How to share the gospel?

Edited transcript

The gospel. God’s good news. His living love letter. Disclosing man’s depravity and deciding his destiny. But the gospel is simply not God’s good news. The gospel is God’s good news that is to be given for all of humanity. But how would I share this gospel with others? How do I learn to effectively share this good news with those who are still living in darkness?

When sharing the gospel or the good news, it’s good to balance the truth about God with the Word of God. Let me explain that. When we talk to someone about the truth about who God is, it’s good to balance the truth with the truth we find in God’s Holy Word, because the Word of God is our foundation. So, as you think and prepare to share the gospel, think of these four points ― four vital points ― whenever you share the gospel.

Number one: the Divine. Number two: depravity. Number three: Deity-Humanity. And number four: decision. Whenever you share the gospel, keep in your mind to talk about the Divine, to highlight the depravity, to mention the Deity-Humanity, and to talk about their decision.

God not only created man and God not only loves man with an everlasting love, God’s desire is that, through this relationship, man would spend eternity with Him

Divine

The gospel starts with God. And therefore, it’s good to share the gospel by talking about the Divine. Talk about who God is.

I remember somebody once telling me that, when you share the gospel and when you begin with God, it’s like we’re sugarcoating the gospel. But if you are thinking like that, can I just remind us, how does the Bible begin? In Genesis 1:1, the Bible begins with God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So without God there would be no life, there would be no beginning, no mankind. And therefore, it is good to begin the gospel by talking about who God is.

Well, Genesis 1:1 reminds us about the works of God ― how God is the awesome Creator. So when you talk of the gospel, talk about how God created the universe. He’s the One who created the sun and the moon. He’s the One who suspended the planets. You and I, we could go to a terrace on a cloudless night and count up to probably 100 to 200 stars. But the Word of God says, He knows them by name. God is the awesome Creator.

Now what does the Word of God say? In Jeremiah 31:3, God Himself says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” God not only created the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything but God created man in His own image and likeness. And that is the gospel: God creating man so that He can enjoy a relationship with man.

God not only created man and God not only loves man with an everlasting love, God’s desire is that, through this relationship, man would spend eternity with Him. That is the message of the Divine. God created man, loving man so much, that He wants to have an eternal relationship with all of humanity. But there is something that prevents us from enjoying that relationship with God.

Depravity

The Bible calls it sin. And that’s the second important aspect of the gospel: depravity. So while we talk about the divine, it’s important for us to talk about the depravity of man. The Bible says that, anything we think or we say or we do that is against the will and the standard of God is called sin.

Let me illustrate it for you. All of us, if we were standing outside of our balcony, and we look and we happen to see a sheep, we all would say, “What a beautiful sheep! Look at its white wool, how beautiful.” Now imagine that sheep standing against the backdrop of green, lush grass. How beautiful that scene would be. The sheep with the white wool standing against the backdrop of green grass. Imagine that it begins to snow. Snow falls onto the ground and the grass is quickly covered by white crystal clear snow. Now against the backdrop of snow we would look at the sheep, we would look at the wool, and say, “How dirty, how untidy; look at all the dirt that is there in the wool of the sheep.” But that is what depravity is.

I can boast of my good works and you can boast of your good works, but against the standard of God, there is no one who does anything that is good. Now what does the Bible say? In Romans 3:23, the Word of God reminds us that. “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” God’s standard. Romans 6:23 also reminds us that. “The wages of sin is death.” Death is separation from God. And even though God created man to enjoy a relationship with him, all of us have been born in sin and because of sin ― because of this separation caused by sin ― it is humanly impossible for anyone to enjoy the presence of a holy God. That is what depravity means.

Deity-Humanity

So when we talk about the Divine ― who God is ― and then we talk about the depravity of man ― as to how man finds it humanly impossible to enter the presence of God ― that leads us to the third point. The third aspect of the gospel: Deity-Humanity. While it is humanly impossible for man to enjoy the presence of God, that’s the reason why God became man and came into this world to die for the sins of the whole world. That is Deity-Humanity. When we share the gospel, we remind people as to how Jesus, who is God, also became man to die for our sins ― paying the penalty of our sins on the cross of Calvary.

Again, let me illustrate. Imagine we are standing by our windows sill and we see a line of ants walking across. And then imagine we see the clouds dark and we see the sky becoming dark, and we know that rain is about to fall. Even if we scream at the top of our voice, by looking at the line of ants, “Move away, rain is about to come. Water will wash you away,” they wouldn’t understand. Imagine if you and I could become ants, go down to their level and speak their language, and talk to them about the danger that is to fall on them, then we would be able to save them. That’s exactly what God did for us.

God became man. Jesus, who is God, took on the form of human flesh so that He could die for our sins on the cross of Calvary. Now how does the Bible describe this? Gospel of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

So when we share the gospel and we talk to people about the Divine and the depravity of man, we also need to mention how Jesus, who is Divine, also became human ― the Divinity and humanity seen in the Lord Jesus Christ ― and how Jesus willingly paid the penalty of our sins. And therefore, that leads us to the fourth point: what is your decision?

Decision

So, when we talk about the Divine, when we also mention the depravity of man, and when we illustrate about the Divine and the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, it brings us to the fourth point and that is the decision. So, when we reach this point in sharing the gospel, we can start off with some good questions. What do you think? Have you ever heard this message before? Would you like to make a decision right now in accepting or receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour? This is the point, this is the crux where we reach, where we allow that person that we’re speaking to, to think about what we shared and make a decision based on what we had told them or mention to them about the gospel.

One verse that we could probably use here is Romans 10:9. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,” you can assure that he or she will be safe.

So let me put all of this together. When we share the gospel, it is good to begin with God ― the Divine. But let’s also remind the person that we’re talking to that it is humanly impossible for them to enjoy a relationship with Christ ― the depravity of man. Let’s also talk about the good news of the gospel: how Jesus, who is God, came into this world to die for the sins of the whole of humanity. And last, but not least, let’s give them that opportunity to make the right decision.

A practical remark

Before I close, there are a few more points that I just want to outline for each and everyone of us in sharing the gospel. Let us always keep in mind: to continue the conversation over a period of time. Let’s not rush the gospel.

Some of us can fall into this trap of thinking that I am in control of the gospel and I will dictate the terms and conditions of how that person hears the gospel. No. The gospel ― salvation is the work of Christ in the life of a person. And you and I are only called to share this good news.

So, let’s plan it out. Let’s give the person the opportunity to listen to the gospel ― if needed, over a period of time. Let’s keep in mind that salvation is God’s plan, it is God’s purpose and it is God’s passion in saving the whole of humanity. We are only called to share it because we have understood it and the gospel has changed our personal lives.

Let me close with the words of this well-known song that we often sing: “He said, ’freely, freely, you have received. And so freely, freely give’”.Now that we have learned how to share the gospel, can I encourage each and everyone of us to use every opportunity that we have to go forth, and share the good news of the gospel? The good news of God becoming man, dying for our sins on the cross, so that we have the privilege and an opportunity to enjoy a relationship with him.

God bless.