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So, lesson number six, the gift, page number 13. Number one, transition to the good news. Transition to the good news. 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, that's your fill in there, which is the gospel, all right? Now, let's talk about the word gospel for a little bit. The word gospel means good tidings or good news. If you look at number two there, God illustrates salvation as a gift. God illustrates salvation as a gift. Letter A, the fill in is eternal life or salvation is a gift. Eternal life or salvation is a gift. The gift is free, letter B. The gift is free, it doesn't cost us anything. The gift is free, it doesn't cost us anything. Letter C, the gift is not something we earn or work for. The gift is not something we earn or work for. Number three, how this conversation may go. Letter A, God has a gift he wants to give you. So, at this point, we come back to Romans 623. Remember, we dealt with the first part of Romans 623, for the wages of sin is death. Now we're coming back to it. So, we went to Romans 623, we went to the passages in Revelation, we went to the passage in James. Now we're coming back to Romans 623, but we're not going to deal with the first part where we talked about that. Now we're going to talk about the second part, the good news, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And before we focus on the first part of this, you know, before we focus on the first part now we're going to focus on the second part, but you know, you can take the time to review it or read it, you know, for the wages of sin is death. You can remind them, remember I showed you this verse already, and you want to explain it to them. So basically, at this point, I say, look, the Bible says, here's the bad news, 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. The good news is this, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And I'll explain to them, the Bible says that God has a gift he wants to give you. And that gift is eternal life, and it's through Jesus Christ. And sometimes all I'll even do with this verse is I'll just say to the person, I want you to remember these words, okay, gift, eternal life, Jesus Christ, okay, because we're going to be talking about those words. And then I'll say, you know, let me show you this verse in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 and 9, if you turn your page over to number 14, letter B. You don't have to work for the gift, alright? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith, in that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast, alright? Normally what I do at this point is I'll take my Bible, and I'm in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, and I'll, you know, I just showed in Romans 6, 23, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I'll say, hey, remember these words, gift, eternal life, and Jesus Christ. And then I'll say, let me show you this passage here, Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says, for by grace are you saved through faith. And I'll stop and I'll say, you know, the word grace, I'm sure you're familiar with the word grace, the word grace means free. And sometimes I'll even mention, you know, the theological term for grace is unmerited favor. It means you're getting something you don't deserve, you're getting something you did not earn. And sometimes I'll even use this example, I'll say, like you've heard of a grace period, right? Like let's say rent's due on the first or mortgage is due on the first, but they give you till the fifth to pay it, they call that a grace period, that's free time. And I'll say the word grace means free, it means you're getting something, you didn't earn it, you didn't pay for it, are you saved? Saved from what? From hell. Because you don't want to go there, right? And I don't want to go there. For by grace are you saved through faith. The word faith means to believe, it's, the word is used interchangeably in scriptural. And that, not of yourselves. I'll say, look, the Bible says, if you're going to be saved, it's not of yourself, meaning you don't save yourself, you don't produce your own salvation. Here's why, it is the gift of God. Now do you see how I just went through and explained that verse? I mean, I just read a little bit, gave some definitions, explained what it means, read a little more, gave some definitions, explained what it means. Now we're to this place of the gift of God. Usually what I do at this point, and you can do whatever you want, usually what I do at this point is I'll use an illustration. I'll say, let me use an illustration to kind of help you understand this, all right? Let's say that today was your birthday, and let's say that I was going to give you a gift, and I'll pull out a pen out of my pocket or whatever you have, you know, don't use something personal, you know, your wallet or something like that, but a pen or your Bible or whatever. I'll say, let's say I was going to give you a gift, all right, let's say I was going to give you this pen as a birthday gift, and I said, here you go, happy birthday, all right? What do you have to do for this gift to become yours? And then I'll just be quiet. And here's a mistake that a lot of soul owners make, they ask a question and then they don't like the silence. Now remember, we don't like awkward silence. Here's what awkward silence is. When you're supposed to be talking and you're not, okay? But we like purposeful silence. Sometimes it's good to just ask a question and then close your mouth. Just let them process it. And I'll say, you know, let's say today was your birthday, I was going to give you a gift, I was going to give you this birthday gift, what would you have to do for this pen to become yours? And I'll just be quiet. And they'll say, I don't know, I guess just take it, right? So we'll go ahead and grab it, and they grab it. Was that your gift now? I just gave it to you, right? They're like, well, yeah, you know, and this little illustration I just gave you that pen. And then I'll say, well, what if I said, but you have to get, you know, that pen cost me $1. You have to give me $1. I'm going to give you this free birthday gift, all you have to do is give me $1. Is that a gift? And just be quiet. Let them process that. Well, no, it's not a gift. If I have to give you $1, that's not a gift. Well, why not? Well, because I'm paying for it. Well, yeah, I mean, it's no different than you go in the store and buy it yourself, right? Right. Well, what if I said I'm going to give you this free gift, okay? You don't have to give me any money for it. All you have to do is wash my car. Is that a gift? Well, no. Well, why not? Well, because I'm having to do something for it. What are you doing for it? Well, I'm washing your car. What are you doing for it? Well, I'm working for it. And here's what you're going to understand about illustrations, because sometimes people get this idea. They hear me say these things, and they'll say, oh, pastors have to use illustration. So they use illustration. Don't forget the purpose of the illustration. The purpose of an illustration is just like Jesus with the parables. It's meant to explain a spiritual truth using something physical, earthly, something that you can, you know, so make sure that you're using the illustration to that end. I'm not giving them the illustration for the sake of illustration, but I'm bringing them to a point where they're saying to me, and notice, they're saying to me, because all I'm doing is asking questions. They're coming to this conclusion themselves. If I give you a gift, and you have to pay me for it, it's not a gift. If I give you a gift, but you have to do something for it, it's not a gift. And once they say that to me, like, well, no, that's not a gift. Why not? Because I have to wash your car for it. And I'll say exactly. Because a gift, by definition, is free. I'll say, now, look at what the Bible says about the gift of God. For the way, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. And I'll say this. Notice verse 9. Not of what? Not of works, lest any man should boast. And then I'll ask them, so does God expect you to work for the gift? And at this point, most people are like, no. And I'll say, see, the reason I use that illustration is because a lot of people have this idea. They think, if I'm going to go to heaven, I have to live a good life. I have to go to church. I have to put money in the offering plate. I have to get baptized. I have to repent of my sins. And there's nothing wrong with any of that. It's good to go to church, good to get baptized, good to repent of your sins, good to put money in the offering plate. But if I have to do those things to go to heaven, then it's not a gift. Because a gift, by definition, is free. So make sure, and here's a big mistake that people have with using illustrations. Make sure you apply it. You know, don't just give this real elaborate illustration about, you know, this gift, and then just kind of like, so there. And then you just move on. Apply it. Here's why I gave that illustration. Here's how that applies to salvation. Just like this pen is not a gift if I ask you to wash my car for it, salvation, which God calls the gift of God, is not a gift if you have to do something for it. And even more than that, in verse 9, God tells you it's not of works, all right? And you want to review that with them. Make sure they understand that. Make sure, and you've kind of been reviewing the whole time if you're asking them questions, right? If you're leading them through it. Here's what I found with soul winning, is if you, people are proud, all right? And people don't like to be told, you know, here's what you need to believe. So sometimes when you ask questions and you allow people to process it themselves, they feel as if they're coming to the conclusion themselves, you're just kind of leading them to it. And they're way more likely to receive it and accept it if they feel like, all I did was ask you a question. I didn't tell you it wasn't of works, I just asked you, if I gave you this pen and I asked you to work for it, is it a gift? You know? They're running through it and they're internalizing it at that point. So you want to try to use effective questions to help them. So again, what are we doing? We're reading the passage, we're revealing the truth, we're reviewing the concept with them. So let me help you out. Go, if you take your Bible, go to Revelation 21, 8, Revelation 21, 8, and when you get there, put a number 5 in front of Revelation 21, 8. And next to Revelation 21, 8, underneath Revelation 21, 8, somewhere near Revelation 21, 8, write James 2, 10. Because Revelation 21, 8 is the fifth passage you're going to go to. And then you're going to go to James 2, 10. When you're done with that, go to James 2, 10 and write a number 6 in front of James 2, 10. That's the sixth passage you're going to go to if you're using this outline. And then next to James 2, 10, write Romans 6, 23, B. Romans 6, 23, B. Now remember, this is now the second time. A, first time, B, second time. A, dealing with the first part of the verse, for the wages of sin is death, the negative part, B, dealing with the second part of the verse, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, dealing with the positive side of the verse. So you're going to put a 5 in front of Revelation 21, 8. Next to Revelation 21, 8, you're going to write James 2, 10. You're going to put a 6 next to James, or in front of James 2, 10, and next to or behind or underneath James 2, 10, you're going to write Romans 6, 23, B. All right?