Fulton Church of Christ » What Would an Unbeliever Find Good about the Good News

The New Testament presents some generalizations describing different motives that attract unbelievers to this Good News (see Making the Gospel Real handout).
The Good News is characterized in at least nine different ways (see Characteristics of the Gospel handout).
These characteristics and generalizations impact unbelievers differently depending on their individual felt needs, experiences, and situations.
Many presentations of the gospel fail to find acceptance with the hearers due to religious preconceptions and bad logic.
- Forgiveness:
  - Saved to fail again
  - Justice suspended
- Faith:
  - Works or faith – the problem is defining how much.
  - How do I know if I have God’s version of faith? (2 Corinthians 1:22, 5,5, Ephesians 1:14)
- Grace:
  - Grace describes the nature of God: His graciousness.
  - Grace does not make behavior of no consequence.
Because we care about people (we fear what God will do to them), we should pray for wisdom specifically in the area of presenting features of the gospel that would have the most impact on that individual unbeliever.
- Overcoming me: Romans 8:13 – 14, 26, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 3:14 – 16
- Purpose: Ephesians 3:9 – 12, 1:3 – 6, 2 Timothy 1:9 – 10, Titus 1:2, 1 Peter 1:20
- Truth: John 8:32, 1 Corinthians 15:1 – 8
- Peace with God: Ephesians 6:15
- Organization: The earthly Kingdom, governed by Jesus alone
- For everyone: Matthew 11:5, 1 Corinthians 1:26
- Coping with life: Acts 2:40, Philippians 4:6