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Bringing Your Friends to Jesus
John 1:37-42 (especially verse 41) Introduction: "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." This is one of those stories in the Bible that has a very happy ending. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, had chosen to follow Christ and knew that his own brother, Simon, needed to be saved too. Simon Peter did get saved and became one of the greatest preachers of his day. Thousands came to Christ because of his witness! There is something that has come up missing in recent years in modern Christianity. There is a lack of teaching and preaching on soulwinning, that is, the spreading of the gospel in order to get folks saved. Many who profess Christ and have the full assurance of their eternal salvation, do not know how to lead a person to Christ. Soulwinning is necessary for a number of Scriptural reasons:
The truth is, the world is dying without any hope of Heaven because there are many Christians who do not know how to bring others to Christ. Not only that, but many who do know how to lead others to faith in Christ refuse to witness! In this message, I want to place a soulwinning tool into your hands in order to help you bring your friends, family, and others to Christ.
1. They can know for sure that they will go to Heaven. - 1 John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." · Ask them plainly, "If you were to die today, do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven, or do you have some doubt?" · The Bible says that you can know for sure! · Paul wrote, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:19) · Paul also wrote to Pastor Titus, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus 1:2) "Hope" is not what we think it is today. This "hope" is a sure thing. Bible "hope" is not what we think we will get, but rather, what we know we will receive because of God's promises! · Most will say, "No one can know for sure." But, the Bible says otherwise! Praise the Lord! We have a "know-so-salvation!" 2. They must understand that we are all sinners. - Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." · All are born with a sin nature that is against God. · "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) · "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." (Ecclesiastes 7:20) · "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) · "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) · The idea here is that no one is as good as Jesus. All have fallen short of Jesus' perfection. 3. They must understand our sin has to be paid for. - Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Sin cannot be forgiven; sinners can be forgiven. Sin must be paid for! · You can pay for it yourself or accept Someone else's payment for it. · Adam and Eve had to die physically for their sin, but they were also separated from God because of their sin. "...But your iniquities have separated between you and your God..." (Isaiah 59:2) · Luke 16:19-31 tells us about the unsaved rich man who went to Hell, and saved Lazarus who went to Heaven. "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." · Sin separates us from God. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15) 4. They must understand that Jesus paid for our sins. - Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." · God's justice demands that sin be paid for. Someone had to pay for the sins of the whole world! That Someone was Jesus! · Romans 6:23 says that sin has a price on it. Romans 5:8 says that Jesus paid that price. I owed a debt I could not pay, Jesus paid a debt He did not owe. "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." (Revelation 1:5) · God introduced Jesus to me so that I might be saved. This is just what "commendeth" means. 5. They must understand that eternal life is God's gift. - Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." · Eternal life cannot be earned or in any way deserved. It is only by God's grace! *
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man
should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) · The question was asked in Acts 16:30-31, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." · This is why, in order to receive God's gift of eternal life, we must call upon the Lord to save us. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
Conclusion: If there was just one thing you could do for those you know and love, what would it be? Since eternal things are most important, it would only make sense to share the truth about eternal life with them. Are you sure you will go to Heaven? If you were to die today, do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven, or do you have some doubt? If you are in doubt today, YOU can know for sure. If you know someone else who is not saved, you can now tell them how they can know for sure that Heaven is their eternal home!
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