How to Share the Gospel and Lead People to Christ...

Chapter Seventy-six:

Believers are oftentimes unsure how to share the good news of the Gospel, how to talk to an unbeliever with the intention of leading them into a new relationship with Jesus Christ.  I learned many years ago, while doing street ministry in Denver, Colorado, a very helpful way of using the Bible to talk to an unbeliever about their need for Jesus Christ.  For ease of learning, I will lay it out in a systematic, understandable way.  The premise is that the discussion must begin with the fact that the person you are talking to does believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, as it is the Scriptures that are to be used to show a person their need for Christ for eternal salvation.  Once you have laid the foundation of the Bible being accurate and true, you can then proceed to use Scripture to follow a step-by-step way of sharing the Gospel message with another.

First, you’ll want to establish with the person that they are a spiritual being that, regardless of how they live today,  will live forever, and that they should seriously consider that fact.  First John 5:13 reads, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life".  Using this verse shows that our lives will have a never-ending span to them, and how our choices in this life will lead to our eternal destiny.  In the context in which this verse was written, its purpose was to give assurance to believers that they have eternal life through faith in Jesus, encouraging them to continue to believe in Him and grow in their faith

 Second, the hearer needs to learn the fact that as well as there being eternal life for those who choose to follow Christ, there will also be eternal separation from God, and anything that is good, for those who do not become followers of Christ. In order to get the person to evaluate their life and accept their sinful nature, Romans 6:23 is a good Scripture to share.  It reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  John 8:24 reads, “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”  This is the account of Jesus saying to the Jewish religious leaders, and the surrounding crowd, that they would die in their sins unless they believed  "I am He", referring to His divine nature and identity as God.

Third, you need to share that God has made a way for mankind, a provision, to receive eternal life in order to be rescued from their sinful nature, and ultimately spend eternity with Him.  Mark 10:45 reads, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many". This verse emphasizes that Jesus's death was a voluntary sacrifice, paid as a "ransom" to redeem people from the captivity of sin. 

Many people believe that there are many roads that lead to heaven, but in John 14:6 Jesus explicitly states "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  Some see this as being a very intolerant, unloving statement to believe, that there's only one way to get into heaven. But Scripture does warn us that this is true.  During Jesus' delivering of the Sermon on the Mount he warned "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13,14).    He was referring to the fact that is only by accepting his death  on the Cross that one can find the narrow way that leads to eternal life. There is only one way into heaven!

 Fourth, explain that in the years before Christ’s appearance on the earth (the Old Testament period) the sacrifice of animal blood was required (by The Law of Moses, also known as the Mosaic Covenant) in order to cleanse a person, or even a nation, of their sin.  Leviticus 17:11 reads, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.”  

 In the beginning, animal sacrifices were made, but when Jesus Christ came, he became the blood sacrifice for all mankind, a sacrifice that made animal sacrifices no longer necessary in God’s eyes.  God sees the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross as being all encompassing, all sufficient, and the final sacrifice which covers the sins of those who will turn to Christ and follow Him.  When we read Hebrews 9:28b, it states, “...so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him”.  We are reminded that Christ paid the price for all humanity, once and for all.

 Fifth, given that the nature of man is to think we need to be good enough in order to work our way into heaven, or that we actually think we can work our way into heaven, we’re reminded in Ephesians 2:8 that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  Salvation is a gift! 

 Romans 3:20 reads, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”   This verse is a good reminder that no one can be good enough to get into heaven.  God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to give to the people of Israel to follow, and in so doing, it ultimately showed that no one is able to keep them.  Christ uses the example of adultery when in Matthew 5:28,29 he said “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  He was showing how that even if one thinks they are outwardly not living in sin, sin is something that can be done in dark of one’s heart.

 

 

 Sixth, its important that the person understand the need for repentance is paramount to one having a born again experience with God.  Sadly many think that all they have to do is believe in God, but Scripture tells us in James 2:19,  “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”   Just believing in God, or in Christ, doesn’t meet the need to be born again. Christ told Nicodemus in John 3:3  “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again".   In order to be born again, one needs to come with in an attitude of repentance.  Acts 3:19 reads, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”  Repentance is simply deciding you’ll no longer live your life the way you want, that you’ll change direction and that you’ll allow Christ to lead you.

Seventh, the person will need reassurance that they can truly have their sins forgiven by God.  This is important as the enemy, Satan, will try to convince them, should they accept Christ,  that they are still unworthy of being a follower of Christ.   Ephesians 1:7 reads, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." Second Corinthians 5:21 reads, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  This verse describes an exchange: Christ, who was without sin, took on the punishment for human sin, so that believers in Him can receive God's perfect righteousness. 

Eighth, lays out the simple requirement for one to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Romans 10:9 reads “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  It’s that simple.  Don’t add any rituals, doctrines or other man made ways to the way to get into heaven,. All that is required is that a person declares with their mouth, and believes in their heart that Christ was crucified and raised from the dead, and that He is now their Lord!  It’s Jesus… plus nothing! Always!

 Finally, when he/she has accepted the Lord as their Savior, explain how they are now a new creation, a new person, in God’s eyes, and in their life going forward.  Second Corinthians 5:17 reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!”.   First John 4:4 reminds us  “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  The new believer is now a new creation, having passed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and the spirit that now lives within him/her is stronger than any powers of darkness, as they are now co-heirs with Christ.

At this point, you will want to direct the new Christian to purchase a Bible and study it. A good place to begin reading is the Gospel of John. I recommend you have them get an actual physical Bible as AI has been slowly changing some wording in Bible apps that people use on their devices.   In addition, see that they get into a good Bible-teaching Church as they are now needing to be discipled so that they grow and mature in their relationship with God.