Do You Still Believe?

By Greg Stier, Op-ed Contributor Tuesday, July 25, 2006

We are living in a time where the Christian message is being minimalized, trivialized and marginalized. And this attack is not just coming from the outside. Too many Christian "experts" are saying that the basic good news of Jesus (AKA "the gospel") is not enough to save a soul, a community, the planet.

Where do you stand? Do you still believe in the power of the gospel?
These experts say things like, "The gospel message is not enough! There is no power in propositions! It is the living, breathing incarnation of those principles that truly transform, not a cold creed comprised of spiritual ‘truths’!"

Meanwhile Paul’s words erupt from the first chapter of Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…." The great apostle never looked at the gospel as a cold creed, but a divinely inspired message of truth that blasted those who embraced it out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. He never tried to explain how a mere message could save a soul, he just emphasized that it could and did and does and he said it over and over and over again in many different ways througout his epistles.

How can the acceptance of Jesus and faith in the gospel message regenerate a wicked person? I don’t know. I don’t need to know how it works, just that it works. I’ll leave the how to God and just be grateful that the wicked person named Greg Stier was transformed by this message. And so were you.

Do you still believe?

Some say that the gospel message which preaches Jesus as the only way to heaven is way too narrow, way too arrogant, way too closed minded. Meanwhile Jesus’ words erupt from the fourteenth chapter of John, "I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."

Do you still believe?

I don’t exactly understand how it all works. I don’t get how someone’s faith in a person and a message can regenerate a spiritually dead soul. I don’t understand how a wretched sinner can have all their transgressions forgiven in one fell swoop by simply trusting in Jesus to save them from their sins. I don’t quite understand how acceptance of a message leads to transformation of a life.
But me not "getting" how it all works just adds to the mystery of it all. I don’t get it, but I am deeply grateful for it and I believe it with all my heart.

Do you still believe?

From time to time I’m asked, "Do you really believe that all these kids you are training to know, live and share their faith can really make a difference by communicating the gospel with their friends?"

Oh yes! I truly believe it! And it’s not just because I believe in the potential of teens, but because I fully believe in the power of the gospel message to transform a life, a community, the planet.

This message is not meant for the intellectual elite who have lost their faith in the power and the mystery of the message. Nor is it for the negative naysayers who constantly look for the faultlines of logic in the basic truths of Christianity so they can continue their incessant criticism and spew their toxic venom in angry words and anti-establishment rebellion against whatever.

It is meant for the average youth leader, pastor, parent and teen. It’s meant for you because the Bible was written to average Joes and Jolenes like you and me. It’s meant for you because you are in the trenches, working everyday with real people with real problems who need the real hope that the gospel message offers. Which leaves me back to the same question once again…

Do you still believe?

If so, start sharing this message with all of your heart. I’ll join you.

If not, you are reading the wrong article ...
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Greg Stier is the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., where he works with youth leaders and students, equipping them to be effective in sharing the gospel. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries, please visit http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060725/www.dare2share.org. Find out how Dare 2 Share Ministries and Focus on the Family® are working together to capture the hearts of this generation of teenagers, visit http://www.capturetheirhearts.com/.