Jesus told us to evangelize the world. Here are four steppingstones from Scripture that can make you a successful evangelist for the Lord Jesus.
- God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV). John 10:10 gives us the reason that Jesus came. “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” What is blocking us from God’s love? What is preventing us from having an abundant life?
- Humanity is tainted by sin, and therefore, it is separated from God. As a result, we cannot know God’s wonderful plan for our lives. Romans 3:23 affirms this information. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 gives us the consequences of sin. “The wages of sin is death…” God created us to have fellowship with Him. However, humanity brought sin into the world, and therefore, it is separated from God. We have ruined the relationship with Him that God intended us to have. What is the solution?
- Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. Through Jesus Christ, we can have our sins forgiven and restore a right relationship with God. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First Corinthians 15:3-4 informs us of what we need to know and to believe in order to be saved. “…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Jesus Himself declared in John 14:6 that He is the only way of salvation. “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” How can I receive this wonderful gift of salvation?
- We must place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior in order to receive the gift of salvation and to know God’s wonderful plan for our lives. John 1:12 describes this for us. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…” Acts 16:31 clearly says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” We can be saved only by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ in total submission to His words and His will (Ephesians 2:8-10). Such a submission is not a labor of oppression, but rather a labor of love that brings us back around full circle to the fact that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
