Just Walk Across the Room – What happens when we encounter people’s barriers?

Sometimes we run into people that have barriers to accepting the gospel and they don’t even know it. For instance, Jesus encountered some barriers with the the rich young ruler in Luke 18.

The ruler was a wealthy man, and a young man. His eyes were set on religious matters – on teachers, eternal life, good deeds. He had the look of a seeker: he seemed willing to listen and eager to learn. He seemed a disciple-in-the-making.

But his story has a dark end. It was he that inspired Jesus famous words “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom.” Luke was there to watch the unfolding of this man’s confrontation with Christ. He had some barriers to the gospel … how many of us actually walk across the room – but then we experience barriers that discourages us from ever sharing our faith again … What kind of barriers did he have?

The 1st barrier: He didn’t understand that Jesus was God in the flesh.

You can see this when Jesus responded to the ruler – Why do you call me good? (as in good teacher)

He didn’t realize who he was talking to. The ruler viewed Jesus as a moral man, a man of insight and depth, but he didn’t see that Jesus was God. As C.S. Lewis taught – Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. He cannot be only another teacher.

The 2nd barrier: He didn’t see his own faults

Jesus was trying to get him to see his inner heart of pride when he asked to go and sell all that he had and follow Him. But, sadly, his pride gripped his heart.

The 3rd barrier: He misunderstood God’s plan of salvation

“What good thing must I do to have eternal life?” There is no good thing. Only to believe on Jesus Christ as Savior. As wealthy as he must have been, he was spiritually bankrupt, and didn’t understand that there was nothing that he could do to earn salvation. He needed to let Jesus take the reigns of his life.

The 4th barrier: He left

Instead of learning something new and fresh from Jesus about spiritual things, he chose to leave. Many people today are closed to learning new things – especially when it comes to spiritual things. Therefore, they often miss out on what God is trying to show them – often right there in front of them.

Do you have any of these barriers to the gospel yourself? If you meet someone with one of more of these barriers, what should you do when you walk across the room to them? (SEE NEXT BLOG)