Every Christ-follower should be able to very simply tell another person how they can become a Christian. Articulating the gospel cannot be limited to preacher types and/or those with a theological education. We are all called to be salt and light, which includes being able to share God's plan of salvation when the Holy Spirit provides an opportunity.There are many different ways to share the good news of Jesus, but whatever way you choose it should be true to Scripture (otherwise it's not the gospel, right) and not come across as rote and rehearsed. While getting the message out is urgent, we want to share it in a natural and relaxed manner.
One simple way is to use John 3:16. You probably already know it by heart and it needs little explanation. Let's break it down.
For God so loved the world... You're a part of the world, so that means God loves YOU -- He really does! He is not sitting up there just waiting to zap you. If that was His plan, He would have taken you out long ago.
...that He gave His only Son... The Bible makes it clear that all have sinned. The very best person you know has sinned. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for your sin. God is perfectly just so every sin has to be paid for. We either pay for it ourselves, or we allow Jesus to take our punishment for us.
...that whoever believes in Him should not perish... To believe in Jesus means to trust in Him. We turn over our lives to Him and allow Him to call all the shots. When we do that, we will not perish, which means we will not die eternally and we will not spend eternity in hell.
...but have eternal life. From the moment we trust Jesus, God comes to live inside us. He gives us what we need to live this life the very best it can be lived, and when this life is over we go to spend eternity with God in heaven.
To trust Christ you simply repent of your sin (which means to turn you back on your old way of living only for self) and put the full weight of your existence on Jesus Christ.
There's no doubt that you can do what I just did. You certainly don't have to use the exact explanations that I used. Remember, we don't save anyone. It's not our power of persuasion that will drag people over the line of faith. Salvation is of God. We are just the mouthpiece. The most important thing for us to do is to be faithful to Scripture and to genuinely love the person we're sharing with. God takes care of the rest.
When God's words flow through His people expressing His love, miracles happen! According to God's sovereignty, people who are dead in sin are made alive in Christ!
John 3:16 was the first Bible verse I learned by heart and I've cherished it since. It's the perfect mini-gospel, if you will, to explain to people about the love of Christ. It's all there. Now if only I especially can get past my fear of talking to people about God. I don't know what it is about the physical act of witnessing, but it is so difficult for many of us to make ourselves do. For me it's the knowledge of the radical responses some people have to talking about God. That, and my morbid fear of being 'put on the spot.' Thankfully whenever I have told people about Christ, the Holy Spirit has been there to guide me.
ReplyDeleteHey, Jeff, thanks for the comment. Very few people don't get nervous sharing the gospel. I know I sure get nervous. But your last sentence is so true. If we will simply make ourselves available, the Holy Spirit really does take over. It helps to remember that sharing Christ is/should be an outgrowth of genuinely loving people. We're not out to "get another notch on our gun."
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