How Can I Be Effective In Sharing My Faith With Others?
■ In this study we we cover . . .
A. What is the Gospel?
B. How are we to give the Gospel?
C. Why are we to make the Gospel clear?
D. Contemporary terms used when giving the Gospel.
A. What is the Gospel?
1. I Corinthians 15:1, 3-4
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”
2. Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;”
B. How Are We To Give The Gospel?
1. I Corinthians 1:17
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect”
2. I Corinthians 14:7-9
“...except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.”
3. II Corinthians 3:12
“Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:”
C. Why Are We To Make The Gospel Clear?
1. II Corinthians 4:3-4
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,”
2. II Corinthians 11:3-4
“as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
D. What Every Christian Should Strive To Do
1. II Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2. A clear division should always be made between salvation and service.
A Clear Distinction Must Be Made
Requirements for Salvation
* Ephesians 2:8,9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. ”
0 Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us,”
Requirements for Service
* Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
0 Titus 3:8
“these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works”
Contemporary terms that are not Biblical when used as invitations for salvation
■ By what standard do we determine truth from error?”
■ Is it by what the Church believes?
■ Is it by what the Pastor preaches?
■ It is by the Word of God!
■ The Bible is the standard, rule, or measuring stick by which we judge all teaching by.
■ Acts 17:10,11
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Contemporary Terms
That Are Not The Gospel
1. Give your heart or life to Jesus Christ
a. What does the Bible say? John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,”
b. Who did the giving that we could be saved?
(1) John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave...”
(2) Titus 2:13,14
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all...... iniquity,
c. Should a Christian Give His life to Christ?
(Rightly dividing the Word)
Requirement for Salvation* Jesus gave His life for me
Requirement for Service * I should give my life to live for Him.
Another Contemporary Term
2. Ask Jesus to come into your heart.
a. What does the Bible say?
(1) Revelation 3:20 - “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
(2) In this verse Jesus is speaking to believers not unbelievers.
(3) Ephesians 3:17 -“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;”
Ask Jesus to come into your heart
b. This common term is:
(1) Not Biblical
(2) Often confusing
(3) Not necessary, Christ does so when you . . . . . . trust Him as Saviour.
Another Contemporary Term
3. Will you commit your life to Jesus Christ?
a. A good question to ask:
(1) What kind of commitment am I to make?
(2) How much of my life do I have to commit?
(3) Are you 100% committed to the Lord?
b. We are not given salvation because we make a
………..commitment to Christ but because He made a
………..commitment to us.
@ Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
c. Should a Christian Commit his life to Christ? (Rightly dividing the Word)
* Requirements for Salvation I (by faith) receive the commitment Jesus made to me.
* Requirements for Service I should commit every area of my life to Him.
Another Contemporary Term
4. Surrender Your Life To Jesus Christ
a. A good question to ask:
(1) How much of your life do you have to surrender?
(2) Are you 100% surrendered to Christ?
(3) What does the word “surrender” mean? This word is no where found in the Bible.
The Random House College Dictionary defines it as:
…………… ………..“to give up, abandon, to relinquish control of”
b. A person is saved not by what he gives up for Christ but
………..rather by what Christ gave up for him.
What does the Bible say?
II Corinthians 8:9
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
c. Should a believer surrender his life to Christ?
(Rightly dividing the Word)
* Requirements for Salvation Jesus surrendered His life for me.
* Requirements for Service I should surrender my life to serve Him.
Another Contemporary Term
5. Repent of (turn from) your sins
a. Does a sinner have to repent to be saved? Emphatically YES!
Luke 13:1-5 “...except ye repent, ye shall all .
… likewise perish.”
b. What does repent mean?
Greek: Metanoia = a change of mind
meta = change noia = mind
c. When repentance is defined as “turn from sin”,
*there are three good questions to ask;
(1) How much sin do you have to turn from?
(2) Have you turned from all your sin?
(3) What power or ability does the unbeliever have to turn from sin?
d. To tell the unbeliever to turn from his sin to be . . . . saved is telling him to do something he is incapable of doing.
e. God has given the Holy Spirit to believers to enable them to turn from their sin.
f. You do not turn from sin to get saved but rather you get saved so you can turn from your sin.
g. Turning from sin should follow salvation not a prerequisite for salvation.
- Acts 26:20 “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”
- Luke 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance”
h. Repent does not mean “to be sorry for sin”
II Corinthians 7:9,10 “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
i. Should a believer turn from his sin?
(Rightly dividing the Word)
- Requirements for Salvation Jesus removed my sin so I could be saved. II Cor. 5:18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”
- Requirements for Service Now that I am saved I should turn from my sin. Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”
Another Contemporary Term
6. Confess your sins
a. What does the Bible say?
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful… and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
b. John was speaking to believers about fellowship .
. ………...not unbelievers about relationship.
c. If you have to confess your sins to be saved, ask
………….yourself two questions.
(1) How many of your sins to you have to .
…………………….confess?
(2) What if you forgot one?
d. You do not have to confess your sins to be saved
………...but you do have to confess/admit that you are a .. ….
………...sinner.
e. Confession of one’s sins is the duty and
………..responsibility of the believer to remain in
………..fellowship with God.
f. Should a believer confess his sins
(Rightly dividing the Word)
- Requirements for Salvation I must confess the I am a sinner.
- Requirements for Service
I should confess my sin daily to remain in fellowship with Christ.
Another Contemporary Term
7. Ask Christ to save you
a. What does the Bible say?
Both thieves on the cross asked to be saved.
Luke 23:39 “And one of the malefactors which were … . . .
… hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save .
. thyself and us.”
b. When a person asks Christ to save him, on what basis
…………or reason is he asking to be saved?
(1) For his work’s sake? (due to the works he has done)
(2) For his goodness sake? (because of how good he
…………………...has been)
(3) For Jesus sake? (because of what Christ has done)
Another Contemporary Term
8. Decide now to follow Christ.
a. What does the Bible say?John 12:26 “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”
b. Notice Jesus equates following Him with Serving Him.
c. Do you have to serve Christ to be saved? NO!
d. You do not follow (serve) Christ to be saved, but after .
… you are saved you should follow Christ.
e. Should a believer follow Christ? .
(Rightly dividing the Word)
- Requirements for Salvation Jesus followed the will of His father so I could be saved.
- Requirements for Service - I should follow Christ now that I am saved.
Another Contemporary Term
9. Make Jesus Lord and Master of your life
a. A good question to ask:
(1) Is Jesus Lord of Your life?
(2) How much of your life does He have to be Lord . …
… and Master of?
b. Should a Christian allow Jesus to be the Lord and . ….. …….
……… Master of his life? YES!
c. Jesus is Lord, but as Lord He requires only one thing ..
………...to be saved; To Believe
Another Contemporary Term
10. Be willing to confess Christ before men
a. What does the Bible say?
Matthew 10:32,33 “Whosoever therefore shall …
…… confess me before men, him will I confess also before
. my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall . .
… deny me before men, him will I also deny before my . …
… Father which is in heaven.”
b. What about the thief on the cross?
c. Should a Christian confess Christ before men? YES!
II Timothy 2:12 “If we suffer, we shall also reign ……. ……
. with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”
Rightly Dividing The Word
Requirements for Salvation
- Jesus gave his life for me.
- Jesus made a commitment to me.
- Jesus surrendered His life for me.
- Jesus removed my sin so I could be saved.
- I must confess the I am a sinner.
- Jesus followed the will of His father so I could be saved.
- Jesus as Lord requires only that I believe to be saved
- Jesus publicly bore my sin on the cross so I could be saved.
Requirements for Service
- I am to give my life to live for Him.
- I should commit every area of my life to Him.
- I should surrender my life to Him.
- Now that I am saved I should turn from my sin.
- I should confess my sin daily to remain in fellowship with Christ.
- I should follow Christ now that I am saved
- I should allow Jesus to be the Lord of every area of my life.
- I should confess Christ before men by my words and actions..
Biblical Words to Use When Presenting the Gospel
1. “Believe”
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47
2. “Receive”
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. John 1:12
3. “Trust”
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:” Ephesians 1:12,13
Conclusion
@What is the gospel?
The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
@How should we give the gospel?
Make it simple and plain. Use words that are easy to be understood.
@The apostle Paul said,
“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” I Timothy 1:11
“But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.” I Thessalonians 2:4
Pastor David Peterson has designed classes around teaching the new believer or even the "seasoned" believer some of the most important foundational concepts in the Word of God. Pastor Peterson has pastored for 40+ years at First Baptist of Land O Lakes in Florida. He has a unique ability to teach those things which may seem confusing and make them simple to understand. Enjoy the teaching as you endeavor to walk more closely with the Lord. The lessons are based on Dr. Peterson's book - "A Firm Foundation"
