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Past Ponderings

Monday, July 9, 2018

PONDERING... How Do I Share The Gospel?

          It was brought to my attention that several people were terrified to share the Gospel with others because they had no idea where to even start. Melissa asked that I put together a quick little handout with some thoughts to help with this. We passed these out at church yesterday. 
          Let me clarify: I am terrified too. It's not easy because we're still scared sinners by nature. Yet, if telling someone about the salvation found in Jesus is the most important thing we can ever do, then we should probably be thinking about how to do it! This is by no means meant to be a script, but just food for thought. 
          [Also, I read a book called "Sharing Jesus Without Fear" several years ago. While I did not reference this text when compiling this handout, I am sure there are similarities in the outline because it really impacted me. ]
How Do I Share The Gospel?
I know sharing the Gospel is scary. It is easy to feel unprepared or ill-equipped. The purpose of this handout is just to give you a few possible “outlines” for how you could share the gospel with someone. I’m going to divide this into two parts: 1. How to start a conversation about the gospel, and 2. How to present the gospel.

Tips For Starting A Conversation With Someone About The Gospel
1. Do you go to church anywhere, or have you ever? I think for our area, this is a great starting point. This is the “Bible-Belt”. Most people have some kind of “church experience”. Unfortunately, not all of it will be positive. Ask this question because you really want to know who they are and where they are coming from.

2. Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? If so, how would you get to either of these places? This will tell you a lot about what they actually believe. They might say, “I don’t believe in Heaven or Hell.” In which case, I would recommend just being hypothetical “if you did believe, how do you think you’d get there?” However, most people do believe in some kind of afterlife.

3. What do you think about Jesus? Here’s the turning point! What you think about Jesus is the most important thing about you!

4. What do you think about Jesus’ claim to be the only way to Heaven? John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is the gospel: we need Jesus to be saved.

5. Would you mind if I showed you what the Bible has to say about this? If they agree, walk them through the points on the opposite side of this paper. If not, quickly summarize the gospel (everyone needs to hear the truth): Jesus loves you, and died to forgive your sins. Believing in Him and giving Him control is how you can be saved. Then ask if you can pray with them...and genuinely pray for their needs.

Tips for Sharing the Gospel With Someone
There are so many ways to do this, but here are just a few tips. If you have the chance to lead someone to Christ, don’t be afraid of “not knowing what to say”. Just walk them through the Gospel. Here are two possible ways:

Using the Romans Road
1. God is holy and loving. God is holy, so He can’t just be “ok” with our sin. But, He’s also loving, so He did something about it.
2. We are sinners deserving Hell. Romans 3:23, "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Romans 6:23, "23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
3. Jesus willingly died in our place, taking our punishment on Himself. Romans 5:8, "8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
4. If you believe in Him and give Him control of your life, you will be saved. Romans 10:9, "9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Praying for Salvation: After that, ask them if they believe these truths. If not, spend time talking about what they are struggling with. If they do believe, ask if they want to accept this free gift of salvation. In Romans 10:13 it says, 13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." They don’t have to pray any particular words, if they truly believe that He is who He claims to be, they just need to confess their sins and ask Him to be their Savior.
Give them a Bible:  Romans 10:17 says,  “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." We need to be in the Word. Make sure they have a Bible and invite them to come to church with you. Even if they have another church home, make sure you make plans to follow up with them. That’s discipleship! ☺️

Sharing the Gospel Just Using John 3:16:
  1. God is holy and loving.  For God so loved
  2. We are sinners deserving Hell. the world” Why would he die if we didn’t need saving?
  3. Jesus willingly died in our place, taking our punishment on Himself. “that He gave His only Son”
  4. If you believe in Him and give Him control of your life, you will be saved. “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

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