Elevator Pitch
If I had to “sell” someone on why they should follow God, what would I say? I have given the idea of an elevator pitch a lot of thought lately — a short, but powerful, presentation that captures the heart of the Message in five minutes or less. But how do I summarize 66 books into five minutes or less? I guess I would start with John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
A dear friend of mine once explained this core message of the Bible like this. God created humans, and humans rebelled against their Creator. Because of this, the relationship between man and God was severed. In response, God sent His Son– who we know as Jesus– to Earth, to be our sacrifice and take on the death penalty we deserved, so that we could be reunited with God.
But there’s a response asked of us. We need to accept this sacrifice — accept Christ as our Savior from sin. And then, we surrender – we die as well. To better reflect Christ in us. So, we die to our old selves, just like Christ died for us.
If you’re not familiar with the idea of “dying” to yourself, you might be wondering, "What is she talking about?" It’s really quite simple. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins because our sins deserve death. His death and resurrection made Jesus our Savior. We are now free from death and can have a relationship with God if we acknowledge what Jesus did for us. Then, as Christians, we make it a point to stop living in sin.
Are you still with me?
That means all those sinful desires you have: gossiping, sexual immorality, drunkenness, hatred, etc., (Galatians 5:19-21) – you give them up. Maybe not because your flesh wants to, but because you love God more than yourself. You put His desires above yours to bring glory to your Creator and grow your relationship with Him.
So, news flash, Christians are not sinless, nor does God expect us to be. But we aim to live in a way that aligns with God’s will, being intentional not to sin. We try to copy our lives to look as closely as humanly possible to the perfect life that Jesus lived which is shown to us in the gospels. The Holy Spirit helps us.
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in guiding and empowering us to live out this calling. The Spirit works within us, convicting us of sin and leading us toward righteousness (John 16:8-10, 13). It's through the Holy Spirit that we gain the strength to overcome our weaknesses and grow more like Christ. You receive the Holy Spirit by accepting Jesus as your Savior. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Yeah, if I didn’t lose you before, I might have lost you there. “She wants me to stop doing what I want? I love God, but I’m not willing to stop doing what I’m doing. I want to keep living for myself.” Well, that’s your choice. God wants you to come to Him. In fact He’s waiting for you with arms wide open, but He won’t force you to accept His love.
You really only have two choices in life: believe in God, accept Jesus’ sacrifice, love Him enough to reject sin, and live a new life for Him, OR live a life that pleases you but leads to death. The first choice is, of course, the harder one. It is unfortunately the one fewer people pick. But it’s the best choice (Matthew 7:13-14).
Before we step off this elevator, I want to acknowledge that I know it’s not easy. Trust me, I get it. It’s hard to give up sin. But continuing in sin is a prison; however, the door isn’t locked, and sometimes we don’t even realize it is a prison at all. But if you don’t walk out that door, you’ll die in that cell.
To anyone reading this, I hope you choose option one. Or, at the very least, I hope you’re open to exploring it. We’d love to explore it with you because an elevator ride isn’t nearly enough time. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are what we call the Gospels. They are four different accounts describing what Jesus said and did while on earth. My recommendation to anyone starting off reading the Bible is to start there.
The team and I would love to join you on this journey. Please reach out to us – info@builtup.org.
