NOT EASY
By David Ettinger
Ultimately, sharing the Gospel is not easy. The reason for this is that Satan is working hard to prevent your words from being comprehended by the person with whom you are speaking.
Also, the human race has built into it a natural abhorrence to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. People don’t like hearing they are sinners separated from God, and that if they die in this state, they will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14-15).
To make sharing the Gospel easier to communicate, Christian organizations have put out publications such as “The 4 Spiritual Laws” and “The Roman Road,” and these are indeed helpful and used to good effect.
But ultimately, sharing one’s faith is spiritual warfare, and believers doing the sharing should expect either pushback, or a friendly nod, a thank you, and the hearer moving on as quickly as possible. Sharing of the Gospel should always be followed by prayer for the hearer, that the Truth would sink deep into his or her soul.
Useful Verses
The more time we have to share the Gospel the better, but if we find our time limited, it’s good to have some “go-to” verses which can help stimulate a Gospel conversation. I call these passages “Mini-Gospel Verses.” (By contrast, see my blog, “Sharing the Gospel: Back to the Basics.”)
Such “go-to” – or “quick-hit” – Mini-Gospel Verses include:
John 3:36
“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
This verse will allow you to quickly broach the topics of eternity and wrath, and what the ramifications are of one having God’s wrath on him.
1 John 5:11-12
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”
These 2 verses will allow you to begin a discussion on eternal life – both in Heaven with God and in the Lake of Fire. This leads to the ultimate truth that all people are destined for eternal damnation unless they give their lives to Christ.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”
The key word here is “perish.” This does not mean death, as all people die. The word “perish” specifically refers to eternal damnation. This can especially be seen by its contrast to the phrase “but have eternal life.”
Again, it all comes down to what determines an individual’s final eternal destination. (Read my blog: “John 3:16: A Bad Verse to Teach Kids.”)
1 John 2:17
“The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.”
Not as well known, yet in typical John fashion, this verse speaks volumes in a very succinct and brief way. A key word here is “but.” The first clause explains the natural fate of the unsaved world: It is passing way. And yes, this is another reference to eternal damnation.
The word “but” then provides a stark contrast: BUT the one who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has eternal life in glorious paradise.
These are verses worth memorizing as any one of them will get you into a conversation about the Gospel.
David Ettinger was born and raised in a Jewish family in New York. After moving to New Mexico as an adult, he suffered through many trials. The nudge of the Holy Spirit caused him to examine his heart and in 1986 he surrendered his life to Jesus and has walked with Him ever since. David holds a BA, and MA, in English from New Mexico State University. He began his career in journalism writing for the university paper. Later he became the sportswriter for the El Paso Times. He has held many other positions as both writer and editor with major publications. David is active in Zion’s Hope, Inc., Winter Garden, Florida. His publications include Lifeway publications, Single Parent magazine (Focus on the Family), Zion’s Fire magazine, and Real Life magazine. In addition, he served as managing editor for Zion’s Fire and Real Life. David’s book, Overcomers: 30 Stories of Triumph from the Bible, is available online. David is proud of his son and grandson.
David would love for you to read his testimony
Feature Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash
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