Preaching and Teaching With the Lost in View

I don’t know how you’re going to feel about what I’m going to tell you, but I believe it is one of the most transformative truths we can learn: $25 a day of unplanned spending adds up to $9,125 a year. That’s a lot of money. So as you might wonder, “Where did all my money go?” It could have been a problem with your planning. 

I believe something similar can happen in our churches. At times we wonder, “Where did all the nonbelievers go?” This wouldn’t be just a planning issue. We believe in a sovereign God, and he alone can save and heal (Jeremiah 17:14). But in his kindness, he is sending us to speak his Word (Jeremiah 17:19ff). Have we planned appropriately? 

Here are three things to consider as we preach or teach with nonbelievers in view. 

1. See the Cross

We can’t tell others what he isn’t telling us first. Before we begin preaching about Christ’s gospel, we need to make sure that we’re preaching the Word of Christ.

Probably the go-to passage when talking about the importance of the Word of God is 2 Timothy 3. Verse 16 tells us: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” However, we usually forget verse 15. Paul reminds Timothy how “from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Scripture is so profitable because it is breathed out by a God who’s given us salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Many of us are tempted to go too quickly to the correcting and training in righteousness (v.16), bypassing altogether the focus on the salvation we’ve been given through faith in Christ Jesus (v.15).

So, as we preach and teach the Word, profitable to all, let’s see how it teaches and preaches the salvation offered by faith in the cross of Christ.

2. Show the Need

When I was in college, a friend invited me to visit her church. I’ll never forget that sermon. I can’t recall the text or even the topic, but as he was preaching, he said this: “And maybe you’re in high school, and you think this doesn’t apply. But if you’re in your teens, or you’re in college, you need to remember this…”

I had never heard that in my life.

At the moment, other than in our very small youth group, the only applications I heard from the pulpit were for parents or couples. As a young Christian without any formal discipleship, it was very easy for me to tune out on Sundays. I found it very hard to understand and to apply the truths of God’s Word in my own life.

My dear brother in ministry: let’s make it easier for our non-believing friends to listen and apply the truths of God’s Word. When we talk about baptism, circumcision, or even new birth, why do we assume our listeners can follow along? A short explanation and application can go a long way. And If we’re talking about temptation, may we remember how it feels to be trapped by sin and deceived by the devil, and describe it so that those who are still under the evil one might listen and believe. We don’t need platitudes—we need salvation. And at the end of the day, the first commandment that they can keep is to repent and trust in Christ.

3. Seek the Lost

One of the best things about being part of a church is gathering on Sundays and seeing the faces of people you love and who love you back. As a Christian, living in the world can be hard. It can be tiring; you might be under spiritual attack; you need to be on guard. So meeting with others who share our same love for Christ can feel like a spiritual Rivendell—a place of rest.

I don’t want to take that from you. We all need to make sure that we are seeking unity, living under the rule of Christ’s peace (Colossians 3:15). Yet, at the same time, none of us live for ourselves (Romans 14:7-8). We don’t live for our comfort, but to see Christ reign supreme in all (Romans 14:9). That might mean going out of our way and setting an example as leaders, sharing Christ in our community, and extending invitations that might feel awkward. And it will mean reminding our brothers and sisters of the unfathomable gospel need in the world and in our communities.

And the Lord will bless our obedience. Many of us have felt discouraged when we fail to see the fruit of conversion or growth in our congregation. May we get to experience that jolt of energy when new believers come to our church family! The Good Shepherd knows what his flock needs, and in his kindness, when we seek the lost and invite them to enjoy his life in our midst, he sends dew from the heavens that blesses the whole congregation (Psalm 133).

So let’s plan to live our lives on mission, seeing the cross in his Word, showing our need for him in our teaching, and seeking the lost in our midst.