NEXT STEPS: BringSample

WHAT?

Finally, we can't talk about the 'what' of the Gospel without talking about the message of Jesus. If our friends are genuinely interested or ask us about Christ, we need to be willing and ready to explain what we believe. These Bible verses would be helpful to memorize or have handy in the back of our heads for conversations like this.

Really, we should explain it as simply as possible. Humans are sinful (no argument there), and because God is perfect, He can't be around sin. That creates a problem: we're separated from God and our sin has earned us eternity apart from Him (the Bible describes this as agony). But the Good News is found in Jesus. He lived the perfect life that we couldn't live and died the death we should have died so that we could hide behind Him.

Now when God looks at us, He doesn't see our mistakes, but instead, He sees the perfection of Jesus. Jesus took our punishment and our sin on the cross so that we didn't have to. We believe that because of this, not only do we get to spend eternity with God, but we also are free to live whole and powerful lives while we're still here on earth. We don't have to be slaves to our sin any longer - Christ has set us free!

Practical Steps // Take time to rehearse and understand how to explain the Gospel to someone who's never been to church before. Try to use clear language and don't be afraid to say what you believe!