Matthew Stuckey here, and I'm giving you another soul-winning tip on the topic of explaining the gift example.
One of the examples that God gives in the Bible about salvation is that it is a gift, and it's in reference to salvation.
So how do we incorporate that into our soul-winning presentations? How do we explain that salvation is a gift, that eternal life is a gift?
How do we explain that? Well, number one, you can say this as you're giving the example.
If I give you a gift, then who paid for that gift? You or me? And they're going to respond that you paid for it.
So basically, if I'm giving a gift to someone, I'm the one paying for it, right?
And then you could say, well, in regards to eternal life, who does the Bible say is giving that gift?
It's the gift of, they're going to say God. Well, God is giving that gift.
Well, the question is, who paid for that gift? Jesus Christ.
So God is giving the gift, the giver pays for the gift, and Jesus paid for it.
That actually shows Jesus is God, because God's giving it, Jesus paid for it, the giver pays for the gift, and so that shows that Jesus Christ is God.
And so if I'm giving you a gift, it means I paid for it. You don't have to pay me anything.
So for example, if I told you here's a gift, here's a Bible as a gift, but you have to give me one dollar. Is that a gift?
You know, in Tagalog we would say, you know, walang kapalit, walang vayad, walang condition, but mainly walang kapalit.
So basically, there's nothing required, no money, no work involved.
If I said here is a gift, but you got to give me a dollar, is that a gift?
And they're going to say, well, no, that's not a gift, right?
And what if I said here's a gift, you don't have to give me any money, but in order to receive my gift, you've got to wash my car, you've got to obey my rules, you've got to cook me dinner tonight, is that a gift?
And they're going to say, well, no, it's not a gift, because you're working for it. It's like a job, right?
A gift means it's free. It means there's no money required, no work involved.
And so oftentimes after I explain that, I will quote from Ephesians 2, where I say, you know, it's the same way with, you know, the gift of God.
When it comes to eternal life, it says the gift of God, not of works.
So if God required you to do any work to receive this, that wouldn't be a gift, because a gift is 100% free.
No money, no work involved.
And so I'll ask them, well, let's say God was giving you eternal life, but he said, before you receive this, you've got to get baptized, you've got to quit drinking, you've got to go to church, is that a gift?
And hopefully they're going to say, well, no, that's not a gift.
Now, if they are a little bit confused, I might actually show them Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 and just quickly explain to them and just kind of re-explain the same thing I just did.
But if they're paying attention and they've been getting all the steps along, then hopefully they're going to say, well, yeah, that wouldn't be a gift because you're working for it.
And then I'll say, well, what if I give you this as a gift here?
I give you this Bible for Christmas, and then one week later, you know, on Chinese New Year or New Year or whatever, I say, well, I'm angry with you and I take that gift back.
Was that a gift?
And they're going to say, well, no, because you can't take a gift back.
Exactly. You know, a gift means no exchange. There are no take backs. There are no returns.
And I'll say, well, likewise, eternal life is a gift.
So let's say you receive eternal life from God today.
You receive salvation today. You receive that gift.
But then one day, you commit a sin and God is mad at you, and he says, you know what, I'm angry with you. I'm taking back my gift.
Was that a gift?
And they're going to say, no.
And then I'll explain, well, that gift, according to the Bible, is eternal life.
Eternal life means it never ends.
So, you know what, if you have eternal life, which is the promise that you have spiritual life and you're not going to go to the second death,
if you have eternal life and that ever ended and you ended up in hell, was that eternal life?
And they're going to say, well, no, it wasn't eternal.
And so one other thing I might mention when I'm explaining the gift is that the gift of God is eternal life through who?
Is it through Muhammad? Is it through Buddha? Is it through, you know, the Pope?
No, it's through Jesus Christ.
And so you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, as I have already mentioned earlier in my Gospel presentation.
Now, I'm kind of explaining the gift example. I'm not giving you an actual demonstration.
So it might be hard to fully follow what I'm saying.
In the future, I'll have a soul-winning demonstration that you can look at and see this in action.
But basically, be reminded of the fact that the Gospel is meant to be simple.
And one of the examples God gives is that eternal life is a gift.
A gift is very easy for people to understand.
They understand that means no money's required, no work's involved, the giver pays for it,
and once you give it, it can't be taken back.
Use that as a way to illustrate that salvation is forever.
You say, why? Because that's an example God directly gave us in order to help us be able to preach the Gospel to unsaved people.
If I have told you of earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
We use earthly examples, earthly things, to help explain the spiritual.
Anyways, thank you and God bless.