What We Must Learn Cannot Be Taught

In my last post, I talked about the need to teach, not just model a faith in Christ. Today I want to follow up that although we need to evangelize and disciple people; there are some things that just cannot be taught, they have to be learned. And that learning usually comes through experience.

You cannot argue someone into heaven. I do not know who said that, I wish I did. It is so true. While we are called to share our faith, it is the drawing of the Holy Spirit that brings someone to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. We bring Christ to people, we do not bring people to Christ. God does the hard part, He just asks us to share His Son with others as Jesus has been shared with us.

Everyone needs to experience the saving power of faith in Christ alone for themselves. It must be learned by each person, but it cannot be taught by any of us.

Take the burden off yourself by presenting Christ to someone who does not have that saving faith. Know that they will learn it by experiencing it for themselves through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

And pray daily that people will learn from you what you cannot teach them.


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Learning by Looking?

"...we do not become rich by seeing a rich stranger."
Blaise Pascal, Pensées

This is a piece of a passage in Pensées, a part of a sentence, but it made me stop and think. Somethings cannot be learned by observation, they need to be taught. I think this applies to how we live our lives and how we evangelize others as to our faith in Jesus Christ. Live to a Christian worldview, live in a Christ-like manner, most definitely. At least, to the extent you can as you struggle with your own sinful nature. It is how you would have others see you model Christ in your life.

But you cannot stop there. Watching try to be a better Christian is not going to help anyone else try to be a Christian. You must evangelize, you must disciple. You must educate and encourage. You must edify and exhort. (You must stop alliterating).

People can learn a lot about you from watching you live your life, but it is more likely going to make them curious as to how you how that inner calm and peace; how is it you get through life's struggles in a way that others watching cannot seem to do.

You need to stop being an object of observation and curiosity and start being a presenter of the good news of Jesus.

Teach by living, yes. But also teach by sharing what he has given you.

Technorati Tags: Blaise Pascal, Pensées, Jesus, discipling, evangelizing, living