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WITNESSING AND EVANGELISM (A Crutch)
Last time we looked
at how people will treat me. This time
we’ll look at one method of witnessing that might be helpful.
There is a way, however, a crutch if you
will, that will help. One way is what is
called “One Verse Evangelism” advanced by Randy Raysbrook, Discipleship
Journal. It is sometimes called “The
Bridge to Life” used by The Navigators.
This approach is based on Romans 6:23:
“For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
You can use this verse on a napkin or an
envelope. It is pretty simple.
Sorry that you can't the the picture of the napkin here.
First, use the verse. You can ask the person to whom you are witnessing,
if I could sum up how to get to heaven in one Bible verse, would you want to
hear it? If the answer is “no,” you may
not need to push it. Otherwise, go ahead
and write the Romans 6:23 verse down.
Next, draw the diagram, below.
It is best to draw the two cliffs first, with
MAN on the left cliff and GOD on the right cliff. Write WAGES, SIN and DEATH under MAN and ask:
1.
How
would you define wages?
Something we receive
for work.
2.
How
would you feel if your boss didn’t pay you what you deserved?
I wouldn’t like
it. It wouldn’t be fair or right.
Point out that we
have earned wages from God for how we live our lives. And ask:
3.
How
do you think you have lived your life according to how God would want you to
live?
Not so well.
Well, I haven’t lived
that well either. Sure, I’m not the
worst person in the world, but I’m sure that God has expected more of me.
4.
How
would you define sin?
I suppose that would
be doing something bad.
Exactly. Whenever we do something that is wrong or bad,
that is sin.
5.
How
would a person have to live in order to get to heaven?
Pretty good, I guess.
6.
Have
you always lived a life as you have just described?
No. or I’ve done OK, but not always.
Point out that sin
has separated us from God by using the space between the cliffs in the picture.
7.
What
thoughts come to mind when you think about death?
Not very pleasant
thoughts. or I don’t think about it much. or It doesn’t matter.
The Bible teaches
that death is forever. It is
eternal. The Bible teaches that when one
dies, he goes either to heaven or to hell.
If we die on the MAN side, there is no way to get to heaven. No way to get to God. This is what the Bible calls eternal death,
or hell.
But there is good
news. Do you see the “but” in the Bible
verse?
(Now write BUT at the
bottom, between the two cliffs. Then,
below GOD, write, GIFT OF GOD, and ETERNAL LIFE. Note the difference and the contrast between
the words on either side of the cliffs.)
8.
How
would you describe a gift?
That is what someone
gives you for nothing. It is a gift.
Right. Some people think we have to earn God’s favor
with what we do and how good we are, but that’s not true.
9.
“Of
God” means that God has a gift for us.
It has already been paid for.
With all that is
going on around us in this life, does a gift sound good to you?
Yes.
10.
How
would you describe eternal life?
It is always and
forever.
11.
Where
are you now, in this picture?
I’m on the MAN side.
12.
Where
would you like to be?
I’d like to be on the
GOD side.
Here’s how to get
there. Not by works. Not by just trying to be good.
13.
Do
you see the final words of the Bible verse?
“…in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Yes.
14.
That’s
the answer.
(Draw the cross in
between the cliffs and write Jesus Christ horizontally. Then write our Lord vertically, below that.
Jesus is the only
path to heaven. He is the only way to
get to heaven. By His death and
resurrection, the price has been paid for your life.
15.
Would
you like to cross that bridge right now?
It’s easy. It is a gift. All you have to do is to:
ADMIT that you are a
sinner in need of a Savior.
BELIEVE that Jesus
died and was resurrected as the price for your sin.
RECEIVE Jesus as your
Lord and Savior and accept this free gift of eternal life.
If you would like to
do that, we can pray right here, right now and you will know as of that moment
that you will go to heaven when you die.
Now this is pretty formulaic and it is not
magic, but it is a way to get started.
You may not be able to answer all of the questions, but even so, you can
invite this person to study God’s Word with you or to join you in a Bible study
or class or to attend church.
Remember, it is not up to you. Trust the Holy Spirit to work in your life
and leave the results to God.
Next we’ll look at my personal approach.
Doug
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