Understanding Your Audience

As we talk about gaining an understanding of our audience when we share the Gospel, let us be clear that we NEVER change, alter, or edit the message that God has given us. Although we want to appreciate and be sensitive to the various backgrounds of the people we encounter, we should never try to make the Gospel easier to swallow. The Apostle Paul knew it doesn't matter what type of people hear the Gospel (i.e. Jew or Gentile), there will be people in any group who will reject the Gospel, be offended by the Gospel, and see it as foolish (1 Corinthians 1:22-25). Many people rightly describe the Gospel as "scandalous." When you break it down and think about the different points, the Gospel really is an outrageous story! Even though it's a true story, we should expect people to mock us and ridicule us unless the Holy Spirit works in their hearts. If we try to remove the "scandal" from our message, we will no longer be preaching the Gospel.

Therefore, our goal is ALWAYS to declare the truth of the Gospel with clarity, but as soon as we try to adapt the message and make it more "acceptable" to people, we have compromised it. Remember, the power of salvation is in God's message (Romans 1:16-17), not in any method we use to share it. As we take this message of universal, exclusive truth to a variety of people groups, our question should be: "How can I communicate the Gospel clearly to this specific person in a way that they can understand what God has said?"

The main factor to consider in any form of communication is language. Whether we're using words (spoken or written), signs, symbols, gestures, body posture, facial expressions, etc. everything comes back to language. Thus, we understand why missionaries learn the language of the people in their mission field. It makes sense why Bible translators work hard to provide Scripture for people who don't have it in their own language yet. In the same way, we need to make sure that we are using words that convey the proper meaning even with people who technically speak the same language as us. Many of us are guilty of speaking "Christianese" to people who don't understand what we're talking about. If you grew up in the Church, you may be accustomed to having conversations with people who have a Biblical understanding of who "Jesus" is, what "sin" means, what real "salvation" is all about, etc. But we need to be aware that most people do not understand these terms the same way we do (or the same way the Bible defines them). We must learn how to speak plainly about the truth found in Scripture and define our terms when necessary. You may need to continually ask someone if they are understanding what you're saying. You may need to go back and rephrase what you've just said. Be patient, kind, and loving with your audience as you strive to present the Gospel to them in a clear and understandable way.

There are many other aspects of language we could talk about (like which illustrations are more helpful than others when speaking to a particular people group), but we will finish today's discussion by talking about finding an appropriate starting point with your audience. In the book of Acts, we first see the Apostles preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem, which is clearly a Jewish context. Here, the majority of the audience has a thorough knowledge of the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament). So it makes sense that in Acts 2, 3, 4, & 7 Peter and Stephen quote heavily from the Old Testament to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah (or "Christ" in Greek) and He is the fulfillment of all their people's history, law, and prophecy. Likewise, Paul and Apollos went to Jewish synagogues around the known world and they "reasoned from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ" (Acts 18:5, 28).

But what about the Gentiles ("non-Jews") who did not grow up learning about the one, true God from the Law and the Prophets? In Acts 17:16-34, Paul demonstrates how we can begin to communicate the Gospel to people who do not share the same background as us. He is in the city of Athens and observes the people worshiping many idols. So he spends some time talking with the people of the city in the marketplace to gain an understanding of their perspective as well as share his point of view. When he gets the opportunity to speak before a large audience of Greek philosophers, he does not begin by diving into Jewish history, nor does he bother trying to prove that his God is true and all of their gods are false. Instead, he starts with what he knows about this people group: 1.) they are "very religious" (v.22) and 2.) even though they worship idols, deep down they ALREADY know the true God (Romans 1:18-32). So Paul starts by talking about the nature of God. He is the Creator (v. 24), the Giver of life (v. 25), the Sustainer of life (v. 28). He is sovereign over all humanity (v. 26), yet not distant from the people He has created (v. 27). He concludes by calling the people to repent from worshipping idols made by human hands and turn to God who created THEM. Once Paul begins talking about the resurrection of Jesus, some people mock him (v. 32), but some want to hear more and a few actually believe (v. 34)!

Hopefully it is clear that we must always be faithful to the Gospel message and faithful to call people to repent from their sins and believe the good news. We understand that without God's intervention, it is impossible for anyone to repent from the sin that they love and put their faith in a message that seems so far-fetched. While we trust God rather than any method in evangelism, we must still preach with love, empathy, and consideration for our audience. God is certainly able to save people if all we give them is a few quick bullet points about sin and Jesus followed by a simple command to "Repent and believe!" But that's not the way He's shown us to do it. We need to speak gently to people and show respect for them by finding the appropriate starting point for each individual. The truth of our message doesn't change, but where we begin our discussions will often vary. If the Gospel message offends someone, I can't help that. But if I offend someone with my own arrogance, callous attitude, or disinterested demeanor, then I have wronged them and sinned against God by misrepresenting Christ. As you preach the Gospel to different kinds of people, strive to be Christ's ambassador to best of the ability God has given you (2 Corinthians 5:20).