John 3: 16
“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.”
As Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, he reveals everything that is important to him. His love for Nicodemus is evident in how he treats him and answers his questions. There are no hidden motives in Nicodemus’ heart, only a sincere desire to understand Jesus; who he was and what he was saying.
In this passage Jesus outlines the essence of what would become Christianity:
1. God loves the world and all the people he created.
2. There is a need to save the people of the world from perishing.
3. God has a Son, and somehow the son is given over.
4. Belief in the Son is the path to avoid perishing and have eternal life.
Q: If you were to share these truths with someone today, how would you say it?
Another good question brother. Of course, as many know I often use the acrostic GOSPEL. God created us to be in a relationship with Him. Our sin separates us from a holy God. Sin cannot be removed by human effort. Paying the price for sin Jesus died and rose again. Everyone who places their trust in Jesus’ work on their behalf has eternal life. Eternal life is life that begins now and lasts forever. This is the Dare to Share acrostic. I like it and it includes all that you mention above. There are many good ways: Evangelism explosion, the 4 spiritual laws, the Romans road, many good tracts. The important thing is that we actually are willing to share and praying for the opportunity.
Hmmm….
When you are referring to the Gospel, shouldn’t that be spelled, “a-cross-tic?” 🙂
We treat each individual and situation as unique. Knowing they have been brought to us by God John 14:6, they are under conviction of the Holy Spirit John 16:8-11, and we are required to allow Christ to speak to them through us Matthew 28:19-20.
Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus. When I read of John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman, the prostitute about to be stoned, the man possessed by a legion of demons, His disciples and others, I see Jesus using a different approach with each different person.
We can only be used by God in these situations thru prayer and study, dying to self and allowing Christ to grow in us, so when the time comes for us to be used, we get out of the way and allow God, the Trinity to do their work.
Ron,
Thank you for pointing out how many different ways there are to approach a person with the Good News of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. Well said!
Thank you Jeff for all the work you have put into this labor of love. You have done a far better job than anyone I know.
Blessings Brother,
Ron
I usually just tell them to go talk to Jeff Englund.
If that doesn’t work, then I try get then to see that they’re a sinner and their son separates them from a holy God.
By the way, a not a great evangelist. Really kind of a bummer.
My dear Robster –
Each of us can be used by the Holy Spirit to share the Good News. The evangelist makes it a mission to reach out to others with the Gospel, but the rest of us (I am not an evangelist either!) are called to different tasks in the Body of Christ. Your task seems to be to make me smile!
Sharing God’s love and message of salvation takes many forms. What I take from this verse is that the message is quite simple. Even those of us who are not great evangelists can share the good news that salvation comes through belief in Jesus.
Right on Robster,..tell’em to go and talk to Jeff,..one thing to remember here Robster is that Jesus picked ordinary men like you and me to get His message out to the people or as it is written the nations,..but land can not become a disciple so I think it refers to people,..oh and remember the guy Moses? You are created by a Sovereign God and He will use the weakest to do His strongest work,..so one day God will use you in a huge way for Him and you may think it is just a small thing that you did,..think of the weak little virgin girl named Mary that did some very strong work through God,..sometimes we don’t have to be an evangelist with words,..because you know how the saying goes,..action speaks louder than words,..
As for the question,..I would allow the Holy Spirit to move through me and speak for me to answer the questions as they arise and if the Holy Spirit doesn’t show up then I will go and get Jeff,..really I think it is all in the opportunity and allowing God to use me and then I also need to be available to do,..
The other day this guy came up to a home owner and I as I was preparing to leave from the estimate,..this guy his name is James had a gas can in his hand, was dressed rather neat,..no sign because we were on the back streets of the neighborhood,..he had some serious tears in his eye and gave the story that his brother was just killed and he needed gas to get back to Missouri,..so here was an opportunity to pray for this guy,..but the Holy Spirit moved me to opening my wallet for ten bucks,..because the voice was like,..what good is it to say God bless you and do nothing?,..so that’s when I reached for my wallet asking for his name the first bill I seen was a ten so I took it as that,..I asked him if I could pray for him,..so right there on the spot in front of the customer no less,..I put my hand on James shoulder and prayed for him,..I didn’t lead him to Jesus but I took the opportunity to pray for him,..planted a seed if he didn’t believe,..the main thing in any case is that Jesus is glorified,..
John,
Thank you for sharing your story today. I love the how the Spirit opened the door for you to pray for James. Imagine what the Spirit can do with that memory he now carries as he makes his way back to Missouri! Who knows how many more times the Spirit will knock on the door of his heart before he gets there…
Robster doesn’t know how much he has helped me and been an impact on my spiritual growth and becoming a servant to God.
No, but God does! 🙂