All right, Amen. We're in 1 Corinthians 15, and there's a lot in that chapter, isn't there?
I just want to remind you of the first few verses again in 1 Corinthians 15.
So we're going to look from verse 1 again. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1, which says,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures.
And he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.
And he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.
After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once,
of whom the greater part remained unto this present, but some were fallen asleep.
After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles,
and last of all he was seen of me also, of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain,
but I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me.
Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
And we're continuing our series on how to win souls,
and we've done number one an introduction to soul winning,
number two started the conversation, number three sin and its consequences,
and today it's number four the gospel.
So the title today is how to win souls the gospel.
How to win souls number four the gospel.
I'd like to pray and then we'll get started.
Father thank you for your word.
Thank you for the gospel, Lord.
Thank you for the beauty of the gospel, the simplicity of the gospel, Lord.
And help me to just show an easy way of getting that across people,
of teaching that to people that want to hear about the gospel, Lord.
Help me to preach this message just clearly and accurately.
Help everyone to just pay attention and to be able to apply this to their soul winning,
Lord, and for those maybe in the future to be able to do that too.
And help me to do it in a concise and simple manner.
Jesus name we pray, amen.
Okay, so we're here in 1 Corinthians 15,
which basically starts with the gospel in a nutshell, didn't it?
1 Corinthians 15 verse 1 said,
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.
So if you're saved, then this is what you're standing upon, okay?
This is what you're standing upon.
It said in verse 2,
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
So he didn't say you're being saved or you will be saved if.
Ye are saved if, okay?
If basically you know why you're saved, okay?
Or they didn't really believe.
They believed in nothing basically, yeah?
If you don't know why you're saved, well it sounds like you're not saved, right?
And this is what they need to know.
Verse 3 says,
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that 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.
So I'd like to look now at an effective way of explaining this to someone, okay?
Last week we finished at Revelation 20 and verse 10.
Like I said, you know, for some people it might be that, you know,
you don't have to go to Revelation 20 to show, you know, that eternal torment,
they already understand these truths and you can be a bit quicker.
But, you know, as a sort of standard I'll probably finish at Revelation 20 verse 10.
So if you are, you know, noting and mapping your Bible,
you could write at Revelation 20 verse 10, turn to Romans 5-8, okay?
Turn to Romans 5-8.
And when I'm preaching the Gospel, if I've preached about sin,
about the wages of sin, the consequences of sin,
I've shown them about hell and Revelation is a good place to show that lake of fire, brimstone.
I like to give a quick summary before going to Romans 5-8 at this point, okay?
So something like, okay, so we've seen that we're all sinners,
the wages of sin is death and eventually that's a lake of fire, okay?
You don't want to go there, okay?
And usually people, you know, if people are really being nonchalant at this point,
you know, they're kind of mocking it a bit and stuff like that,
then, you know, I kind of maybe just want to make that point a bit clearer,
you know, that the Bible says that sin takes you to hell.
I'll say something like you don't want to go there.
And then ultimately I'm saying, well, guess who else doesn't want you to go there?
Why?
Because this is a question that they'll usually get right.
Remember we talked about it's good to ask questions that majority of people will get correct.
You don't want to be constantly telling someone, uh-uh, wrong answer, uh-uh, wrong answer,
because a lot of the time you'll get their backs up
and it might prevent you then being able to get them saved.
So I usually ask that and a lot of people will answer God.
Like I said before, I've had people say my mum, other people say, you know, whoever else,
my dog or something else, but usually someone will say God, you know,
and then I'll usually say something like, you know, he loves you, you know,
he loves you so much that he made a way for you to not have to go to hell,
okay, which is basically what we're going to look at here.
Now Romans 5-8, I think is a nice bridge, it's a nice softener after hell,
because like we talked about last week, when you're preaching on hell to someone,
it's not very comfortable, is it?
It's not nice having to tell someone that they're on their way to eternity in hell,
to burning in hell.
Sometimes even when you're kind of explaining it,
you're thinking this could get interrupted at any moment,
it's not a pleasant part, you kind of want to get through it,
but it's an essential part like we looked at last week, right?
People have to understand what they're being saved from.
So usually, you know, this is nice now, it's like, right, they're still here,
they're still listening, they still want to hear,
I've shown them they're on their way to hell,
but now I can show them the solution.
And often when I'm showing people about hell,
I'm kind of sometimes putting that caveat,
I am going to show you in a minute how easy it is to avoid that,
but you've got to understand this first, right?
So we get to this point where for me, Romans 5-8 is a softener,
where it says,
but God commendeth his love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Now again, just remember, like with any verse,
it needs a bit of explaining.
God commendeth his love toward us,
and I usually say it's something like,
he lifts up or he exalts his love.
You could say he magnifies or whatever,
it's basically showing that his love toward us is so great, isn't it?
He commendeth his love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And usually I just say straight from that,
well, who's Jesus Christ?
And ask them, because now I want to know
who they think Jesus Christ is.
And that's one of them ones,
well, they're going to give you an answer,
and whatever they give,
you're going to kind of expand and show them more on that.
Now, I don't know about you guys,
we pretty much will probably get a lot of answers to this, don't we?
And they vary,
you've got a whole spectrum of answers to who Jesus Christ is.
Some people will just go, he's our saviour,
having just said you've got to work your way to heaven or something.
You know, other people will say, you know, he's God.
Some people will say he's, you know, he's the Messiah,
or some people will just say, well, he's the Lord.
Well, that doesn't mean that they understand who he is, okay?
So depending on the answer will dictate how long I spend on this point.
And I say that because, look, if someone says he's the Son of God,
or he's God, or he's God in the flesh,
or yeah, I believe in the Trinity or something else,
then I just want to confirm that they do believe in the Trinity.
But if someone says, well, he's just a prophet,
then they're going to need a bit longer, aren't they,
to understand who Jesus Christ is.
If someone says, well, you know, he's just some bloke,
or I don't really know much about him,
again, they might need a little bit more than maybe one verse
just to get an understanding of who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
But, you know, regardless of any of that,
I usually go to 1 John 5, 7, 1,
and sometimes it's the only verse I go to
if someone seems to have a good understanding of the Trinity,
of who he is, or just accepts it very quickly, very readily.
So after Romans 5, 8, which is more of a sort of,
you know, a softener after the Gospel,
and an introduction to who Jesus Christ is,
and the fact, obviously, that Christ died for us,
I like to write, or you could write, go to 1 John 5, 7.
So 1 John, chapter 5, and verse 7.
And I'll usually, as I'm going there,
after I've said, you know, after I've asked them
who God is, I'll just ask them, you know,
have you heard of the word of the Trinity,
or do you believe in the Trinity?
And if they're like, what's that?
Have you ever noticed?
And I'll sometimes say, have you ever noticed,
you know, Holy Trinity Church, Holy Trinity School,
you know, you've seen that word.
It's a word we use to describe a truth in the Bible.
And, you know, even if they said, I believe it,
yeah, I believe the Trinity,
I'll just quickly summarize the Trinity
and make sure they don't suddenly stop me and go,
oh, well, actually,
because people say they believe the Trinity
and then they believe some sort of weirdness anyway, okay?
So, and this is how I usually explain it.
I'll read 1 John 5, 7, which says,
for there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one.
And I usually say something like,
that's God the Father, the Word is God the Son,
that's Jesus Christ when we see it
with a capital W in the Bible,
and the Holy Ghost, that's God the Holy Ghost
or Holy Spirit.
And I usually say something along the lines
of God the Father isn't God the Son,
God the Son isn't God the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit,
and God the Holy Spirit isn't the Lord Jesus Christ,
isn't God the Son.
However, all three are one God, okay?
It's not something we can necessarily fully grasp
and understand, but that's what the Bible teaches.
And most people just accept that.
I don't know.
I don't know about you.
It's rare that I get people kind of,
I just can't get,
I just need you to,
no, not having it in anything else.
And it's pretty simple, right?
It usually is enough.
I don't need, I don't know.
I know some people in the past,
I don't know if they still do.
I know I've talked about this before,
going to like eggs and wedding cakes
and things like this.
I've never really needed to do that
because ultimately at this point they're unsaved.
They just need to accept it.
They don't need to have this full grasp
and understanding because for me,
they're not going to understand it fully,
but they just need to accept it.
They need to accept the Bible's record of the Son.
They need to accept that
to be putting their faith in Him.
Do they need to understand
exactly how that works to everything else?
Do I need to do like a full sermon
on the Trinity to them?
I don't think so,
as long as they're not denying it.
So if they accept that truth,
1 Corinthians 15,
you have to turn to it said,
for I delivered unto you first of all
that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures.
The point is that it's the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's the Christ,
not some bloke,
not some prophet,
it's the Christ as revealed in Scripture, okay?
So if they deny it,
or they seem unconvinced,
they're like,
I don't know about that,
or something,
if they're not just like,
okay, yeah, okay,
I understand,
I'm accepting that,
or something along those lines,
then the next place I go is John 1, okay?
So you could write John 1, 1 to 3,
you could put in brackets optional
at the end of 1 John 5, 7.
The reason I'm going here is
because we're proving who the word is
for people that do seem unconvinced,
and also this is again just very clear, isn't it?
Because it says in John 1 and verse 1,
in the beginning was the word,
and the word was with God,
and the word was God.
So how was he,
and this is what I usually say is,
well, how was he with God,
and yet how was he God,
because he was with God the Father
and he is God the Son?
And again,
generally people are like,
if people are a bit unsure,
then you're showing this like,
okay, I see, I see, right?
In the beginning,
and the same was in the beginning.
With God,
I make that very clear
because a lot of people,
what do you often get for the Muslims?
So where was God before 2,000 years ago?
You're like, oh man,
but some people don't understand it.
Some people, they're not trying to be funny,
they just don't really get that.
They're like, so how's he God?
In their mind they're thinking,
I don't really want to ask it,
but how's he God if he only came
around 2,000 years ago?
You know, so the same was in the beginning with God,
and then I say,
all things were made by him
and without him was not anything made,
it was made,
and I usually say something like,
he didn't just,
he came 2,000 years ago to Earth
to be born in that manger.
However, he always was.
He's God.
He's the Son of God.
Now,
you could write at the end of verse three,
go to verse 14,
and verse 14 in John 1
is just to show that Jesus Christ is the Word
because it says,
and the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory,
the glory is of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
And that for me usually is enough
for the vast majority of people.
1 John 5, 7,
for someone that already has some understanding, etc.,
a lot of the time is enough
with just a quick explanation
of the fact that he is God.
However, he's the Son of God
and he's not God the Father,
he's not God the Holy Ghost.
But,
now,
if additional verses are needed,
okay,
although now they are starting to deny Scripture,
aren't they?
So just be aware that if you've done that,
you've done 1 John 5, 7,
you've done John 1 verses 1 to 3,
you've shown who he is in verse 14,
you know,
just bear in mind,
you're starting to maybe get into debate territory.
However,
sometimes, look,
sometimes it can be useful.
Sometimes there is a verse that makes someone go,
okay, I get it, I understand.
So these are some optionals.
1 Timothy 3, 16,
you could also put in brackets.
And again, I would go from 1 John 5, 7 to John 1,
so I'd probably put this in brackets
after John 1, verse 14,
if needed.
1 Timothy 3, 16,
which says,
and without controversy,
so I usually just say,
there's no argument about it, though.
Great is the mystery of godliness,
God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
received up into glory,
clearly referring to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay, and sometimes I point out,
look, it is a mystery.
However, this is how the Bible explains it.
And are you just going to expect,
are you accepting what the word of God says?
You know, do you accept how the Bible teaches that?
You can see that.
And at this point, again,
if you've got to hear,
again, the majority of people are going to be like,
okay, you know, that's what the Bible says.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
However, he is God in the flesh.
Here, he was manifest in the flesh, it says.
Now, again,
if you think it's genuine,
and you're still dealing with maybe a stubborn case here,
okay, and sometimes you do.
Sometimes it's someone that maybe they just need a bit more.
Sometimes there is a verse that breaks through,
you know, to someone.
Then here are a couple of other options.
So Hebrews chapter one.
Now, the problem with Hebrews one,
and we're going to look at Colossians one in a minute as well,
is for me,
it kind of needs usually
kind of the introduction verses as well
to make it clear who's being talked about
to get those truths across.
So it's not as simple as just a couple of verses I believe.
So if I'm going to Hebrews one,
and I'm going to read it anyway,
it's up to you,
but if I needed to go here on top,
I'd probably read from verse one to verse eight.
Hebrews one and verse one says,
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake
in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoke to us by his Son,
whom here the pointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds.
So again, you could highlight that.
It says that he made the worlds by his Son,
who being the brightness of his glory
and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power,
when he had by himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high,
being made so much better than the angels,
as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
For unto which of the angels said he at any time,
Thou art my Son, this day have I forgotten thee,
and again I'll be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son.
Clearly showing he's the Son of God.
And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten
into the world, he saith,
Let all the angels of God worship him.
And of the angels he saith,
who maketh his angels spirits,
his ministers a flame of fire.
And this is a key verse.
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God,
is for ever and ever a sceptre of righteousness,
is a sceptre of thy kingdom.
This has for me been a breakthrough verse with someone,
I can think of one occasion specifically looking back,
who was a stubborn case with this,
had been taught otherwise, was digging his hills in.
And then when I showed him this and said,
that's God the Father calling God the Son, God.
And he was like, okay, I see.
And so it can, that can be effective if needed.
And again, you're gauging, aren't you?
Am I just in a time waste?
Is a guy standing there in a dress and a silly hat,
and he's clearly sort of heavy on Islam,
and he's just pretended that he's interested,
and suddenly now he's just arguing with everything you say.
Or is it someone that's kind of just like,
I'm not, I don't know, I've been taught different.
That's what we're trying to gauge a lot of the time,
aren't we?
And there's no perfect way to get that right,
to see if it's a time waste or not.
And another one, another option, Colossians chapter one,
and verses 12 to 18.
So you could either put that after John 1.14,
or you could put it after Hebrews one if needed as well,
if you consider it,
if you consider Hebrews one to be your preferred.
Now Colossians one, again,
I think a few verses to show the context to is good.
Verse 12 says in Colossians one,
giving thanks unto the father,
which has made us meet to be partakes
of the inheritance of the saints in light,
who have delivered us from the power of darkness,
and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son,
in whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins,
who is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of every creature.
For by him, and key here,
for by him were all things created,
that were in heaven, that were in earth,
visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him,
and he is before all things are by him,
all things consist of he is the head of the body
of the church, who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence.
I think it's a bit wordy,
I think it needs a lot of explanation,
but again, it's an option,
some might like some bits and pieces there
that they could explain.
Now, like I said, usually at this point,
you're probably dealing with someone like,
maybe a Muslim or someone who's just,
who will say something along the lines of,
Christ never said it in this exact way
that we've decided he has to have said it,
to appease us, you know,
that we already know is not in the Bible.
But I have had Muslims,
and again, let's be honest,
it didn't result in a salvation,
but it was something that claimed to want to hear,
claimed, did the whole world, you know,
Jesus never said that.
Well, Mark 14 is good for that.
When they go, well, Jesus never said he was the Son of God.
Well, look at Mark 14.
And again, if you think, look,
maybe this is a genuine,
and maybe it's a young Muslim,
someone that's maybe,
look, maybe you feel like,
actually, this person might be genuine,
they just need help with this,
and they've been told,
you know, they've just been fixated on,
well, Jesus never said it.
And ultimately what they're doing is
they're denying the inerrancy of Scripture.
So they're already denying the Word of God at this point.
And you've already, if you've got to this point,
and you're preaching the Word of God to them,
well, you know, they're basically denying
what I believe, you know, what happens,
faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God.
I believe when you're hearing the Word of God,
really you have a choice to accept it
as the Word of God or deny it.
However, just say you have someone that,
well, maybe they just,
you feel like actually, maybe they are genuine,
they just need to see this.
Well, Mark 14 is good.
In verse 60 of Mark 14,
Mark 14 and verse 60,
it says,
And the high priest stood up in the midst
and asked Jesus, saying,
Answerest thou nothing?
What is it which these witness against thee?
But he held his peace and answered nothing.
Again, the high priest asked him and said unto him,
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Clearly asked, yeah.
Clearly we know who the Son of the Blessed,
with a capital B, who it's referring to here,
who the blessed is, sorry.
And Jesus said, I am.
Jesus said, I am.
That's Jesus Christ saying, yeah, I'm the Son of God.
And you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power
and coming in the clouds of heaven.
So again, if you've got someone that you think is genuine,
you could put Mark 14 verses 60 to 62.
Maybe, you know,
wherever you feel that you might need it,
maybe after, you could maybe just put a list after.
Some people might do that after John 1, 14,
you know, a list of alternatives for that.
Maybe try and remind yourself something
that might remind you which each passage will do.
I think that's quite clear.
But another one that I have used as well
is John chapter 8, John 8 and from verse 57.
So this is the last one I'm going to show you.
John 8 and from verse 57,
where it says,
Then said the Jews unto him,
thou art not yet 50 years old,
and as thou seen Abraham,
Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
before Abraham was, I am.
Okay.
Again, it's slightly more cryptic,
but again, pretty clear.
Then verse 59,
and I like to point this out,
I have done before,
Then took they up stones to cast at him,
but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple,
going through the midst of them,
and so passed by.
And just pointing out,
that's a reaction that Jesus Christ saying,
yeah, he's the son of God.
Yeah, he's God in the flesh.
The reaction is people want to cast stones at him,
you know,
and kind of you're highlighting their denying
and everything else, you know,
while you're doing that in a polite way.
However, I think if you're getting into this territory,
a lot of the time,
you're at the point where it's like,
yeah, I don't think that person
really wants to hear the gospel,
they just want to waste your time.
And that's something we've got to accept
a lot of the time,
that, you know,
there are people that just want to waste your time,
okay,
there are people that just want to sometimes,
I've had it a lot of the time,
and I don't just want to pick on the Muslims,
but it's something we deal with,
don't we,
a lot, obviously,
is where they invite you into your house,
into their house,
to pretend that they want to hear the gospel,
and then what they end up doing
is getting to this point of the gospel,
while they're pretending they're listening,
pretending they're hearing,
and then it's time to start just arguing and debating.
And something you've got to bear in mind
is that as nice as it is to be invited into a house,
you know,
a lot of the time it's just harder to leave,
it's harder to get out once someone pulls you in,
and it's much easier to leave when you're on a doorstep.
And also you've got to think about safety
with that sort of thing as well, guys,
a little bit.
Obviously, we're talking about witnesses,
that's why you're going in pairs,
but even so,
going into someone's home
and you don't know who else is in there,
stuff like that,
sometimes you feel like,
well, they seem more comfortable,
sometimes you might have someone
that just kind of wants to sit down and relax and stuff,
and you've kind of got to gauge that,
but a lot of the time,
a lot of the time when I've been invited into a home,
it's a time waste.
Okay, and so bear that in mind, okay?
Why can't you just preach it to them on the doorstep?
Now, sometimes there's an elderly person
that maybe can't stand for very long
that says,
oh, would you like to come and sit down?
But again, you've got to gauge that, okay?
So anyway,
okay, often though,
first John 5-7 with a quick description is enough for me, okay?
Again, remember,
we've got attention spans to deal with,
we've got,
you kind of think about it,
there's a distraction coming sadly at some point
to deal with as well,
there's an amount of time
you're going to have to have their attention.
If they understand the Trinity straight away,
they accept the Trinity straight away,
they say,
yeah, I believe that,
yeah, I can see that,
do I need to go into a thesis on the Trinity?
No, okay?
However,
from 1 John 5-7,
the Gospel,
like we saw in 1 Corinthians 15,
is that Christ died for our sins, okay?
So not just some man,
not just some prophet,
the Christ is the Messiah,
the Anointed One,
the God-man Christ Jesus, okay?
So I then,
okay,
I like to explain the Gospel
that the Son of God,
you know,
like I said,
always was,
you know,
came approximately 2,000 years ago,
and from this,
so I've explained who he was,
I've explained who Jesus is,
this is what I like to,
having just given that quick summary,
I say,
well,
he came here approximately 2,000 years ago,
and he showed he was God, okay?
He did amazing miracles,
he walked on water,
he fed the thousands,
he healed the sick,
he gave sight to the blind,
he taught us amazing things.
However,
ultimately,
he came for another,
for a reason beyond that,
you know,
you want to word that,
and I say,
you know,
at the end of his life,
he got arrested,
he got beaten about,
he got slapped about,
he got spat at,
he got,
and I like to emphasize that as well,
because it's showing ultimately that,
because I'm going to make a point now,
that really he came for that reason,
he ultimately allowed that to happen,
at least that he came for that to happen,
and then I usually ask,
because I want to remember,
I don't want to just be talking,
talking, talking,
I like to then ask a question again,
which most people get right,
and how did he die,
and therefore you've got their input,
again,
like I say,
nailed to a cross,
and usually I like to emphasize that as well,
can you imagine that,
getting nailed to a cross,
as long as you don't,
do you think like,
you got nailed to the cross,
and then this is usually my question,
so why did the son of God,
we've just agreed he's God in the flesh,
the son of God,
God in the flesh,
I usually say something like,
he could have killed them like that,
couldn't he?
He could have commanded,
he even said,
I could command 12 legions of angels,
right now,
he could have wiped the whole lot of them out,
and I make the point during this,
although I'm going to show them again in a minute,
that he had done nothing wrong,
he committed no sin,
yet why did he allow these people to nail him to a cross?
And again,
that's an answer that a lot of the time,
people get right,
don't they?
At least they get right,
as in they know what they should say,
something along the lines of,
oh well,
wasn't it to pay for our sins,
wasn't it?
And then it's like,
okay,
you got that,
you got that right,
didn't you?
So think about that for a second,
he died for our sins,
if they answer like that,
and I like to point that out,
and I'll tell you why,
because I know,
I've heard different ways of doing it,
and again,
if you find,
you know,
there's no problem with doing it in different ways,
I know some people say like,
well,
you know,
because he said the truth,
and because of this,
and everything else,
that's why he got arrested,
etc.
Now,
yeah,
that is why,
in a way,
but ultimately,
it was all preordained,
it was all pictured,
it was all prophesied about,
throughout the Old Testament,
and it wasn't like,
oh well,
you said too many honest things,
and sometimes you can maybe leave people thinking that,
and I'm trying to emphasize the fact that he's God in the flesh,
I'm trying to emphasize the fact that he's the son of God,
that he's all powerful,
and it wasn't like,
oh man,
he just said too many honest things,
he just said what,
no,
ultimately,
he got nailed to a cross,
because he came for that reason,
to get nailed to the cross,
you know?
Now,
yeah,
of course,
it's not that he made them,
that these people still chose with their free will,
but I just like,
I'm trying to emphasize the fact that he's God.
Sometimes I've even said to people,
it's because,
like,
you know,
I even say sometimes,
it depending on where I feel drawn to,
and what sort of reaction you're getting to it,
how you're talking about it,
and stuff like that,
is that God is so powerful.
I used to think,
because it is true,
you know,
I used to think,
I remember growing up thinking,
I don't,
you know,
this Jesus didn't seem so,
you know,
very powerful,
or whatever else,
he's got arrested,
couldn't even get out of that type thing,
you're seeing all these stupid little effeminate pictures of Jesus,
and it gives you the wrong impression.
Ultimately he's so powerful,
he's so strong,
he's so amazing,
that he was able to let them do that to him
when he could have killed them like that,
could have spoken a word,
killed them all.
And I kind of emphasize something along those lines,
depending on who I'm talking to,
something along the lines of,
he was nailed to this cross,
why they usually explain it,
or they say something,
usually some would just go,
I'm not sure,
and then it's time to show them.
Okay.
After 1 John 5-7 then,
with maybe the other verses in brackets,
and maybe after each of those if needed,
depending if you can remember to go back there,
or you remember where you're going,
or how long you've been preaching across,
but how good you are at just remembering on your feet,
some people they get more stressed out,
you could like go to 2 Corinthians 5-21.
Again,
now different people go to different passages,
this is what I like to do,
this works for me,
but I'm going to give you some alternatives afterwards,
and by all means,
if you've got something that works for you, great.
But 2 Corinthians 5-21,
at this point when I've asked them why,
and whether they've got it right,
or whether they haven't,
and a lot of the time they will get it right,
they'll say something,
he died for us,
or yeah,
he was paying for our sins,
or something along those lines.
2 Corinthians 5-21,
I'm confirming that truth,
where it says,
for he has made him.
So I usually,
while I'm reading it,
I'm explaining it as well,
saying for he that's talking about God the Father has made him,
that's about Jesus Christ,
to be sin for us,
who knew no sin,
that's because he was sinless,
he didn't commit any sins,
he didn't tell any lies,
he didn't have any foolish thoughts,
but he has made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,
and usually,
I'm going to say something along the lines of,
he swapped with us.
Yeah, yeah,
he swapped with us,
Jesus Christ said,
Ian,
and usually I'll say their name as well,
and you know,
good reminder,
because maybe I didn't mention that before,
try and get someone's name
once they agree to hear the Gospel,
okay,
it's nice to be able to talk to people a bit more personally,
talk to them using their name,
and I usually say,
Ian,
I'm talking,
Muhammad,
okay,
he died for your sin,
I'm going to be like,
he died,
he said,
Ian,
he said,
rabbi non-stain,
he said,
he died for,
he said,
you're not good enough to go to heaven,
okay,
he said,
you deserve to go to hell,
you deserve to die and go to hell,
so I'm going to pay that punishment for you,
I'm going to take that punishment for you,
I'm going to pay for that sin,
so I like to say something like that,
something personal,
something that it's them,
but I'm again making it clear it's me,
it's not because they're just that wicked sinner,
that this self-righteous Christian is hammering on the door,
it's like,
look,
Ian,
you know,
whoever it is,
Ian,
you know,
Dave,
you know,
he said,
you're not,
you're not good enough,
you deserve to go to hell,
but I'm going to take that punishment for you,
okay,
so try and make it personal to them,
because ultimately he is their personal savior,
if they're willing to make him their personal savior,
and I like to add in,
you know,
because,
you know,
and it is part of it that he shed his blood,
he shed his blood to pay for our sins,
he died physically on that cross,
and he died spiritually too.
I usually say something like,
the Bible says that he tasted death for every man,
and I usually go to that scripture,
I just like to just kind of quote it,
so whilst his body was in that tomb,
now I've stopped asking them where they think he went,
and I'll tell you why,
because a lot of the time,
most of the time,
or at least probably more than half the time,
people get that wrong,
okay,
even when you're saying,
even if you try and set it up and go,
so if Jesus Christ is paying for our sins,
and we deserve to go to hell,
where do you think Jesus went?
Heaven,
purgatory,
or whatever,
you know,
people just get,
and if they're getting it wrong a lot,
again,
I don't want to be like too much,
you know,
they just need it explaining,
and once it's explaining,
you show a verse on that,
and again,
do they need that?
Well,
this is how I like to see it,
okay,
is that I like to go to Acts 2 31,
so write Acts 2 31,
if you're kind of following this plan,
2 Corinthians 5 21,
you can go to Acts 2 31.
Now,
it's not essential necessarily,
but it is a verse that mentions the resurrection
that is essential,
the resurrection is essential,
and if they,
again,
if they look unsure about this point,
if I say,
well,
you know,
whilst his body was in that tomb,
his soul suffered in hell,
he died physically,
he died spiritually in hell for us,
and if they look a bit unsure,
maybe I'll go to,
or maybe at least quote Matthew 12 40,
you can write that in brackets if you want,
Matthew 12 40,
which is,
for as Jonas was three days of three nights in the world's belly,
so shall the son of man be three days of three nights in the heart of the earth,
and if you can,
it's just more just,
you know,
back up something which a lot of churches don't teach.
Now,
again,
does someone have to believe that Jesus Christ went to hell to be saved?
No,
but they have to believe that he died,
was buried,
and rose again to pay for their sins,
and ultimately that death is all encompassing,
it's a physical and spiritual death that Jesus Christ paid for our sins.
Is it,
do they have to really understand that?
No,
I don't believe they do.
However,
I want to,
I like to show it because it's part of the gospel,
I like to show it because it's such a powerful thing to show how,
what,
what the Lord Jesus Christ did for them,
and I don't want to take that away from him,
but also,
I like to show Acts 2 31 because it also mentions the resurrection,
and I like to have some scripture mentioning the resurrection,
okay?
So,
with Matthew 12 40,
I usually explain that,
because again,
people might have heard the stories of Jonah and just think,
oh okay,
so some guy Jonah was like having a Pinocchio picnic in a whale's belly or something,
whilst kind of trying to fish or something else,
you know?
So I usually just explain it as Jonah burning in the whale's stomach acid,
being a picture of Christ burning in hell,
which is what the heart of the earth is,
you know?
And I kind of like to emphasize that if I do feel like,
I need a quote,
Matthew 12 40.
Now,
Acts 2 31,
I just introduce it,
as this is talking about a prophecy of David,
and it says in Acts 2 31,
he seeing this before,
spake of the resurrection of Christ,
that his soul was not left in hell,
neither his flesh should see corruption.
So I just kind of point out,
so his soul was not left in hell because he was in hell,
it's talking about the resurrection of Christ,
because what happened on the third day,
and most people will say he rose again,
he raised from the dead,
he rose again again.
It's rare that you have to debate that,
really go to other verses,
most people get that.
So he died physically and spiritually,
then I usually say then something like,
and kind of finish off explaining the gospel,
but then after three days,
he rose from the dead.
I like to make a point
that he showed the holes in his hand,
the holes in his side,
they ate with him,
they handled him,
it was a bodily physical resurrection,
okay?
Because that is the gospel,
it was a bodily physical resurrection,
I'll say so,
he wasn't a ghost,
they weren't just seeing things,
they ate with him,
they handled him,
he showed the holes in his hands,
the holes in his side,
okay?
So again,
that's what it is,
and sometimes I'll say in one day,
in the future,
we will have a bodily resurrection as well,
sometimes I'll add in.
And again,
you're not really going into like,
people don't start going so,
can you explain to me more and more about that?
Because at this point,
hopefully if they're listening
and you've got someone
that's actually paying attention,
and you haven't gone too far
with someone that really didn't want to hear,
then ultimately,
yeah, they're wanting to hear,
right, okay,
he died from my sins,
sounded good,
etc.
I don't want to go to hell.
This guy's explaining to me,
okay,
I usually say they ate with him,
they handled him,
and then if they've said,
you know,
something along the lines of,
well, didn't he go to heaven or something else,
I'll just confirm,
yeah, well, eventually he did,
yeah,
40 days later he went up into heaven,
so he took the right hand of the father.
Okay,
then I usually say,
then I usually give a summary at this point,
okay?
So we've seen that you're a sinner,
you deserve to go to hell,
that Jesus Christ is the son of God,
that he died,
has buried and rose again,
and paid for your sins.
Okay,
then I say,
so does that mean everyone's going to heaven?
And again,
it's a question that pretty much
the vast majority of people get right,
and they'll go no.
Okay,
now if it was someone that's like,
yeah,
we all go to heaven and everything else,
and I probably won't ask that question,
but most people,
you know,
at the beginning,
and as you're going through this,
they understand that,
they've already thought you've got to be good enough,
so they'll say no,
and depending on how they answer,
if they go,
well,
maybe not all people,
I will usually say,
actually the Bible says that broad is the way
that leads to destruction,
and many there be which go in that,
because straight is the gate,
and narrow is the way which leads unto life,
and few there be that find it.
At least I might quote a part of that,
I might say hell hath enlarged itself,
the Bible actually says most people are going to hell,
and you don't even have to quote scripture if you don't want.
I like,
if you've got scripture,
you can quote,
it's good just to give that scripture that,
I mean,
to flick and turn,
and turn it into a huge Bible study,
but,
you know,
regardless,
yeah,
you know,
the Bible actually says most people are going to hell,
and I usually say something like,
not because it's hard,
it's actually,
you know,
it's actually very easy.
Now,
that's,
you know,
that's kind of for me how I explain the Gospel,
but there are alternatives,
so alternatives to 2 Corinthians 5 21,
and then Acts 2 31,
I like to combine with that,
our 1 Peter 2 24,
so if you want to use that you can,
1 Peter 2 and verse 24,
which I will say talking of Christ,
who his own self bear our sins,
in his own body on the tree,
that we being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness,
by whose stripes you were healed.
Now explaining that the tree is another name for the cross,
if I do use this verse,
and again for me,
I don't,
I'll use this if I'm just giving the Gospel to someone
that's already heard it once,
I usually go to this as an alternative to 2 Corinthians 5 21,
but the tree is another name for the cross,
how it's Jesus Christ's stripes or punishment,
it's what it's talking about that heals us,
okay,
he paid for your sins,
okay,
another option,
then of course is 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
so 1 Corinthians 15,
and where we were,
where we started,
which is moreover brethren,
I declare unto you the Gospel,
which I preached unto you,
which also you have received,
and wherein you stand,
by which also you're saved,
if you keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless you've believed in vain,
for I delivered unto you first of all,
that which I also received,
how that 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,
again,
don't just read it like that,
if I'm reading that,
I'm going to be explaining it,
you know,
how we can be saved,
we can know for sure,
we're going to heaven,
we can be saved from that,
from eternity and hell,
you know,
and you know,
how that he died for our sins,
he paid for our sins,
according to the Scriptures,
so there are many many prophecies of Christ
coming to die for our sins,
that's what he did,
he fulfilled all of those prophecies
throughout the Old Testament,
and that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day,
according to the Scriptures,
and this is a passage I sometimes go to,
if it's someone who's a bit stubborn
on the resurrection as well,
again,
it's clearly in the Bible that he rose again,
and again,
if they want to deny Scripture,
they're denying Scripture,
okay,
and then you get to the point
where you can't really move on.
Now,
things to avoid here,
okay,
and in this part of preaching,
and this section,
which for me is ultimately the Gospel here,
right,
for example,
spending ages,
like I said,
explaining the Trinity to someone who accepts it,
okay,
they accept this Trinity,
they're like,
yeah, I believe in the Trinity,
yeah, I believe Jesus is the Son of God,
yeah,
you say,
and then I have been with people
that then it's like,
right,
well let me just show you,
well this verse here,
and then they're thumbing through,
and then the wind's blowing,
and then the pages are sticking,
and you're kind of like,
okay,
they've already said they believe it,
and it's like the next one,
and it's like,
right,
let's show another one on Jesus being the Son of God,
and then they kind of,
and again,
you don't need to do that,
if they accept the Trinity,
they accept it,
right,
and once they're saved,
they're going to then be able to
have an understanding of it more,
right,
okay,
avoiding who Jesus is,
though,
it's the opposite,
people that don't even explain any of that,
now,
again,
like I said,
you don't have to go into a full thesis on the Trinity,
but they need to understand who Jesus is,
don't they?
That's part of the Gospel,
you'll have to turn to it in Acts 8 37,
it says,
and Philip said,
if thou believeth with all thine heart,
thou mayest,
and what did the Ethiopian eunuch answer?
Well, he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
because that's ultimately the Gospel,
because he's the Son of God,
he's gone afresh,
he's the Christ,
yeah,
and he came to do what was prophesied that he was going to do,
right,
okay,
so they need to,
they do need to accept that,
okay,
so don't just gloss over and not even mention who Jesus Christ is,
because without that,
without that acceptance of understanding,
they don't,
they're not understanding the Gospel,
okay,
now another thing that some people can do is,
and again,
just be careful,
this is forget to even explain the Gospel,
and I've heard that many times where,
you know,
I've had to stop someone,
you know,
before they've gone to pray with someone,
because,
and I said it a couple of times,
because they never actually explained the Gospel to them,
so they explained belief,
they explained grace through faith,
they explained that it's eternal security,
they explained all of that,
but they never actually said what Jesus Christ did for them,
what it was they're actually believing in,
so as far as they're concerned,
they're just believing in Jesus,
but that's not what we're believing in,
we're believing that he died,
was buried and rose again to pay for our sins,
we're believing that he's the Son of God,
as the Bible says,
that he is who the Bible says he is,
right,
we're trusting the words of God,
that Jesus Christ,
the Son of God,
died on the cross,
was buried and rose from the dead,
and that is what we're trusting in,
so make sure you're explaining the Gospel,
okay,
and in this order for me,
it's just a natural progression,
you've shown what hell is,
then you show Jesus Christ is,
and I know some people like to kind of go other places,
all right,
now it's time to explain the gift and stuff,
and look,
you know,
for other people,
that's maybe how their mind works,
it works,
for me,
this is a logical progression for my mind at least,
okay,
so another thing I've heard people do a little bit
is kind of putting everything on a hell atonement,
so I've heard people not really even kind of mention,
or just gloss over the death on the cross,
and just go on and on about how his death,
how he paid for your sins in hell,
but ultimately it's the whole thing,
okay,
so it's the death,
which is the physical and spiritual death of Christ,
the shedding of his physical blood,
and the spiritual death that's paid for your sins,
including the resurrection,
that's kind of sealed the deal type thing,
and it's all,
it's not like one without the other really,
and ultimately understanding and believing that he died to pay for your sins enough,
but if you're kind of just glossing over and not really mentioning that,
and just hell,
hell,
I just believe it's at least,
it's a bit lopsided,
you know,
just you've got to explain that death on the cross as well,
okay,
that's him,
that's the important part of it,
and so is the resurrection,
make sure you explain the resurrection,
and like I said earlier,
and I've been saying this as we go through this,
just asking loads of questions that people get wrong every time,
and people do,
like people are funny,
and it's just,
what's the point,
why ask a question if they're going to get it wrong,
really,
and,
you know,
don't get me wrong,
you know,
obviously you want to understand what they believe,
yeah,
and obviously at the end I want to ask questions,
I'm not loading the questions by the end,
but as you're going through it,
you know,
just asking questions that are going to get the answer to really,
you're hoping there's a good chance they'll get the right answer to,
otherwise like I said,
you do a few,
and the backs start coming up on people,
people don't really want to hear anymore,
they just feel like they're failing the test,
and then they're just so like,
I've got to get this one right,
because I've got everything else wrong,
and not really saying what they believe,
whereas,
you know,
be careful for that.
Another one that a mistake people get into,
and like I said,
I've said a couple of times,
is Muslim debates about Jesus being the son of God,
after showing them clear verses,
okay,
you've shown them clear verses,
and what does Titus 3 10 say?
A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject.
So I'll give people a chance,
you're trying to gauge that,
you know,
really,
it's not like first or second verse,
okay,
it's an admonition,
so you're correcting,
you're instructing them,
and it might take a few verses to do that,
but there is a point where you've just got to cut your losses,
okay,
and again,
as you solve with more,
you'll kind of probably get better at doing that,
we'll all improve with that,
but something,
I don't know if I said it,
just to remind you again,
the resurrection,
many times I've heard people preach the gospel,
explain that he died,
you know,
and he died on that cross,
then start going on about hell,
and he went to hell,
and everything else,
okay,
so,
right,
well,
what have you got to do to be saved?
It's like the resurrection,
the resurrection is essential,
it's essential to salvation,
we've just,
Jack's just read a whole,
a whole passage of scripture just saying,
if you don't believe in the resurrection,
you ain't saved.
They have to believe,
they have to accept and believe in the resurrection,
and 1 Corinthians 15,
I mean,
what a great passage to go through,
if you need to,
to show that,
but if there be no resurrection of the dead,
then is Christ not risen,
and if Christ be not risen,
verse 14,
and is our preaching rain,
your faith is also vain,
okay,
so,
you know,
there's a lot in there if you needed to,
but,
you know,
ultimately,
verse 17,
if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain,
ye are yet in your sins,
okay,
the resurrection,
please remember to show them the resurrection,
I like Acts 2 31,
because it mentions the resurrection,
talk about the resurrection of Christ,
and we're also showing that he was in hell,
and it's all kind of in one after,
2 Corinthians 5 21,
okay,
so,
okay,
there's some things that I've kind of noticed over years,
and maybe noticed,
you know,
people make errors,
and again,
you know,
like I said,
we're all going to make errors,
yeah,
we're going to do things like that for time to time,
but if we're well prepared,
and we,
especially for those that may be,
you know,
a bit newer to it,
or not even that new,
to have it mapped out in your Bible just helps,
doesn't it,
you know,
you've got it there,
it's going to tell you where to go next,
remember to explain the verses,
try and,
you know,
try not to be too stressed when you do it,
and relax as you do it,
and you try not to forget things,
and regardless of who you're with as well,
you know,
just try and just,
ultimately,
what you're trying to do,
you're just showing someone how to get saved,
you know,
and obviously,
yeah,
it's an important thing,
but if you got,
if you're prepared,
you should be alright,
because 1 Corinthians 15 shows us that giving the Gospel,
showing the Gospel is essential.
He said,
Moreover,
brethren,
I declare unto you the Gospel,
that's the good news,
the glad tidings,
which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received,
and wherein ye stand,
by which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
They need to,
and he's going to explain what it is,
they need to believe that,
and they need to know what it is they believe,
for I deliver unto you first of all that,
which also received,
how that 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.
That's what people are trusting in,
that's what they need to believe in,
to be saved.
So it's massively important to preach the Gospel clearly,
isn't it?
That's how I like to do it.
You might have your own ways at work for you,
but,
you know,
however you do it,
make sure you do it clearly,
make sure you cover those points,
and make sure you're prepared to do that in a clear way,
and try and avoid some of the pitfalls
that all of us have done over the years,
and made errors with,
and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer.
Father, thank you for the Gospel,
thank you for,
you know,
those glad tidings of,
you know,
what was done for us
a couple of thousand years ago now,
where,
you know,
the Lord Jesus Christ was sent to,
to ultimately pay for our sins on that cross,
that not only did he pay physically,
he paid spiritually,
he paid for us,
for our sins with death,
Lord,
but then he was raised from the dead,
Lord,
he rose again,
and thank you for that amazing miracle,
that amazing truth,
Lord,
that it's faith,
it's trust in that,
which is what saves us,
and it's not of any works of righteousness,
it's not anything else,
it's all about what Jesus Christ did for us,
not what we do,
thank you for that, Lord,
thank you for the blessing of salvation,
thank you for this Church of Soul Winners,
Lord,
thank you for all these people that want to just,
you know,
get out there and teach people the Gospel,
help us to do it in an effective way,
in an effective manner,
in a way that works,
not just,
you know,
in this nation,
but also for us individually as well,
so help us to just do it in a way that works,
it is effective,
that is clear,
that is concise,
help us to do that this week,
and to return on Wednesday for the midweek,
so just in progress,
Amen.