Watch as Ray David opens Acts 16:25-34.
The Scripture
“Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”
Acts 16:30-31
Evangelism Along the Way
How do we go about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? Often we think of evangelism as an event, but for the earliest Christians evangelism just happened along the way. It’s what they did. They lived their lives in such a way that others asked themselves the question, ‘what must I do to be saved?” Their lives were such that it made others ask themselves why they were different.
We are not likely going to be called to give up our lives in one act of martyrdom for Christ, but instead most of us are going to be called to give our lives – moment by moment, day by day in the way we work, act, interact and face adversity. This is how we bear witness to Christ. The hardship and difficulty in your life may serve the purpose of you showing other people that there is something more important at work – something more important than your comfort – something more important than your life. There is a God who is in charge who has saved you. As you go about your day, live in such a way that you are preaching the Gospel to every person that you meet.
Respond with the Gospel
When the way you live your life leads people to ask you, “how must I be saved?”, you simply respond with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You don’t need to persuade or convince them, that’s the role of the Holy Spirit of God.
As Christians we are called to live lives that make no sense unless the Gospel is true. We are called to live lives that are radically dependant on the grace and mercy of God, and that give liberally and freely of grace, mercy and forgiveness, because we have received so freely from God. Living like this way will make us noticeably different from the rest of the world.
5 Foundational Commitments
We all want a formula for evangelism, but instead lets start at the foundational commitments that drive evangelism in our day to day life.
1. Become Clear on the Stakes of the Gospel
If you want to see evangelism as part of your regular life, than become more and more convinced that there is a hell to shun and heaven to gain. Become clear on the stakes of the Gospel. Far too many of us treat the Christian gospel as simply a way to live a better life, but the starting point of the gospel is that there is an eternal hell and heaven. As we develop a robust view of eternity, we will value the eternal souls of our neighbors above our comfort and freedom.
2. Become Clear on the Gospel
If you want to see evangelism as part of your regular life, than become clear on the Gospel itself. If someone asked you the question, ‘what is the Gospel?’, what would you say? If someone asked you the question ‘what must I do to be saved?’, what would you say? You not only need to be clear on the stakes of the Gospel – heaven and hell, you also need to be clear on what is the Gospel.
3. The Gospel is the Only Way to be Saved
You need to become clear on the fact that the Gospel is the only way to be saved. Romans 1:16 says this,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
It doesn’t say that the Gospel reveals the power of God or leads us to it – it says that it is the power of God. When it is applied and appropriated to our lives and hearts, it is the power of God that saves you from hell and moves you to heaven.
4. Become Clear on the Implications of the Gospel
If you want to see evangelism as part of your regular life, than you need to become clear on the implications of the Gospel. When you start talking to people about the good news of Jesus, they are going to ask you questions. And so you need to think through the implications of the Gospel in our lives. We need to become fluent in speaking the Gospel to social and life issues.
5. Foster Intentional Relationships
You can’t evangelize in the same way if all of your friends are in church. Intentionally foster relationships because you believe that the stakes are hell and heaven, and all of eternity. And the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
Get Practical
The practical thing you can do today is this – take a quick survey of the people in your life. Create a list of 3-5 people that you’d like to share the Gospel with – friends, coworkers, family. Commit to pray for these people, and you will be amazed about how the opportunities to talk about the gospel will come up and how the Holy Spirit will speak through you.
What do you need to Believe?
What do you need to believe to be saved? Believe that He is Lord. There is a King, Lord, and Master and He has a way for us to live. And mankind lives in open rebellion against Him, choosing to go our own way. We have failed to do the one thing He asked of us – to trust in His goodness and His word. To believe in Jesus in a way that brings about salvation, is to believe that He is Lord and Master over all His creation. There is a King and you’re not Him.
Jesus also has another title other than just Lord – ‘Christ’. The greek word for ‘Messiah’, meaning Saviour. He not only Lord and Master – He is Saviour. He doesn’t crush rebels, He comes to die for them. He came to pay the price to reconcile them back to their Lord and Master.
The Thief on the Cross
The thief on the cross is one of the best pictures in scripture of conversion and belief. Jesus was crucified between two thieves and one them said to Him,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42
And Jesus said to him,
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
There He is on the cross having never been to church, received communion, been baptized, done any acts of service in the community, but in that moment he knows himself to be a sinner and he places all of his eternal hope and confidence in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is to know yourself as a sinner and look to him as your lord and Saviour.
A Tipping Point
All of us need to come to a tipping point. We all need to come to a place and a moment where we embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It’s one thing to vaguely hope that God is merciful, but Christians believe in Jesus because we believe that God’s mercy has a name. God’s mercy to us has a moment and that moment was on the cross. If you want to know whether God’s mercy is for you, than look to the cross. He died for you and in your place.
Our salvation is not found in what we must do, but rather in what God has already done for you in Jesus. Place all of your hope, confidence and eternity in His hands and you will be saved.
