“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
There are at least three things we need to understand if we’re to ever be saved. First, we must understand we’re a sinner in need of salvation, second, that we can’t save ourselves; in the sense, we can’t earn our own salvation, and thirdly, that Jesus is the only One who can forgive us and give us access to heaven. As someone who wants to be effective in sharing the message of Christ, why is it important that we understand those things?
Because before we can make a meaningful effort to invite someone to follow Jesus, we have to eliminate objections many people have. That’s why before I “present the Gospel” to anyone, I want to know as best I can where THEY think they stand with Him already. That’s why I almost always begin by asking the question I mentioned a few days ago: “If you were to die today and stand before God and He were to ask you: ‘Why should I let you into My perfect heaven?’ what would you say?”
Why that question, asked that way? Because their response will give you vital information and understanding of where they believe they are with God. There are objections that are beyond the scope of this brief article, so, understanding that some will say in a number of ways “Look, I’m not interested in hearing anything about heaven or Jesus today!” let me address those who express interest and want to have a conversation.
Most will give one of a few responses:
- “Because Jesus is Lord of my life and I’ve walked with Him for _______.” (however long they’ve walked with Him). Thank them for their time, maybe pray with them and go on.
- “Because I’m a good person. I love my family, I’m honest, go to church, etc.” (we are never saved BY our good works, we are saved FOR good works. See verse above)
- “I’m not sure. I’ve never thought about that before.”
From there, thank them for their response and with a firm Biblical foundation explain to them that salvation isn’t based on our goodness, but on the goodness and perfection of Jesus (see verses above). I would say something like: “I appreciate your honesty, I felt very much like that.“ (if you did, or) “I can certainly understand why you might feel that way; however, the Bible clearly teaches that we’re not saved by any effort on our part. Forgiveness of our sins is why Jesus died on the Cross. Jesus said from the Cross ‘It is finished!’ and by that He meant that the penalty for our sin, a debt we could never pay in all eternity, was paid in full by the shedding of His blood.” Explain why that matters in your own words, then move on.
Obviously, the words you choose, and the use of Scripture needs to be in line with their understanding. That’s why I often use Ron Hutchcraft’s The Bridge to God illustration. As long as you have internet access on your phone you can google hutchcraft.com and use the Bridge illustration wherever you are. Another valuable resource that is literally filled with helpful information for sharing your faith is Ray Comfort’s website. He has dozens of videos and “how-to’s” for sharing your faith.
Avail yourself of these and many other resources to learn a way that makes sense to you and allows you to “flow” in your presentation of the Gospel in an easy to follow, relatable way for someone the Lord puts in front of you to lead to Him.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed
P.S. If you have specific questions I could address, please contact me at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com
Walking With Jesus 