The Soulwinner's Message
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
What is our message? What is the gospel?
1. The message is from God.
A. This is not a man-made message. Man would not have come up with such a message. Man's message is generally, "What can I do to get salvation?" God's message is totally unexpected. "You can't do anything - it's a gift!"
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Ex 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
2Ch 30:9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
God has not abandoned us because we blew it. He is anxious to forgive and to save man from destruction. The gospel is God patiently pleading and desiring to reinstate the sinner.
It is not our message, it is His. We are just the messengers.
Our message is Jesus from beginning to end.
The gospel is not how-to's or concepts or etc.
What we must preach is Christ. Whatever you need, Jesus is the answer.
Ac 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Ac 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Ac 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Ac 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Christian Terms
We have certain terms that explain the biblical concepts that we believe.
Repentance - a change of mind toward God; Being sorry for wrongs and changing the conduct; A total change of mind and attitude. Repentance is revealed in the conduct after the profession of faith In Christ.
Belief - the Biblical sense of the word is different than what we commonly think of. It means to 'trust in' or 'rely on' or 'adhere to'. Belief is not merely agreement. It means to follow Christ and rely of Him totally for salivation.
Deliverance - we have been delivered from the power of sin. Forgiveness is not enough. We need the power to overcome sinfulness.
Reconciliation - removing the obstacle between man and God.
Salvation - safety. The sinner is brought to a place of safety and is kept there by the power of God.
Redemption - being set free. Redemption is one thing being traded for another.
New Birth - born from above; made spiritually alive.
Quickened - made alive.
Conversion - changed or turned. The process by which the sinner turns around from his wrong ways and turns to God's way.
Justification - the blotting out of sins. We have been made just or righteous in God's sight.
Our caution here is this - these terms mean nothing to the unsaved. They have no idea what we mean by them. So, we have to frame the message in terms they understand and relate to. That's how Jesus preached.
Questions that clarify:
What is sin?
1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Sin is missing the mark - falling short of God's standard.
Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Is sin really that bad?
What is faith?
Trusting - relying - more than believing.
What does it mean to be a Christian? What does God expect?
Ga 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Salvation is a relationship, not a membership.
Mt 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Mt 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Mt 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
Mt 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mt 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Ro 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
A Gospel Roadmap
What I am going to give you is a gospel presentation. This is not THE GOSPEL. It is simply a method of presenting the message. The message is Jesus, but people need to know how to respond, thus the presentation.
In short, the gospel message is this - we blew it, but God can fix it.
1. God loves you.
Joh 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.
God is both loving and just at the same time. He must judge sin, because his nature is holy, yet he loves us who have broken his laws.
2. Man is a sinner.
Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We have all broken God's laws - all fallen short of perfection. God created us perfect. We blew it.
How much sin does it take to be condemned?
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
It only takes one sin to make you a sinner.
To make matters worse :
Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;
Sin comes with a price. We were warned ahead of time, so we are without excuse.
3. Jesus died for you.
He paid the wages of sin on your behalf.
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is the say God worked things out. This is where His grace overcame His law. He could not dismiss the law, so He satisfied its demands by allowing Jesus to die for all of our sins.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
4. Faith is how we receive His gift.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved
Salvation cannot be earned. It can only be received. And it can only be received by accepting it freely from God.
Just remember these four things -
God - Man - Christ - Faith.