VLI Evangelism Appendix ©VLI ™ 2006

Methods on How to Share Christ When you give a testimony you are not simply disseminating information. You are sharing what Christ has done in your life (John 4:1-18) and how he can be Lord and Savior of the person’s life with whom you are sharing. Sharing in a definitive way is important. You should know how to share what you believe. Reliable statements of fact are imperative for a proper belief in the living God (Acts 8:26-40, Romans 10:17). Yet, only when the Holy Spirit works and reveals does revelation become a source of life in one’s heart (Romans 8:1-17). Therefore, as Christ’s ambassadors, we have a responsibility to share, pray and be examples that the world might believe in Jesus Christ.

A Five Point Detailed Explanation The following five points are to be used only as general areas that, hopefully, should be covered to give a person a proper understanding of what is involved in making a commitment to Christ. 1. Humankind is sinful and separated from a loving God. a. The radical-ness of man’s condition must be understood if a person is going to be a radical disciple. b. Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death.” c. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” 2. Humankind needs to turn to God. a. John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter and Paul all started out their ministries by saying we need to repent, i.e., turn or change one’s mind (Matthew 1:15, 6:123; Acts 2:38, 26:30). There are many popular methods of sharing Christ today that drop this aspect of faith or radically decrease its significance. The surest way to see a “half-baked” decision for Christ is by conveniently sharing the love of Christ, but not the sinfulness of man. b. Acts 3:19: “Repent therefore and return that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” 3. God loves humankind and desires them be under His Lordship (government) and not under the rule of this earth. a. Christ died so man could have this fullness of life and forgiveness of sins. In Christ, you are forgiven and free from past guilt! b. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” c. John 10:10: “…I came that they might have life and might have it more abundantly.” 4. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through him man can enter into God’s Kingdom of love and justice and turn from his own efforts and philosophies. a. Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, hrist died for us.” b. John 14:6: “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me. c. Think about it: i. If you could work yourself to Heaven why would God even send Jesus? ii. Why would he allow His only unique son eternally in relationship with the Father to be separated from Him if it were not an act of supreme sacrifice? d. Think about it: i. I know the Father sending His Son was good, yet I need to do this in order to help me get to Heaven. We are saying 2 things: Jesus isn’t quite enough and I’m a partial Savior 5. We must turn from ourselves and receive Jesus Christ through faith (commitment – biblical “belief”). This is faith based on grace (the crucified and resurrected Christ). When a person received Christ he leaves one kingdom (this world) and enters another (the Kingdom of God). a. John 12:2: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” b. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Additional Notes for follow up: After a person makes a commitment, emphasize his departure from the old life, forgiveness and the need to be with new “family members” (i.e., the church) to fully experience the Lordship of Christ. If you desire to have a discipleship ministry in their lives, you should quickly share about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and baptism.

The “ABCD” Method1 1. Something to Admit (Rom 3:22-23) 2. Something to Believe (1 Pet. 3:18) 3. Something to Consider (Mark 8:34) 4. Something to Do (Say “I will”) One Verse Method “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Illustrations of Salvation “Do/Done” This simple verbal illustration can be used alone or together with other illustrations. It makes a distinction between religion and Christianity. Religion is spelled “D-O” and it is the plan most people are on, trying to DO enough to earn God’s favor. Christianity is spelled “D-O-N-E”, because Christ has for us what we could never do for ourselves. He paid for out sins fully by dying on the cross, and he freely offers us his forgiveness and leadership.2 The Bridge 1. Step 1 - God’s purpose: peace and life. a. God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life –abundant and eternal. b. The Bible says… i. “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) ii. “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.” (John 3:16) iii. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) c. Question: WHY don’t most people have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have? 2. Step 2 - The Problem: Our Separation a. God created us in His own image to have an abundant life. He did not make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him. God gave us a will and freedom to choice.

1 David Watson, Call & Committed: World Changing Disciple, (Harold Shaw Press, 1982), p139-157 2 Paul Little, How To Give Away Your Faith, 2nd edition, (IVP, 1988), pp. 96-97. b. We chose to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God. c. The Bible says… i. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) ii. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) d. Statement: Our choice results in separation from God. (Draw separation) e. NOTE: Our attempts to reach God fail! People have tried in many ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God. i. Good works ii. Religion iii. Philosophy iv. Morality f. The Bible says … i. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) ii. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) g. Statement: None of the bridges reach God … except one. 3. Step 3 – God’s Bridge: The Cross a. Jesus Christ died on the Cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people. b. The Bible says … i. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5) ii. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18) iii. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) c. Statement: God has provided the only way … Each person must make a choice …(Draw bridge connecting God and People) 4. Step 4 – Our Response: Receive Christ a. We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive him by personal invitation. b. The Bible says … i. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) ii. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) iii. “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) c. Question: Where are you? (Draw picture of bridge connecting with questions on left side saying “here?” and the question of the right side saying “or here?”)3

The Marriage Vow Many people do not understand that a decision at a point in time is needed. Just as being in love does not make you married, dating Jesus by attending church, learning more about Him, growing in our understanding does not make someone a Christian. An exchange of vows is needed.

Jesus vows to save us, to protect us, to provide for us, and one day to raise us from the dead.

3 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, “Steps to Peace with God” pamphlet, World Wide Publications. We respond: “I sinner take you Jesus, to be my Lord and Savior. By your grace and with your help, I will forsake all other lovers and remain faithful to you alone – promising to love, honor, obey and worship you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health for all eternity.”

Judge This story can be used on its own or as an excellent supplement to the other illustrations. It helps you answer questions such as, “If god is so loving, why can’t He just forgive and forget? Even I can do that!” An incident that took place several years ago in California illustrates what Jesus did on the cross in order to solve the problem God had in dealing with the sin of humanity. A young woman was picked up for speeding. She was ticketed and taken before the judge. The judge read off the citation and said, ‘guilty or not guilty?” The woman replied, “Guilty.” The judge brought down the gavel and fined her $100 or ten days. Then an amazing thing took place. The judge stood up, took off his robe, walked down around in front, took out his billfold, and paid the fine. What’s the explanation of this? The judge was her father. He loved his daughter, yet he was a just judge. His daughter had broken the law and he couldn’t simply say to her, “Because I love you so much, I forgive you. You may leave.” If he had done that, he wouldn’t have been a righteous judge. He wouldn’t have upheld the law. But he loved his daughter so much that he was willing to take off his judicial robe and come down in front and represent her as her father and pay the fine. The illustration pictures to some extent what God did for us through Jesus Christ. We sinned. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” No matter how much he loved us, god had to bring down the gavel and say “death”, because he is a righteous and just God. And yet, being a loving God, he loved us so much that he as willing to come down off the throne in the form of the man Christ Jesus, and pay the price for us, which was Christ’s death on the cross.4 Paid Check Some people do not understand that they must accept Jesus’ payment. Imagine being at a restaurant and discovering that you don’t have your wallet. A kind person at the next table offers to pay the bill. At that moment you have a choice – will you accept this offer or will you turn it down and try to work the debt off yourself. By Jesus death on the cross, God is offering to pay the price for all of our sins – past, present and future. But we have to make a choice. We can accept God’s offer gratefully or we can insist on trying to pay our debt by ourselves. Ultimately all of humanity will be divided between those who said yes to God’s offer of payment (they will be saved) and those who insisted on paying the bill themselves (they will be lost).

Methods for Starting Spiritual Conversations Direct method Suggestions:  Do you ever think about spiritual matters?  Where would you say you are at in your spiritual journey?  If you ever want to know the difference between Christianity and religion, then just let me know.  Have you come to a place in your spiritual life where you know for sure you’ll go to heaven?  If you died today, what would you say to God? What would He say to you?

4 Josh McDowell, More Than A Carpenter, (Tyndale Press, 1977), pp 114-115.  What if you are wrong about Jesus? Interest method Suggested topics:  Family  Work  Nature  Music  Sports  Kids  Recreation  Neighborhood  Community service Invitational method “Come and see….” This method accounts for 80- 85% of all kingdom growth.

Telling Your Story As we talk through these questions, quickly jot down answers that convey your own experience. Later you’ll be able to expand on these abbreviated responses. (NOTE: If you received Christ when you were a young child, start with Question 3.)

1. What was your spiritual viewpoint before accepting Christ? a. Example: I thought that as long as my good deeds outweighed my bad ones, I was doing okay. 2. How did your spiritual attitudes negatively affect your life and relationships? Use concrete examples. a. Example: I felt anxiety because I didn’t know how many good deeds it would take to get me on God’s good side. 3. How did it come about that you heard the Gospel message? a. Example: I got to be friends with a guy at work who turned out to be a Christian; he invited me to go to church with him. 4. What was it about the message that affected you? a. Example: I learned for the first time that God’s forgiveness is a gift that cannot be earned; it is offered freely and must be humbly received. 5. What was your response to that message? a. Example: I pondered it for quite awhile and discovered by reading the Bible that it was true. 6. Specifically, how did you receive Christ? a. Example: My friend explained to me that I needed to admit to God that I had sinned and rebelled against Him, and to ask Him for Christ’s forgiveness and leadership in my life. b. NOTE: If you became a Christian as a child, the emphasis on the next two questions should be on the benefits Christ has made in your life compared to what it might have been like without knowing Him. 7. How did your attitude and life change after you received Christ? (There should be a resolution of the problem cited in Question 2) a. Example: My anxiety has been replaced by peace because I know I have been forgiven by God and been given eternal life. 8. What other benefits have you derived since receiving Christ? State these concretely. a. Example: I’ve found that my relationships are more meaningful because I’m learning to treat each person as someone who matters to God. 9. What struggles are you continuing to have and how is God’s help making a difference? a. Example: I’m still struggling to balance my work and family, but thanks to wisdom from the Bible and encouragement from Christian friends, I’m making gradual progress.