You Can Do This
Someone told you. A parent, a friend, a Sunday school teacher, a stranger with a Bible. At some point a person opened his mouth, and you heard that Christ died for your sins.
Most Christians want to share the Gospel, and most are nervous about it. They are afraid of saying the wrong thing, of being rejected, of a question they cannot answer. This study is written for them. You do not need a degree, a gift for talking, or a long list of verses. By the end you should be ready to sit down with one person this week and have one real conversation.
Telling a person who Jesus is, what He did in His death, burial, and resurrection for our sins, and calling that person to repent and trust Him. Kindness and invitations open the door, and they are not the message. See The Message We Carry.
The most freeing truth in this study is that God does the saving work, and we do the speaking work. Paul said, I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). You cannot save anyone. You cannot convict anyone. You cannot believe for anyone. You can tell the truth and tell it kindly, and that is what you were asked to do.
You speak. The Holy Spirit convicts (John 16:8). The sinner must repent and believe (Acts 20:21). Most of our nerves come from carrying a part that was never ours.
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For Deeper Study
- Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus DidAmazon Randy NewmanHow to use questions the way Jesus did, by a longtime campus evangelist. Broadly evangelical, and very practical.
- Share Jesus Without FearAmazon William Fay with Linda Evans ShepherdA short book for nervous believers from a Southern Baptist publisher, built around simple questions and letting a friend read Scripture.
- The Soul WinnerAmazon Charles H. SpurgeonA Baptist classic on winning the lost, full of warmth and urgency. Spurgeon was Calvinistic, where we differ.
- The Invitation SystemAmazon Iain H. MurrayA short Reformed critique of the public invitation. We differ on that and on Calvinism, but its warning about false assurance deserves a hearing.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Message We Carry
The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, and that everyone who turns to Him and trusts Him alone is saved by God's grace. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing else can take its place.
Open Doctrine