How to Present the Gospel be clear

Transcription

1 The Presentation How to Present the Gospel be clear If you are going to be consistent and effective in evangelism, you must have a basic method you use for sharing the gospel. The Bad News/Good News is a clear, biblical, and simple way that has been proven to be very effective. You can take this simple method, adapt it to your personality and style, and share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, and anytime. The Bad News/ Good News Opening Question Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can know you re going to heaven? May I? ***Remember: Get permission to proceed. Be tactful and gracious. Ask if you may show them. 1 1

2 Transition Point The Bible contains both bad news and good news. The bad news is something about you and me, and the good news is something about God. Let s discuss the bad news first. Bad News/ Good News Clear Clear on the gospel message and clear in presenting the gospel. Simple The Bible is 66 books but the gospel message is one sentence this focuses on the simple message of the Bible. Memorable You can learn it quickly and retain it to use as the Spirit leads. Biblical It is grounded in the Scriptures and the message of grace. Flexible Easily adaptable to you and the situation you find yourself in when prompted to share the gospel. Bad News #1 We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Illustration: The Rock When the Bible says that you and I have sinned, it means that we lie, we lust, we hate, we murder, etc. The word sin in the Bible actually means to miss the mark. In other words, God is perfect and we aren t. Let me explain. Suppose each of us was to pick up a rock, and I say to you, We ll throw our rocks and hit the North Pole. Well, you might throw farther than I, or I might throw farther than you, but neither of us would hit the North Pole. Both of us would fall short. When the Bible says, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, it means that God has set a standard. That standard is God Himself. A holy God has requirements for a relationship with Him that none of us can meet. We need to be as holy as He is holy, as perfect as He is perfect. But it doesn t matter how religiously we live, how good we are, or how hard we work; we cannot meet that standard. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 2

3 Bad News #2 The penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 23 The wages of sin is death. Illustration: Wages Suppose you were to work for me and I paid you fifty dollars. Fifty dollars would be your wages. That s what you ve earned. The Bible is saying that because you and I have sinned, we have earned death. We are going to die and be eternally separated from God. Transition Point Since there was no way you could come to God, the Bible says that God decided to come to you. Good News #1 Christ died for you. Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Illustration: Cancer Let s say that you were in the hospital dying of cancer. I could come to you and say, I want to do something for you. We ll take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body. What would happen to me? (pause) Right! I would die. What would happen to you? (pause) Right! You would live. Why? (pause) Yes! Because I took the thing that was causing your death and placed it upon myself, and I died as your substitute. The Bible is saying that Christ came into the world. He took the penalty for sin that was causing your death and he placed it upon Himself. He actually died in your place. He was your substitute! The third day, He rose to prove His claims to be God were true; He rose to prove that sin and death had been conquered. 3

4 Good News #2 You can be saved through faith in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, 9 it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Illustration: The Chair The word grace means undeserved or unmerited favor. Saved means to be rescued or delivered from the penalty of sin. Now you may be wondering, What is faith? The word faith means trust. For example, you weren t here when that chair was made, and you didn t examine how it was built before you sat in it. You are simply trusting the chair to hold you. Putting your faith in Christ means trusting Him to save you not trusting your church membership, your good life, or your baptism to get you to heaven, but trusting Christ and Him alone. Your trust has to be in the one who died for you and arose. It is then that God gives you heaven as a free gift. Concluding Question Is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ right now? ***Remember to ask them this question. Many do not come to Christ because they are never invited. If they say that there are issues, have them list them so that you can show them how much you care about them by finding answers. Decision to Trust Christ Would you like to pray right now and tell God you are trusting His Son as your Savior? *** Remember that it is not the prayer that saves, but Christ and Christ alone. Prayer is simply the means by which we tell God what we are doing. 4

5 Assurance John 5:24 24 Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Look at the verbs in this statement of assurance and ask the following questions: He who hears my words Did you do that? And believes in Him who sent Me Did you believe what God said and trust Christ as your Savior? Has everlasting life Does that mean later or right now? And shall not come into judgment Does that say shall not or might not? But has passed from death into life Does that say shall pass or has passed? ***Remember to explain eternal life is assured on the basis of fact, not a feeling, a date in time, or a prayer. The Three Circles Sometimes you may find it necessary to clarify the object of their faith what are they trusting in to get them to heaven? W C+W C Works Christ + Works Christ 5

6 Draw 3 circles on a piece of paper. In the left circle, put W for works. Inside the center circle, put C + W for Christ plus works, and inside the right circle, put a C for Christ alone. Then explain, Some people trust their works to get them to heaven the good things they have done. Some trust Christ plus works, and some trust Christ alone. Where are you? The average person who does not understand points to the center circle, C + W. But here s the problem.if you re trusting works to get you to heaven you are saying to God Your Son s death on the cross was unnecessary! Write the word unnecessary below the W circle. After all, if anything you do gets you to heaven, there was no need for Him to die for you. If you are trusting Christ plus works, you are saying to God that your Son s death was disappointing. Write the word disappointing under the C + W circle. In other words, He paid for those sins and I have to pay for these. He didn t get the job done. If you are trusting Christ alone, you are saying to God, your Son s death was sufficient. Write the word sufficient under the C circle. John 19:30 30 It is finished! You don t get to heaven on the basis of Christ PLUS You get to heaven on the basis of Christ PERIOD! Christ made the full payment for our sins, not the down payment. 6

7 Being clear in your gospel presentation is just as important as being clear on the gospel message, so remember: 1. Make a decision to of sharing the gospel. 2. Make a method. 3. Make sure it contains a message. 4. Make the issue. The message of the gospel never changes, but the method of sharing it has to. Knowing the Bad News/Good News method will not lead anyone to Christ. Only presenting the gospel will do that. May God help you not just to know it, but to present it as well. REFLECTION Reflect on this poem and ask God to help make it a reality in your life. When I stand in that Heavenly city, and saints around me appear, I hope someone comes up and says, You re the one who invited me here. Memorize: The 4 points of the Bad News/ Good News presentation Bad News #1 We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 The Rock Bad News #2 The penalty for sin is death.romans 6:23 Wages Good News #1 Christ died for you. Romans 5:8 Cancer Good News #2 You can be saved through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 The Chair 7