stories of the Bible, tell them yours instead. No one can argue with a changed life!
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