All right, amen. You're in John chapter 3, and John chapter 3 with just so many mentions of what it requires to be saved.
And I just want to look at just a middle passage there from verse 14 to verse 18 again.
John 3, 14, which reads,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And of course we're continuing our series on how to win souls.
So we've done so far, number one an introduction to soul winning,
number two starting the conversation, number three sin and its consequences,
number four the gospel, and today it's number five belief.
So the title today is how to win souls, number five belief.
I'm going to pray and then we're going to get going with the message.
Father thank you for your word, thank you for the gospel Lord,
thank you for the simplicity of salvation.
Please fill me with your spirit as I just preached this message today
and explained this part of preach the gospel in a way that I believe is effective
and help people to just take on board what will work for them Lord
and what will be an effective way for them to be able to preach gospel.
Help us to just be able to do that Lord as a church in the most effective way possible
and please use me to help encourage that Lord.
And please just fill me with your spirit, fill the room with your spirit as well.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Okay so this part of preaching the gospel message is basically the climax really for me.
And of course there's things to explain afterwards
but it's kind of what we've been building towards isn't it?
So you've explained to someone they're a sinner, you've explained they're going to hell.
Like we said that's not a very comfortable part of preaching to someone isn't it?
That's the least comfortable part.
You even just to get the conversation going in the first place,
a lot of the time you're saying there's one thing you've got to do maybe.
Or you know how easy it is, it's so easy to go to heaven.
You're trying to encourage someone to want to listen to the message,
you've explained about sin, you've explained who Jesus is, the gospel message,
what he's done and everything else and then this is the point isn't it?
This is the point that we're reaching towards, this is what you've been building towards
and this passage in John 3 is pretty clear about it isn't it really?
In fact it's so clear.
John 3 we've just read and there's Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness
even so my son and man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3 16, for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 18 said he that believeth on him is not condemned
but he that believeth not is condemned already
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.
And you would think that perhaps reading a passage like this should be enough.
You would think wouldn't you?
Be like just give them, give them, in fact many people do think that's enough.
They just think attract with some verses like this on it
and maybe a brief explanation is enough.
Some might even look at this and just go sure it doesn't even need explaining.
Wrong. Wrong because that's just not sadly how it works does it?
You could, because you just look at this and that should just solve it all shouldn't it?
I mean really that solves eternal security.
That solves the repent of your sins nonsense.
So much is just reading this passage but sadly that's not how it works
when you show the unsaved passages okay.
So I'm going to show you how I like to explain this part of the gospel message.
What's worked for me over several years of soul winning
and I've kind of developed it and changed it and this is what works for me.
It might not work for you completely.
Maybe, you know, maybe you've got ways that you think work better for you
but at least take on board some of this.
You might want to apply some of it, you might not.
But especially if you're new to preaching the gospel
or you're fairly new to preaching the gospel,
I would say look this is a good point of reference to start
how I like to do it, how I'd like to encourage the church
with certain ways that I'm going to show you today to do it
and then by all means alter what you feel works for you as you do that.
We are individual, we do preach individually
but they're still obviously as I've gone through the series
key points people have to understand to be saved.
And obviously this is probably the most key point isn't it
that it's belief. It's faith alone in Christ alone.
Now at this point in preaching the gospel
you've hopefully shown that we're all sinners deserving of hell.
You should have by this point if you're going through it systematically
if you're able to just go through it systematically
someone says yeah open your bible and show me how to get saved.
You've shown them that Jesus is the son of God,
that he died, was buried, arose again to pay for all their sins.
You've shown them that.
Now last time we finished in the last time we did this
in the message called the gospel in Acts 2.31
where it said 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 if you are marking up your bible go to Acts 2.31
hopefully whilst reading that you will have explained that he died physically and spiritually.
He tasted death for every man.
Then you've shown this passage,
you've shown that his soul was not left in hell because he rose from the dead.
After three days he resurrected.
I like to make it clear it was a physical bodily resurrection.
I like to explain that he showed the holes in his hand,
the holes in his side.
They ate with him, they handled him.
I like to explain that quickly.
Forty days later he went to heaven.
So I like to just get that very clear.
It's a bodily physical resurrection.
He wasn't a ghost.
He wasn't just some images to people.
It was a bodily physical resurrection.
So I've shown that.
And sometimes at this point depending on who you're talking to,
depending on how much you feel like they're with you, etc.
it might be good to give a little summary here.
So for example you might say something along the lines
We've just seen, look, we're all sinners, right?
The Bible says that all sinners deserve to go to hell.
We've seen that Jesus is the son of God, that he died,
he rose again and paid for your sins.
And then after that, it's a good point,
I like to say something along the lines of
but does that mean that everyone's going to heaven?
And it's another one of those questions where
99% of the time I get the correct answer.
So that's why I ask the question.
And the question usually gets the correct answer, no.
Now I don't want to go,
so what do you think someone needs to do?
Because then I'm going to get the wrong answer
and then I'm in now, right,
they want to try and prove themselves.
But I'm just asking, does that?
This isn't an open question, okay?
And usually I want to jump in quickly when they've said no
before they start going,
no, because what you've got to do is
you've got to repent of all your sins or something else, you know.
No, I just want them.
No, okay?
I go, okay, yeah, you're right.
There's one thing that we have to do.
Maybe I said that at the beginning,
you know, there's one thing or maybe not.
But either way I'll say,
and in Acts 16, someone asked that question.
So if you're mapping your Bible,
right beside Acts 2, 31, go to Acts 16, 30,
if you're mapping your Bible, if you need to, okay?
So I'd like to introduce this verse.
So again, you know, we're not just,
and it's just to remind you again,
we're not just reading verses, reading verses,
even reading verses is a quick explanation.
I'm trying to explain why I'm going to the verse.
I'm trying to make it sound less like
just here's a list of verses, right, okay?
So, all right, Acts 16, 30, read Acts 16, 30.
You want to try and make it sound more like a conversation, okay?
I will say something like, in Acts 16,
there's probably the most famous New Testament Christian,
the Apostle Paul.
And I'll kind of introduce it
because I don't want them to just think
he's just found some random conversation
in the Bible where someone says something.
And people already, they're going to try
and explain away the Gospel sometimes in their mind
because they already have a preconceived idea
that you've got to be good to go to heaven.
So I'm already introducing it
as the most famous New Testament Christian,
the Apostle Paul.
And I just say, just because it says they,
so I make the point, here's with this guy Silas, okay?
They're in prison and the jailer asks them
how to go to heaven, basically.
That's basically what he's asking.
This is just a really clear place
where this question is asked in the Bible, okay?
So it's a good place to show you.
And sometimes I might even say,
just to warn in case there, I think,
depending on the person,
I think they're the type that already looks like
they're a little bit contentious.
They're wanting to find for, I'll just say,
I'm going to show you some other places as well,
but I just want to show you this one first, okay?
So Acts 16, 30, it says,
and brought them out and said,
sirs, what must I do to be saved?
So I like to explain that like this.
He's saying, I'm a sinner like everyone else.
How do I get saved from hell, basically?
That's what he's asking, okay?
Maybe, and I might even say,
maybe you might be asking the same question.
Maybe you've just seen, you know,
the Bible says, well, sinners will deserve to go to hell.
Maybe you're asking what do I have to do
to be saved then, right?
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved and thou hast.
Now, I don't just want to leave it at that, okay?
I want to really focus in on this verse here.
So I usually ask questions like this.
What did they say the only thing that you have to do
whilst holding it and pointing it at it, okay?
What did they say the only thing you have to do?
Okay, and usually people are going to say,
and again, it's one of those questions
you get the right answer 99% of the time, believe, okay?
Then I usually say, did he say just believe in a God?
Did they say believe in Allah?
Did they say believe in Santa Claus, you know?
And again, if you're talking to a Muslim,
maybe don't say Allah at this point, okay?
We'll deal with that later, okay?
But right now, okay, so I'm saying,
so what, you know, did it say that? No.
And again, what did they usually answer?
No, it said, so who did it say?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, okay?
It clearly said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then I might maybe ask, did it say believe and be good?
Did it say believe and go to church?
Did it say believe and give money to charity, et cetera?
And sometimes I like to even say something that,
and again, depending on the person,
depending on how contentious,
depending on how willing they are,
I might even give the example of something they've said.
If they said, well, you've just got to be kind to people.
Then I might say, did it say believe and be kind to people?
Well, again, you've got to gauge that
because you've got to be careful not to get people's backs up, right?
At this point, we're still trying to just get a good conversation going
and be able to show them all of this before they shut you off, okay?
So then I say, did they say then you might be saved?
And that's a good one as well because already like, look,
yeah, this is a belief section, yeah, but it's not as simple as that
because ultimately we're spilling over into eternal security as well, really, okay?
So already I'm starting to hit this now without going heavy into it.
Did it say believe and then you might be saved?
And again, what does 99% of people say?
No, it said believe and now shout be saved.
And then I'll just say shout is 100%, isn't it?
And I'm showing this and again, look, I mean, you've preached it,
you're explaining it, you're getting them to affirm what it says as well,
which for me is very effective, okay?
Now then at this point, okay, before I go into any further with this,
I do like, and again, if someone's a bit,
I think they're going to be a bit contentious.
They've already been coming up with sort of answers and excuses
and seem to be quite set in their ways.
I might only just explain that but maybe not go into the extras
until I do John 3.16 because already in my mind,
I'm thinking they're trying to explain this away as a one-off verse, okay?
This is someone having a conversation, someone's saying this,
they're already trying to find ways to get out of this.
So for me, it's very rare that I,
unless I've got somebody who's just lapping it up very quick
and very easy to get saved, even then,
I like to show at the least another place, if not more, where it says believe.
This is the key point, isn't it?
This is, like I said, the climax.
This is the main point of preaching the Gospel to someone
or at least the main truth that you're trying to get across.
It's just belief, it's faith, it's trust.
So I don't want to just leave it on a one-verse
with a conversation between people with that
because you can really hammer this home, can't you?
So I like to go to John 3.16.
I like to go to John 3.16 before I explain what the word believe
or what it means to believe on because it's the same as believing in
because it's just phrased in two different ways.
And to show, like I said, I haven't just handpicked an out-of-context verse
because you might have heard people say that,
well, it's interpretation, you've just chose a certain verse.
So again, I just want to really hammer this home
before I then show them exactly what this is, right?
So before I've explained believe, I like to go to John 3.16, okay?
So right next to Acts 16.31, go to John 3.16.
So I go to John 3.16 where I usually say something like,
before I explain this, let me show it worded very similarly.
By the Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 3 of verse 16,
I usually say something like, this is probably the most famous verse
amongst Bible-believing Christians or something along those lines, you know?
Because some people, if they claim to be a Christian,
if they claim to go to church, let's be honest,
it might be the most famous verse maybe in the United States
where probably the majority of churches are some form of Baptist-type church.
There's a hell of a lot of them at least, right?
Here it's maybe not so much the case, right?
So someone might be like, well, I've been at church all my life.
I don't even know what he's talking about, John 3.16.
So already, you know, it's sounding like you're not right
about it being known by everyone or famous and everyone.
Talk about like in and out burger or something,
it just doesn't mean anything to anyone here, right?
Okay, so I usually say something along the lines of,
this is probably the most famous verse amongst Bible-believing Christians, right?
John 3.16 says it like this,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Now, you can either explain it after you've read it
or sometimes explain it as I go through it.
So for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
I usually say that's Jesus Christ.
And again, you might think that's obvious,
but sometimes people just need palsy and things broken down, yeah?
That whosoever believeth in Him,
so again, we're seeing that believing in or we've just seen believing on,
then it says should not perish.
That means they won't go to hell.
But have everlasting life, that means they'll go to heaven.
Okay, so you've explained it, you showed it,
and then that's when I want to explain what believe in or believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because now I've got two verses.
I've got it clearly coming right out of the Lord Jesus Christ's mouth.
I've had it coming out of the most famous New Testament Christian's mouth,
the Apostle Paul, and now I'm going to explain what that means, right?
Because they can't argue whether or not,
while I'm explaining it, be thinking,
yeah, but he's only just shown me one verse, right?
So now we're up to two verses, and like I said,
if someone looks a bit funny, you can say,
I can show you 100 more if you want, but I like to explain it, okay?
So what does it mean to believe in or believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
And I'm not asking that open question.
I'm just going to show them, okay? I'm going to tell them.
Now, there's a few ways you could do this, right?
This is something I often do.
If someone is usually at least youngish,
looks like they're maybe not a couch potato or something like that,
I usually say to them something along the lines of,
do you play any sport? Did you ever used to play any sport?
And the reason is just because it's a common term you'll hear in sport.
Again, it just gets them talking, gets them involved in the conversation,
gets them thinking about what I'm saying.
Well, I'm not going off track,
but I'm at least kind of brightening up the conversation a bit,
and that's the way I like to do it,
and whatever sport it is, I usually just say to them,
okay, well, say I was your coach.
Some people say basketball, some say football, some say rugby,
whatever it is, and I'll usually say something like,
well, say we're one-nil down in the cup final, okay?
I need you to come on the pitch. I need you to score a goal.
Or maybe they say, well, I was a goalkeeper.
I say, I need you to keep out the other team. We're one-nil up.
Whatever it is, you know?
And I say, I need you to win this match for us,
however I'm wordy, whatever the sport is, whatever it is.
And obviously I'm someone that grew up playing a lot of sports,
so I can kind of seem to be able to chat about most sports with people.
So that works for me. It might not work for you.
Maybe it'll be something else.
But this is how it works for me,
and then usually I'll say something along the lines of,
so I'm your coach, I'll send you on a pitch,
and you're going, but their goalkeeper's so good,
their defence is so good,
no-one can even get shot off, and I say, I believe in you.
Am I saying I believe your name's Frank?
Obviously, I'm assuming that I'm talking to a person called Frank here, right?
And if they say, and again, this is one of those 90% of the time.
Now, they might go, well, yes, and,
but a lot of the time they go, no.
Am I saying I believe you exist?
No.
What am I saying?
I'm saying I'm putting my,
or I say, am I saying I'm putting my faith, my trust in you,
you can do what I want you to do,
or I'm trusting you to do what it is I want you to do,
and they say yes.
OK, and again, it's one of those,
you get the right answer most of the time, it makes it very clear.
Now, other ways you do it,
if it's someone that clearly has never had anything to do with sport
their whole life, OK, or something like that,
maybe I'll just say to them,
say I ask you to do something really important.
OK, and that's an even quicker way of doing it.
Again, if you feel like you're on a quick one,
or you're on one where you're like,
I know some distractions are coming any minute,
or they said they didn't have much time,
maybe you don't have to go into the sports analogy.
Some people talk about, say this building was on fire,
and I was a fireman down below, and I said jump,
and they said, I don't know, look at,
and I've used this one before as well, you know,
but what if I crack my head open, you say, look, believe in me.
Am I saying believe I exist?
Again, the same questions.
Am I saying believe my name's, you know, whatever,
believe I'm a fireman or whatever the analogy is,
or am I saying put your faith, your trust in me?
And again, you've now just explained, sorry,
you've got them to explain, basically,
what believing means, they've put it in their words,
they've understood it, and it really helps, right?
And by the way, we were talking about this earlier,
belief, believing in Jesus is putting your faith,
your trust in him, OK?
It's not just believing he exists,
it's not just believing the gospel message, OK?
It's putting your trust in him,
it's putting your faith in him,
and I'm going to talk about that in a couple of weeks.
Anyway, right.
OK, so you've explained what it is, OK?
And what I also like to do at this point
is I like to show what it isn't, OK?
So for me, this is a good time,
because like you get many people who, you know,
and this is how I explain it,
I say, look, obviously if I'm knocked on someone's door,
I say something like, look, we lock on doors a lot, OK?
And, you know, we speak to many people who say,
yeah, I believe in Jesus, OK?
Yeah, I go to church, I believe in Jesus,
you know, I read the Bible,
and then we say to them,
well, do you know for sure you're going to heaven?
And they'll say, yeah, I know I'm going to heaven
because I'm a good person, because I go to church,
because I do this, because I do that,
and I'm just kind of listing off some I, I, I, me, me, me's,
and then I'll say to them,
so is that person trusting in Jesus?
Or are they trusting themselves?
And 99% of the time I get the right answer,
they're trusting in themselves.
Then I ask them this question,
so where's that person going when they die?
99% of the time I get the right answer,
they're going to hell.
And already that person in front of me now,
at this point, after a couple of verses,
is already making it very clear
that if they're not trusting Christ, they're going to hell.
And of course, yeah, that's what we're building towards,
that's what we've kind of been showing them anyway,
but it's coming out of their mouth, right?
And they make it clear, and I just go 100%.
And again, you're not kind of having a battle here,
it's an easy way of getting that.
Maybe I'll say, look, are they,
you know, you might even give yourself as an example.
We'll say I said to you,
I'm going to heaven because I do this, because I do that,
because I'm a pastor, because I read my Bible,
because all of this.
Am I trusting in Christ?
No.
Where am I going when I die?
Hell.
And, and it's, it's pretty easy, okay?
And for me, like, I don't know.
I find then the belief bit, once you've gone through that,
it's just really clear.
And the reason I say that is because sometimes people,
I've been with people who maybe kind of,
maybe skirt or skim at least a belief,
read a quick verse on belief, carry on,
and then they're like, oh, what was it again?
Oh, oh, oh yeah, what is it that you said you got to do again?
Oh yeah, oh, I believe.
And there's no, like, it's very rare people are doing that
when you've gone through this amount,
and then I like to even do a third one.
You might be like, look, this is getting a bit much.
Again, if someone's just like, okay, I get it.
Yeah, look, you just got to believe it.
It just seems like they're just lapping it up.
They're like hanging through.
Again, you don't have to always go through
all three of these stages.
I generally do, okay?
And I like to go to this one as well
to make it even clearer.
I go to John 3, 36 now as well.
Just because I've gone to John 3 anyway,
I'm already in chapter three.
I've already, I've done Acts 60, 30.
I've done John 3.
They've just said to me when I've said,
if I believe that or that person that said,
yes, I believe in Jesus, I believe this,
but I'm going to heaven because I'm this,
I'm this, I'm this, I'm this.
Yep, they trust themselves.
Where are they going when they die?
Hell.
Then I go, well,
that's exactly what it says here in John 3, 36.
Look, it shows us that there's two types of people
when it comes to salvation, okay?
When it comes to heaven and hell,
there's only two types of people in this world, okay?
And then I write,
so you can write next to John 3, 16,
go to John 3, 36.
Okay, and this is how I introduce it.
I've explained that.
There's two types of people,
and I'll say something like we're all sinners, right?
Okay, and again, if you've done point one clear enough,
there's no reason why they shouldn't be going,
yeah, 100% we're all sinners, okay?
Sinner number one is how I like to explain it.
He that believeth on the Son, okay?
So I then say,
so he's putting his faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Where's he going when he dies
if he's trusting Jesus Christ?
And again, if you've already done it,
you just confirm it.
This is, again, 99% of the time,
they're gonna get this right.
They'll say, he's going to heaven.
Okay, and then sinner number two, okay?
So I show them, I go,
he that believeth on the Son,
have they ever lost your life?
Yep, you're right.
You got another one right.
We're up to like the 10th or whatever question.
They've got it right.
Okay, sinner number two,
and I say, but sinner number two,
he's better than sinner number one.
Sinner number two does more good deeds.
Sinner number two goes to church,
reads their Bible.
Sinner number two doesn't do
as many bad things as sinner number one,
but sinner number two
is still a sinner.
And I say, and he that believeth not the Son.
He's not trusting Christ.
Where is he gonna go when he dies?
And again, well over 90%
will just get this right first time.
He's going to hell.
And sometimes it needs a little prompting.
Sometimes they don't hear it right
or they've zoned out a little bit,
but again, it's a good way of finding out.
And that's, by the way,
a lot of the time,
while we're asking questions
and pretty foolproof questions
is to make sure they're engaged,
to make sure they're not zoned out,
to make sure you haven't just wasted
15, 20 minutes, whatever it is
with someone who's just standing there
and at the end they're like, be good.
And it's so much less likely for them to do that
if you've got them responding in ways like this
where they're pretty foolproof ways
of them getting it right.
So of course I'm prompting
and I'm giving the answer really,
but it's still engaging them
and you want people engaged.
So they get it right usually
and sometimes it might be like,
so sinner number one is trusting God.
You might have to check it,
usually you don't.
Most of the time this goes smoothly.
Then I'll just read the verse again.
Yep, he that believeth on the sun
and never lost a life,
and he that believeth not the sun shall not see life,
but the wrath of God abideth on him.
And I usually say something like,
look, God's not only angry at us,
he's angry that we reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
He sent his son to die.
He's gone to hell, he's resurrected,
he's done all of that for you
and then people still want to trust themselves.
And I'm just kind of really confirming it here
and something along those lines.
Now, just a couple of alternatives for you
if you want them
or sometimes if you're preaching it again
to someone else maybe.
John 3.18 is pretty similar to John 3.36.
I prefer John 3.36.
But John 3.18,
he that believeth on him is not condemned,
but he that believeth not is condemned already
because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten son of God.
It's just slight, you know,
it's not exactly the same,
but it's very similar, right?
And again, would need explaining,
explain what condemned is obviously
and talking about being condemned to hell.
But again, it's two types of people in John 3.18.
But that's an alternative.
But after John 3.36, okay,
if you go to John 3.36,
right, go to Romans 6.23.
Now, if you have had any trouble at this point, okay,
or you feel the need to drive home the point even more,
maybe they're just still resisting.
You still feel like,
and sometimes you just get a feel
that someone's looking a little bit like,
they're a bit unsure,
or maybe they just look a bit untrusting of you
or something else,
then while you're in John,
John 6.47 is such a just a quick short verse.
You go, look, I could show you loads of verses.
Let me just show you another one.
John 6.47, verily, verily,
that's Jesus Christ saying,
truly, truly, okay,
this is important what he's going to say afterwards.
I say unto you,
he that believeth on me has everlasting life.
And again, explain it if you need to.
I mean, by now,
it's just getting to the point of rejecting the word of God, okay.
However, sometimes people just need it,
hammering, hammering,
and you've got these up your sleeve,
and you've got them ready to do.
You can even quote it if you,
you know, it's quite an easy verse to memorize as well.
And there are plenty others, aren't there,
but that should be enough.
Okay, that's really hammered home that it's belief, it's faith.
And often I'll say to them,
so it's just belief, yeah,
it's just putting your faith in Jesus Christ.
And then I'll say something like,
but God gives us another word
to help us understand how easy this is, okay.
So God gives us ways of helping us
to understand how easy salvation is.
Look at Romans 6.23, okay.
So I like to go back to Romans 6.23.
And I'll tell you one of the reasons I go there
and not Ephesians 2.8 and 9 straight away,
is because Romans 6.23
is just reminding them again
that sin takes you to hell,
that one sin takes you to hell, okay.
So it's just confirming back one of the original points.
It's been several minutes now
since we were at point number one,
you know, which was you're a sinner
and you deserve to go to hell, okay.
So it's a nice reminder.
And I'll read the whole verse.
I'll say to them,
look, do you remember we looked
at the beginning of this verse
for the wages of sinner's death.
Remember one sin will take you to hell.
We're all sinners, okay.
So again, you're just reminding them
you need a saviour, okay.
But, look at the but.
For the wages of sinner's death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ the Lord.
And I like to just say something along the lines of,
can you see that word?
I might even say, what's that?
See that word gift.
You know what a gift is, right?
Going to heaven is a gift.
It's free.
It's paid for in full.
And then for me, the gift analogy, okay.
And I'm putting this together with belief
because I believe it all kind of,
it all goes into one really.
But I like to, this is how I like to do it.
I'm going to show you the ways
I like to do this and the reasons, okay.
So I've said going to heaven is a gift.
I've made it clear this verse.
It's eternal life, that's heaven
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That's faith and trust in Jesus Christ, okay.
Then I usually say something like,
if I gave you a gift,
if I give you a gift, who paid for it?
And again, 90 plus percent of the time,
the right answer, you.
And if it's a gift, who received it freely?
Again, 90% of the time plus they'll say themselves.
So, and the Bible's the easiest thing
because you're preaching with the Bible.
It's in front of you.
It's in your hand.
So if I gave you this Bible as a gift,
it's my favorite Bible.
I gave it to you and I said,
here you go, here's a gift.
Here's my favorite Bible,
but you've got to give me 50 quid.
Is that a gift?
And you go, why did you start off, you know, so high?
Because you'd be surprised, right?
Some people, if you say something a bit lower,
they're like, well, I'm not sure actually.
So 50 quid, no.
Okay, no, it's not a gift.
Then I go down.
And depending on how sure they've said no,
it depends on whether I go straight down
a pound or a penny straight away.
Usually then at some point we'll say,
what about for a pound?
No.
And sometimes I'll say why at the beginning for the 50
because you've had to pay for it.
Okay, so how about a pound?
No, why?
Because you've had to pay for it.
How about a penny?
Why?
Because you've had to pay for it.
It's not a gift, right?
Okay, understood.
And again, I would say 90% of the time,
plus you're going to get people,
if they're wanting to listen to the Gospel,
they're just going to agree,
they're going to accept that that's not a gift, okay?
So then I like to give usually something like,
so how about I gave you this gift, this Bible,
for me to you, my favourite Bible,
but I said to you, however,
you have to come to church every week
or I'm taking it back.
Was that a gift?
And again, most people say no.
Why?
Because you've had to do something in return for it.
Then I usually say something like,
I like to give the example often
of what they said at the beginning.
If I feel like they're really getting it,
they're receiving it,
this isn't a contentious person just wanting to row,
whatever the example they gave at the beginning,
no, you've got to do this, you've got to do that,
that's a good example now.
So if I said to you, right,
here's this Bible for me to you,
it's a gift, however,
you've got to now be really kind to people
for the rest of your life.
Was that a gift or did it have conditions?
So again, I'm feeding them the answer
because I don't want them to then get in a row with me
and go, well, it's a gift,
but you should be nice to people.
So is that a gift or did it have conditions?
No, it had conditions, it's not a gift.
Again, usually that works pretty well.
And then I like to give a really extreme one.
Now here's a point with this,
I'm going to explain this again in a minute.
I like to make a point that this is an extreme example.
Because there are people that come out with weird stuff
and they go, well, what if I gave you this Bible,
but then you went out and you murdered 10 people
and then I had to take it back a few,
was it still a gift?
I usually just say something like,
okay, so even if I said something as extreme as,
well, as long as you didn't murder anyone,
I'm sure you're not the murderous type,
but just say I then put that condition on.
Any condition, is it a gift?
And they'll usually say no.
So now I'm starting to introduce eternal security as well,
but I'm not going strong on that yet.
So for me, that usually works most of the time.
Now, at that point, I'll say,
yeah, well, God said it's a gift.
I'll read the verse again.
And in fact, he explains that even clearer
in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
So they've got all the answers right,
and now we're going to confirm it with a verse, right?
So right by Romans 6, 23, go to Ephesians 2, 8.
Now, just an extra here,
just in case you get those odd people
that claim that a gift isn't free.
Yeah, you probably all had those.
Now and again, if you've been sold it for a while,
you get, well, I don't know, is the gift free?
And they try to like play these silly games
and stuff like that.
Romans 5, 18 for me is the clearest free gift verse
to just make it very clear,
well, yeah, eternal life is a free gift.
Okay, Romans 5, 18, you could have in brackets
or if it's highlighted, it's right by Romans 6, 23,
you're going to be able to turn if you need it.
Romans 5, 18 says,
therefore, as by the offense of one,
judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one,
the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life.
Okay, no one can argue with that.
It's clear, it's a free gift, okay?
And a gift is free by definition,
but now and again, you get those weird people, right?
Maybe they grew up in a house
where every gift had like some sort of conditions on it
and kept getting Christmas presents taken away
or something, okay?
I don't know.
But Romans 5, 18, again, remember to explain it though,
the offense of one, talking about the first man, Adam,
judgment came upon all men to condemnation.
Okay, that's why people are on their way to hell,
even so by the righteousness of one.
Talking about the Lord Jesus Christ,
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Okay, which means that they're able therefore
to be justified in God's eyes and go to heaven, okay?
So just make sure you're explaining verses.
But again, it's rare, now and again,
I use that just to confirm.
And usually I just want to stop
and see if I get any weird stuff about the gift stuff,
whether or not a gift is free,
I usually just quote that straight away
and then that solves that
and we can get back to, you know,
well, is that a free gift then, is that, et cetera.
Okay, so Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
Now what a great, great couple of verses here, okay?
But again, they need explaining.
So Ephesians 2, 8 and 9,
for by grace you say through faith
and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God,
not of works of any man should boast.
But I like to break it down.
I've already explained the gift bit.
So I'll say Ephesians 2, 8 and 9,
it says for by grace.
So grace is something free, undeserved, okay?
Unmerited, however you want to explain that.
For by grace, and then are ye saved through faith?
So that's believing or trusting Jesus.
That's putting your faith,
your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
and that not of yourselves.
Look at, and I like to point that to.
What it say, it's not of yourselves.
Nothing to do with you.
And again, you could use their example if you need to,
if you think that it's not going to wind them up too much.
Whatever examples, whatever common examples,
it's not to do with your church attendance.
It's not to do with your goodness.
It's not to do with you avoiding major sins.
It's not of yourselves, okay?
It is a gift of God.
And then I usually say, look at that word again.
It's that gift word again.
It's a gift, it's a gift.
And highlight it, point it out to them, not of works.
And again, you need to explain what that means
because people just don't, you know,
they don't really understand biblical parlance or anything.
It's not about the works of the Lord.
It's not about any of the thou shalt and thou shalt nots.
You cannot earn it by works, okay?
Lest any man should boast.
So again, I'll say to them something like,
look, you cannot work your way to heaven.
So therefore, if I said to you,
I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person,
because I do this, because I do that,
where am I going?
And by now, if someone isn't saying hell,
I feel like, well,
I must have lost their attention at some point
or they're really rejecting the Bible, okay?
And you might think, look, you're going to quite a few verses here.
Couldn't you have just done John 3.16, Ephesians 2.89?
Yeah, sure, but I've found when I've shortened it
and done it quicker and shorter,
I get to the end and people are like,
they're still a bit unsure.
Doing it like that, I just find it gets them.
And again, look, you might have someone that says
that I've really got limited time,
and maybe I'll shorten it for that.
Or maybe you've got someone who's just,
you can see they're kind of maybe,
look, they're just getting it so quickly,
they pretty much understood most of it already.
They were just a bit unsure on something.
You don't necessarily have to break it down like that, okay?
And go into those three forms,
three different places with belief,
those two different places saying it's a gift.
But for the layman, if I've got time,
and again, as long as you're,
if you're getting them to constantly reply at all,
then you haven't got the attention span issue so much.
Because you're engaging them, you're involving them,
you're getting them to think,
you're getting them to give answers.
If you're just preaching at them,
then you're going to have issues
where people start to switch off.
And in their mind, they're going,
just look like I'm listening.
Oh, yeah, and everything else.
And people do that stuff often, don't they?
And then at the end, you kind of check in with them.
You're like, you didn't listen to a word of what I said.
So, hence, getting them to respond,
getting them to basically answer the questions for you
if you present them in a way where they're going to,
the vast majority of those times
are going to get it right, okay?
Now, for me, that's the easiest
and most effective way that I've found
to explain that part of the Gospel.
That works for me.
Might not work for every single person here.
Maybe you think, well, you know,
maybe there's some other verses you like, okay?
And by now, like I said, if they're tuned in,
if they're not rejecting,
eternal security is pretty simple on the back of this now.
It really is.
Now, the reason I don't go into eternal security now
and eternal security,
I want to explain the chastisement of the believer first,
okay, because for me, they need that.
Most people, they just cannot get their head around
eternal security without explaining the chastisement of the believer.
So I like to explain the chastisement of the believer
before then sealing eternal security
that often doesn't even need sealing much
after this and the chastisement of the believer
because it all kind of ties into one anyway, okay?
But we'll look at that next week.
But for me, once I've got to this point,
if they take all this on board
and they're answering everything right,
I'm pretty surprised if they don't get saved after this point
because for me, I find it just really nails it,
really seals it, okay?
However, okay, there are some alternatives
that can be used if you're still dealing with problems here
because you still sometimes get people that do have some issues,
you do get some problems, you do get people,
they've got some strongholds somewhere or other,
you've got to go a bit harder on some certain things.
Now, the thief on the cross
is a great real example of someone getting saved by belief.
So in this part of preaching the Gospel,
I'm not going on to just full eternal security at this point yet.
The thief on the cross is just quite a simple one
for just belief gets you saved, right?
Luke 23 and verses 39 to 43,
oh, you really need to preach on that.
So Luke 23, 39 to 43,
you could just have it as an option, you know?
So it's quick, you know where to go quickly.
Luke 23, you know, the Luke chapter can be quite long
so it's good to maybe have it highlighted
or have the verses noted down.
Remember, it does need explaining.
And again, you might go like,
thief on the cross, simple, because you're saved.
But they're not saved at this point
so remember to explain the verses.
It says, and one of the malefactors which were hanged,
he's saying these are the two men that were criminals
that were on either side of Jesus, okay?
That they were on the cross as well,
railed on him saying if thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
So basically he's, you know,
he's basically talking dishonestly about him.
But the other answering rebuked him saying,
does not thou fear God,
seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
So at this point,
and you could explain this as you go through it,
you could say look, this guy's accepting God's judgment,
he's accepting the fear of God
like I've just shown you that the Bible says
that you're a sinner and that you deserve to go to hell.
Or maybe if you need to do it a bit gentler,
we're all sinners,
we all deserve to go to hell, right?
Either way.
And we indeed justly,
for we receive the due reward of our deeds
but this man has done nothing amiss.
So he's accepting his guilt,
he's accepting, you know, that he deserves that
and that's something we have to accept at least,
you know, according to God, according to the Bible.
But he's also accepting here
Christ's sinless sacrificial death, isn't he?
So he's accepting the gospel
and he said unto Jesus,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
So he put his faith in Christ
and Jesus said unto him,
verily I say unto thee,
today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
He got saved.
Simple, isn't it?
So that's like some people that that might help, you know,
and every now and again,
I potentially, and I have, you know,
a few times over the years
gone to the thief on the cross
to show that with people
that are maybe stubborn cases.
Now there can be other stubborn cases, okay?
And for some I think
explaining the chastisement of the believer
is needed for those people as well.
So sometimes, you know,
I will move on to the next section
to show that and explain that
or maybe even just mention that
and then we're going to get onto that anyway
as they can't get their head around it otherwise,
like I said, okay?
Some people just can't,
they can't swap
because they've just got so used to
you get punished for sin.
And ultimately, yeah,
you do get punished for sin, right?
But trying to explain the nuances of that
is something people need to be explained
that a believer will be chastised in life, okay?
And we're going to look at that next week.
But the repent of your sins doctrine
I believe can need dealing with around now too, okay?
Because a lot of people,
it's they believe that they'll be with you
on the whole lot of it.
And then they get to this point
and they're kind of in their mind
is like, well, no,
you've got to repent of your sins though.
You've got to repent and believe.
So straight away, you know,
at this point, you can have an issue there, okay?
So this can be a good time to go
to some verses to explain that.
Now, the easiest way,
and for me, if it ain't broke,
don't fix it,
is Jonah chapter three, okay?
This for me is simple,
with a few things that I like to point out
on the way there, okay?
So you could put options by Ephesians 2, 8, and 9,
because we've got to Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.
So if we're not going to go on to chastisement
of the believer,
then the options, for example, are Luke,
you could put in brackets,
Luke 23, 39 to 43.
And then you could maybe,
if you want a reminder or if you're not,
you know, if you won't remember
why you're going to Jonah,
you could put repentance maybe.
Jonah 3, 9, okay?
Jonah 3, 9.
Now, what I generally do,
if someone's talking about repenting of your sins
or I think they've got an issue with that,
they said that at the beginning or something else,
it's good to ask them what they mean by it, okay?
Ask them what they mean by it.
It's good to get an understanding
of exactly what they mean
and see if they would word it
turning from their evil way.
Because a lot of people,
when they're explaining,
you could say, okay, like, for example,
turning from your evil way, you know,
turning from the bad things you're doing.
And most people who say repent your sins,
you get to say that, aren't they?
Okay, to some degree.
And they might even go,
well, you've got to keep repenting your sins
in the future
and then that all starts tying to eternal security.
But a lot of people,
they believe they had to give up something,
turn for something.
A lot of people, you'd be amazed, okay?
You'd be amazed how many people
even in our circles deep down
believe that they turned their life around
and that's tied into their so-called salvation.
Okay, just to bear that in mind.
Sadly, even though they'll deny it.
But often you,
out of the abundance of the heart and the mouth,
speak through these things.
But, right.
It's good to ask what they mean by it, okay?
And see, like I said,
if they would word it that way.
And when I go to Jonathan,
I like to ask if they know who repents most
in the whole Bible.
A good thing to ask someone.
Because again, you're just explaining,
you know, straight away,
you're showing that the word repent
doesn't automatically talk about sin, okay?
So I'll just ask them that.
And now this is the one question probably
I like to ask people.
Where I'm expecting to get the wrong answer.
And it's just because I want to really show them
that they're wrong about this doctrine, okay?
So do you know who repents more than anyone else
in the whole Bible?
And I would say this is one of those
where 99% of the time they get it wrong, okay?
If they're someone who's sticking
to the repent of your sins,
false doctrine, okay?
So, obviously the answer is God, okay?
Then I usually will give them the answer God
and then straight away,
we're in Jonah three, look at verse nine.
Who can tell if God will turn and repent
and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not?
So usually if it's someone coming out
repent of your sin,
this isn't someone,
some atheist God hater that thinks God's sinful or something.
This is usually someone that will say,
yeah, you know, God can't sin, okay?
So I'll point out that clearly not talking about sin,
it's talking about God turning and repenting.
God is about to punish this whole nation.
It's not about salvation, okay?
He's about to punish a nation, the Ninevites.
It's not about salvation.
Then verse 10 says,
and God saw their works
that they turned from their evil way
and God repented of the evil
and you need to point out
because then they're going,
wait a second, I thought God can't sin.
Let's point out,
let's just talk about the punishment
he was going to give them,
the bad things he was going to do to them,
which was justified as sin.
Which was justified,
this was a wicked bunch
that he said that he would do unto them and he did not.
Now it's got a bit wordy now,
so then I want to draw them back in.
So look at verse 10, okay?
God saw their works
that they turned from their evil way.
So what is turning from your evil way?
And again,
nine out of ten,
ninety-nine percent evil maybe
of the time you'll get someone say,
turning from your evil way's works.
What does it say?
And God saw their works,
what's the works
that they turned from their evil way, okay?
It stopped God punishing the nation,
he changed his mind from the bad,
he's going to do unto them,
that's what we see there,
but what was turning from their evil way works.
Straight back in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9,
you're not flicking about
because you've just been there,
you can keep your thumb in there
when you go to Jonah 3,
for by grace you say through faith
and that not of yourselves
it is a gift of God,
not of works.
Lest any man should boast.
And that usually solves
repent of your sins pretty quickly.
Again, unless it's someone
that's just denying the Bible,
unless it's someone that wants to rouse you,
and here's the thing,
if you got to this point,
you're getting to the point
where you're like,
really, does this person
really want to hear the gospel?
Do they really want to hear
or do they just want to affirm
what they want it to say, right?
However, okay,
I would say,
if you do have someone like that
and you feel like,
no, I'm not going to give up on this person,
maybe it's just a real stronghold
they've had drilled into by some wicked church
for however many years,
it's helpful to explain
what repentance actually is
when it comes to salvation.
Okay, that helps
because some people are thinking,
well, yeah, but I'm sure
I've read Repent and Believe,
I'm sure I've read like,
you know,
John preached baptism of repentance
and, you know, et cetera.
So it's good to explain that,
to show, look,
this is what repentance is
and what it isn't.
Repentance is changing your mind
from what you did believe
and putting your faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Matthew 21 is a good option
for this as well.
So you could if you needed.
Now verse 32 in Matthew 21
is a key one, verse 32.
However, a bit earlier helps to show
it being a change of mind as well.
So the passage is quite useful as well.
So Matthew 21 and verse 28 says,
But what think ye?
A certain man had two sons,
and he came to the first and said,
Son, go work today in my vineyard.
He answered and said,
I will not,
but afterward he repented and went.
So what did he do?
He changed his mind.
He changed his mind
from what he was gonna do
and he decided, no,
actually, you know,
I will go and work for him, okay?
And he came to the second and said,
Likewise, he answered,
said, I go, sir,
and went not.
Whether of them trained
in the will of his father,
they said unto him the first,
Jesus saith unto them,
Verily, I say unto you
that the publicans and the harlots
go into the kingdom of God before you.
So you're showing
what repentance is here, okay?
Then verse 32,
For John came unto you
in the way of righteousness
and you believed him not,
but the publicans
and the harlots believed him,
and ye, when ye had seen it,
repented not afterward that
ye might believe him.
It's about changing their mind
and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's, again,
like by now you probably
just got a Bible rejecter
if they're still not getting it.
They're still not accepting
what it is and what it isn't.
You could say Acts 19 four
could be very,
could be useful
for really tough cases.
It is getting silly now.
They are just rejecting scripture.
Acts 19 four says,
Then said Paul,
John verily baptised
with the baptism of repentance.
Maybe someone that's maybe
well-versed to a degree
and wants to understand
what that was,
saying unto the people
that they should believe on him
which should come after him,
that is on Christ Jesus.
So you're showing
what that baptism of repentance
by John the Baptist was,
that he was saying unto the people
that they should believe on him
which should come after him.
Okay?
They're changing their mind
from what they did believe
from what they were trusting
to believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what biblical repentance
for salvation is.
So Acts 19 four is another option.
And again,
just be careful
you're not getting
into debate territory here
because it can just end up
being a time waste.
And the thing is
there's no rules of that.
You've got to read it
and here's the thing.
You know what?
It really comes back,
someone asked me this earlier.
It just comes back
to soul winning lots.
If you're soul winning
lots and lots,
you just start to kind of get,
you start to get a reading
and people don't.
You start to,
you get experience.
You see when people are time wasted,
when they're not.
Yeah, we give people
the benefit of the doubt.
There are times when with time
and you're soul winning regularly,
you're soul winning,
you know,
week after week,
year after year,
you should start to get
more of an idea
of who you're going
to persevere with
and who isn't.
And that does come with time,
you know.
But, okay,
alongside these, okay,
as an additional verse
that's useful for those
that think they have
to do something,
Romans 11 six.
And for me like that,
Romans 11 six,
it's not in like what my standard
kind of where I go,
but it's something that I slip in
at different times
depending on who I'm talking to
and depending on the responses
because Romans 11 six
just clearly shows
that it's one or the other.
You cannot combine them.
And I might have to show it
at the end
where I'm getting them to accept
that they weren't saved
or I might show them
in the middle
when I'm getting them to accept
that it's belief only
and belief isn't also doing works,
but Romans 11 six
is a good one
to have up your sleeve.
And if by grace,
that's free undeserved,
then is it no more of works?
Remember that's the works
of the Lord doing good,
doing all the things
that God wants you to do.
Otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works,
then is it no more grace?
Otherwise works no more work.
And then I usually
just will say something
like it's one or the other.
You have to,
and some people get light
and you can,
sometimes they do that,
you can give that light,
that actual,
that visual
of you've got to put
all your trust.
It's not a bit of trust
on you, a bit of Jesus.
That's works according to this.
And put it all on
the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's all on grace.
Romans 11 six,
I think is good
for that as well.
Okay.
And something to remember,
if you have the verses there,
they're highlighted,
maybe, like I said,
with options,
maybe, look,
it doesn't have to be
brackets after verse.
Maybe you don't have
room in your Bible.
Maybe you could just
have a page at the back
for alternative verses
and topics.
It can't hurt, can it?
It's useful to have
because now and again
and I have over the years,
I'm sure many people
can say the same thing.
You'll get those times
where there was a verse
that you don't usually use,
which you went to
and it was like the key
to that person's door.
It was the one
that they needed
reading and explaining.
There are people,
now there are ones
where you can show them
a hundred verses
and they'll never get saved.
So, obviously,
you're trying to gauge that
but it's useful to have them.
And when they're highlighted,
they're quick to go to,
sometimes you're like,
thinking,
I'm not sure what might
really get this through
to someone.
And you flick
and you just see
a verse highlighted
that you don't usually use.
You think,
yeah, let's give this a try.
And that can help.
It can help to get there
quickly, to not be
swolling and looking
for a verse
that you don't usually
go through.
But a list, whatever.
Be prepared.
And it's good to be prepared
because you will get
those people to remember
the value of that one soul
as well.
But, however,
most of the time,
more often than not,
you're going to probably
preach similar verses
that you're very,
you know,
good with explaining
and smooth with
going through
and everything else.
But it's good to have
some up your sleeve,
some different verses, okay?
Right, so, for me,
these are potential
pitfalls and problems,
okay,
in this part of
Preaching the Gospel
and Explaining Belief, okay?
Like I said earlier,
skimming over belief,
not cementing it, okay?
This is a key point,
isn't it?
This is,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
thou shalt be saved,
is not just reading a verse
and then moving on
to the next stage.
Showing it,
making sure they
understand it,
and that comes from
questions like,
I just gave you examples
of where they're
going to get them right,
but they're going to
get an understanding
by answering those
selected questions, okay?
Using just one verse,
I just think it's
such a key part
of the Gospel
that one verse
I don't think
is enough for me.
I want to cement it
with more than one.
I like to use
three verses on belief,
maybe even four sometimes,
going to John 6,
47 as well.
Not explaining
what it actually means
can be a problem as well.
Oh, look, see,
you've just got to believe.
Just got to believe.
Yeah, but what are we saying?
We're saying it's synonymous
with faith and trust.
So then people come away
going,
well, I believe in Jesus,
but they're not really
putting their faith
and trust in him, okay?
So for me,
that needs explaining
very early.
It's essential
when you're explaining
belief to explain
that it's putting
your faith and trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ
death, burial and resurrection
as having paid for all
your past, present
and future sins, okay?
That's where we're
trying to get to
and that's what we're trying
to explain pretty early on.
It's faith, it's trust.
It's not just believing
there's a guy called Jesus.
Not just believing in the Bible,
whatever that even means,
you know?
And again,
just make sure
you're explaining
what that is.
Not letting them answer
when explaining
belief and gift.
And I've seen that before
where people are kind of
explaining what belief is,
explaining,
but they're not really
letting them answer.
They're just kind of,
they're basically
just answering for them,
you know?
Or saying, well, of course,
you wouldn't,
and not letting them
actually think and answer.
Now, don't get me wrong,
there's a difference
between feeding
and just basically
just answering for them.
So we want them
to get the right answer
but what we don't want
to do is just be,
just basically take
that even thought
out of their head, yeah?
So don't just say
the answer for them
to agree with you.
You want them
to agree on it
but you want to feed them
that right thought as well, right?
Does that make sense?
Yeah?
That makes sense, okay?
So you want it to be
a two-way conversation,
especially here.
You want them to understand
and to accept
and to state
what the Bible says.
Not checking in
to see if they're engaged.
Obviously, that would go
hand in hand with that, okay?
Making sure
they're following
and that comes by
it being a two-way conversation.
And like I said earlier,
giving ridiculous examples
whilst explaining the gift, okay?
Just far-fetched,
bizarre examples
I've heard before.
I got a gun
and I went and shot
ten people.
If you took it back,
was it still a gift?
And it's just like,
come on, man.
It's getting ridiculous, yeah?
Because really,
we're just trying to,
you know, and that,
really like the chastisement
is then where we're trying
to really explain about
what you can and can't do.
But in showing it's extreme.
So, you know,
not just going,
oh, what if you went
out and just killed someone?
You know, it's like,
well, showing like this,
that is a very, like,
very unlikely thing for people
to even think about now.
And just something
that probably isn't good,
don't start bringing up
abortion and stuff like that, okay?
Because you're just going to
go down a whole rabbit trail
if you do things like that.
If you go,
well, you could actually
because, you know,
200 and something thousand people
in this nation last year,
no, just,
there's no point at this point,
at this point,
we're trying to get them saved, okay?
So don't start bringing up
stuff like that
when you're giving examples
of ways people could kill
someone or something else, okay?
Okay, and another one,
and just something that
I want you to remember
about as well, okay?
And that could come
at any point in
a Gospel presentation,
but it can be here
when you explain your belief
and maybe they might go,
oh, I never heard that
or something else.
Don't talk about false prophets
before getting them saved, okay?
Can I tell you that again?
Don't bring up false prophets
before getting them saved.
And let me explain to you why, okay?
Because a lot of these people
have vested interest
in false prophets.
They're their pastors,
they're their church leaders,
they're whatever.
They ain't saved yet.
You start going on about
these wicked false prophets
telling you you've got
to repent of your sins.
They're going,
that was my uncle pastor.
That's whoever else, you know?
Don't do that, okay?
So false prophets,
after getting them
saved again,
you've got to be even
gentle then.
And I've got this wrong.
I've been on the wrong side.
I'm going to give you,
just to finish off,
I know we're nearly done,
just a couple of times
where I have got this wrong.
For example,
and I was in like
one of them roads where
it's like every other person
seems to be getting saved.
And it was on a marathon.
It was like,
this is great.
Knocking on doors,
got to this door.
The guy's just receptive.
He wants to hear it.
I'm getting through the gospel.
He says something about,
oh, is that what
the Jehovah's Witnesses,
something about Jehovah's Witnesses.
I said,
we're not Jehovah's Witnesses.
Yeah, it's a wicked bunch.
Blah, blah, blah.
No, or something like,
we're not liars
like the Jehovah's Witnesses
or something.
Bad move.
Because even though in my mind
everyone agrees with that,
not this guy,
because half his family
were Jehovah's Witnesses.
Destroyed the gospel presentation.
Didn't want to hear it.
Actually,
I was on like a,
I was on a run
down this road, right?
It was like,
this is going great.
And then that was
the last salvation,
like before that,
the door before,
which I think was
their next door neighbor,
was the last salvation I got.
Because I just,
I got carried away.
It was like,
oh no,
we're not like that
wicked bunch or something else.
And it just destroyed it.
And let alone we start,
you know,
and that was
the Jehovah's Witnesses.
And then I started trying
to explain to them
that their church
is basically a false church.
And I was maybe not quite
as sensitive
and polite enough with it.
And we ended up in
basically a debate in a row.
I believe they were saved,
but they just,
so these are mistakes I've made.
I don't want you
to do the same stuff, right?
So look,
before you get them saved,
don't start going on
about the wicked
false prophets
and stuff like that.
They just,
they won't get it, okay?
They don't,
they're not saved, okay?
Afterwards,
you've got to be careful
with it as well.
We want to encourage them
and inspire them
to want to get involved
with a proper church,
but just telling them
that they're best friends
and everyone else
and a bunch of wicked devils
or something
usually doesn't help,
especially before
you get them saved.
A lot of the time
that will just put
their back up
or something else, okay?
So, yeah,
and that obviously
when you talk about
repentance,
repenting your sins,
things like that,
just avoid that word.
Just explain,
you know,
that's not what
Right,
so I'm not going to give you
an example of this bit
because we're running out of time.
I wanted all of these
to be an hour under,
but the list of verses
was from Acts 2, 31,
where we finished,
was Acts 16, 30 to 31,
to John 3, 16,
to John 3, 36,
to Romans 6, 23,
to Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
That's how I like to do it.
You might have other ways,
but I believe that's very effective.
It seems to work
and I don't seem
to have too many people
and I just don't know
something about belief
or something.
Was it like,
you know,
believe in a god
or something?
So, okay,
but that for me
is a straightforward way of it
and on that
we're going to finish
in a word of fact.
Well, thank you for your word.
Thank you for,
well,
the Gospel,
Lord,
and, you know,
and just how easy
it is to be saved.
Please help us
to preach that accurately
and clearly and boldly
when we go out,
Lord, help people to
just take what,
you know,
from this message,
Lord,
and please just help us
as we go out this week
and preach the Gospel
and so I want to
tell myself,
everyone,
to just be as successful
as possible going forward
and especially as we
go out to Sheffield as well.
Help us do a great work there.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.