In our culture, experts are highly valued. In court cases, “expert witnesses” are called in to give their perspective. Someone who is an “expert” in some particular field is typically one who knows all the ins and outs and can speak confidently to whatever field they are an expert in.
As believers, we should strive to be “experts” in the gospel. This doesn’t mean that we’re expected to know every detail of theology and memorize big thick books, but Christians should be able to easily and confidently explain the message of Christ and the forgiveness that only He can provide.
I’ve said many times in the past, if you know enough about the gospel to be saved, then you know enough to share the gospel, but you should be striving to know it better. You might not consider yourself a “gospel expert,” but you should be striving to know more so that you can share it with others, hoping that they might repent and trust in Christ.
Remember: the definition of evangelism is: To explain the Gospel to sinful people hoping that they may repent of their sins and put their trust and hope in Jesus Christ alone and serve Him in the fellowship of His church.
When you share the gospel with someone, it shouldn’t be a struggle. If you’re sharing the details of who Christ is and what He has done, and if this is something that has radically changed your life, it should flow naturally and easily.
When you grow up in a good, gospel-proclaiming church, you grow up with the details of the gospel. Sometimes, however, when you’re not called on to answer the question “what is the gospel?” often, you might not have thought through how to explain it to someone who doesn’t know all the details as well as you do. While you can explain that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, how do you introduce this? When do you explain sin? Do you address the idea of substitutionary atonement? How much should you explain?
To help you with a starting point, the Fellowship website now has a “Gospel Learning Kit” on the “Resources” page. It’s a three page guide to learning how to effectively and clearly share the message of Christ with others even if they don’t really know anything about Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible.
My encouragement to you is twofold.
1. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel. As Paul prayed in Colossians 4:3, pray that God would open a door for you to share the gospel with others
2. Learn to make it clear. I believe that an “ordered” approach to sharing the details of the gospel is best. I also believe that we use as much Scripture as possible when sharing. After all, it’s not my inspiring story that is going to save someone. It’s God’s Word that saves (James 1:21b , 1 Peter 1:23, Romans 10:17)
Remember, when you’re learning to share the gospel, it’s a “script that’s not a script.” You’re not presenting a sales pitch. You’re sharing the most important thing you could possibly share with them. It’s the most important thing in your life.
Please make every effort to know the gospel and the accompanying verses so well that you can share them without hesitation or struggling. In this way, you demonstrate that the gospel is deeply meaningful to you.
When you share the gospel with others, you are an expert. You are sharing with someone something that you know about. Something you’ve studied. Something that is deeply meaningful to you. Something that is an overwhelming joy to talk about.
Click here for a guide to get you started. And as always, if you need help with this, or have any other questions, get in touch with me. I’d love to chat with you about it.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rob
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