Sharpening our skills to share the Good News!

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
-2 Corinthians 5:20

What an honor it would be if the President of the United States asked you to be his ambassador to represent him to another nation. Would you be up to the task? Jesus invites you to be His ambassador to the world! He asks us to represent our God, who is holy and loving, who is revealed in the Bible and yet still beyond our ability to understand.

Do we say yes? We must! The more we understand the fullness of the good news of the Gospel, the more we can’t help ourselves but to tell everyone (2 Corinthians 4:13“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,”). We are compelled both by our love for our amazing God and by the urgent need for those around us to hear about how their lives can be centered in God to find peace, joy and eternal life.

How is this done?

  • I’m a Witness?—In a sense, every Christian is a witness to Jesus. We are ambassadors. Since we call on His name, we represent Him for good and ill. As Christians, we at the same time humbly confess that we sin plenty and are in need of forgiveness, and also endeavor to lead holy lives that represent Christ well.
  • Why should I share my faith in Christ?—Every Cardinals Baseball fan knows that you talk about the people and subjects that matter to you. It’s only natural that Christians who have experienced the joy of forgiveness through Jesus will speak of it.
  • Sharing our faith is the most important human conversation in which we can engage. The Holy Spirit uses our witness to bring others to faith in Jesus and with that faith comes eternal life! (Romans 10:14, 17“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
    “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”    )

Path Toward Maturity

  1. Know the Gospel for yourself—If you find you’re hesitant to share the Gospel, it may be that you have not experienced its fullness. We know that in spite of the fact that the Bible describes us as enemies of God (Romans 5:10“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”), Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”). This fills us with awe and joy—and moves us to share this joy with others.  Review these excellent Bible passages that explain the Gospel. Consider memorizing if you don’t know them already: John 3:16-17“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”, Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”, Ephesians 2:8-9“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”, 2 Corinthians 5:21“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”.
  2. Learn your favorite way to share the Gospel—Once you’ve experienced the Gospel, find your favorite illustration to express it. It could be Pastor’s Checkbook Illustration Checkbook Illustration, or the Dog Tag Story. Find your Gospel jam!
  3. Examine your life—to see if your lifestyle is an obstacle to sharing the faith.  We’re not ever going to be perfect, but being lax in our faith or living in a way that obviously contradicts and dishonors the Christian faith undermines your efforts to be God’s instruments to bring others to salvation (2 Timothy 2:21” Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,[a] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”).
  4. “Out yourself” as a Christian—Nicodemus was a disciple but “in secret” at first (John 3:1-2a“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”). May it not be so among us. Start your witness by making it known that you are a Christian by leaving a trail that leads to Christ without saying a word.
    1. Wear a cross
    2. Put a Christian symbol on “the doorposts of your house” (Deut. 6:9“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”) and maybe on your car, backpack or tee shirt.
    3. Share Christian posts on social media (and don’t post inappropriate ones).
  5. Engage in spiritual conversations—A great way to get started sharing your faith with those who don’t know Christ is to speak about Him to fellow believers. Yes, we have better things to talk about than the weather. Get into the habit of bringing God and His grace into conversations when you’re with fellow Christians (Col. 4:6“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”). Then it will become natural to share this message with someone who does not know Christ.
  6. Identify and pray for 10 people in your life—This is where it gets intentional. Make a list of ten pre-believers. Start praying that God will give you the wisdom and opportunity to share Christ with them in a meaningful way—such as your favorite illustration of the Gospel. Be brave! Push away the hesitation when God moves you to share His love to a pre-believer.
  7. Invite them to worship or another church activity—We’re open every Sunday. Inviting a friend or family member may be uncomfortable the first time, but practice makes perfect. St. Lucas also offers other great opportunities to connect people to Christ such as the Early Childhood Center, Vacation Bible School, Breakfast with St. Nick, Easter Egg Hunt and the like.
  8. Participate in Outreach Training as it is offered by St. Lucas—Our congregation will be offering specific outreach training from time to time; commit to being a part of it. Once you get started sharing the Gospel, you’ll find it’s a joyful thing and you’ll want to sharpen your skills further.
  9. Multiply your witness by mentoring others to share their faith— No matter how effective someone is at evangelism, one person cannot reach the world.  Everyone is commissioned by Christ to share the faith (1 Peter 2:9“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”).  Consider mentoring others to also witness for Christ.