Justin Buzzard on Gospel Conversations

On Wednesday's we pause to think about some of the practical applications of doctrine. Today's article extract from Justin Buzzard gives us a broader perspective on this for it addresses how we engage the entire Gospel in our conversations with others.

'Everyday conversations are opportunities to obey Jesus by loving your neighbor as yourself. I’m not very good at this. Like you, I have this default mentality of viewing other people through a lens of pride, competition, or comparison, rather than through the lens of the gospel—which shows us that all people stand on equal ground at the foot of the cross.

My new gospel-remembering conversation habit is helping me with this. I’m now beginning, right in the midst of the syllables of conversation, to view other people through the crosshairs of the cross. As I do this, I’m finding more and more of a drive to speak the gospel, to re-tell the gospel, to the people I’m in conversation with.

If I’m talking with a Christian, I’m reminded that he or she probably forgets the gospel just as often as I do and needs to re-hear it just as badly as I do. And so, even though it can feel a bit unnatural, I’m beginning, with tact and careful transitions, to sometimes speak the gospel to fellow believers in middle of our everyday conversations.

What I’ve found is this: people are glad to be reminded of the good news. Most of my everyday Christian conversation partners very rarely experience an everyday conversation where the gospel surfaces. What I’ve found is that re-telling portions of the gospel to fellow believers is a powerful, practical way to love your neighbor as yourself.

I’ve also been working at speaking the gospel when I’m in everyday conversations with people who don’t know Jesus. Generally, but not always, this is harder for me to do. I’m probably too concerned, too fearful, about not wanting to come off as a pushy evangelist, that I can fail to speak the most powerful message in the Universe. Yet, when I do, carefully and contextually, patiently and prayerfully, speak the gospel to people who don’t believe the gospel, I most often find that people have never really heard the true gospel. This has led to some great conversations, conversations where I’ve had the joy of explaining the difference between religion and the gospel, the difference between religiosity and a relationship with Jesus.

Two weeks ago I got to do this at Round Table Pizza. When the cashier found out that I was a pastor, that I was picking up 7 extra large pizzas for a guy’s night at the church, she asked me the difference between being a Christian and just being “a good person.” I seized the opportunity. Because she was working and because I had people behind me in line, I gave the pizza lady a 2 minute answer, a 2 minute explanation of the gospel, articulating why even the “best” people need a Savior. She seemed eager to hear more. Before I left, I invited the pizza lady to church.

I don’t know what will happen with Mrs. Pizza, but I do know that God can transform lives as we speak the gospel to others, as we speak the gospel in the midst of our everyday conversations. Again, I encourage you to work at this. Establish a fresh habit of speaking the gospel in your everyday conversations. Whether it’s with believers or unbelievers, don’t be ashamed of the gospel. Speak the gospel and watch what happens.'