Be Prepared

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...

1 Peter 3:15–16

If someone were to notice your Christian character, if they were to sense the presence of God in your life… and they were to ask how they could become like you, how they could be saved… would you be ready to give an answer? Are you prepared (right now) to lead someone to Jesus?

You can’t wait until you get the opportunity to try to prepare. It’s too late to get ready then! You must prepare ahead of time. The Bible commands you to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” And the best way for you to be prepared to share your faith is for you to memorize a gospel presentation that you feel comfortable with.

So, I’m going to teach you the Romans Road Gospel Presentation with the ABC’s of becoming a Christian tacked on at the end. I want to encourage you to memorize this or some other gospel presentation and go over it again and again until you ar ready to lead someone to the Lord. 

“There is no one righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)

 

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23)

The Bible teaches that we are all sinners. Every single one of us has rebelled against God and His commands. We have all gone our own way. This is called sin, and sin has consequences.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

The wages (or result) of sin is death… physical death in this life and spiritual death in the afterlife. The Bible clearly teaches that sin earns us eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.

But because of His great love, God made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. Instead of death, He offers you life… eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Because God is just, our sin had to be punished. Because God is loving, He took the punishment for our sin on Himself. He sent His Son Jesus to take on flesh. He was fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect, sinless life. The only man to ever do that. And He became the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty and die the death that your sin required on the cross. Jesus did that… for you and for me so that anyone who repents of their sin and believes on Him will be saved.

But Jesus didn’t just die, the Bible tells us that on the third day after His death, Jesus was raised back to life. By His death and resurrection Jesus beat the power of sin and death for us so we can be set free from both. And Romans 10:9 tells us exactly how to receive this gift of eternal life that God offers us in Jesus.

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

That’s what it takes to be a Christian. It’s as easy as ABC.

A- Admit you’re a sinner. Repent of your sins. Ask God to forgive you and start obeying His commands.

B- Believe in Jesus. Believe that He really is God’s Son, that He took on flesh and lived a perfect sinless life and died on the cross to take your punishment. Believe that He was raised from the dead on the third day and ascended to Heaven where He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity with Him.

C- Confess Jesus as Lord. Surrender control of your life to Him. Become His servant and make Him your Lord. 

That’s how you become a Christian. If you are a Christian already, then learn this. Memorize it. Go over and over it again and again until you’re comfortable with it and can share it easily.

And if you aren’t a Christian… if you have never made Jesus Lord of your life… or if you aren’t sure that you have, then make today the day you draw a line in the sand and pray a clear prayer of salvation admitting your sins, placing your faith in Jesus and making Him Lord of your life.