Randy Newman > Quotes

“we sometimes believe things because we want to, not because they’re true.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“Many things people say about religion are self-refuting. “All religions are true” is a common example. Despite the frequency of this pronouncement—or its many variations—all religions can’t be true. If one religion claims to be the only correct path to God (as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and most other religions do), then a religion that contradicts it cannot be true.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“Sometimes asking a few questions can open the door for more receptive hearts and minds.”
― Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home

“Jesus Himself warned those who professed Him but never possessed Him that they would be greeted with “I never knew you.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“We need to do the same thing today. We need to show people that their atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, or any variety of unbelief rests on foundations that cannot be proven in a laboratory. We want them to be honest about their faith position so we can compare it with our faith position.”
― Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“Sometimes we so desperately want our family to receive our message, we overstate the attractive parts and understate (or totally omit) the unwelcome parts. Given the tilt in our society toward tolerance and positive self-esteem, most everyone will hear only the part about God loving them. “Of course, he loves me,” they’ll think. “Why wouldn’t he?” Any notion of judgment or repentance will seem alien, to say the least. This kind of message may sound good at first, but ultimately, it may inoculate people against the gospel.”
― Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home

“Apparently, God doesn’t want us to know why “bad things happen to good people” because He doesn’t tell us.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“The task of evangelism looks different if we think in this transformed way. Rather than trying to learn all of the right words, have all of the right booklets, anticipate all of the right questions, and memorize all of the right intros and Scripture, we should approach evangelism with wisdom. This means that we become people who incarnate the gospel and speak of it freely because our hearts and minds have been captivated by it. Becoming people of wisdom and compassion is the prerequisite for any evangelistic technique.”
― Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did

“The gospel always divides. And this will always be uncomfortable—for both the evangelist and the listener. While it helps to find common ground, a point will come where our path and our non-Christian relatives’ paths diverge. This is nothing new. People have always bristled at our exclusive gospel. That’s why they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:29). It’s why they stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58). It’s why they tried to kill Paul several times (e.g. Acts 14:19, 21:31). And it may explain why tension fills your family gatherings.”
― Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home

“Showing how a comprehensive gospel illumines all areas of life may be the key that opens a door for relatives who have previously rejected our message.”
― Randy Newman, Bringing the Gospel Home