How to Communicate God’s Offer of Salvation

How do you talk to someone about the good news of Jesus Christ? 

Start by asking the person, “Have you ever heard about God’s offer of salvation?” or “Has anyone ever shown you the plan of salvation?”  The answer is usually “No, no one has ever shown it to me.”  I then ask, “Would you like me to take you through it?”  The answer is almost always “Yes.” 

I have found it is best, if possible, to give the plan of salvation in a quiet place with the telephone off the hook so there are no interruptions.  You are giving the person the most important message of how they can have eternal life with God in heaven.  It is the greatest life-changing, life-transforming truth there is.  You don’t want to be rushed or hurried as going through the plan will take about 30 to 40 minutes.   

It is so important to use the Bible because it is the Word of God – not your words – that convicts the sinner of sin.  I never put pressure on anyone or argue.  If the person gets off on a rabbit trail (e.g. “What about people in Africa who have never heard about Jesus” or “If God is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world”, etc.), I tell them, “Let’s go through the plan for now and then we’ll discuss those questions later.” 

I begin by sitting down at my dining room table with the Bible and some paper.  I write the first spiritual law “God loves you and offers you a wonderful life” on the page with the verse reference John 3:16 below it.  I then ask the person to read the passage putting his/her name in place of “the world” and “whosoever” to make it personal so that he/she understands right at the beginning that God loves him/her and that Christ died for his/her sins.  I continue by turning to John 10:10 asking after he/she has read the verse out loud: “Are you living the kind of abundant life Christ is talking about here?” 

And then I go on to the second point in the plan, always having the person read the verse aloud and then helping him/her understand what it means.   

When we get to the end of the plan after John 3:1-8, John 1:12-13 and Revelation 3:20 have been read and explained, I then ask, “Would you like to receive Christ as your Savior and Lord?”  If the answer is “yes”, I explain repentance which is a change of mind toward God, sin and self.  It’s going one way in life (your own way), agreeing with God that you are a sinner, and asking Him to help you turn in a whole new direction His way.  I tell him/her to pray in his/her own words telling God that “I know I have sinned against you and repent of my sin; I want to ask Christ to come into my life to be on the throne of my life and to be my Savior and Lord of my life.” 

When the person prays the “sinner’s prayer”, then I ask, “Did you really mean that?”  If the answer is yes, then I go to 1 John 5:10-13 to give them assurance of salvation because Satan will always bring doubt into the person’s mind later.  I emphasize the word “know” in verse 13 and underline it as I write it down. 

I always give the person the paper with the plan of salvation I wrote down during the time we were together and tell him/her to go over it again when he/she gets home so that he really understands it.  I tell him this is only the beginning of a new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and now he/she needs to begin to grow spiritually as a new believer in Christ.  “As a newborn baby, desire the milk of the Word that you may grow” (1 Peter 2:2).

I tell him/her the importance of getting a good study Bible (like the MacArthur Study Bible, call 1-800-55-GRACE) and to get started reading the Bible daily. Discipleship begins by helping the new believer get started in the Christian life.  It may take many months, sometimes years, but to see someone believe in Christ and grow in Christ is more important than anything else you do in life.  Some people require more time and help than others.  It is teaching someone else the right way to live and all of the Word of God that you have learned since you became a Christian.  It’s good for you because it keeps you on your toes and motivates and encourages you to grow yourself.

In the beginning when you first start using the plan, it may seem hard you because you have not done it before.  But the more you do it the more you will learn, as in anything else, “practice makes perfect.”  As you see one trust in Christ and grow in Christ, you will develop a love and special relationship with that person that is of a parent and child.  A “spiritual daughter or son in Christ” has a special place in your heart as a physical child does and you should let him/her know you are there to help him/her, until he/she is ready to be spiritually self-sufficient.  Tell him/her you will pray for him/her.  It isn’t enough to lead someone to Christ & then “drop” him/her.  The more you give the plan, the easier it will be for you and the time will come when you will “love to tell the story of Jesus & His love.” Until you have memorized the plan, it will help if you write the progression of verses in your Bible’s margins (i.e. write John 10:10 near John 3:16, Romans 3:23 near John 10:10, etc.) so that you know which verse follows the verse you are reading.

Remember, God knows who He has chosen and will save and this is His supernatural work.  You may be “planting the seed” or “watering the seed” that someone else has planted or watered, but “God will give the increase.”  It ultimately comes down to God’s grace and His sovereignty.  Don’t worry about the result or not explaining everything perfectly.  Just try to make it as clear as you can so that the person is not confused.  The problem with so many well-meaning Christians is that they don’t what to say or do or they try to act and sound religious or mystical.  Stick to the plan, let the Word do its work, and make it about Christ and not about you!

The Plan of Salvation 

(Also known as The Four Spiritual Laws written by Campus Crusade for Christ founder, Bill Bright, and laid out here as Mary Jane Wheaton often uses them with those who want to hear about Jesus Christ.)

1.  God loves you and offers you a wonderful plan for your life.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that if “David” (have the person say his/her name here) believes on Him, “David” (put his name here again) will not perish but will have everlasting life.” 

You want to personalize the verse so the person can see Christ died for him.

Ask ‘what do you think the word “believe” means?  (It means to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.)

John 10:10 ”I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Christ died so that you might have an abundant life – peace with God and the peace of God.  Also John 14:27.

2.  Man is sinful and separated from God because of his sin.

Romans 3: 23  “All (emphasize “all”) have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

We are all sinners; we all come short of the glory of God.

Define sin.  “We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6  Sin is going your own way.  The letter “i” in the word sin is our problem.  I am on the throne of my life; everything revolves around me.  It’s all about me.

                                                          God
                                                     —————-      
                                                          Man  

The line represents the sin barrier between God and mankind.  When I give the third point of the plan, I draw a vertical line down through the horizontal line to illustrate the cross – God reaching down to man in Christ dying on the Cross for our sins.  Man tries good works to reach God – living a good life, going to church, being baptized or having babies baptized, giving money to charity, taking communion, praying, doing good deeds, etc.  God does not accept our good works as payment for our sin(read Isa. 64:6, “all of our righteousness are filthy rags in His sight”).  Read Romans 4:4 and Ephesians 2:8-9.  “For by grace (unmerited favor) are you saved by faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.  

We don’t “work” for a gift; salvation is a gift of God.  We can’t earn it and don’t deserve it.  It does not become a gift until we receive it…by faith.   

Romans 6:23 ”The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

You “work” to earn “wagers” – what you earn is spiritual death (Eph. 2:1).  The gift of God cannot be earned or worked for.  Eternal life is given to us when we put our faith or trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior & Lord.

3.  Jesus Christ is God’s provision for our sin.

Romans 5:8 ”But God proved His love for us, in that while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ took all of our sins on Himself when He died on the cross and at the same time transfers His perfect righteousness to our account so God’s justice and wrath can be satisfied.  We cannot save ourselves; only He could do that.  

John 14:6 ”I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” 

Jesus Christ is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, and the ONLY life. When we acknowledge that we are a sinner and repent (change our mind toward sin, self and God) of our sin and turn to Christ to save us from our sin and put our faith and trust in Him, then God forgives our sin.

4.  We must receive Christ by personal invitation.

Read John 3:1-8 

Nicodemus, a religious man came to Jesus at night.  He was “religious”.  Religion is a system of human works where man puts his/her trust for salvation in his/her faith PLUS his/her own religious exercises such as going to church, praying the rosary, confessing sins to a priest, giving money, baptism, etc.  Satan is the father of religion – millions and millions of people have gone to hell trusting in a system of works or their own religious works.  The Bible makes it very clear that God does not want and does not accept our good works for salvation.  Christ did all of the work for us on the Cross (“It is finished”).  We are not to try to add to His finished work on the Cross.  It’s faith alone in Christ alone by His grace alone…plus nothing.  We can add nothing to His finished work on the Cross. 

Nicodemus asked Christ how to inherit eternal life. Christ said, “you must be born again.”

Nicodemus, the religious man, immediately thought Christ meant physical birth: “One goes back into one’s mother’s womb and is born again?”  He was spiritually blind and dead, as are all religious people because they are trusting in themselves and their own religious deeds. 

Christ told Nicodemus that this is a spiritual birth.  You must be born of water (the Word of God is the cleansing agent that God uses to bring a person to faith in Christ (Titus 3:5,6) and the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit is the 2nd agent God uses, along with the Word of God, to bring the sinner to Christ). Nicodemus doesn’t get it.  Again, he is religious and can’t understand what Christ is telling him.

“The wind blows where it goes, no one knows where it comes from or where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit,” Jesus replied.  You can’t see or feel Christ   You must believe in Christ by faith – He is the object of our faith.

John 1:12  “As many as received Him, to them He gives the authority or right to become a son of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

Notice it says, we “become” a child of God.  We are not born a child of God and do not become a child of God any other way but by coming to the foot of the Cross in simple faith.

Again, “believe” means putting all of your faith in Christ alone.  At the moment you acknowledge you are a sinner and need Christ to save you from your sins and ask Him to be your Savior & Lord, you are “born again.”  You are spiritually born, just as in a moment of time you were physically born.

Revelation 3:20 says, “I stand at the door and knock; if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me.”

Christ stands at the door of your life; He wants to come into your life to be your Savior.  Would you like to ask him to come in?

I then draw a circle with a throne in the center.  I write an “I” on the throne and explain that everything in your life revolves around you.

Christ wants to be on the throne of your life.  If you invite Him into your life, He will be on the throne and not you.

Do you understand the plan of salvation and how it applies to you?  Would you like to receive Christ into your life now?”  If so, tell God you know you have sinned and you are sorry for your sin and want Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord.  When you do that, in that moment of time, you will be born again.  You will begin a new life in Christ and you will have eternal life.  That means you will go to heaven when you die.  But if you have never been born again, John 3:36 says: “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; he that does not believe will not see life but the wrath of God abides on him.”  There are serious consequences to rejection of Christ, one of them being everlasting punishment in hell (the person needs to know the consequences of rejection). 

You cannot and will not have an abundant life apart from knowing Christ personally.  I never put pressure on a person after giving the plan of salvation.  This is God’s work, not mine.  All I need to do is explain the plan of salvation as clearly as I can so the person understands and leave the results to God’s will.  There is no arm twisting on my part.  I can just rest in knowing I communicated the gospel, literally the “good news” and now it’s between that person & God.  It’s not about me.  I always say, “Don’t get your eyes on me; I am just here to tell you about Christ and what He did for you.”

After the person prays, I go to I John 5:10-13 and ask, “Where is Christ now?”  If the person prayed to invite Christ into his heart, I give him 1 John 5:13: “These things are written that you may KNOW (not think or feel) that you have eternal life.  That is assurance of salvation.

Also, I draw a picture of a train: the engine (FACTS, or the Word of God), coal car (FAITH) and the caboose (FEELINGS) and explain we need the facts of God’s Word plus our faith (that too, is a gift of God – Ephesians 2:8-9).  We do not need feelings.  Some people may feel relief, great joy and happiness while someone else may feel nothing.  Feelings have nothing to do with it.  It is putting your faith, your trust, your hope in what the Bible says.  The Bible is the truth and the final authority…not my words.  It is all based on the truth of the Word.

For His glory, Mary Jane Wheaton

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Look Full in His Wonderful Face…”

I received the below newsletter in the mail this week from a man in his 80′s. “With the ancient there is wisdom.” So many years following and trusting in Christ. We each need to be reminded to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). The world and all of its distractions, the flesh and our adversary, the Devil, are constantly trying to pull us away from the One on whom we should be focusing our eyes and attention.

In times like these, it takes a conscious effort to think of Him and all that He has done and provided for those who have put their faith and trust in Him alone. We have so much to be thankful for: the mercy and grace of God, the finished work of Christ on the cross, the indwelling Holy Spirit, all of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ, the Word of God, the privilege of prayer, the hope of heaven, fellowship with believers of the same mind, and the privilege of witnessing. It’s no wonder He said, Read more

In Times Like These You Need a Savior…and Sound Teachers

Editor’s Note: It is an honor to post the first blog entry by my mother, Mary Jane Wheaton, on TheChristianWorldview.com. In her mid-70′s and a follower of Christ for 51 years, she has had a deep impact on me, our family, and many others. She writes today on the importance of hearing sound teachers of the Word, especially in the midst of these changing and challenging times.

The first believer in my family was my grandmother, who was saved in 1955 after hearing a pastor preach on the radio. Her daughter – my mother – then came to be a follower of Christ two years later, again after listening to Christian radio. Christian teaching on radio has had an eternal impact on our entire family and that is one of the reasons she encouraged me to get into Christian radio six years ago. Here is what Mom has to say this Thanksgiving Day.

Alistair Begg sent the below article in his TruthLines newsletter this month. WIth all the troubling news we hear day after day, it is encouraging to be reminded that “our times are in His hands” (Psalm 31:15). As the hymnist wrote, Read more