God and the Chess Game
Sharing the gospel can be difficult.
In the past, I struggled to talk to other Christians about the gospel, let alone Non-Christians. Firstly, I didn't know much about the gospel, so there wasn't much I could say about it. And, on top of that, I didn't know how to discuss the topic, without there being all kinds of questions asked that I didn't know how to answer.
Questions like: If there is a God then why does he allow suffering, isn't he supposed to be loving? and How can you believe in God rather than evolution? And then that would be my argument lost. I thought those questions were too big, too sensitive. So, I had a problem. How could I answer those questions, and have people see the grace of God that I knew to be true?...
Well, I can now answer both of those questions and more (which I will do in future blogs), which has given life to the way I share the gospel. Important - below is the way I learnt to share the gospel, using a method designed by The Last Reformation organisation, called 'Cups' - https://thelastreformation.com/ All credit goes to them for this brilliant method!
Let's pretend we're playing a game of chess, you and I.
I make a move, then what do you do?
You make a move also.
So I make another move.
You do the same.
But then, I make two moves in a row. Can I do that?
No. Why? Because there are rules. We take it in turns.
The same is true of mankind's' relationship with God.
God made the first move, he created the world. Mankind made the next move and they sinned... Which isn't so great. But before we go any further, it's important to go back to the beginning.
In the beginning God created the world, and it was beautiful and without sin. In the Garden of Eden he created two trees, that stood out among the rest. One was the tree of life, and the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God also created the first human beings; Adam and Eve. God loved them and they had an open relationship with God, because they were without sin. God's only command to them, was that they not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if they did that then they would learn what evil was and it would taint their sinless lives.
One day the devil came to them, in the form of a snake, and convinced them to eat from the tree. Because they did this, they sinned against God, and their relationship with him became closed. God could not keep them in the garden, because if they then ate from the tree of life, they would live forever and so would sin. God is Holy, so sin cannot be near him, because of this he cast them from the garden, to Earth.
Adam and Eve had children, and their children had children and so on and so on. These human beings killed each other, stole from one another and committed many other sins. Thousands of years later, and here we all are, in the 21st century.
We are surrounded by sin every day. We see people being killed, thieves stealing, diseases killing people, people committing adultery and many more things. This is a sinful world. But you may look at yourself and think, I'm ok, because I haven't killed anyone. I haven't stolen anything. So, I'm fairly good. Not like that guy or that girl. Compared to them I look pretty good. However, you are comparing yourself to other people who have also sinned.
Imagine I lie to a child, they can't really do anything about it. They probably won't even realise I've lied. If I lie to my partner, then I could get into trouble and we could have an argument. If I lie to my boss, then I could get fired. If I lie to a judge, then I could go to prison. But, one day, I am going to be standing in front of a Holy God, and he is going to judge me and my life. I won't have anyone else there to blame. It will just be me, and my Father in Heaven, who already knows my heart.
You see, you must think about who you are actually sinning against. God said that if you have committed one sin, then you are guilty of them all (James 2:10). Whenever we sin, we sin against God; because he has told us not to.
Imagine also, that I have videoed all of your memories, throughout your life. All of the good things, but also all of the things that you are ashamed of and feel guilty about, and I put that video online so everyone can watch it. How would that make you feel? Pretty awful and embarrassed, I'm sure. But that's being watched by other people who have also sinned. God is without sin, and he sees what you do each and every day. There is no hiding it from him.
So, God has a problem. He loves us, despite all our sin, and he wants a relationship with us. So what does he do?
He sends us Jesus.
Now Jesus lived on Earth, and he preached the gospel, healed the sick, cast out demons and spread the good news of God. Jesus had an open relationship with God because he was without sin. Jesus was also baptised in water. God sent the world Jesus, so that he would die for the forgiveness of our sin. Jesus was buried, and then, after three days, was resurrected and he returned to his disciples. He told them to go out and make more disciples. He told them to do what he did: heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel and tell everyone about God. After this he went up to Heaven to be with God. But he sent us the Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance" (Ephesians 1: 13).
Jesus tells us to repent of our sins. Repentance is not just saying you're sorry for what you have done, and asking for forgiveness. It also requires you to move away from that sin and not to return to it. When we ask for forgiveness and truly repent, then God can enter into our lives.
Jesus also told us to be baptised in water. If we sin, then we become a slave to it and our physical body dies. So what do you do with a dead body? You bury it. In baptism you are 'buried' under water, to show that your old, sinful body dies away, and then you are brought back up, as a new creation. You are also filled with the Holy Spirit. And we don't just get a little bit of the Holy Spirit, we get all of it, the same amount that Jesus had. With the Holy Spirit inside you, you can do what Jesus asked us all to do: to go out in faith, and heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the gospel. But will you do it?
Back to our chess game.
So, we have already established that God created the world. His move.
Mankind sinned. Our move.
God sent us Jesus, who died to forgive our sins. His move.
Whose move is it next?
In the past, I struggled to talk to other Christians about the gospel, let alone Non-Christians. Firstly, I didn't know much about the gospel, so there wasn't much I could say about it. And, on top of that, I didn't know how to discuss the topic, without there being all kinds of questions asked that I didn't know how to answer.
Questions like: If there is a God then why does he allow suffering, isn't he supposed to be loving? and How can you believe in God rather than evolution? And then that would be my argument lost. I thought those questions were too big, too sensitive. So, I had a problem. How could I answer those questions, and have people see the grace of God that I knew to be true?...
Well, I can now answer both of those questions and more (which I will do in future blogs), which has given life to the way I share the gospel. Important - below is the way I learnt to share the gospel, using a method designed by The Last Reformation organisation, called 'Cups' - https://thelastreformation.com/ All credit goes to them for this brilliant method!
Let's pretend we're playing a game of chess, you and I.
I make a move, then what do you do?
You make a move also.
So I make another move.
You do the same.
But then, I make two moves in a row. Can I do that?
No. Why? Because there are rules. We take it in turns.
The same is true of mankind's' relationship with God.
God made the first move, he created the world. Mankind made the next move and they sinned... Which isn't so great. But before we go any further, it's important to go back to the beginning.
In the beginning God created the world, and it was beautiful and without sin. In the Garden of Eden he created two trees, that stood out among the rest. One was the tree of life, and the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God also created the first human beings; Adam and Eve. God loved them and they had an open relationship with God, because they were without sin. God's only command to them, was that they not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if they did that then they would learn what evil was and it would taint their sinless lives.
One day the devil came to them, in the form of a snake, and convinced them to eat from the tree. Because they did this, they sinned against God, and their relationship with him became closed. God could not keep them in the garden, because if they then ate from the tree of life, they would live forever and so would sin. God is Holy, so sin cannot be near him, because of this he cast them from the garden, to Earth.
Adam and Eve had children, and their children had children and so on and so on. These human beings killed each other, stole from one another and committed many other sins. Thousands of years later, and here we all are, in the 21st century.
We are surrounded by sin every day. We see people being killed, thieves stealing, diseases killing people, people committing adultery and many more things. This is a sinful world. But you may look at yourself and think, I'm ok, because I haven't killed anyone. I haven't stolen anything. So, I'm fairly good. Not like that guy or that girl. Compared to them I look pretty good. However, you are comparing yourself to other people who have also sinned.
Imagine I lie to a child, they can't really do anything about it. They probably won't even realise I've lied. If I lie to my partner, then I could get into trouble and we could have an argument. If I lie to my boss, then I could get fired. If I lie to a judge, then I could go to prison. But, one day, I am going to be standing in front of a Holy God, and he is going to judge me and my life. I won't have anyone else there to blame. It will just be me, and my Father in Heaven, who already knows my heart.
You see, you must think about who you are actually sinning against. God said that if you have committed one sin, then you are guilty of them all (James 2:10). Whenever we sin, we sin against God; because he has told us not to.
Imagine also, that I have videoed all of your memories, throughout your life. All of the good things, but also all of the things that you are ashamed of and feel guilty about, and I put that video online so everyone can watch it. How would that make you feel? Pretty awful and embarrassed, I'm sure. But that's being watched by other people who have also sinned. God is without sin, and he sees what you do each and every day. There is no hiding it from him.
So, God has a problem. He loves us, despite all our sin, and he wants a relationship with us. So what does he do?
He sends us Jesus.
Now Jesus lived on Earth, and he preached the gospel, healed the sick, cast out demons and spread the good news of God. Jesus had an open relationship with God because he was without sin. Jesus was also baptised in water. God sent the world Jesus, so that he would die for the forgiveness of our sin. Jesus was buried, and then, after three days, was resurrected and he returned to his disciples. He told them to go out and make more disciples. He told them to do what he did: heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel and tell everyone about God. After this he went up to Heaven to be with God. But he sent us the Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance" (Ephesians 1: 13).
Jesus tells us to repent of our sins. Repentance is not just saying you're sorry for what you have done, and asking for forgiveness. It also requires you to move away from that sin and not to return to it. When we ask for forgiveness and truly repent, then God can enter into our lives.
Jesus also told us to be baptised in water. If we sin, then we become a slave to it and our physical body dies. So what do you do with a dead body? You bury it. In baptism you are 'buried' under water, to show that your old, sinful body dies away, and then you are brought back up, as a new creation. You are also filled with the Holy Spirit. And we don't just get a little bit of the Holy Spirit, we get all of it, the same amount that Jesus had. With the Holy Spirit inside you, you can do what Jesus asked us all to do: to go out in faith, and heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the gospel. But will you do it?
Back to our chess game.
So, we have already established that God created the world. His move.
Mankind sinned. Our move.
God sent us Jesus, who died to forgive our sins. His move.
Whose move is it next?
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