How to Share the Gospel

Welcome

Good morning everyone, and to anyone listening online, good morning as well! Today we are finishing up our “How to” sermon series. We have looked at some pretty fundamental things that we should be doing as Christians. How to draw closer to God, how to pray, how to bear fruit, and how to hope in God. All of these have dealt with our inward relationship with God, things that you can apply to your spiritual life with God. This morning though, I want us to look at the core of what we believe, the gospel. Many of us in this room have heard the gospel explained, but the gospel is truly always good news for us to hear, not matter how many times we have heard it. But in truth, my primary goal in this sermon is not on you hearing it. My primary goal from going over the gospel is so that you might be prepared to share it with others. As we begin, let’s go to God in prayer.

Prayer

Engage

A large, two-engine train was making its way across America. While crossing the Western mountains, one of the engines broke down. “No problem, we can make it to Denver and get a replacement engine there,” the engineer thought, and carried on at half power. Farther on down the line (if you didn’t guess by now), the other engine broke down, and the train came to a standstill in the middle of nowhere.

The engineer needed to inform the passengers about why the train had stopped, and always trying to look on the bright side of things, made the following announcement: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we will be stuck here for some time until the additional engines arrive. The good news is that you didn’t take this trip in a plane!”

If you were on the train, you likely wouldn’t consider that good news, despite the fact that it is humorous. But, it does prompt us to ask ourselves, “What is good news?” To some of us, good news is that your favorite team won their game last night, to others, it might be that school is about to start. Often, when we use the term good news, it really isn’t good news for everyone. It might be good news that your team won, but to the other team that is bad news. To parents with crazy and active kids it is good news that school will be starting soon, but to kids who love the summer it isn’t good news. In all of the ways we can use the term good news, there is really only one that truly is good news to every single person who hears it. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus. That phrase is a little redundant because it really means, the good news of the good news of Jesus. When we talk about the gospel, we are talking about good news, specifically the good news about God’s victory over death and sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Tension

While we may know about this good news, I think it is important for all of us to consider how we have shared that good news with others in our life. When we get any kind of good news in life, it is hard to keep it to yourself. Good news seems to be impossible to keep secret, it almost always becomes the topic of conversation when it is available. But, if the Gospel is good news, when was the last time that you shared it with someone? I don’t mean that you stood up and gave a sermon on it, but when was the last time you talked to someone about the hope that you have in Jesus and what the gospel means to you? Now that’s an intimidating question, isn’t it? We may find it difficult to bring up the gospel for a number of reasons, but perhaps we don’t bring it up because we aren’t quite sure on how to explain it. So, for this reason I want to lay out a simple way of looking at the gospel so that we can feel more confident about sharing it with others. We don’t have to preach at them, in a conversation there are opportunities to talk about the good news that we have through Jesus.

How do you Start?

Perhaps the hardest part of sharing the gospel with someone is the start of it. If you’re talking to someone about the weather or how the cubs played last night, how can you transition the conversation from small talk to a more spiritual conversation? One of the best and easiest ways of doing this is asking them about church. Do they go to church? What church do they go to? What do they like about it? If the don’t go to church, ask them if they have ever considered going or if they would want to hear the basics of what you believe. Hopefully this creates a moment for you to begin talking about the gospel. All of this doesn’t have to happen in a single conversation, but here are the basic steps to sharing the good news of Jesus.

1. The Bad News

The first thing to bring up is actually bad news, but it is bad news that likely everyone will agree on. The bad news is that all of us are fallen people.

Romans 3:23 NIV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Not one of us have been able to keep the commands of God and as a result of that have done wrong in some way or another. Even the people who put off the holier than thou personality has sinned and fallen short of God. Romans 3:10 also confirms this when it says,

Romans 3:10 NIV

10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;

All of us can likely agree to this fact. If we look at the evening news, our families, friends, world, it becomes apparent that we are not perfect people. All of us have gone against God in some way or another. As a result of this, there is punishment that is meant for us. When we sin against a holy, perfect, and just God, punishment has to take place. If there is no punishment for wrong, then God cannot be just, and if he is not just, then he cannot be good. There is a penalty for our sins which Romans 6:23 tells us when it says “For the wages of sin is death.” Because of our sin we have the punishment of death. That’s the bad news. But we want to share with them the good news, which is found in the second half of Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 NIV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. The Good News

According to that passage, the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus. Now that sounds like good news! So what are we meant to do then? If our punishment for sin is death, how do we receive the gift of eternal life offered by God through Jesus?

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We repeat this verse on a pretty regular basis, but it explains what we do to inherit eternal life. We believe in Jesus and in what he has done for us. That is how we receive this gift of eternal life from God. As a side point, this would then be a good point to explain how salvation is this free gift of God. You don’t earn salvation by going to church so many days a year, you don’t earn it by good works, you receive eternal life and forgiveness from God by simply believing in Jesus. At this point in the conversation, we know what the problem is, our sin, and we know the solution, believe in Jesus. What exactly does “believe in Jesus” mean though? 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 provides us with the most basic ingredients in the gospel message.

1 Corinthians 15:1–8 NIV

1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

A couple of things to note within this passage. First, notice that Paul is reminding the people of the gospel that has already been preached to them. Like the church in Corinth, it is important for us to be reminded of the gospel from time to time, lest we forget it’s importance and purpose. Second, Paul affirms what John 3:16 says as well. It is by the gospel that you are saved. Not your works, your family history, nothing else matters except belief in the gospel of Jesus.

Getting back to our question though, what do we believe about Jesus in order to receive the gift of salvation? Starting at verse 3 of this passage let’s find out.

1. That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

One of the key truths about the Gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. Even though Jesus lived a perfect life and modeled what it truly means to live in a God honoring way, that alone would not be enough for salvation. It once again goes back to the fact that there has to be payment of some kind for our sins. If God is good, then he is just, which means that our sin demands a punishment. Jesus perfectly takes our punishment for our sins by suffering and dying on the cross for us. Why would Jesus do this? Because of his great love towards us. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus loves you to such a degree that he was willing to die for you even in your broken sinful state. He didn’t die for the righteous or those who thought they were good. He died for sinners, for messed up people like you and me, all because of his great love for us.

Love can have a drastic impact on the world and in relationships. I’ve always heard the phrase that “love makes you do crazy things.” We can go to great lengths to show love for our family and friends, but even we cannot show them as much love as what Jesus shows them on the cross. Believing the gospel is believing that Jesus died for your sins. And as support for this fact, Paul tells us in verse 4 that Jesus was buried. There are some who try to say that Jesus didn’t really die on the cross, that it was an elaborate scheme and due to the use of some kind of drug it appeared that he was dead. But Paul assures us that Jesus did die, because he was buried! They took his body and laid him in the tomb.

2. That Christ was raised on the Third Day

The second key truth of the Gospel is that Jesus didn’t remain in the tomb. On the third day Jesus was raised back to life, and in so doing defeated death for anyone who believes in him. All of the gospel hinges on this fact and this is ultimately what we cling to as Christians. Jesus willingly took our pain and punishment that we rightly deserve on the cross, but then rose from the dead and defeated the grave for all who believe in him. That is the gospel, that is good news if I’ve ever heard it.

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia summarizes the gospel message this way, which is extremely helpful for us to consider.

The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation for men through the gift of His son to the world. He suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and now offers a share in His triumph to all who will accept it. The gospel is good news because it is a gift of God, not something that must be earned by penance or by self-improvement

3. Invite the person to respond to the Gospel.

When you have shared the gospel with someone, then it is good to invite them to respond to it. Because at the end of the day, the gospel demands a response. Either you will believe it and choose Christ, or you will reject it. You can invite them to respond to it by looking at Romans 10:9-13.

Romans 10:9–13 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You can invite them to declare that Jesus is Lord if they believe these truths about Jesus, and if they do then pray with them, encourage them and help them in this new part of their life. There are times where we become so focused on just having people hear the gospel that we forget entirely about the call to discipleship and maturity in the Christian faith. So this is then a good time to connect them with a local church so that they can mature as a Christian in a body of believers.

But what if they don’t respond that way? Don’t get upset and agitated and storm away, continue to love on them. See if they have any questions, continue to have a relationship with them and demonstrate to them what a life looks like when it is lived out of the gospel.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned at the beginning, you have likely heard this message before. But even if you have, I invite you to think about it and respond to it. Tim Keller says, “The gospel has been described as a pool in which a toddler can wade and yet an elephant can swim. It is simple enough to tell a child and profound enough for the greatest minds to explore.” However you come to this message today, I hope you consider the truth of it. If you have not yet responded to the gospel, I pray that you do. And if someone here listened to the gospel today and wants to declare with their mouth that they believe it, I invite you to do just that! Come tell me during the closing song, as you leave, tell the person you’re sitting with, and let’s celebrate that you have placed your trust in the Gospel of Jesus, the only good news that can save you.