Introduction:
A. In the Scripture reading that was just read for us, the Apostle Paul was concluding his letter to the Colossians and he asked them to pray for two things.
1. First, He asked them to pray that God would open doors for the message of the gospel.
2. Second, He asked them to pray that he might proclaim the message clearly.
3. Those are very good things to be praying for, wouldn’t you agree?
B. Today I’m praying that all of us feel that we have some good news to share with others and that we desperately desire to share it.
1. I like the story told about mom and dad who were very concerned about their little boy, because they could not get him to utter a single word.
a. His parents took him to a specialist and after a thorough evaluation it was determined that the boy had nothing wrong with him physiologically that was keeping him from talking.
b. So, the doctor grasped him firmly by the shoulders and looked at the boy with a serious expression and asked: “Why won’t you say something?”
c. The little boy defiantly replied, “Cause I ain’t got nothin’ to say!”
2. Hopefully that’s not the way we feel about our faith – “I ain’t got nothin’ to say.”
3. In truth, those of us who are Christians have some great news to share and we should want to tell others about it. Right?
4. There’s another story told about a preacher who loved to go golfing.
a. Unfortunately, it had rained every weekend for a month and the preacher was dying to play a round of golf.
b. The first sunny day in weeks came along and it ended up being a Sunday.
c. So, the preacher called some of the leaders of his congregation and told them that he had been called away to an emergency and that they would have to do services without him.
d. Realizing that he could not play on a local golf course, he drove two counties away and teed up on a course that sunny Sunday morning.
e. Meanwhile, God was watching all this from heaven above.
f. God called one of his angels and said: “I’ve got a preacher down there who skipped church to play golf and I need you to go and administer an appropriate punishment.”
g. So, the angel went down and as the preacher teed off on a par 3, the angel caused the preacher to hit the best shot of his life and the ball went right in the cup for a hole-in-one.
h. Seeing this, God asked to the angel, “I told you to punish him and yet you gave him a hole-in-one? What kind of punishment is that?”
i. The angel replied, “Yes, I gave him a hole-in-one, but think about it…Who can he share that good news with? Afterall, it happened when he was skipping church!”
C. Yes, we have some great news to tell and there is no reason for us to keep it to ourselves; we have nothing to hide – like that church-skipping preacher.
1. We need to pray for open doors and opportunities for sharing the good news.
2. And we need to pray for the ability to clearly communicate the good news.
D. This is probably where most of us feel the most inadequate, myself included.
1. What should we say? How should we say it? Where do we begin?
2. Bill Hybels tells a great story in his book on evangelism called Becoming a Contagious Christian.
a. Bill Hybels likes to sail, and one day after day of sailing, he and his wife were invited to board a neighboring sailboat.
b. So, he anchored his boat and he and his wife motored over in the dinghy to the neighboring yacht.
c. After a nice evening of visiting, Bill and his wife were in the process of leaving and that’s when the moment came.
d. Lynne, his wife, had already climbed down the ladder into the dinghy and Bill was halfway down himself when the question came.
e. Some people call this “the doorknob question” - often as you are about to leave after a visit, a person will finally bring up the subject they wanted to talk about, but hadn’t mustered the courage to bring up before that moment.
f. One of the people who had invited them aboard said, “Say, Bill, before you leave can you answer a question? I’ve always wanted to ask a Christian what it means to become one. Could you tell all of us?”
g. There was Hybels, one foot in the dinghy and one hand on their boat’s railing, looking up at a group of people waiting to hear what he would say.
h. He knew he had their undivided attention for the next 45 seconds – 45 seconds to summarize what it means to become a real Christian.
3. If you or I had been in his situation, how would we have responded?
4. Would we have been ready to give a clear and succinct response to such an important question?
5. For most of us, this kind of situation really puts us to the test.
6. Yet the Bible tells us to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).
E. So, let’s spend a few minutes today trying to get a handle on the gospel message.
1. If we don’t really understand it ourselves, how in the world will we be able to explain it to others. Right?
2. Let’s briefly look at four words that can provide an outline to present the gospel in a clear and concise way.
3. These four simple words are: God, Us, Christ, and You.
I. Four Words
A. First, We Can Talk About GOD
1. There are many aspects of God’s nature that we could share, but He has three characteristics that are especially relevant in evangelism.
2. First of all, God is LOVING.
a. Because of God’s love, He made us and desires to have a relationship with us.
b. Even though we are sinners who have rebelled against Him, He continues to patiently extend His love to us.
c. Many people prefer to stop right here, but there’s more that needs to be said.
3. Second, God is HOLY.
a. This means that God is absolutely pure and He is separate from everything that is impure.
b. There is nothing evil about God’s thoughts or actions - there is no darkness in Him.
4. Third, God is JUST.
a. In other words, He is like a good judge who can’t wink at lawbreakers.
b. God is a perfect judge who will dispense justice to everyone fairly.
5. So, that’s where we can begin - we can begin with a God who is loving, holy and just.
B. Second, We Can Talk About US
1. When God first created us human beings, He made us good, without any sin.
2. But we abused our freedom, we rebelled against Him, and we became affected by evil.
3. And therefore, as we have just seen, because God is holy and just, He must deal with our sinfulness.
4. The seriousness of our sin requires God to pronounce upon us the death penalty.
5. This means both physical and spiritual death, which is a separation from God in a place called hell.
6. And to cap off the bad news, we are helpless to initiate any action that can change our situation.
7. We are spiritually bankrupt and have nothing in our account to pay off our debts.
8. But, thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Amen?!
C. Third, We Can Talk About Christ
1. Jesus Christ was uniquely able to solve our dilemma because He was both God and man.
2. As God, He had the power and authority devise a plan for our salvation.
3. As a man, He was able to execute the plan by taking upon Himself the punishment we deserved.
4. The central truth of the gospel is that Christ died in our place, as our substitute, and purchased our salvation – through His death, burial and resurrection.
5. He suffered the death penalty for us, and in so doing, He expressed the love of God, upheld the holiness of God, and satisfied the justice of God all at the same time.
6. He did all of that so that He could turn around and offer us His forgiveness, His friendship, and His leadership as a gift.
7. We don’t deserve it, we didn’t pay for it, and we can’t earn it.
8. The only way we can receive it is to believe it, repent, confess our faith, and be baptized into Christ, and therefore receive this incredible gift.
9. When we do that, our sin-debt is paid in full, and we receive the promise of eternal life.
10. We also gain the ongoing companionship of the gift-giver Himself, who will be there to lead us, guide us, and lovingly correct us when we need it.
D. Finally, We Can Talk About YOU.
1. The ball is now in your court, and it’s up to each person to decide what they are going to do with the good news of Jesus.
2. Jesus paid the price for salvation for the whole world, but only those who say “yes” to Him will actually receive His forgiveness.
3. Unfortunately, many people are left with the impression that if they go to church, or are born into a Christian family, or try to be a good, moral person, then they are automatically made right with God, but this is not true.
4. Anyone who relies on their personal efforts to get into God’s good graces is eventually going to be terribly disappointed.
5. Listen to the warning that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’”
6. We must be crystal clear with people telling them that a personal response of faith and obedience to the gospel is necessary.
7. We can’t make that decision for others and we shouldn’t push them to make it prematurely.
8. But we’ve got to be sure that they understand that there is no other way but Jesus.
9. And we must be prepared to help them take that step across the line of salvation.
II. An Illustration
A. Let’s return to the earlier story of Bill Hybels on the ladder of the yacht.
1. You may be wondering how Hybels’ responded to the question?
2. You may be wondering: what is…the rest of the story?
B. Bill Hybels decided to use the “Do Verses Done” Illustration.
1. He said, “Well, first you’ve got to realize the difference between religion and Christianity.”
2. Religion is spelled “D-O,” because it consists of the things people do to try to somehow gain God’s forgiveness and favor.
a. But the problem is that you never know when you’ve done enough.
b. It’s like being a salesman who knows he must meet a quota, but is never told what that quota is.
c. So, you can never be sure that you have done enough.
d. Worse yet, the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we never can do enough because we always fall short of God’s perfect standard.
3. But thankfully, Christianity is spelled differently.
a. It is spelled, “D-O-N-E,” which means that what we could never do for ourselves, Christ has already done for us.
b. He lived the perfect life we could never live and He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty we owed for the wrongs we’ve done.
4. To become a Christian is to humbly receive God’s gift of forgiveness and to commit ourselves to following His leadership.
5. When we put our faith in Jesus and are buried with Him in baptism, then God adopts us into His family and He begins to change us from the inside out.
C. So, I hope both of these tools (the Do vs. Does Illustration and the Four Words – God, Us, Christ, You) will be helpful for you to be able to give a clear and concise explanation of the central tenets of the gospel.
III. Three Passages
A. As we conclude, I would like to share three passages from the NT that are a good summary of the basics of salvation.
1. Let’s be sure to familiarize ourselves with these passages so we can share them with others.
B. Romans 3:21-26
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
1. The important points in this passage include: first, the fact that everyone is a sinner in need of grace and redemption, and second, that God’s prescription for our sin problem is Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and our trust in Jesus as our Savior.
C. Ephesians 2:1-10
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
1. We notice that this passage also begins with our sin problem and then moves into God’s loving and graceful solution in Christ Jesus.
2. We also notice the emphasis on the fact that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works – even though God has works for us to be involved with.
D. Titus 3: 3-8
For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.
1. Yet again, we notice that this passage begins with our sin problem and then moves into God’s kind and loving actions through our Savior.
2. We notice again the emphasis that we are saved because of God’s mercy and grace, and not our righteous deeds – even though we need to devote ourselves to good works.
3. I like this passage because of the description of the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit – in baptism, we experience a washing and the receiving of the Holy Spirit.
E. All three of these passages are useful for describing our problem, God’s solution, and our response.
Conclusion:
A. It is impossible to completely prepare us to clearly share the message in one sermon, but I hope what we have discussed today will be helpful to you as you try to share the good news.
B. I have a nine-part Bible study called “Seeking God” that is easy to use and you are welcome to use it to study with someone who is interested in Christianity.
1. There are other Bible studies that can be used and also there are tracts you can give to someone.
2. The tract rack out there in the foyer near our main entrance has a number of good tracts – feel free to take some and share them with others.
C. As always, let’s keep in the forefront of our thinking that people matter to God and that so many people around us still don’t believe in God.
1. Let’s concentrate on increasing our potency through authenticity, compassion and sacrifice.
2. Let’s improve our proximity by looking for opportunities to rub shoulders with unbelieving people.
3. And, as Paul did, let’s pray for open doors and the ability to clearly communicate the message.
B. Everyone here today has heard the basic gospel message.
1. Perhaps there is someone here today who needs believe and obey the gospel.
2. Now that you have heard the good news do you believe it?
3. Are you willing to confess your faith and turn your life over to God in repentance?
4. Are you ready and willing to be baptized; to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
5. The Bible says that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16).
6. In Romans 6, Paul explains what happens in baptism, saying: 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him…” (Rom. 6:3-8)
a. Jesus died, was buried, and then was resurrected, and through baptism, we enter into Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and we arise to walk in newness of life.
7. On the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people responded to the invitation and were baptized into Christ and were added to the church that day.
8. I pray that many hearing this message will believe and will be baptized into Christ today or in the coming days.
Resources:
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels
