Pick any blog on personal evangelism, and one will encounter a conversation over different gospel presentations.
- What points must one share?
- What happens if I forget a point?
- Can I mess it up?
On one hand, it’s great to be concerned about messing up.
We always want to be prepared to explain our faith, and get better at it as we mature in Christ.
On the other hand, God is more sovereign than our mistakes.
He will not deny His grace to another because our explanation was as clear as mud.
God’s sovereignty is not an excuse to avoid evangelism, nor to be sloppy in our presentation.
What must a clear Gospel explanation have?
A good explanation of the gospel must convey information about
- The nature of sin and our separation from God.
- The love of God and his desire to be reconciled to the lost.
- Christ as God’s plan of redemption:
- That God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
- Christ died for our sins and rose again.
- The promise of forgiveness of sins
- Belief in Jesus is the response to God’s irresistible grace.
Condensed Gospel Presentations
One of the most popular forms (see our series on evangelism scripts) to explain the gospel is the Law and Gospel script by the Way of the Master folks.
I like the theology of the Law and Gospel presentation.
But don’t agree with how some of its users say its the only valid form of the gospel message. The implication is that if one didn’t get the right explanation of the gospel, you are a false convert. Or if you miss an element in the explanation, the conversion has misfired.
In my own testimony, my conversion misfired 20 years ago because I didn’t come to faith in the right way. I raise a similar question here on the starting point for the gospel.
Other gospel presentation scripts include
- Four Spiritual Laws,
- Romans Road,
- Good Person Test,
- Evangecube (video),
- the The Bridge Illustration,
- Do versus Done and so forth.
There are plenty of scripts out there one could use.
Just get familiar with one and start.
Each script has its critics, and its endorsers.
It’s not my point here to pick one over the other.
My point however, is to pick a script and get very familiar with it so that you can explain the gospel clearly when given the opportunity.
I use the Bridge Illustration as I think it covers a lot of ground.
The imagery is clear.
Practice it over and over on a napkin until you can explain it clearly at any given moment. Learn how to share it lovingly and in the form of a dialogue (the script is not a tool to cream people).
Let me ask you this?
What script do you like you to use?
Can you share the gospel message clearly when needed?
See our entire series on scripts.
Do you need help in Personal Evangelism?
Start here with this MP3 Download on Evangelism Training from the store to help you see where you need to grow.
It’s a 80 minute audio file that takes just a few minutes to download, but it may help you answer the question:
What can you do in the next 90 days to grow in your evangelism skills?
I have used all the ways you mentioned and found all to be effective if people will only use them. You didn’t mention EE, what think ye of it?
Marty
I forgot about EE when I originally wrote the series and this article. Small oversight on my part.
I think it can be a good one if the person I’m talking to is actually asking the question this script addresses.
The opening Question: do you know for sure that you are going to heaven? may be asking a question that the person I’m witnessing to may not even be asking. It may not be on the radar.
If it is a concern on their mind, then I think the EE approach can be a good tool to answer that question.
The opening question can also initiate a possible concern, as in “I’ve never thought about that. . . “
I’m engaged in rural evangelism. I’ve observed that the EvangeCube is one of the most effective tools for soul winning.
Please how can I get copies to buy.
I do not send or sell these items. You’ll need to order them directly from e3resources as linked in the article
Hi
My local church has agreed to put a gospel presentation on their website which I hope will be an encouragement for people not engaged in evangelism to download and use on their mobiles.
I have seen a few. I am not a fan of those over emphasizing the Law as although it is useful for the self-righteous to see themselves remorse is not believing, and we are saved by believing leading to repentance ie changing the way we think. People have to believe in something before they can alter their perception.
Please could you recommend something we could use?
Thanks Bryan. This post already points to 6 different gospel presentations that I recommend.