Okay, so number six, transitioning to the good news, letter A. At this point we have
thoroughly explained to the person that they are a sinner and their sin has condemned them
to hell, letter B. Now we can give them the good news, now we can give them the good news
which is the gospel, alright?
So just by the way there, the word gospel means good tidings or good news.
So number two, God illustrates salvation as a gift.
God illustrates salvation as a gift.
Letter A, eternal life or salvation is a gift.
The fill in there is eternal.
All those terms are used interchangeably in regarding to this theme, eternal life, salvation,
gift, it sort of earns the same thing.
Letter B, the gift is free, it doesn't cost us anything.
And letter C, the gift is not something we earn or work for.
The gift is not something we earn or work for.
So let's talk about how this conversation may go.
So if you remember we just got done explaining James 2.10, for whosoever shall keep the whole
law and yet offend at one point he is guilty of all.
Here God has given us a hypothetical.
He's saying if you're able to keep the whole law, if somebody was able to keep the whole
law but they offended at one point, they told one lie, they made one mistake, the Bible
says they're guilty of all.
So notice what the Bible is teaching here is that no matter how good you are, you're
not good enough.
None of us are good enough to go to heaven.
Now I'm transitioning back to Romans 6.23.
If you remember, we've already showed them Romans 6.23, so I like to set this verse up
because I like to talk as I'm flipping pages, I like to set up the next verse or transition
to the next verse.
I'll say something along these lines.
Remember this verse I showed you earlier, Romans 6.23?
It says for the wages of sin is death.
We understand what that means now, right?
Now notice I'm using this as a little review because we're in this transition from the
bad news to the good news.
So I'll say, hey, remember this verse I showed you, Romans 6.23, for the wages of sin is
death?
We understand what that means now, right?
The payment of sin is death, not just a physical death but the second death, being cast into
the lake of fire, being cast into hell.
That's what the first part of this verse means.
Here's the second part of the verse.
The Bible says, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And what I'd like to do is just show you some things about this gift, okay?
So I like to say to them, remember these words, okay, gift, eternal life, and Jesus
Christ.
Remember these words, gift, eternal life, and Jesus Christ, and let me show you a couple
of things about this gift.
And that kind of sets us up for the next verse.
So the next verse, if you are there on page 25, letter B, you don't have to work for the
gift.
So when I explained to them Romans 6.23, I said, remember I showed you this verse before
for the wages of sin is death?
We understand what that means now, right?
The payment of sin is death, not just the physical death, but the second death, being
cast into the lake of fire.
But notice what the second part of the verse says, it says, but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Bible says that God has a gift he wants to give you, and I want to explain to you
this gift and how it's eternal life, okay?
So remember these words, gift of God, eternal life, and Jesus Christ.
And let me show you a verse over here in Ephesians chapter number two and verse number eight.
Ephesians chapter two and verse eight, the Bible says, for by grace are ye saved through
faith.
Now I'm going to explain this to you the way that I would explain to somebody at the door.
I like to kind of slow down and explain certain things.
So I'll say, look, let me show you this verse, Ephesians 2.8, for by grace are ye saved through
faith.
The word grace means you're getting something you don't deserve, something you did not earn,
something you did not pay for.
For example, you probably have a grace period on the mortgage of this house or the rent
of this apartment.
Let's say rent's due on the first, but they give you till the fifth to pay.
That's called a grace period.
What is that?
That's free time.
The word grace means you're getting something you don't deserve.
It's unmerited favor.
Here the Bible says, for by grace are ye saved.
The word saved there is talking about being saved from hell, because you don't want to
go there, right?
I don't want to go there.
Notice, for by grace are ye saved through faith.
The word faith means to believe or to put your trust in something.
I want you to notice what the Bible says, and that not of yourselves.
So according to this verse, if you're going to be saved, notice it's not of yourselves.
Here's why.
It is the gift of God, and the Bible says that God is a gift He wants to give you.
Now let me just kind of stop here for a minute and say this.
At this point, and this is where I get a little concerned that it might get a little complicated
for those of you that are newer at this, and if it does, I apologize, but I like to use
a lot of illustrations.
I feel like illustrations help people connect things.
And as you study the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible, you'll notice that Jesus used a
lot of illustrations.
He said, I am the bread of life.
He said, I am the door.
He talked about the sheep and the shepherd.
I mean, He used all sorts of illustrations.
I think it's good to use illustrations, and I like to use illustrations as well.
And what I like to do is from here on, people like to use all sorts of different illustrations,
and I'm not opposed to that, but I also like to keep things consistent.
So from here forward in my presentation, I use the gift illustration.
And I use the gift illustration through the entire thing, all the way to the end, all
the way to the sinner's prayer.
And I'll explain to you kind of how that works.
Other than for eternal security, I like to use another illustration for that.
So if you notice there, reveal the truth, the birthday gift illustration.
So when I get to this verse here, Ephesians 2, 8, I just explained it, right?
I just read it.
For by grace are you saved through faith.
The word grace means free.
It means unmerited favor.
It means you're getting something you don't deserve.
Are you saved?
I'm not talking about being saved from hell because you don't want to go there, right?
I don't want to go there either.
Through faith, the word faith means to believe.
I want you to notice what the Bible says about being saved.
It says it's not of yourselves, meaning you're not going to save yourself.
If you're saved, it's not something you produce, not something you do.
Here's why.
It is the gift of God.
And then at that point I say, let me use an illustration to help you understand this gift.
And I'll take something.
Usually I always have a pen with me, so I'll take a pen.
I feel like a pen is pretty basic and benign.
Honestly, you can use whatever you want.
Just don't use something that's going to create a distraction, if that makes sense.
I've seen people pull out their wallet.
It's got like all this money in it and they're like, let's say, and then it just becomes
this joke about the wallet.
Like at that point, you're like, you're not doing what you're trying to do, which is present
the gospel.
You see what I'm saying?
So don't use some big, weird illustration.
A pen is pretty benign.
I've seen people use their Bible.
That's fine too.
I like to use a pen.
It's because sometimes people actually take it from me and if they take it from me, that's
fine.
Especially if it's a Verity Baptist Church pen.
If they take my Bible, then it's like, can I get my Bible back?
It doesn't make a difference, but I like to use a pen.
Use whatever you want.
You could use car keys.
I mean, I've seen that work well.
I'm just saying, be careful about taking your shoe off and like, there's a brand new Jordan
here.
I'm going to give this to you as a gift or something.
When the illustration becomes a distraction, then it's a bad illustration.
The whole point of the illustration is to bring you back to the spiritual truth that
we're trying to accomplish.
So I just got done explaining Ephesians 2.8.
Notice I did not explain verse 9, okay?
I just explained verse 8.
How did I do it?
By explaining the words, grace saved faith.
Not of yourselves is the gift of God.
Then I tell the person, let me use an illustration to help you understand this gift.
Pull out the pen and I'll say something along these lines.
Let's say today was your birthday and let's say I was going to buy you a gift.
Let's say I bought you this pen, all right?
Let's say I gave this to you and I said, here you go, happy birthday.
I'll hold it out to the person.
I'll say, what would you have to do for this pen to become yours?
Usually, honestly, the person will grab it or they'll say, I don't know, take it.
And I'll say, yeah, go ahead.
They grab it.
And then I'll ask them, is that pen yours now?
They're like, yeah.
I say, well, what if I said to you, well, you know, that pen cost me $1.
I'm going to give you a free birthday gift, but you have to give me $1.
Is that a gift?
No.
Why not?
Now notice, I'm not telling them anything.
I'm just asking questions.
That pen cost me $1.
If I should give me $1, is that a gift?
No, it's not.
Why not?
Because I'm paying you for it.
Okay.
How about this?
What if I give you that free birthday gift and I said, all you have to do, I'm going
to give you this free birthday gift.
All you have to do is wash my car.
Is that a gift?
And they're going to say, usually people are smiling at this time.
They're like, no, why not?
Because you're making me wash your car.
Because you're making me work for it.
Because you're making me do something for it.
You're making me earn it.
And then I'll say, you're absolutely right.
That's not a gift, right?
Because a gift, by definition, is free.
Which means you don't have to pay any money for it, and you don't have to earn it.
Now notice, that was the illustration.
If I gave you this free birthday gift, but I asked you to give me $1.
Is that a gift?
No.
Why not?
Because you're paying for it.
Okay.
What if I give you this free birthday gift, and I like to say free because I'm telling
them it's a free birthday gift, but I asked you to wash my car.
Is that a gift?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm doing something for it.
You're right.
A gift, by definition, is free.
Now notice, the gift of God, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
So does God expect you to work for the gift?
As I'm pointing to not of works.
And they're connecting these dots.
No.
Why not?
Because it's a gift.
Because a gift is not something you work for.
So the illustration in and of itself is revealing the truth, and the illustration is revealing
the concept as well with them.
Because they're telling you, no, it's not a gift.
And I like to say it this way.
When I get through the illustration, hey, if I gave you this birthday gift, I'm going
to give you this free pen, but you have to give me a dollar.
Is that a gift?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm paying you for it.
Okay.
I gave you this birthday gift, but you have to wash my car.
Is that a gift?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm doing something for it.
Well, you're right.
A gift by definition is free.
And you know what?
The gift of God is the exact same way.
Notice what the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
There's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Thoughts on the birthday gift illustration.
Number one, start off with what if I asked you to pay me for the gift?
Because it's very easy to grasp that you don't pay for a gift.
Number two, then I transition into what if I asked you to do something for the gift?
This is how we apply the illustration to salvation.
Then number three, an illustration is worthless if you don't apply it.
So a lot of times I've seen soul winners, they get so wound up on pastors have to use
the illustration, pastors have to use the illustration, then they use the illustration
but they never apply it.
There's no point of using illustration if you don't apply it.
So use the illustration, get good at it.
If I gave you this gift, ask you to pay me for it, ask you to do something for it, okay.
But then make sure you transition.
You're right.
A gift by definition is free.
If I'm going to give you a gift, I can't ask you to give me money for it.
I can't ask you to work for it.
And let me tell you something, the gift of God is the exact same way.
Notice how we took it from the illustration back to what we're trying to help them understand.
So an illustration is worthless if you don't apply it.
You've got to bring it back to apply that illustration.
And then number four, an additional verse you could use for someone who's really struggling
with this concept is Romans 4-5.
I don't use that normally in my presentation, but if they're struggling with it, sometimes
you've got people that really struggle with the whole works thing.
Romans 4-5 is a good one.
So we review the concept.
So according to the Bible, do you have to work or earn the gift for salvation?
By this time, they should be understanding that the answer to that question is no.
So here's what we've covered so far.
We're all sinners, our sin is condemned to us to hell, and God has a gift he wants to
give us, and that gift is not of works.
It's free, okay.
Now let's just work on mapping out your Bible there.
So Romans 6-23, if you're at Romans 6-23, you already have a number three at Romans
6-23, but now somewhere in there, write a number seven.
Number seven, because remember, we're coming to Romans 6-23 two different times for two
different points.
We came the third time for the wages of his death, now we're coming back as the seventh
time for the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next to Romans 6-23, write Ephesians 2-8 and 9, but maybe write a little B there as well.
Because this is in the B section, the second time we're coming back to this.
Then go to Ephesians 2-8 and 9, and write number eight in front of or next to Ephesians
2-8 and 9, indicating that this is the eighth passage.
And then next to Ephesians 2-8 and 9, write Romans 5-8, Romans 5-8, that's the next verse
we're going to go to in this presentation to explain the Gospel, Romans 5-8.
So that's the end of lesson number six.