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)
- 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.
