How great are his signs, How mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And his dominion endures from generation to generation.
Daniel 4:3
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I write this article carrying nothing but the small experiences I have had talking to a handful of people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the few things I have learnt with the hope that those who have not begun the task of discipleship unto the fallen may have a couple of things to look forward to. Let’s start at the beginning though.
Let’s face it; at face value it seems that this could be the worst possible time to declare God’s majesty to those who are not in Him. I say at face value because there has never been a time when it was not a war to call people to repentance but because we are more connected than ever, the evil that was once hidden is laid in plain sight for all to see. We are essentially not viler but less hidden in our attempts to be so. This hostile environment that demands people to take sides has led to so many of us being tempted to make decisions that are easy rather than those that are right. However…
And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23
We were not saved by Christ unto comfort but to a war that actively divides and everyone who is involved has to pick up their tools and attack either for the kingdom of Christ or against it, whether they like it or not. So today, we are going to cover what you might go through when you finally decide to offer the Gospel to those around you and why it is important in each step that you exercise love and patience to them as this will be the only thing, as we will see, that will get them to open up and eventually by the power of the Holy Spirit, open their eyes to Christ. We will be using the book of Daniel to cover a couple of the steps we go through this, some I have yet to see but by faith, I hope I shall. So, let’s begin.
Be Informed
Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
Daniel 1:3-7
I would like for you to understand this as early as possible; you cannot afford to get into a discussion of the Gospel unprepared. This is a risk that will not pay off in any way and could backfire in ways you may not have prepared for. Let me explain. There are a lot of people out there that carry a lot of self-deception and a number of those I have met hold a postmodernist view of skepticism towards everything regardless of how ridiculous they might sound doing so. You might quickly find out how hostile the situation is when the people you talk to will attempt at all costs to forsake the burden of proof and expect them to clear any and all doubts they will present to you while presenting no proof of their own as apparently, they seem to hold no worldview whatsoever.
When Nebuchadnezzar was looking for people to place in his kingdom from Jerusalem, he was not looking for anybody. There were qualifications that some needed to have to be able to be even entertained in his palace and only when Daniel’s troop was able to meet the threshold were they able to even make a dent towards the work of the Gospel towards the king. How does this translate to us? Well, it means this.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
1 Peter 3:15Â
When you listen to the perspective that anyone has on God’s Word, they already have a lot of false assumptions as well as contradictory statements that will be nigh impossible to point out if you are not in dwelt in Scripture. You might have the belief that you may need to be well versed in Sciences and Philosophy to engage with the discussion, and for those who do, they hold a great merit, but Scripture will always help you understand the root problem and quickly point it out way before they have the opportunity to say something that will confuse you. Ephesians 6 refers to the belt of truth and as uncomfortable and laughable as one would look without a belt on a saggy trousers today is a believer who appears to be not knowledgeable in some aspects of the discussion. Always have something beforehand, be ready to add to your research, pray for discernment and search the Scriptures. Be sure to ask for clarification in matters you don’t understand and never allow yourself to be tricked into offering a worldly opinion that the Bible cannot clarify.
Everybody has an Agenda
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
 Daniel 1:17-21Â
When the four were brought before the king Nebuchadnezzar, they were not there to discuss their opinions of things. Only what they were asked were they to respond on and in all matters, the king found them to be efficient and by God’s grace, even smarter than the alternatives and they were given the grace to be in a position to be able to talk to the king. I want to point this out so you can understand one thing plainly
The Work of the Gospel is not about winning a debate
I think a great trap a lot of us fall into is imagining that all it takes to convince someone that the Christian account is the only valid one is to be prepared for the one day when you will just spit facts and suddenly, your enemy falls on their feet and accepts Christ. This notion should leave your mind completely. Ignorance has never been the problem of those who do not believe nor has it ever been. Nebuchadnezzar was very much aware of the impact of God’s people and in fact one of the first things he did as king was to take the ornaments of God and place it where his gods were. The real issue you will be dealing with is idolatry; the idea that they are more important than God. From those who will adamantly argue that God doesn’t exist to those who aren’t sure that He does to those who want to point out that there are many gods, the result is the same. Your prepared thesis is not the smoking gun you think it is. It’s going to take work.
You are going to have to do more than simply argue with someone. You might want to identify areas where you agree. You might want to know them better and understand their view. You might want to make them comfortable in the discussion, even if it is at the cost of your peace. You are going to have days where all you will do is repeat the exact same thing and even then they may not listen. You are going to have days where you have to remind them that what they say today is different from what they said yesterday. You are going to have days when you will get absolutely nowhere and you will have to be okay with this.
Because this is precisely how you reacted when the Gospel was presented to you.
The resistance is something familiar and our knowledge that we are not sinless humbles us further when talking about the Gospel for we know we ourselves are not perfect. Go out of your way to understand someone and you will realize something special; that they have had an agenda all along. One of the specialties of those I have talked to is to present their view as though they are applying free thought and they are advocates of it but the moment you test the waters, you will be surprised at how rigid anyone becomes when you follow through on their logical fallacies. Let me add this as its own sub-topic but what you need to understand is this…
Understanding the Emotional Trap
I want to put it this way because I want to be clear on this; an emotional argument is not necessarily an issue but rather when an emotional argument is presented as evidence, you should be wary. There is a place for emotions in the discussion and in fact, moments where sin is addressed directly, an emotional response is likely to occur and sometimes in this moment, God may move in this person to help them arrive at repentance. This is often why non-believers often feel that those who choose to believe are emotionally manipulated and yet…a non-believer will find no wrong in doing the exact same thing.
One of the most obvious examples of this is the question of fairness; when you talk to someone about morality and God’s judgement, an immediate response will always be; but is this fair? Some will even try to go to the extent of telling you to not be Biblical for a second, they just want your honest opinion on this. This is a trap because it assumes that there is an opinion you must have outside of Biblical boundaries. If as a believer, you trust in your emotions at that moment more than a Holy God, your answer will be worldly no matter what. If however, you can see the question for what it is, the mother of a mass murderer telling the court that she knows her son and that he could never do that crime, he’s so sweet, you have a response that both hits the emotion as well as the facts. Emotional manipulation is not a one-sided tool in this regard, both of you can and most certainly do use it. The question here is why your opinion of things is right and mine wrong, and the answer leads to the authority of a Sovereign God. Essentially,
God Always Provides an Opportunity
​In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
 Daniel 2:1-2
It never seems like it at first, but God will always provide an opportunity to discuss matters of the Gospel and if you take the time to be caring and patient with someone, they will always return with questions. They will always be intrigued and because they truly understand the judgement in their hearts, they will always present the questions in a way that puts them in the comfort zone. Oftentimes, this may sound like a passive aggressive statement but if you always seize the moment and are persistent about what you believe, you will have a chance to help a brother or sister out. Sometimes, this took me hours to get to, sometimes, it took months, but God was faithful in each attempt and we always had fruitful discussions however long or short. Sometimes, these fruitful discussions sounded like them accusing me of siding with a religion that actively harms people and I would find grace to offer simple answers. Sometimes, they looked like me not turning away from a question even if it meant it annoyed them. In all these instances, we talked and with some, we still do.
I cannot stress this enough, God is always faithful in these matters and will give you grace to handle some of these matters in ways that will not actively cause you to sin in anger or irritation. Some, you will find with time to be too hostile to engage with daily, some you will have a blast talking to everyday. However, it doesn’t mean they will take your answers.
Relapses Occur
​King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Daniel 3:1-3
Daniel 3 is fascinating because these events happen after the events of Daniel 2, where Nebuchadnezzar had his dream revealed to him without even stating it and had it interpreted, by all accounts, a miracle. This should lead you to this realization, believer.
Not even a clearly seen miracle is enough to dissuade one from sin.
You could do a hundred miracles and still face disbelief because sin is that persuasive. The Pharisees stood shoulder to shoulder with God in the flesh, a fulfilment of all the prophecies they grew up reading and even heard and watched as he performed miracles and still not only did not believe, they had the nerve to ask Christ to perform for them a miracle in front of them. This is ultimately why Good-Will Jesus who will give people cars and heal all their sickness and will give you power to move mountains or one that judges no one and is everybody’s friend is not going to convince anyone. They are actively running away from God and what they already have satisfies them to small degrees. They will want your God to just give them more of what they like. Only the offensive Gospel is the wakeup call. If anyone needs a non-judgmental deity who is linked to spirituality, they know where to find Buddha. Christ offers something radical.
Absolute sovereignty over all Creation, you included. He is not interested in mere acceptance but instead nothing short of absolute allegiance. God is Lord over every aspect of our lives. He reigns with complete authority.
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:13-23
This is what Nebuchadnezzar as well as the person you will be talking to understands, sometimes even more than you do. God is going to transform this person to want to hate everything he or she loves now and to love everything he or she hates now and they will say no. This is also why merely going to church as an unbeliever isn’t enough. Repentance is the only way and Christ is the only way that happens and to get here would be to be exposed in ways not even your bone marrow can hide from. So you will present the Gospel and they will be receptive one day and they will be hostile the next and it will be a cycle, whether it is hidden to you or not. The truth is nobody wants you to talk about the Gospel. Nobody is looking for it and no matter how cheerful you present it, what you hold is a knife to their throat and they despise it and will fight it any way they can. They will change the topic, they will try to trap you, they will try to confuse you, if they have power they will try to silence you, they will try to annoy you, they will try everything because the alternative is submission to God.
Salvation Belongs to God
At the time of this writing, I have not witnessed any of the ones I have shared the Gospel to be convicted of God’s love and mercy but I walk in the faith that it will only be a matter of time for the work of God to be witnessed in the lives of those who I talk to. God’s Holy Spirit transformed Saul, a man who thought he killed for God’s sake, literally a kind of man Christ warned His Disciples would exist in John 16, to Paul, a man so humbled by God that his life is nothing short of a blessing to all who look unto Him as He looked unto Christ. Romans is one of my favorite books in the Bible because of how raw the Gospel of Jesus Christ is presented and is one of the biggest resources I use to think critically about the kind of questions I would receive from non-believers. And look, as a non-believer, this might look like an excellent resource to debunk and you are free to do so but you will fail.
There have been countless people in history who have presented the same level of resilience to God’s Word and to God’s people, asking the same questions with different wording for over two thousand years that even some were recorded long before you knew to ask. It’s a statement to the authority of God’s Word that all who stand against it shall fall, regardless of who they are. There are only two logical responses to the reality of God and everyone, however versed in moral relativism, knows. You can either let the light shine on you and be led to repentance or you can be deceived unto your dying breath and in that reality, only Hell awaits.
God atoned for all your sin, non-believer. God in love reconciled His mercy and His desire for justice at the Cross where Christ died. It may take days or weeks or years to finally get it but you don’t know how many of those you have left. You would do well to seek for truth, answers that you cannot be able to give with your worldview and should you find them, may they lead you to repentance. To the Cross. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled so greatly that he didn’t need to praise God in falsehood, His tongue sang the Worthiness of the Lamb and his heart was freed from the desires of His idolatry. God will save you. To the believers, this may have been long but I hope it adds more diligence and hope to those who feel disenfranchised with sharing the Gospel. In a world that will always believe they can outrun God, God will save. He will for the glory of His name.