The Gospel of Christ: A Foreign Language?
[By Brad Turner]

 “Je m…’appelle…Brad?”
“Par – lez…vous, français?”

                                                                        “No hablo francés.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

What a way to start a conversation. Notice a few things about this initial meeting. The first person (myself) has assumed, incorrectly, that the person they are engaged with speaks French, when in reality they speak Spanish! Secondly, notice (and it is hard to communicate this in type) the uncertainty of the first speaker. All of those ellipses represent a pause. Then at the end of the first sentence, which is not a question, it sounds like he is asking a question. Apparently, this guy cannot speak French fluently, and is unsure that what is said is even correct.

Have you tried to learn a second language later in life? It is hard to do. You are so ingrained with your primary language, the alphabet, the slang, and the very use of your throat and the sounds you make, that it is very difficult. You must start very slowly with some vocabulary, then basic nouns, verbs, and tenses, and some easy greetings. Have you ever been to another country, felt confident in your level, then spoke to a native to only have them reply so fast that it was very apparent to you, and them, that you were completely out of your depth? The key, according to most experts, for learning a second language is immersion. You have to hear, read, and speak the language constantly. You must be surrounded by it. At minimum, most say, is fifteen minutes a day of language study. If you know someone who has English as their second language, this is what they will tell you, “I came to this country and watched TV all day. I learned English by watching soap operas, the news, and sit-coms.”

To be fluent in a language would involve not just hacking your way through the written word to figure out what something says, but hearing and understanding, and speaking and being understood!

What has this got to do with our blog? Everything! In our new year theme of evangelism, we are going to try and do better spreading the Gospel of Christ! Guess what? To be effective, we need to be fluent in it. As in the example, we should not make any assumptions about what folks know and don’t know about the Gospel. We must understand, that like learning a second language in adulthood, some will have been “ingrained” in a certain belief their entire life, so it will be very difficult to change! We must also have confidence in what we are saying (not arrogance, not prideful haughtiness)! We do not have to be experts in Greek or Hebrew, but should have a good understanding of the good news of the Gospel. How do we do that? Study! At least fifteen minutes a day, but really it needs to be immersion!

“…receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” – James 1:21b-22, ESV

The KJV reads, “engrafted word.” If something is engrafted or implanted into you – it is a part of you! That can only happen by a process – it takes deliberate action and time. Also notice, we must be doers, not just hearers. It takes practice and practical use. Trying to learn a second language at our desktop or iPad is one thing, but going out and trying to speak, hear, and understand daily usage is a whole other experience.

What if we quit our jobs, and for the 40 hour week of “normal work,” we studied and read our Bibles? That’s what monks did. Now, we cannot just all head up to the mountains to build monasteries, but just “food for thought.” Do we even give the Gospel fifteen minutes a day? Do we “get out there”? That is difficult. Especially if we have trouble engaging in routine conversation with strangers, or being a part of a Bible study where most actually do know quite a bit about the Bible and have notions of what it says and means that might be contrary to you.

Also, think about our initial example. The first person actually approached someone. Even though he was not an expert or fluent, he went up to that other person anyway and started a conversation. We cannot wait to spread the good news until “we all know a lot more.” That will be our whole life! None of us are, or will ever be, experts on God’s Word. We are continually learning our entire lives – always growing! However, we should be careful. We should know enough to not mislead others (inadvertently) or be misled ourselves! That goes back to our training and study. It needs to be based upon the truth, the pure doctrine of Christ.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness” – 2 Timothy 2:15-16, ESV

The KJV reads, “Study to show thyself approved…” There is a right and wrong way to “handle” the word of God. We must be diligent to make sure we are presenting God’s truth as He would want it to be presented and given to others. It is our obligation.

“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 3:14-15, ESV

Eventually, if we work hard, and if we are lucky to have some time to be immersed in another language, we might be able to have a decent conversation with someone in another language. The same goes for the Gospel. That first step, or conversation, may be the key that opens the door for them to ask more questions, or study more, and eventually come to the knowledge of the truth. We will grow by the experience too. It is more than just studying alone and keeping it to ourselves. We have to expand beyond basic vocabulary and simple greetings (i.e. “Ca va?”).

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk and not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” – Hebrews 5:12-14, ESV

So, is the Gospel of Christ, the Word of God, the power to save our souls, a foreign language to us?