Lesson 8: How to share the Gospel

Even though discipleship is for those who have already trusted Christ to have paid for their sins, you may on occasion discover that someone in your discipleship group is not yet a Christian. This is not a bad thing. It provides an opportunity for you to lead them faith in Jesus Christ! In this lesson, we will teach you how to do that.

There are basically four things a person needs to be convinced of and to trust in order to become a Christian:

1. God is completely holy and good; but we have violated God’s holiness and goodness by doing our own thing in opposition to God’s holiness and goodness. The Bible calls this sin.


2. It is God’s desire to share with you His joy and love and goodness and light both is this life and forever, but your sin has prevented this from happening. God’s holiness is absolute, and because He is righteous and just, payment must be made for the sins we have committed.


3. Because we could not pay the penalties of sin, Jesus, the only begotten son of God, came in the flesh, lived a perfect life, and then sacrificed Himself in your place to pay the price for your sin. He is offering to exchange His righteousness for your sin. To accomplish this He was crucified, and then raised again to life from the dead proving that full payment had been made.


4. Your part in all this is to receive the forgiveness He is offering you, trust Him for the forgiveness of your sin, and thank him for restoring you to a place of righteousness in the eyes of God. How do you do this? You can do that in prayer right now.

You say to them: If you believe that you are a sinner, and that Jesus died for your sin so that you can now be forgiven, then would you like for me to lead you in a prayer right now to accept and thank God for this gift? Prayer is just talking to God, no special language is needed. He hears your heart. Would you like to repeat after me a simple prayer of acceptance and thanks for this gift of forgiveness that Jesus is offering you?

You say to them: Here is the prayer I will lead you in. But before I do, please read it and see if this expresses the desire of your heart: “Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned and violated the holiness of God who is good. I believe that you died on the cross and rose from the dead so you could pay for my sins and I would, in exchange, then have your righteousness in God’s sight. I accept that now and thank you for saving me. I turn my life over to you, please lead me in this new life you have won for me! Thank you. Amen.”

If they want you to lead them in this prayer, bow your heads in reverence and ask them to repeat after you. Pray a few words at time, giving them time to repeat your words, until you have completed the prayer.

What next? Once a new believer comes to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin, there are several things they should know to encourage them in their faith. Many of these are covered in the Traction adventure app and the follow-on discussion group. So, if they are already in a Traction discussion group, that is great! If not, please invite them to join your next one. Also, it is important that they get involved in a local church. Please invite them to come and worship with you at your church.