And I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ Jesus.
-Philemon vs. 6

by Steven L. Pogue

After becoming a Christian, the greatest thing you can do for another person is to help them know Christ. As you remember what life was like for you without Christ, compassion motivates you to share your faith. Romans 10:13,14 says, “Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they ask Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?”

But what do you say, and where do you start? Learning the content of the gospel and setting the context in which you communicate it allows your sharing to be more effective.

Telling the Gospel Clearly

So what do you tell people about Jesus Christ?

1. God loves them. Each of us searches for significance and love. The Bible teaches that we are not put here by chance. Life has far more meaning than the survival of the fittest. Someone does care very deeply and understands our silent cry for help. These verses may be helpful when you communicate God’s love: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-7.

2. Man is sinful. Part of telling people what Christ has done for them means telling them that they are sinners. If man isn’t lost, he doesn’t need to be saved. But no need to rub it in their faces – we are sinners too (Romans 3:23). By sinfulness, we aren’t saying that man has no value or that he is incapable of good acts. What we are saying is that none of those acts can earn a way to heaven. We deserve separation from God for our sins, no matter what they are: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)

3. Christ paid for their sin. Why stress the death of Christ? Because without the death of Christ there would be no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 7:27; 1 Peter 2:24). The message of God’s love is incomplete until we couple it with God’s justice. Christ bore the penalty for our sins (1 Timothy 1:15). His death wasn’t just a demonstration of how much He loves us; it was a payment to satisfy God’s justice. He told His disciples, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

4. Christ is God. In order to pay for man’s sin, Christ had to be both God and man (2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:19,20; 2:9). If Christ had been God without being man, God couldn’t have identified with our humanity; if Christ had been mere man without being God, He couldn’t have paid for the sins of all mankind. Christ, the God-man, took on our sins. As a result, He is the only way to God: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

5. Christ was resurrected from the dead. There is an additional element to the good news: Christ, who dies on our behalf, is alive. Because of the resurrection of Christ, we celebrate an empty tomb. Without the resurrection, our faith would be worthless (1 Corinthians 15:13,14,17). Again we see the uniqueness of Jesus. He not only claimed to be God, but He also used the resurrection to show His deity and power over death (John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:55.56). We cannot have a personal relationship with Mohammed, Confucius or Buddha – they are all dead. But Jesus is alive today, and we can know Him.

6. We must respond by faith in order to have eternal life. In salvation, I know that Jesus is God, that I am a sinner, that He died in payment for my sins, and then I accept His payment for my sins. That is what the Bible refers to as “believing in” or “receiving” Christ (John 1:12). I am accepting the gift of eternal life, which I have not earned and do not deserve, from a God who make us and chose to love us even though it cost Him His Son (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5).

How to Share the World’s Greatest News

Be Authentic. Relax and be honest. You might try saying something like, “You know, Christ has become really important to me and I would like to talk about it.” Explain what God has done in your life, but try not to sound perfect. Christians love sports, hate paying bills and end up with unmatched socks, just like everyone else.

Authenticity also means that your life confirms your message. People grow tired of phoniness. The apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians that they not only heard his message but they saw how his life was further proof of the truth of his message (1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2:8). The message of his life did not contradict the message of his mouth.

Confirming your witness through your life doesn’t replace your verbal witnessing, though. Both are needed. You cannot just live a Christian life and hope that others will notice; they may notice that you life a good life, but they won’t know why. Jesus lived a prefect life and He was constantly proclaiming the gospel. Jesus’ command is to witness by word and deed.

Leave the Results to the Holy Spirit. “Successful witnessing is taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.”¹ Relying on the power of the Holy Spirit in witnessing means believing that He will lead your conversation even as you use your mental and verbal skills in presenting the gospel to others. The results are up to God. Don’t get confused about whose job it is to save people! Saving people is God’s responsibility; your responsibility is to present the gospel.

Be a Listener. Sharing your faith involves asking questions and listening. It is a conversation. You want to know what the people you are talking with think. So you may ask, “How do you think a person becomes a Christian?” or “What do you think it takes to get to heaven?”

Stick With Them. Being authentic and learning to listen will enhance your witness if you combine it with one very important quality: a commitment to stick with the people you witness to. Of course there will be times when you will have only a few minutes with a stranger, such as on an airplane or in a grocery store. But most witnessing will occur in the context of relationships.

Expect God to Use You. Many people in your world may get to hear about Christ because of you! As you communicate your faith in Christ to others, don’t be surprised at how God is able to use you!

¹A statement often made by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, International.

For a clear presentation of the gospel that you could share with others, click here

One evening I returned to my dorm room to find a good friend in tears. She said, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I want to become a Christian. What do I do?” I had NO idea what to tell her. I had been a Christian about six months then. And I had talked to her about Jesus and why I was so glad to know Him. But I had not thought about explaining to someone else how they could begin a relationship with God. I really didn’t know what to say.

Here are some easy ways to explain to someone how they can start a relationship with God. The following link is to a very clear presentation of what God is offering someone and exactly how they can begin a relationship with Christ: Knowing God Personally. It’s found on www.EveryStudent.com. You could email the page to a friend, or click on the “Share This” icon and message it to them on Facebook. Just look for this:

Or, you could print it out and hand it to someone. Or you could email it to a friend. But better yet, if they are willing, just sit down with them and ask if you could show it to them. Literally millions of people have been led into a relationship with Christ by Christians taking the time to read this out loud to someone. By presenting it personally to someone, you are able to answer their questions and communicate your desire for them to understand.

You could say, “A while ago, I found out how I could have a relationship with God, and I’m so grateful I do. I was wondering if anyone has ever shared with you how you could begin a personal relationship with God? I’d love to show you. May I?” And then you can very simply, read this aloud with them…straight through it.

If you’d like to purchase some smaller printed copies of this presentation of the gospel, you can do so here: Campus Crusade. Sometimes I will hand this booklet to someone as a summary to our conversation. I might say, “A lot of people would like to know God in a personal way if they just knew how. I wanted to give you this booklet that explains how you can begin a relationship with God, if you ever decide that you’d like to.”

1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” This is a great verse that summarizes how we should go about our communication with others about Christ. Be ready and willing to tell someone why you have hope, but do so with gentleness and respect. If they ask you a question you don’t know how to answer, just tell them you don’t know, but that you will try to find an answer for them. You can also point them to EveryStudent.com. It covers a lot of topics for those who have yet to receive Christ.

Ask God to bring to mind people you know who have yet to receive Christ. As He does, pray for them by name, that God would increase their desire to know Him, and that He would bring the gospel to them in some way. God might ask you to talk to them at some point.

As you begin to talk to someone about God, it’s a great idea to quickly talk to God first. “God, I pray that you would speak through me, that you would love this person through me. Guide me by your Spirit, and I rely on you for the words.” (Remember, you can talk to God without closing your eyes or praying out loud – and this would be a good time to do neither one.)

Now you have a presentation of the gospel that you can use. You now know to pray and rest in God to love them through you. And you know to rely on the Holy Spirit to speak through you. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:18-20) It will be exciting to see what God does through you!

Other ideas:

• Produce a 2 or 3 minute video, creatively presenting what you’ve discovered about God, that you’d like others to know about him. Post it on YouTube.com.
• Post articles from everystudent.com., to your Facebook profile page, by clicking on the “Share This” icon.
• Blog about your new relationship with God. Include Scripture that God is teaching you, and ways he’s working in your life. Be honest about some of the challenges you face. Include a link to EveryStudent.com.

The following will help you explain to others how Jesus has changed your life.

A great message to share with others is what God has done in your life, what you know to be true of Him. Your life story regarding your spiritual journey. The following helps you write out your story so that it is brief (three minutes or less). We encourage you to write it out, practice it and memorize it.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

This will help you explain: what your life was like before you received Christ, how you received Christ, and how your life changed as a result of knowing Him..

1. Before I Accepted Christ (or gave Him complete control):

1. What was my life like that will relate most to the non-Christian?
2. What did my life revolve around? From what did I get my happiness or security? (Remember, the non-Christian is relying on something external to give him happiness and meaning.)
3. How did those things let me down?

2. How I Received Christ (or gave Him complete control):

1. When was the first time I heard the gospel? (Or when was I first exposed to dynamic Christianity?)
2. What were my initial reactions?
3. When did my attitude begin to change? Why?
4. What were the doubts or struggles that went through my mind just before I accepted Christ?
5. Why did I accept Christ?

3. After I Accepted Christ (or gave Him complete control):

What are the specific changes Christ has made in my life?

Are there any illustrations that would be helpful?

Why am I motivated differently?

Helpful Hints:

• Write the way you speak—make the testimony yours.
• Choose one main point and carry it throughout the testimony.
• Don’t be overly negative or positive. Be truthful.
• Don’t criticize or name any church, denomination, organization, etc.
• Time limit should be 3 minutes.
• Practice it over and over until it becomes natural.