The second problem in evangelism is communicating the message of "sin" - that "there is no one righteous, not even one." It's easier to preach this message to a large audience, because people will not likely do anything outrageous out of politeness. But  one on one, it’s quite unpredictable.

            You may be tempted to get around this issue by focusing on God's "grace" instead. After all, "by grace we are saved through faith." The ultimate goal is "that whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish, but have eternal life.” However, this approach would have serious consequences: people might think they are doing God a favor by accepting the gospel.  In this case, Jesus would have died on the cross in vain. The church has no shortage of such people who only dogmatically admit they are sinners, but do not believe so in the heart. If a person does not know that he is a sinner, how can he experience God's grace of forgiving sinners, not to mention the taste of heaven! In order to save the loss, we cannot bypass the issue of "sin".

           How can we talk to people about "sin"?  First, we need to be clear that there are two important points that must be conveyed.

           1.  "Sinner" - a person has innate tendencies to sin. His heart contains all the necessary ingredients, such as greed, jealousy, resentment, deception, etc.

           2.  "Sin". We all have committed “sins” by exercising these tendencies.

           There is an effective and less intrusive way to convey the words "sinner" and "sin". That is to make use of one’s personal testimonial. If we confess our sins dogmatically, people would likewise listen to our words dogmatically, because it sounds like we are speaking from a moral high ground. No wonder people are offended to hear us talk about "sin," because no matter how humble and gentle our attitude, it can't hide the fact that we are sinners too. However, if we confess specific sins which convicted us of our sinfulness, our openness and honesty would carry spiritual weight to draw others to do the same. After all, everyone has sinned, and the experience of guilt and shame is all too common. Though they have been conditioned by the social society to sweep it under the rug. So much so, they have come to believe "I am not a sinner." 

            It only takes one brave person to bring it out into the open. It will have to start with you and me! As we write our salvation testimony, we must also write about how we found ourselves a "sinner", and why the redemption of Jesus is desperately needed. ("I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. " Luke5:32) 
                                                                                       應對「我不是罪人」

           第二個難題是要傳達「世上沒有義人，連一個都沒有。」這難題不好解決，因爲這個信息意味著人人都是「罪人」。在佈道會中向一羣人宣講這信息還容易辦，聽衆礙着禮貌和面子，不會向你做些出格的行爲；要是個人佈道，這話題可能會引起反駁、反感、擡槓、翻臉、甚或被人下逐客令。

           有人嘗試繞開這話題，將重點放在神的「恩典」上；畢竟「人得救是本乎恩，也因著信。」最終的目的是「叫一切信他（耶穌）的，不至滅亡，反得永生。」不過這做法會引起嚴重後果：就是人會以爲他們信耶穌是給神面子，不然耶穌就枉死在十字架上。教會中那些「老油條」，大多是教條式的承認，但心裏卻不承認自己是個罪人。人若不曉得自己是個罪人，如何能體會神赦罪的恩典？如何曉得這恩典之長闊高深？更不用說品嚐天恩的滋味了！為了使人得救，我們不能繞開「罪」的話題。

            我們該如何向人談「罪」的問題？首先，我們要清楚知道，有兩個重點必須傳達。

             一、「罪人」。就是有犯罪傾向的人。雖然行爲上並不明顯，但心裏卻擁有一切犯罪所需的條件：如貪婪、嫉妒、怨恨、說謊、偷竊等。

             二、「罪」。人人都使用過這些條件，犯罪出賣了自己的清白。

             要傳達以上兩點，最有效的方法是見證自己是個有「罪」的「罪人」：我犯了什麼具體的「罪」，那罪怎樣有效的證明我是個「罪人」。只有我們勇敢的敞開承認自己是個罪人，才有資格談論「人人都是罪人」，並勸人認罪。否則，我們只是站在道德之高點，指點別人的不是。難怪人聽見我們談「罪」就反感，因爲無論我們態度多謙卑、多溫柔，都無法遮掩一個事實 – 我們也是罪人。

            其實人人都有犯罪的經驗，只是大家都心照不宣；你不戳穿我，我不戳穿你，大家好保留一個「好樣子」。這張「好樣子」也漸漸使我們信以爲真，對自己的罪麻木。跟人談「罪」，就是要撕破這張臉，但要先向自己下手！

             我們寫得救見證，要多寫如何發現自己是個「罪人」！迫切需要耶穌的救贖。

 

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