Why It Is Hard To Talk About The Gospel - One Reason in Particular

  I find it interesting that today, we have such a hard time talking about the Gospel with our family members and friends. The Gospel is supposed to be incorporated into our lives, but, when it comes to talking about it, we don't know how to do it, at least not naturally. Why is that?
  There may be several reasons, and it may be different for different people, but some reasons are common, at least to us in America, in the Twenty-First Century. One reason for this is that we are powerless many times, because we rely on ourselves to do God's work. We need to be Spirit filled believers. If not, we will not have the power to talk about the things of God, let alone being awkward about it. But another reason, I believe, is because today, 2,000+ after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, our understanding of the 'bigger picture' of the Bible story, is faded. Let me explain further.
   Before the Cross, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice lambs for atonement for sins. This was a big deal in Israel. Plus, the Israelites were looking for a Messiah, someone who would deliver them. God used many illustrations to help the Israelites understand the coming Gospel. If any of them were looking for an answer to their sin problem, they were able to understand why Jesus came and died for the people. It was a whole package deal. But today we don't generally understand this. Americans don't really understand about sin and God's coming judgment for sin, nor do we really understand why Jesus came and died. It is not important to us because we have not been taught to deal with our sins, and that there are consequences for sin.
   It is like being told the end of a mystery novel. If you know the end of the story, you won't have the same kind of appreciation as you would if you had read through the novel from the beginning. If we are never taught about our sins, like the Israelites were, we don't really think of them as serious. But we hear that Jesus died for our sins, and many believe that. But it doesn't seem like a big deal because we don't understand that sin requires a payment.
   So, we tell people that Jesus died for their sins, and it means nothing to them, because they don't understand why someone would have to die for sins, or even that sin is bad. One person told the story of how he told someone that 'Jesus died for you'. The other person said, 'Oh, I'm sorry'.
   So, when we talk about the Gospel with people, it seems like a foreign subject, because it doesn't have anything to do with what we are doing today. Could it be that because we only know the 'end of the story' that we communicate it to people, and they give us a blank stare? The Israelites were able to tie in Jesus' death with the sacrificing of lambs, and put the concept together in their minds. We don't kill lambs today (and don't need to) but it does help us if we understand what the Bible says about the Gospel from the beginning to the end. If the Bible story is precious to us, we will talk about it. Talking about the Gospel will become more natural.
   I think learning formulas using sentences and questions can be helpful sometimes in sharing the Gospel, but, I think sometimes these formulas become a substitute for the life of God that He wants us to share with others. I think because we are familiar with the 'end of the story' (the good news) that we fail to explain 'the bad news' to people, and they only get part of the picture. We are so concerned with people going to hell that we try to truncate the Gospel message hoping they will understand the 'formula' we give them, rather than taking the time to show them the life of God, and the love of God, along with explaining the 'Big picture' of the Gospel. We need to share the life of God, and that can only come when we spend time with Him. Then the Gospel won't be so distant to us. Something to think about.