Do you have favorite teachers and authors? Are you prone to accept what they say with less scrutiny than others? On the other hand, are you skeptical of those without a ‘name’ and reputation, and more prone to reject what they say? I am not a respecter of persons and you should not be either, but I know this is hard for you. I promised that if you seek you would find. If you love the truth then seek it and rejoice when you find it. It doesn’t matter whose voice speaks it, or whose pen writes it down.

How do you see evangelism? Like sales or marketing? These are common activities you are familiar with, but is proclaiming the gospel message just like selling a product? Do you see it as a secretary making appointments for the boss? Your task is to introduce people to me, or facilitate their encounters with me. In the corporate world, a prudent secretary knows who should have access to the boss and when, and a wise boss will trust the secretary and honor the appointments. I have given you the authority to act as my secretary. If you make appointments for me I will honor them.

Are you familiar with the difference between junk food and real food? Junk food is loaded with calories but not much else. It doesn’t have the essential nutrients you need. Do you think there is a corresponding parallel between real faith and junk faith? Real faith is transformative and the process this involves is unsettling. Do you know believers who are secure and comfortable and in whom there doesn’t appear to be any growth or change taking place? If your faith isn’t challenging you to move forward then how much nourishment are you deriving from it? Let me be your dietitian.

If I received Abraham on the basis of his belief, and nothing that you currently think of as essential doctrine had been developed yet, then what did he believe? His belief was not based around a list of assertions, but in a living God. He believed me, and acted in response. You describe your faith as a relationship with me. Doesn’t this approach seem more relational than assent to a list of propositions, even if they are true? I challenged my audience to search the scriptures in which they thought they had eternal life, to see that they testified of me. Come to me and live.