You don’t need to be a biblical scholar to be able to effectively share your faith, but it does help if you know some Scripture about who Jesus is and how a person can put their faith in Him. Knowing where the Bible talks about Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection—which is the essence of the Gospel—is important because it’s the root of the message that people need to hear. Knowing Scripture is a good way to make sure you can help people understand who Jesus is and what He did on the cross. This post explains.
"The Essential Gospel" by Greg Laurie
Every now and again, stories have appeared in the news about people who pose as physicians but actually are not licensed to practice medicine. Their actions can even sometimes prove fatal for the people they are supposed to be "treating."
In the same way, I believe there are some preachers today who are guilty of spiritual malpractice. They are not accurately presenting the gospel message.
If a presentation of the gospel does not contain the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then it is insufficient. Every effective gospel presentation, whether it is a sermon given from a pulpit or part of a private conversation, needs to ultimately come down to this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross for our sin. He paid the price for every wrong thing we have ever done. And then He rose again from the dead.
That is the essence of the gospel. That is the message we need to bring to people.
If you want to be effective in sharing your faith, your message also should be centered on Scripture. That is why the Bible says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
When we commit Scripture to memory, when we know the Word of God, we have a well to draw from when someone asks us a question. And as we prepare to respond, we pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the right passages to mind.
When Philip shared the gospel with the man from Ethiopia, Acts 8:35 tells us that "Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him." Philip knew Scripture. And he was able to present the gospel accurately.
Acts 8:35
Father, show me the Scriptures You want me to know and share with others who are seeking a relationship with You.
Do I know some Bible verses and where to find them so I can share them with people interested in learning about Jesus?
Choose a few verses about who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross that you can memorize and add to your evangelism conversations.
We are all called by God to share His love, and there is no better testimony of His love than His Word. Knowing what Scriptures to share with someone who is seeking Jesus will allow Jesus to work through His Word to help that person understand the Gospel. Sometimes you will see someone understand right away. Other times you will find they want to argue and debate with you. But here’s the thing: you really aren’t selling anything, and you don’t have to feel like you are by arguing and debating. You’ll discover why in the next post.
