Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
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we all know that we need to share the
gospel but we have a culture that has
rejected their need for salvation but
our responsibility is to make sure that
people hear the good news but you may
not know which scriptures to go to to
help a person understand salvation and
the gospel message so I want to give you
a step-by-step approach that you can
take when talking to somebody in your
sphere who needs to hear how they can
know they’re on their way to heaven
let’s start by asking the person you’re
talking to the question how do they
think a person gets to heaven or you can
put it another way would they like to be
sure that they are going to heaven
either way that opens the door for them
to give you permission to share with
them how they can be saved how they can
know where they will spend eternity you
can start with the bad news of why the
gospel is needed in the first place and
that is Romans 3:23 for all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God
most people will recognize that they
have sinned in their lives that they
have broken one of the Ten Commandments
or all of the Ten Commandments it would
be rare that somebody doesn’t recognize
that they’ve done wrong in their lives
so people need salvation because God is
perfect and it cannot accept
imperfection and all of us are imperfect
with sinners but that opens the door for
step two which is the good news the good
news is in Romans 5:8
but God demonstrated his own love for us
in that while we were yet sinners Christ
died for us the reason why that’s good
news is number one God loves sinners
we’ve established all are sinners but
God loves sinners so he loves all people
particularly the person who you’re
talking to he loved them so much that he
died on the cross Jesus Christ God’s Son
died on the cross to pay for their sins
yes the bad news we’re all sinners but
the great news is God loves sinners and
he paid the price for every cinema which
is everyone since all have sinned so
that means the person you’re talking to
can be reassured that God loves them no
matter what sins they have committed and
that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a
substitutionary payment for the sinners
sin but then step 3 you want to clarify
something romans 4 4 and 5 you want to
make this crystal clear that they cannot
earn their own salvation
it says in Romans 4 verses 4 and 5 now
to the one who works his wage is not
credited as a favor but as what is due
but to the one who does not work but
believes in him who justifies the
ungodly his faith is credited for
righteousness salvation cannot be earned
if salvation could be earned you explain
then Jesus wouldn’t have had to die God
could have just waited for us to earn it
just as credit placed on an account
places something in the account that the
person doesn’t already have financially
when something is credited to that
account God credits the perfection of
Jesus to the account of the sinner who
believes in Jesus for their personal
salvation when a person believes in
Jesus this hearses for their personal
salvation and doesn’t try to earn it
themselves
God credits the sinner with the
righteousness the perfection of Jesus so
that in God’s eyes that sinner now has a
perfect credit score they have now been
credited with the righteousness of Jesus
Christ some supplemental verses you may
want to use one that’s well known John
3:16 for God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life for
second Corinthians 5:21 he who knew no
sin Jesus became sin for us substitute
that we might become the righteousness
of God in him credit when a person
receives Jesus Christ as their personal
sin Bera
not trying to earn it themselves God
gifts them
that’s called grace he gifts them the
free gift of salvation
that is the good news of the gospel and
then you can invite the person to trust
Christ you can invite them to pray with
you a prayer that they are transferring
their trust in Jesus Christ apart from
their works to receive the free gift of
forgiveness of sins and eternal life
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