top of page

FROM SMALL TALK TO THE GOSPEL

Mar 31, 2024

11 min read

0

50

0


Many Christians understand they need to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others as a habitual part of their lifestyle. The tough part is often finding the opportunity, the confidence, and the path from small talk to the other person’s need for Christ. Discussing a relationship with Jesus Christ is, however, as opportune as seeing another human being, and confidence can grow by having a way to lead that discussion. 


This article will demonstrate one effective means of having that conversation, by using God’s creation to point to the Creator. From there, observe that if we humans are created, we have a purpose. If we have a purpose, we will be accountable for fulfilling our purpose. If we are accountable to a higher power, then there must be a future judgment to determine if we have fulfilled our purpose of creation. 



Before the Conversation

Every believer needs to be prepared to share the gospel. At the very least—and this is powerful—each Christ follower can share how Jesus has personally changed his or her life. There is always something life-changing to share with another. Considering that truth, we still must continually mature beyond the basics.

Using creation to point to the Creator, then ultimately pointing to the gospel of Jesus Christ, is an idea presented in the Bible. In Romans 1 and 2, Paul explains that when people enter their final judgment, they will have no excuse for rejecting Jesus Christ. This is based on two big ideas that Paul details further: the two things that condemn people before God are the creation around them and the conscience within them. David, too, shows in Psalm 19:1–6 how creation reveals the Creator. In the remaining verses, he identifies the uniqueness and necessity of the Word of God and gives his conclusions. 


This is important to remember. It is not good enough to prove that there is a divine Creator. Someone believing there is a divine Creator without trusting in the gracious death and blood of Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins will still be condemned to the Lake of Fire. After proving we are created beings, we must still use the Word of God and the name of Jesus Christ within evangelism. Within a gospel presentation, there should be explanations for sin, our need for a Savior, the exclusivity of Jesus’ payment for sin, etc. But the focus in this article is to show how to move a conversation from small talk to creation to the gospel.


Among the many principles of evangelism, three are found in Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (ESV). First, be a sheep even when surrounded by wolves. The wolves intentionally harm sheep and are naturally equipped to destroy them. On the other hand, sheep are defenseless and must obey and hope in the shepherd for survival. In this case, the sheep need to share the gospel with wolves. So don’t be surprised when the wolves growl, bark, and bite; remember to stay close to the Shepherd and follow Christ’s second and third commands: be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.


The word wise emphasizes discernment. Be strategic and thoughtful. Consider your timing and tone. And innocent signifies not sinning. Walk with the Holy Spirit so that He will produce the fruit of the Spirit through you (Gal. 5:22–25). Overall, be dependent sheep, discerning serpents, and righteous doves in this life, especially in evangelism.


Every believer’s approach to evangelism needs to be balanced on a three-legged stool. The center leg is the gospel, while the two supporting legs are apologetics and polemics. Briefly, apologetics is the practice of providing a defense for why your faith and hope are solely in Jesus Christ. Polemics is the science and art of lovingly poking holes in worldviews that oppose the Person and Word of God. Considering these principles, observe how Jesus, Paul, and others exemplified Matthew 10:16 and balanced their gospel-centered evangelism on apologetics and polemics.



The Conversation

What follows is a sample of a conversation I would have with someone, using creation to share the gospel. Find a place where you can likely talk with someone for at least ten or fifteen minutes. (I prefer going to coffee shops.) Outside of that guideline, do not be too picky for an opportunity. As a habitual part of your prayer life, pray for confidence and opportunities to share the gospel, as the apostle Paul often did.

The following scenario mirrors the real situations I have been in. The character Chris is not intended to represent any real person, but everything I say in the hypothetical conversation is truthful and accurate to my conversation style. Typically, for me, these conversations last about an hour. Imagine I’m in a coffee shop and notice a man sitting alone. As I walk in his direction to leave, we make eye contact, and I decide to pause and say hello. Notice the groupings of the conversation. These will help you see how the conversation flows, even though everyone struggles developing different sections of the conversation structure. 


Initial Greeting

Joel: Hi there! Mind if I join you? I’m Joel.


Chris: Hey, Joel! Sure. Grab a seat. I’m Chris.


Joel: Nice to meet you, Chris. What brings you here?


Chris: I love the coffee here and just some time to relax and think.


Commentary 

Notice that this encounter is casual and no big deal. Not everyone is willing to talk, but most people are. Push aside awkwardness and fear. These feelings and encounters are why we must habitually pray for confidence and opportunities to share the gospel. Those are prayer requests that God loves to grant! You can find opportunities to talk to someone in many situations. Keep your eyes open for an opportunity. You could also talk with someone while another person is with you, but sometimes, a two-to-one ratio is intimidating to the person you’ve met. The initial greeting can naturally flow into small talk. 


Small Talk

Joel: I have a similar passion. Personally, I roast coffee beans at my house and enjoy exploring the range that cups of coffee can have. But I’ll come here from time to time to enjoy the atmosphere and meet new people. I like sharing ideas.


Chris: I’ve never roasted beans or anything. I just like coffee. But yeah, like you, I love coming here for the atmosphere. I don’t normally meet new people here, but it’s nice to meet you.


Joel: You mentioned that you use this time to think. So what have you been thinking about?


Chris: Well, my mind has been wandering today. I have mostly been just taking the time to relax and enjoy the moment. Maybe ponder life’s mysteries here and there, but I haven’t solved any yet. [He chuckles.]


Commentary 

This portion of the conversation can last a bit longer. I don’t move on to the next portion until I find something that naturally moves in that direction. Otherwise, I might unintentionally skip “testing the spiritual waters” and move right into “sharing some creation facts.” With my personality, I tend to minimize and rush through the greeting and small talk to get to the heavier things. Be yourself, but make time for a spiritual conversation.


Testing the Spiritual Waters

Joel: Life is one of the greatest topics to think about and is full of mysteries. How it exists today, how it came to be what it is, and especially where it came from.


Chris: Yeah, that’s deep stuff. Those things are fun to think about sometimes, but we’ll never really know who or what caused the big bang. What’s a cool theory that you’ve heard of or that you buy into?


Commentary 

At this point, I could jump right into creation facts. I could also start with my belief in the one true God. The procedure depends on how curious or sociable the person seems. For the sake of being effective, it might be better to take the conversation slow. Start with some creation facts that build up to the existence of a Creator. Starting with the fact that an almighty Creator exists will probably be too strong at this point and may place the person in a fighting position instead of a sharing and learning position.


I try to maintain the sharing and learning position in every conversation. Allow the person to teach you. You can always respond with something like “That’s interesting” or “I haven’t heard that before. I’d like to hear more about that.”

This portion would typically include a general and casual mention of God or asking if the person went to church as a child. Such a statement or question often triggers a statement or question from that person and can show you which direction to steer the conversation. Here, we are testing to see what sort of spiritual background and understanding the person has. This will help guide the conversation.


Sharing Some Creation Facts

Joel: I love these kinds of conversations. I’ve got something for you to think about, but let’s start in the present and work backward. Lately I’ve been thinking about how trees grow. Have you ever considered how intelligently they grow?


Chris: Yeah, maybe. I love to do landscaping in my yard, and I enjoy seeing how everything grows over time. It’s so beautiful! I’ve been fascinated by the diversity of life and how it all came to be. So, what do you mean about trees growing intelligently? Do you think trees are thinking and feeling as they grow?


Joel: I’m referring to the unique way that branches grow. Imagine standing underneath a tree and looking up at its trunk. You notice the branches branch off the trunk in a pattern so that the weight is evenly distributed for the tree to grow straight and for the leaves to receive the maximum amount of sunlight for food. Trees sometimes even put out their branches unevenly so the tree will bend to reach more sunlight or water.


Chris: Wow! I’ve never thought about that before. You’re right. That’s interesting! But how does the way branches grow have anything to do with the big bang?


Joel: We’ll have to start moving back in time now. That tree knows how to do something. It follows instructions. The tree has DNA, and it was all packed up into whatever seed it came from. The tree is loaded with information! But not just information. The tree has to be able to read, copy, translate, and carry out the orders of that information. That’s simply amazing! How can it do all that?


Chris: Oh, man. That’s heavy. What evolution can do is nuts, huh? The tree must have slowly learned how to do all that over time.


The Need for the Creator

Joel: Let me present a theory. In fact, for me, it’s not just a theory. I one hundred percent believe it. Hear me out.


Chris: Okay, but I just noticed the time. I should get going in about ten minutes.


Joel: All right then. Let me get right to my point. Information can come only from intelligence. This intelligence must be living, as it must be accompanied by will and ability. This living being would have the intelligence to create the tree, the will to want to create the tree, and the ability to create the tree. Does that make sense?


Chris: I’m not exactly sure where you’re going, but, yeah, what you said makes sense.


Joel: All plant, animal, and human life is built up this way. We all have DNA, which is like a living blueprint for exactly how we are to be. It actively works for our whole lives, making repairs and basically keeping us as functional and optimal as possible. All of that information had to come from some intelligent being with ability and a will. Everything around us has a design. When there is a design, there must be a designer. When we look around at people, animals, and trees, we can understand that there must be a supernatural Creator—God—who made all this possible.


Chris: I see. I thought you were going to say aliens were making everything. Maybe what you think is God is what some people call aliens. Or maybe there are some gods out there too.


Joel: I like the way you think, and I know your time is short. So let me just say that whenever there is an effect, there must be a cause before it. You would probably ask me, Where did God come from? 


Chris: Ha! You would be right.


Joel: And that’s a good question. You see, the problem boils down to this. Everything around us could have an infinite number of causes, which is illogical, or an infinite cause, which is a logical explanation. Ultimately, there must be a cause without a cause. That’s a complex thought but is logical and is the more reasonable choice.


Chris: Man! That gives me a lot to think about. I’ve never heard that before.


Commentary 

I typically provide three examples of evidence for creation if time allows, demonstrating that I do not have blind faith, that I am not simply following a family tradition, and that my faith is based on plenty of evidence and reason. Now we can transition to the identity of the Creator and our need for Him.


Consequences Following Creation

Joel: Before you leave, let me give you some other quick and important thoughts. I wholeheartedly believe we are all created beings. There is a lot of evidence for that. Can you think of a time something was created but had no purpose?


Chris: Hmm. I guess not.


Joel: Everything that anyone has made has a purpose. That means we have been given purpose in this life by our Creator, the God of the universe. And what creators would not check to see if the things they made did what they fashioned them to do? You can think of kitchen appliances, vehicles, anything.


Chris: Right. That makes sense.


Joel: If we were created, we have purpose. If we have purpose, we are accountable to fulfill that purpose. There will be a judgment one day to determine whether we have passed or failed that inspection. Only the Creator can be the judge in that final judgment.


The Gospel

Chris: That’s heavy. Okay, so let’s say you’re right. Which god is it? You can never really know, right?


Joel: I understand the confusion and difficulty when we compare all the faith systems on a surface level. However, I firmly believe that Jesus Christ is the divine creator. The Bible coherently and consistently explains that everything was created, everything was good, and humanity failed its purpose by sinning. One primary purpose of our existence is to have a joyful, harmonious, and fulfilling relationship with God Himself. The Bible then explains God’s plan to bring humanity back into relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. He died for us so we would not have to die. The blood He shed on the cross is the currency that paid for our sin. God has graciously given this gift of salvation, and we can accept this gift only by faith.


Chris: I never thought I would have this kind of conversation today. I have so many questions about what you believe—questions like, What is sin? What do you mean by accepting this gift by faith? How can blood pay for something? But I really do need to go.


Commentary

Remember that the focus of this article is not how to articulate the gospel but how to move from small talk to creation to the gospel. Always take time to explain every term. Keep it slow. Keep it simple.


Wrapping Up the Talk

Joel: No problem. There is definitely a lot of explaining to do and much more of the story to share. Can we meet here again sometime?


Chris: Yeah, for sure! How about Saturday morning?


Joel: I’ll be here. How does nine o’clock sound?


Chris: That works. Have a good day!


Joel: Oh, hey! Real quick. Can we trade numbers just in case something happens and things need to change?


Chris: Sure. Good idea. Thanks!


Joel: Feel free to shoot me some questions in the meantime if you’d like. I look forward to talking again. Thanks for your time, Chris.


Chris: Thanks, Joel. See ya!



Closing Thoughts

Remember to pray before, during, and after meeting with someone to discuss the gospel. Tell others about your opportunity so they can pray for that person too.

Give the person reminders about meeting again. And when you meet, talk about more than just spiritual things. You will be developing the relationship and affirming that you are interested in people, not only in “converts.”


In the first meeting, I don’t usually read the Bible with the person, although I will paraphrase and summarize it. But in future meetings, I intentionally walk through Genesis 1—3 and the Gospel of John. For a conference on how to share the gospel, please email me at joel@brainsandbibles.org or visit BrainsandBibles.org.


 

This article was originally published by Regular Baptist Press on April 1, 2024. © 2024 Regular Baptist Press. Reprinted with permission.

Mar 31, 2024

11 min read

0

50

0

Comments

Commenting has been turned off.
bottom of page