Making the Gospel Clear

The Gospel, as defined in I Corinthians 15:3-6 consists of two facets: (1) the
judicial act of forgiveness by God on the basis of Christs death on the cross and (2) the
result of accepting this payment, the impartation of new life on the basis of the
resurrection (see Romans 6). We often do well at communicating about the new life (our
testimonies), but we are often not as clear as we should be on the basis and motivation to
live that new lifeChrists payment for our sin. It is the aspect of Christs death for sin
that we want to concentrate on here.

We want to make the Gospel as clear and easy to grasp as possible, so that people
will understand the basis for their salvation, and be gripped with the fact that Christ died
for them. We expect the benefits to be that: (1) more people will understand the Gospel
so more will become Christians; (2) these new believers will grasp the meaning of
Christs payment for their sins in a more profound manner and be freed from legalism,
compelled to live for Him, and experience the new life and the dynamic of His love
shown by Christs death; and (3) believers sharing their faith will have a constant
reminder of the basis of their salvation and the love of God demonstrated by Christs
sacrifice for our sins, and thereby, be increasingly encouraged to love Him and serve
Him.

The Particulars of Using the Four Spiritual Laws

Note #1: Keep in mind, the Four Spiritual Laws is best used in a presentation setting. It
can work well in a conversational setting, but for a conversational setting, you may prefer
another evangelistic tool such as Life @ Large. The gospel message doesnt change,
so we will use the flow of the Four Spiritual Laws as our basis for these notes.

Note #2: Most importantly, a person becomes a Christian by trusting Christs death to
pay the penalty for his or her own sins. (Acts 4:12; John 1:12; Eph. 2:8,9)

Note #3: Even though we are giving you these ideas, notes, clarifications, you probably
will never have an occasion to use them all at the same time. Sharing our faith is not a
formula, it is more like an art. We need to be sensitive to how God guides the
conversation and skillful in learning when to use which tools. There are many other great
illustrations and clarifiers that you will learn and use this summer. This is just meant to
give you a bit of a head start in sharing your faith.

Questions often give us a good forum to transition into a meaningful spiritual

conversation. (That is why surveys are such a common tool. They give us an excuse to
ask significant questions to lead into meaningful conversation.) We want to be people
who ask good questions so that we can reveal the places where the hearer either has
wrong answers or has no answers. Two good questions (apart for any surveys) that give
you a quick feel for where the hearer stands spiritually are known as the KennedyRepak questions:

If you were to die today, on a scale of 0-100%, how sure are you that you would go to
heaven?
If you were to die and stand before God, and He were to say, __Name__, why should I
let you into Heaven? What would you say?
At Romans 3:23, it might be helpful to know that the word sin means, to miss the
mark. Some miss by a little and others obviously miss by a lot, but all miss.
At Romans 6:23 (page 5 of the Four Laws), explain (and even write it in the
booklet if that is convenient) that what we deserve for our sin is death (or the penalty for
our sin is death). This will help address the common point of confusion that we can be
good enough to please God.
At Romans 5:8 (page 6), underline: Christ died for us, and show how Christs
death paid what we deserve (or our penalty) as you refer back to Romans 6:23 to show
how Christs death is the payment for what we deserve.
At Ephesians 2:8,9 (page 8), read it out loud then you might ask the hearer to read
it back to you in his or her own words. This will give you insight into how much the
hearer has comprehended. If the hearer has difficulty, then you might ask, Why did it
have to be a gift? or you might want to underline the words GRACE, SAVED, and
FAITH. After underlining these words, you can re-explain that grace is unmerited favor
or an undeserved gift. You can ask, From what are we saved? You can also ask for
some possible synonyms for faith. Again, this clarification will help you gain insight
into how much the hearer comprehends.
At Revelation 3:20 (page 9), explain that this is a picture of what happens when a
person accepts Christs death to pay for his or her sins. (This is where many have
acquired the phrase, Invite Christ into my heart or life. That phrase is good if a person
understands what it means.) The hearer can open the door by accepting Christs death,
then His Spirit comes to live in Him. (Eph. 1:13,14; Romans 8:9-11)
At the circles on page 9, the following questions can help to clarify the decision,
which is where many people struggle. Use your thumb to cover the right circle and ask:
How much forgiveness does this person have?
Who is paying the penalty for his or her sins?
Where will this person spend eternity when he or she dies?
Then, cover up the circle on the left and ask the same questions. It might be
helpful to write their answers into the booklet. The answers should tell you how clear of
an understanding the hearer has.
Finally, ask: How does a person move from the left circle to the right circle? We
want to ask everyone to receive Christ, so be bold and ask the bottom questions. Which
circle best represents your life? Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
Again, we need to have the courage and faith to ask our hearers if the prayer on page 10
expresses the desire of their hearts. Clarify that the prayer doesnt save a person; only
faith in Christ saves a person.
On page 11, after a person has indicated a decision to receive Christ, you might
consider adding John 5:24 and Colossians 1:13,14 to the verses regarding assurance. The
point to make is that acceptance of Christs death is the sole basis for salvation.