Equip Sessions

Common Misconceptions

• Address Common misconceptions 
• The Intellectual Only gospel = This person can recite John 3:16 but the gospel hasn’t transformed their heart & lives.
• The Good Ole Boy gospel = This person believes that being a good person is enough. They don’t understand the wages of sin or their need for a Savior.
• The Prosperity gospel = This person believes that Jesus guarantees a happy, healthy life with no troubles. They refuse to believe Jesus’ teaching in John 16:33.
• The Self-Help gospel = This person has a small view of sin & believes that sin is not the issue, just AN issue. Therefore, they don’t really need a Savior, just to channel their inner good and be a better person. This distortion plays on our self-esteem & feelings.
• The Works Based gospel = This person believes that faith alone is not enough for salvation. We need to add something to it: good works, rule following, traditions, etc. But we cannot add one thing to the saving work and person of Jesus Christ. 
• The License to Sin gospel = This person believes that Jesus is their righteousness and perfection, so they can live however they want because in the end, they’re saved! They use God’s grace as a license to sin. However, Paul says in Romans 6 that we have been set free from the lifestyle of sin to live for Christ. To follow Jesus is to turn away from sin. 
• The Overnight Perfection Gospel = This person believes that salvation equals immediate perfection. In their eyes, salvation immediately eliminates all sin and struggles in our lives. This person has a misunderstanding of the process of salvation: justification, sanctification, & glorification. 

Common Next Steps

• Live the Gospel: Often in the Bible, we see Paul tell believers to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. What he means is that we never move past the gospel. As we continually reflect on God’s grace, it fuels everything we do. How we live. How we talk. How we treat others. The purpose of our lives. Everything in our lives is shaped by Christ: Who He is & What He’s done. Talk to them about what it looks like to really live our lives in response to the gospel. 
• Share the Gospel: When we become a Christian, we are empowered with the heart of God for people and entrusted with the gospel message. And this message is the power of God for salvation to all people. And here’s the crazy reality, statistics show that most church goers never share the gospel. How in the world can we have the cure for mankind terminal sickness and not share it. God’s heart is that we would be his rescue team to the world. He’s given us the incredible privilege of being a part of His mission to reconcile people back to himself.