GOSPEL PRESENTATION TO THE LOST
by Lance Waldie, box 1667
About 2000 years ago a man named Jesus came to his own people, the Jews, in the country of Palestine. He was born from Jewish parents who were from the lineage of King David (who lived approximately 1000 years prior to that) and, going further, also a man named Judah (who lived approximately 1000 years prior to David). Up until the time he was approximately thirty years old his life appears to be somewhat obscure, but around the time he turned thirty Jesus began to preach. He told the people in Palestine, in no uncertain terms, that he was the long-awaited Messiah that had been anticipated for thousands of years by the Jewish people. They had been waiting for a savior and king to bring freedom to their land. They did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah because he came to set them free spiritually -- they sought military and political freedom. He lived his life, was obedient to the Old Testament Scriptures, and he died on a cross. He chose this path for one reason -- to restore the entire world to a right relationship with the Almighty God of all creation. Christ died for the sins of all mankind, and he rose from the grave he was placed in after three days. Jesus did this because he loved mankind, and he wanted to provide a way for them to be forgiven for their wicked ways of doing things.
In the Bible, which is God’s way of speaking to His people, God reveals Himself to mankind. The story of Jesus is found in the Bible. Written by men who witnessed the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the Bible is our way of listening to God. God spoke through the writers of the Bible -- He inspired their writings just as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
A man named Paul, from the land of Tarsus, was one of the men God inspired in his writings. Paul, though once an enemy of Jesus, was converted to belief in Jesus after Jesus spoke to him following his resurrection from the dead. That’s all Paul needed to believe, and once he did his life was never the same. He became a proclaimer of what Jesus had done for him, and he left his life of hatred behind.
Paul wrote many letters to different groups of people. He wrote to instruct them and to tell them about the man who changed his life -- Jesus. He writes in his letter to the church in Rome in the first century, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23). He then tells them that, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Basically, what Paul has told the people is that they are all going to die as sinful people because all of them are people who don’t quite measure up to God’s standard. The reward for this "falling short" is death. Thankfully, Paul does not end his letter here. He goes on to tell the readers in the same letter, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). This is Paul’s good news to the church in Rome. He tells them they are sinners and their sin, just like his own sin, deserves death as its payment, but he then tells them that Jesus has already paid for their sins. They don’t have to pay anything because Jesus had already paid the price for their own sins. Paul was making sense to the people he was writing to, but he wanted to clarify the people’s responsibility in this matter when he was writing another letter to another group of people. In Paul’s letter to the church which was in a place called Ephesus he tells the people this: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). What Paul is saying is that Jesus has already paid the price for everyone to be considered perfect. People don’t have to do anything in order for Jesus to love them. There is no "good" work that anyone can do that might bring about God’s favor on that person. If there were "good" works we could do then grace would not be true grace. Jesus saved us not because of something we did, He saved us because He loves us -- so much so that He died a terrible death on a cross so that He would be the one to pay for our sins, not us. The good works that we do are just an indication that what Jesus did for us makes us happy. If someone came to you on your death-bed and took your affliction upon themselves so that you might live then you would, no doubt, be appreciative to that person. You would probably even do nice things for that person or in that person’s honor just because you would be so thankful for what they had done for you. It’s the same with regard to what Jesus has done for us. We do the things He asks of us in the Bible because we are so sold out to telling Him "thank you" for what He has done for us.
Jesus died for us. He not only died for us, but he came back from the dead after three days to prove that He alone is God and that His Word is true. There are many men who have died for worthy causes, and many who have believed that they were God. Some have even proclaimed that they would come back from the dead, but only Jesus actually did it. There is no greater attestation to any man’s death in ancient history than that of the man called Jesus, the Christ. Many have tried to disprove his resurrection, but none have succeeded. Many that set out to disprove it return home to follow the man they once set out to disprove. The evidence is so overwhelming it cannot be shirked as myth. A man named John, who walked with Jesus while he was alive, said this: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." It’s that simple.
Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can KNOW you are going to Heaven? May I?
There is good news and bad news:
The bad news is what Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." To illustrate: If we both picked up stones and made an attempt to throw those stones to the North pole we would both miss. You might throw it farther than I or vice versa. The point is that we both fall short of our mark. The same is true with God. No matter how good we are we still fall short.
Romans 6:23 tells us that "The wages of sin is death." From the first bad news we learned that we ALL sin. Now we see that our sin is cause for death – that’s real bad news. To illustrate: If you worked for someone for a time and agreed to be paid for your work then what you earn will be what you deserve. It’s true for all of us with sin because death is the wage with which we are paid – and justly so because we are sinners.
Romans 5:8 tells us "That God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." To illustrate: Let’s say you were dying of cancer in a hospital and were given no hope for survival. Suppose I were to come into your room and make you an offer. I would take your cancer on my own body and you would be free to live a healthy life. You would most likely take it and go on with your life. I would be taking your problems and setting you free.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, and this is not of yourself – it is a gift from God; not as a result of works, so that no man can boast."
To illustrate: Trusting Christ is like sitting down in a chair. The chair is there and you know it will support you. You won’t sit in a chair that is not supportive. Christ is what, actually who, you trust. By trusting in the chair you have relief from standing – by trusting in Christ you have forgiveness of sins.
Lord, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for sending Him to save me from all that I do that goes against your good and perfect plan for my life. I believe that I am a sinner, but through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus I have been saved. I will live my life from this day forward in order that I might serve you and bring glory to your name. Thank you Lord Jesus.