Grace. What people need to hear, though, is the Good News that heaven is a free gift. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”—Romans 6:23. God goes on to say in Ephesians 2: 8,9 that heaven is not earned or deserved, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Man. The Bible states that man is a sinner. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” You see, God’s standard is perfection. As human beings, though, we forget 99% of all those things we have ever done wrong. Man also cannot save himself. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.”
God. God is merciful and doesn’t want to punish us, though. In Jeremiah 31:3b God says, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” But, God is also just and must punish sin. Exodus 34:7b says, “and that (He) will by no means clear the guilty.”
Christ. God solved this problem of being merciful on one hand and just on the other through the person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the infinite God-man. Jesus is God. This is seen in John 1:1, 14, where it states, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus died on the cross, in our place, to pay for the wage of sin, which is death. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). God has laid to the account of Christ all of my sin and guilt. The Bible says, “By GRACE are ye saved . . . not of works lest any man should boast.” What is the meaning of grace? Once someone gave an acrostic: G—R—A—C—E, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Faith. Faith is the key that opens the door to heaven. The right key to heaven is called faith, saving faith. Some people believe in Jesus Christ the same way they believe in Napoleon or George Washington. They believe that He actually lived. He was a real person in history, but they are not trusting in Him to do anything for them now. This is called intellectual assent. This is not saving faith. Nor is temporal faith, where you trust in the Lord for your finances or other temporal needs. Saving faith is where you trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Being comes before doing. You become a Christian by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation and then you try to live the Christian life out of gratitude for the free gift of eternal life. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship to God through the person of Jesus Christ. The religions of the world try to get to God through good works. God says this is not the way to get to Him. Faith is the hand of a beggar reaching out to accept the gift of a King.
Appropriation. Does this make sense to you? Would you like to receive this gift of eternal life? If you would, you need to transfer trust from yourself to Christ. You need to receive the resurrected and living Christ as Savior and as Lord of your life. You need to repent of your sins and desire to be a responsible member in God’s forever family.
If this is the desire of your heart, let me lead you in a suggested prayer, where you tell God the following: “Father, I realize that heaven is a free gift and that I have not earned it or deserved it. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and I ask you to forgive me. I know that I cannot save myself. I know you are merciful and love me with an everlasting love, but that you are also just and must punish my sin. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, was buried, and rose again, in order to purchase a place in heaven for me, which He offers as a free gift. I am trusting in Jesus Christ alone for my eternal life. I accept you, Jesus, as not only my Savior, but also as the Lord of my life. I invite you Jesus into my heart today as my personal Savior and Lord. Come in today, come in to stay. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me. In Christ’s name, amen.”
Gospel for Kids
This Illustration graphically represents sin separating man from God. As we develop the illustration, we can show the unsaved how they may become reconciled to God. One of the reasons that fellowship was broken by sin. The Bridge may be introduced by saying, “Here is an illustration that I think you might be very interested in. It summarizes what the Bible tells us about God and man.”
Write “MAN” on the left side, and “GOD” on the right side. Say, “Man was created to love God, but man chose instead to sin against Him.”
Write the word “SIN” vertically between the words “MAN” and “GOD”. Quote Romans 3:23 - “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Questions to ask: “What does the word “all” in this verse mean? Does it include you?”) Say, “Since God is holy and man is sinful, sin separates man from God.”
Sketch two cliffs with a wide gap between. Draw a little line figure of a man on the left and say, “Because man is cut off from God who gives him life, death is the result.” Print the words “DEATH” by “MAN” and “LIFE” by “GOD.”
Then point to the word “death” on the left side and quote Hebrews 9:27 - “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Question: “According to this verse, is there any chance of being saved after death?”) Say, “The judgment that everyone has to face after death, is to suffer eternally in hell.”
Say, “As sinners, man cannot do anything to get back to God.” Draw little incomplete bridges showing man’s futile attempts to reach God, and write the words “Good works” next to these bridges. Say, “This is because of sin that still stands as a barrier between man and God.” (pointing to the word “sin”)
Say, “But the Bible also tells us that God loves man and came into this world as Jesus Christ to bridge this gap between sinful man and a holy God.” Write the word “CHRIST” across the word “SIN” using the letter “I” as the intersection.
Say “Jesus Christ died by being nailed on the cross, to take the punishment for sins.” Draw a cross which bridges the gap between man’s side and God’s side. Quote Romans 5:8 - “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Question: “According to this verse, did God love us and save us because we were good and worthy people?”)
Say, “Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He was buried and arose from the grave on the third day. No one else in history has ever risen from the dead. This means that no one but Jesus can save us.” Quote John 14:6 - “Jesus saith…, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Question: “According to what Jesus Christ said here, how many ways are there to reach God?”)
Say, “In order to be saved by Jesus Christ, you need to turn away from your sins and turn to Him alone.” Draw a horizontal line from the little figure to the cross. When you turn to Jesus, you must believe in Him and receive Him into your life. Quote John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Question: “According to this verse, what do you need to do to have everlasting life instead of death?”)
Draw a curved arrow that continues from the line you just drew going over the cross to the other side. Then write the word “Believe” above the line. Say “To believe in Jesus does not mean giving mental agreement to what the Bible says about Him. It means that you make the commitment to receive Him forever as your Saviour and Lord.” Quote John 1:12 - “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” (Question: “According to this verse what should you do to become a child of God?”) Write the word “Receive” next to the word “Believe”
End the presentation and issue the gospel call to salvation by quoting John 6:37 - “All that the Father giveth me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (Question: “What does Jesus promise to do if you were to come to Him to be saved from your sins?”)
Ask the question: “Does all of this make sense to you?” And if the answer is affirmative, then ask, “Will you come to Jesus for salvation right now?”
Contributor: Eufrane Merryll
No comments:
Post a Comment