Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - High Stakes Fishing - #8341

Thursday, August 20, 2009

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My Dad loved to fish, and he always made a big deal about having the right bait—fresh minnows, the right kind of worms. Two things he never tried. He never just put a bare hook in the water and said, “Here, fishy, fishies.” And even though we all liked pizza a lot, he never tried to catch fish with a slice of pizza on the hook. I’ve never eaten a worm, I don’t ever plan to, but sure enough, that’s what my Dad put on the hook and he caught fish!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and it’s interesting that the mission Jesus called Peter and his friends to was “fishing for men.” As professional fishermen, they knew what would bring people to Jesus—you use bait that they would be attracted to. There was no one more uncompromising about the Gospel message than the Apostle Paul. But he also said he was always willing to change the package the Gospel comes in, depending on his audience. He said when he was with a Jewish audience he’d use a Jewish approach. When he was with folks who didn’t know God’s Word, he’d use a more non-religious approach. His final conclusion: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22 ).

Often the reason we have so little impact on the people who need our Jesus is that either we offer a bare, religious hook, or we insist on a hook that’s baited with the methods and music that we like, that we’re comfortable with, and they stay lost. Hey, this is high stakes fishing; there are eternities at stake. Let’s never water down the Gospel, but let’s not be afraid to wrap it in the package that the fish will come to!

This radio program references: 1 Corinthians 9:22