By David J. Stewart
Romans 10:15b, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
It takes less than one minute to
tell someone how to be saved. I was listening to a live recording of a
Contemporary Christian Music [CCM] group. Midway through their concert,
the lead singer told the audience that they were singers and not preachers,
and didn't have enough time to preach a Gospel sermon. It was so sad to hear
that. What a lame excuse!
My friend, it only takes a moment to tell someone how to be saved. It is so simple!
- The first thing is to teach a person that the Bible declares all men guilty of being sinners (Romans 3:23), because we have all violated God's holy Commandments (Romans 3:19). The penalty for those sins is death; not only physical death; but also a second death in Hell forever (Romans 6:23).
- The second thing is to tell them that Jesus Christ paid for our sins with His own precious blood. Jesus died, was buried and rose again for our sins (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). And tell them that if they'll just believe, trusting upon the name of Jesus Christ, Who is the Son of God, that their sins will be forgiven eternally. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Jesus. Then invite them to do so.
There need not be any sinner's prayer. That is a mistake that a lot of Christians have gotten caught up into. Salvation is of the heart; not the mouth. When Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The Greek word for the phrase “confession is made” is homologeo, meaning, “to give thanks.” You don't have to open your mouth to be saved. What if a person were mute and couldn't speak? It is with one's mouth that they give thanks to God for saving them, but this is a natural response to receiving the gift of eternal life; not a requirement to be saved. It is certainly appropriate to lead someone in a sinner's prayer; but I don't usually do it. The Bible never says to pray to be saved; it says to BELIEVE (John 20:31). We are told to BELIEVE upon the name of the Lord (Acts 16:30-31).
Salvation is of the heart. This is clearly evidenced by Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus said that not every one who says “Lord, Lord” shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of the Father (which John 6:40 teaches is to BELIEVE on Jesus). If you believe, you are saved. Christ died, that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation!
Also, when sharing the Gospel with someone, make sure to add a statement or two that nothing we can do will please God. Our best efforts are offensive to God (Isaiah 64:6). No amount of self-righteousness is acceptable. We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ! Salvation is without self-righteous works (Romans 4:5). It is HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS by which we are saved, and not our own (Matthew 6:33).
It's not difficult to witness to someone. It just takes a moment.
Now if someone wants to debate, or are conceited in their false religion; well then it is their doom if they won't get saved. Paul said let them be Anathema Maranatha (1st Corinthians 16:22), i.e., let them be cursed, the Lord is coming! Our duty is to preach the Gospel. We cannot save anyone; but only God. 1st Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” If a person won't readily get saved, then hopefully we will have further opportunities to share the Gospel with them; but most of the time WE WON'T. That's why it is so critically important that we use the opportunities that we have to witness to people. We are SINNERS and Jesus is the SAVIOR!
It just takes a moment to preach the Gospel.
