LEVEL 1

SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH YOUR STORY

ABOUT: This will help you prepare a very short story of your salvation experience while including the gospel message.  Help preparing a more complete testimony.

WHY:  Sharing the gospel within your testimony may be the most effective way of doing so, especially with someone who knows you.  They should see either changes in you since you were saved or something different about you than the world.  That testimony along with your story including the story of God's love for a fallen world can help someone set aside their defenses and really listen.

HOW: Think of when you were saved.  Even though you may not have understood everything God did for you at that moment, you know now and can share what you learned as one story.  

This approach being, short is easy to insert into many conversations.  Write out at least one testimony that fits you. Read it out loud 10 times in a row today.  Tomorrow say it 5 times, the next day 3 times.  You'll have it memorized good enough!

The first sentence will be different depending on how the conversation is going. Here are some examples of what a person might say to you and how you might respond.

Examples:

  • I just can't forgive myself. I used to have trouble forgiving myself too.
  • I'm so sorry for what I did to you.  Thank you.  I forgive you.  I've hurt others too.  I believe when I hurt others, I also hurt God so I ask Him to forgive me too.
  • I just don't know what to do.  I can relate.  I didn't used to ask God but now I do and many times, the answer is right there.

Perhaps after you asked how when they die, the imperfect transforms into the imperfect so they could enter a perfect heaven.

  • I don't know. I didn't know myself.  But then someone shared the truth with me.

Follow up with something like the below.

This isn't a complete gospel presentation.  If the person you're talking with responds with interest, follow up with one of the gospel presentations.

God has shown me so much love in so many ways in my life.  Most importantly by sending Jesus to pay the price for all the wrongs I have done.  I learned in the Bible that receiving His gift of forgiveness through Jesus means I'm now His Child.  I still struggle with doing things wrong but I know I'm loved and forgiven.

This is more complete. Still, if the person you're talking with responds with interest, it's better to follow up with one of the gospel presentations.

I knew I'd done wrong in my life and had hoped that my good would be enough to outweigh the bad and God would let me into heaven.  A friend pointed out that God and heaven are perfect and there's no way anyone lives up to that standard.  I was shown in the Bible that the consequences of doing wrong is separation from God and that God loves me so much He sent Jesus into the world to show the greatest love by paying the price for everything I've done wrong.  That day I received God's gift of payment for wrongs and now I live a life that seeks to please the God who has done so much for me. 

Should you think that you can prepare and memorize a bit more, LEVEL 2 below will guide you.

LEVEL 2

INCLUDING THE ENTIRE GOSPEL MESSAGE WITHIN YOUR STORY

ABOUT: This will help you prepare a very short story of your salvation experience while including a complete gospel message.  Help preparing a more complete testimony.

 

 

The minimum truths of the gospel, which must be communicated to someone, are (in no particular order):

  1. Grace – salvation can never be earned

  2. Man – is a sinner (this may require a biblical definition of sin and evidence that everyone, no matter how good they appear, is a sinner); another important point is that man is incapable of affecting his own salvation (i.e., not by works of righteousness).

  3. God – in the justice of God, all men must be punished for their sins, but in the mercy of God, He provided a substitute who would pay for our sins

  4. Jesus – He is the divine Son of God who died a substitutionary death so that we might be saved by His righteousness (this is the doctrine of imputation from 2 Cor. 5:21).

  5. Faith – we are saved through faith in Jesus. Faith is more than just intellectual agreement with the facts of the gospel, it is trusting Christ alone for salvation. True saving faith is manifested by transformed thinking and behavior.

Example:

 (2) I knew I'd done wrong in my life and had hoped that my good would be enough to outweigh the bad and God would let me into heaven.  (1) A friend pointed out that God and heaven are perfect and there's no way anyone lives up to that standard. (3) I was shown in the Bible that just like there must be justice when one commits a crime, God is just. The consequences of doing wrong is separation from God.  (4) I learned that God is also merciful and He loves me so much He sent Jesus into the world to show the greatest love by paying the price for everything I've done wrong.  (5) That day I received God's gift of payment for wrongs and now I live a life that seeks to please the God who has done so much for me.