Most people are not saved. We who know the truth have the task of announcing the gospel. The problem is finding the right approach, for people to be willing to listen to the truth. God first gave us the law to show us that we have sinned and cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, and then the grace, that is, the forgiveness of our sins, which Jesus paid for on the cross. The fear of God can bring those who need to be saved closer to the truth.
In order for people to hear the gospel, we must make them understand that they must fear God
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him.
Psalms 128:1 NIV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Proverbs 19:23
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Psalms 34:7
My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.
Psalms 119:120
Christ came to seek and save the lost.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10
Proclaiming the gospel is not an easy task, but being a Christian is lowering oneself and raising Jesus. Being a christian is self-denial
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me
Matthew 16:24
The unsaved is getting their condition worse and worse for the day of judgement
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed
Romans 2:5
Because of this we should try to persuade others
Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience
2 Corinthians 5:11
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrew 10:31
through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.
Proverbs 16:6
The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
2 Samuel 6:7
the Lord kill Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 for one lie
What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
Genesis 38:10
We can’t see the glory of God and live: Moses encounters God. Exodus 33:18-23
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
John 3:36
How is the unsaved?
Romans 3:11-18
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Ephesians 4:17-18
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior
Colossians 1:21
We must put the fear of the Lord to the unsaved, but how, if they are blinded?
Way 1: will to live
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrew 2:14-15
Every human being is afraid to die
the first question is “Do you think there is an afterlife?”: they always answer
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Next questions:
- “Have you ever read the Bible?”
- “Did you know in the Old Testament God promised to destroy death?”
- “And in the New Testament we are told how he did it?”
- “Have you ever heard the gospel?”
but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:10
- “I’m going to share it with you, And before I do, I’m going through the Ten Commandments, to show you need God’s mercy is that okay?”
We have all this world wants: everlasting life in Jesus Christ
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7
Holy Spirit is life in us and death has no dominion on us
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:10
Way 2: Appeal to the conscience
Every human being has knowledge of right and wrong, because we are made in the image of God
Every one has a conscience
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Romans 3:20
So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith
Galatians 3:24
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?”Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone
Mark 10:17-18
People think their are good, because they don’t know the goodness of God
Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness
Romans 10:3
In the thieves on the cross Luke 23:38-43 one thief recognise that they thieves where guilty, but Jesus was there as innocent
This thief was insulting Jesus, but suddenly he change his mind. Why? He is made image of God, he has a conscience and he realize hid death is coming.
The law make persons change their mind: first they think they are good persons, then they realize they are sinners
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Romans 7:7
Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
Romans 7:13
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Colossians 1:21
Once a person knows that is going to be judged by the commandments and he is guilty, he is going to appreciate the gospel as a solution to his problem
It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
Isaiah 42:21
As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you
Acts 24:25