how to explain the good news Archives

02/03/2022 by Aaron Daniell

Best Bible verses to use in conversations with non-believers

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”.

Sitting nervously in the car park watching people walk into church one Sunday, Susan said to me, “How can I go in there, I’m not like those other women”. When I asked her what she meant, Susan explained to me that she didn’t feel as though she was as good as the other women who go to church. In her eyes they seemed to do the right thing and had lived their lives a lot differently to her.

In that moment I saw what was holding Susan back from experiencing a real relationship with Jesus. Susan believed she had to be a good person or do the right thing to be good enough for God and good enough to go to church.

Can you see the lie Susan was believing? This is a lie the enemy wants us to believe because deep down, whether we say it or not, we all know that we have messed up. We know we have sinned and fall short of Gods perfect standard.

Today God wants you to help people understand the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 that says:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The truth is that no amount of good works saves us or makes us good enough for God. It’s by his grace and his grace alone we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

The truth is that no amount of good works saves us or makes us good enough for God. It’s by his grace alone we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

I turned to Susan that morning and explained it is most likely that every other woman walking into church has felt like her before. But the good news for us all is that it’s by Gods amazing grace that we have been saved and are made right in his eyes. There is nothing any of us can do to earn Gods love and forgiveness. The good news is God offers us forgiveness as a gift, not because we are good enough or deserve it but because he loves us. All we need to do is receive his gift to us by faith – trusting our lives to him.

I went on to explain to Susan that the women she is judging herself against are no better than she is—they also needed Gods saving grace. They now try to live their lives in response to Gods love for them.

Who in your life feels unworthy to be loved by God?

Who do you know that is striving to live a life that is “good enough”for God?

Maybe the people you know express their belief about being good enough differently to Susan. Maybe they think the roof will cave in if they go to church or think heaven won’t accept them. In any case, they need you to help them understand the truth!

Take time now to memorise Ephesians 2:8-9. Then ask God for an opportunity to share the truth of his grace and our need to respond through faith.

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22/12/2021 by John North

Best Bible verses to use in conversations with non-believers

2 Corinthians 5:21
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

When is it the right time to share this verse in a conversation with someone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus?

This is not the right verse to share when explaining our brokenness and need for God. Nor is it the verse to share when pointing out our guilt before God that separates us from him.

No, the time to share this verse is when you are explaining what the cross is all about. When you are explaining the spiritual connection God makes between the death of Jesus in the past and my faith in Jesus in the present, this is the verse to use.

We need righteousness to be right with God, but what we have is sin (guilt). Since we can’t undo our guilt we have a big problem and face God’s judgement. Jesus, on the other hand, had no guilt; he only had righteousness.

What this verse shares with a person trying to understand the gospel is that Jesus volunteered to take our guilt and give us his righteousness—an incredible exchange that could only come from a heart that loved us, even in our sinfulness, more than himself.

The verse tells us that God the Father accepted this sacrificial trade and “made him [Jesus] who had no sin [guilt] to be sin [guilty] for us, so that in him [because of his death on the cross that paid the penalty for our guilt] we might become the righteousness of God [we receive his righteousness and the good relationship with God that it brings].”

This is gospel, the good news: Christ died for us, in our place, because of his great love for us, and when we receive this gift—this great exchange—by faith, we start a relationship with God that changes our lives forever.

Use 2 Corinthians 5:21 to explain what Jesus did for us at the cross.

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28/10/2021 by Aaron Daniell

Best Bible verses to use in conversations with non-believers

John 14:6

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Who can you see that is trying to seek fulfilment in life?

Who do you know that is restless and needs inner peace?

Who in your life needs to experience true forgiveness and be set free from guilt?

It’s ONLY through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ they will experience forgiveness, inner peace, and fulfilment in life.

At a time when his close friends and followers are deeply concerned over his departure from this world, Jesus makes this profound and bold claim:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

This claim Jesus makes brings great comfort and security to all his followers and can help you bring clarity to the people in your life who need to know Jesus.

Just think about what Jesus is saying here…

“I am the way…” – Jesus is saying, I am the way to God, the way for your sins to be forgiven and for you to experience peace, being reconciled to God.

“and the truth…” – Jesus is saying, I am the truth, the promise of God, the Word that became flesh, the promised Messiah, the final word of God spoken to his people.

“and the life” – Jesus is saying, I am the life. Only in me can you know life in all its fullness now here on earth and experience that life for all eternity.

Who in your life needs to experience forgiveness, inner peace and fulfilment in life? Every person who does not know Jesus.

Jesus makes it clear; we can only experience forgiveness, peace and fulfilment if we come to the Father. And there is only one way to come to the Father, “through me” Jesus says. Our need for forgiveness, peace, and fulfilment are just symptoms of the real problem – we need a personal relationship with God.

Jesus is saying there is no other way to be forgiven, no other way to be made right and at peace with God. No other way to enjoy life now and be secure in our eternity after death, no way to escape the punishment of rejecting God, no way of having a personal relationship with God… “except through me”, by personally surrendering to Jesus’ authority in your life.

Today we live in a world where many reject the authority of Jesus or sadly don’t know who Jesus really is. Many believe that truth is relative, and others believe there are many paths to spiritual enlightenment or encountering God. Still others believe fulfilment in life can be reached through various achievements and accolades.

But Jesus sets the record straight. He is Truth in all these matters, and he wants you to help those in your life that need him to see clearly who Jesus is – THE ONLY WAY to come to God.

But Jesus sets the record straight. He is Truth in all these matters, and he wants you to help those in your life that need him to see clearly who Jesus is – THE ONLY WAY to come to God.

Some may think that saying “Jesus is the only way” is narrow minded and unfair. However, just think about it for a minute… Jesus being the only way means that God treats all of humanity equally and does not show any favouritism. Jesus being the only way means God made a way that is the most inclusive way for all humanity and does not exclude anyone from being in relationship with him. Because Jesus is the only way it doesn’t depend on our good works, intelligence, social status, or anything else, it depends on Jesus.

The TRUTH is, everyone can experience eternal LIFE starting today because Jesus is the WAY.

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13/10/2021 by Josh Bloomfield

10 Hints on how to share the Gospel—Use resources to your advantage

Can you think back to the time when the Gospel message first connected in your mind and heart? Do you remember the joy you felt in responding to Christ’s love? Was there a specific trigger that really connected the message of salvation for you? Maybe a gift from a helpful hand during a life crisis, maybe a song or story you heard, a piece of art, maybe a Gospel tract, a discovery Bible study or an evangelistic event?

Each one of us connects to the one unchanging Gospel message in a unique way. For me it was a piece of art hanging in a summer camp chapel depicting Jesus as a shepherd, leaving the 99 sheep and reaching down the side of a cliff to rescue the one that got lost. It was that word picture that helped me understand my need for a Saviour.

Remember today that God wants to use your life to seek out and save the lost. Why not pray now and ask Him what resource you could use that would best connect the Gospel message with the mind and heart of your unbelieving friend.

Maybe its the testimony of some else who has encountered the power of Jesus like in John 4:39, “Many Samaritans in the town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony…” Last week in Quebec, Canada, a woman named Jocelyn started a discovery Bible study with her son who is himself a new believer. Together, in a city where there is no Bible teaching church, they are exploring “Who Is Jesus” a free resource by NewLifeDiscipleship.com.

Jocelyn said, “40 years ago I remember praying and asking God to help me understand who is Jesus.” Now, after hearing the testimony in a movie of the power of the name of Jesus when praying for healing, her son is guiding the way with the help of an evangelistic Bible study tool.

“…If you had a hundred sheep and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?” Luke 15:4 TLB

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29/09/2021 by Aaron Daniell

10 Hints on how to share the Gospel—Keep it simple

I was sitting in a high profile meeting with mature, highly capable men when one of them leaned forward and asked, “What is the gospel, can you explain it simply to me?”.

If you were asked this question, how would you respond? What would you say? Where would you begin?

Many sincere God-loving Christians struggle to know how to simply articulate the core truths of the gospel in a sentence or two. I know I once did. You may be asking, is it even possible to explain the essence of the gospel in a sentence?

Today I want to share with you a key passage that will help you know how to simply explain the gospel. You no longer need to wonder what you will say when you are given an opportunity to share the gospel.

As all those men waited for a reply to that question, I was grateful the Lord reminded me of the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 that says:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. And that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

In these few short verses, we see the gospel in its simplest form wrapped in two core truths. If you can remember these two core truths, you will be able to share the Gospel with anyone. Can you see the two core truths? Take another look at the passage.

The two core truths are these – 1. Christ died for our sins, and 2. He was raised on the third day. These two truths are so profound and yet the gospel is still that simple. One sentence that captures the gospel – Jesus died for our sin, and he was raised to life so we can know him personally.

This is the one sentence I used to respond to the men waiting for my answer. This is a sentence you can keep in mind to begin simply explaining the gospel to someone. Your conversation no doubt will begin where the person is at, but with these two truths locked in your mind, you can naturally explain the beauty of the gospel in conversation in a way that is simple and relevant to the person you are talking to.

Christ died for our sin – Jesus took the punishment we deserve upon himself, giving us peace with God.

He was raised on the third day – Jesus is alive, and we can have a personal relationship with our living saviour.

This is the simple message our world needs to hear. This is the simple message God has sent you to share!

Today, God wants you to relax in your conversation when it comes to sharing the gospel and with these two gospel truths in mind, keep it simple.

Who has God sent you into relationship with that needs to hear these two gospel truths?

Take a moment now to re-read the passage again and ask God to give you an opportunity to share these truths with them.

What encouragement can we get from 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 when it comes to keeping it simple?

Keep the Gospel your priority

For Paul the simple unchanging message of the gospel was of primary importance. He says, I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received. If there is one thing Paul wanted people to know and understand, one thing he wanted them to remember and prioritise in life, it was the simple message of the gospel. So, keep the gospel your priority.

Keep the gospel, the gospel.

The gospel, Christ died for our sins and he was raised so we can know him personally, is the one unchanging message that has been preached around the world, throughout generations, in different languages, to men, women and children. This is the one unchanging message that has transformed countless lives and brings hope to all humanity. This is one message we never change. This is the message we share in its entirety. It is the power of this message alone that brings life and peace. So, keep the gospel, the gospel.

Keep confident in the truth of the gospel.

Can you see the evidence in the passage that supports the truth of the gospel?

The proof that Christ died is he was buried. Jesus Christ actually died and was actually buried in a tomb.
1. The proof that Christ was raised is he appeared to Cephas, the twelve… and in the very next verse Paul says he appeared to over five hundred others at one time, most of who are still alive when Paul wrote this account.
1. The proof that this was all part of Gods plan is that these two events took place in accordance with the Scriptures. Nothing is a surprise to God; he can be trusted.

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18/08/2021 by Aaron Daniell

10 Hints on how to share the Gospel—Ask questions to determine where the person is up to on their journey toward God

There is one skill you can learn that will help you in your interaction with every person, one skill that will help you go deeper in your conversations, one skill that can help you go from knowing someone just as an acquaintance to becoming friends—a skill that can help friends have meaningful conversations. This is the same skill that can help you move naturally from meaningful conversations to sharing the good news about Jesus Christ with someone.

What is that skill?

Learn to ask questions!

When you observe the interactions Jesus had with people, weather they were people he had just met or someone he knew well you often see him asking them questions. Why? I believe primarily because people will react to a statement but will interact with questions.

Meaningful questions are a powerful way to engage with people in a way they feel valued and heard. Asking the right question enables people to engage in conversation at the level they feel comfortable.

Think about it. I can make a statement about something that I truly believe and if you don’t hold to that same belief, you can just dismiss that statement and forget about it. However, if I ask you a question, that question will be floating around in your mind until you at least give yourself an answer. Try asking someone a question about anything today and you will see that this is true!

Perhaps most importantly though, asking questions will enable you to get to know someone deeper than the surface level and give you insight into what that person thinks and believes. Then you can continue the conversation in a way that is relevant to them and move toward the gospel.

So, what are the best questions to ask?

One of my favourite questions to ask people is: “What is your spiritual belief?” This one question has given me great opportunities to understand the heart language, thoughts and beliefs of countless people. Only once has a person said to me that they aren’t interested in talking about spiritual things. So, we just talked about other matters. People’s responses to this question have allowed me to ask further questions, or they ask me what my spiritual belief is, giving me the opportunity to share my personal story of coming to know Jesus Christ.

Another great question is “Has anyone ever explained the three core beliefs of Christianity to you before?”. I love this question because most people don’t have a clue and are curious to know what they are. When they respond No, I then ask another question, “Would you be interested in exploring these with me?” and most of the time people are very receptive.

Do you know what else asking meaningful questions does? It allows you to listen to people, learn about them and lean on the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation towards him.

Take time now to think about the last conversation you had with a friend who needs to know Jesus. When that opportunity comes up again, what question could you ask them to determine where they are up to on their journey towards God?

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22/07/2021 by John North

10 Hints on how to share the Gospel—Use the Bible

Your sharing of the gospel (the simple message of Jesus taking our place before God and dying on the cross for us so that we can be forgiven and start a great relationship with God)—that message gains so much impact in the life of the person you are sharing with when you use the Bible.

When I talk with people who see God as vindictive and just waiting to hammer us for anything we do wrong, I can simply say, “That’s not what God is like,” but that person views their opinion to be just as valid as mine.

On the other hand, I can say, “Do you know what the Bible tells us about God? It says ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’”

Even better, I can open the Bible app on my phone and take them to Romans 5:8 and read with them from the Bible: “But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

A high percentage of secular, non-churched people still view the Bible as the source of spiritual truth. Add to this the people who went to church as kids then left it behind but still believe that the Bible is true (it’s just not for them). On top of this, God empowers his word to cut through the haze and speak right into people’s hearts.

Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

The Apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

Sometimes we don’t start gospel conversations with people because we are not sure what to say. We feel like we would have to memorise a bunch of verses in order to be able to share the gospel with people, so we hold back.

I encourage you to simply memorise one verse: Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You can simply talk through this verse and share the gospel with someone. Pick out the three big ideas before the comma—that’s why we need God’s help. Then pick out the three big ideas after the comma—that’s the gospel!

Let me break it down for you.

Bad news comes before the comma:

Wages: what you earn by doing things
Sin: what we have done in life that is wrong
Death: this is what we receive for doing sin (physical death comes to us all, and spiritual death separates us from God the source of life—this is why our lives are so broken)

Good news comes after the comma:

Free gift of God: what God does for you is not based on what you earn but based on his grace
Eternal life: this is what God offers you as a gift
Through Jesus Christ our Lord: the person who gives the gift pays for it and Jesus paid for this gift by taking your place at God’s judgment—his death on the cross was him taking what we deserve so that we could have God’s gift free of charge and not have to earn it

Don’t hesitate to start gospel conversations with people. Use the Bible as you talk with them about God. God will work in their hearts as they hear his word. Use Romans 6:23 and you never have to worry about forgetting the simple truths of the gospel. They are all right there.

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