How to teach God’s good news

in EasyEnglish

A guide for church leaders

Last part: How much should a church leader say about Christ’s death?

Advice about how to begin a relationship with God

The Gospel, God’s good news, is a message with three parts.

Firstly, there must be a description of the true state of people in God’s opinion. Even the best people are guilty when he is their judge. All people are evil by nature and they carry out evil deeds (Romans 3:23). They deserve only punishment, but it is God’s desire to forgive (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).

Then, it is necessary to teach what God has done in order to forgive people. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into this world (John 3:16). Jesus died in order to suffer the punishment that people deserve (Isaiah 53:4-6). But God made Jesus alive again (Acts 2:24). And when people invite Jesus into their lives, God forgives them. God gives them a right relationship with himself; they become the children of God (John 1:12-13).

The last part is to give clear advice about what people should do. They should confess the true state of their lives in front of God. He is right to consider them guilty because of their evil thoughts, words, and deeds. They should decide that they will allow God to change their lives. That is what it means to ‘repent’. It is a complete change of mind and attitude. They should invite Christ into their lives and they should allow him to rule their lives. They should believe the Gospel and they should trust Christ.

In Mark 1:15, Jesus told the people to repent and to believe the Gospel. That is a brief way to say the same things that I have written in the paragraph above. ‘Believe’ does not mean merely, ‘Believe that it is true’ (James 2:19). ‘Believe’ really means: ‘Believe and trust’. If people do not trust God, they cannot benefit from his kindness.

The first Christian leaders were also careful to give this kind of advice (Acts 2:38-40; Acts 3:19). They told people how they could begin a right relationship with God. And they explained that in a clear and practical manner. Of course they wanted people to join the church. But without genuine belief and trust in God, that would not save anyone. So the first Christian leaders emphasised that people must repent. And they advised people to begin a new life where they trusted God completely.

Imagine that you were visiting a church for the first time. There, you discovered that God considered you guilty. You would feel desperate and you would not know what to do about that fact. But then the church leader explained that Christ died for you. And because of Christ’s death, God could forgive you. You would then want God to forgive you. But you may not know how to ask God for that.

Suppose that the meeting ended then. You would want God to save you even before you left that place. But the church leader gave you no opportunity to invite God into your life. And you yourself did not know what to do. So you did nothing. You just continued with your life as before the meeting. Perhaps you will have another opportunity, but perhaps you will not.

It is much better if the church leader explains clearly what to do. He can tell people to repent, but they may not know how to repent. He can tell people to pray, but they may not know what to pray. So it is a good idea to lead people in a simple prayer. If that does not seem right, the leader could ask all the people to say ‘Amen’ at the end of his own prayer.

Here is a simple prayer that a church leader can ask people to pray with him on such an occasion:

‘Dear God,

I know that I have done many wrong and evil things. I have not obeyed your law and you consider me guilty. I realise that I cannot save myself. But I thank you that Christ died for me. And I understand that, by his death, you can give me a right relationship with yourself. So now, I invite you into my life. I ask you now to forgive me and to change my life. I thank you because of your promise to accept all who trust you.

Amen.’

If the leader asks people to join in the word ‘Amen’, it may be right to explain its meaning. It means ‘This is the truth’; people use it at the end of a prayer to show that they agree with the prayer. In other words, they are asking God to accept the leader’s prayer as if it were their own prayer. If they are sincere about that, then God will accept their prayer.

The church leader should encourage people to speak to him at the end of the meeting. Then, he can give them personal advice.

This chapter is about the advice that people need in order to trust Christ for the first time. That advice should only be about their relationship with Christ. At that time, we do not tell people to join a church. That is not necessary for God to save a person.

But after people become Christians, they need more advice. They need to know how to develop in their Christian lives. So they should read the Bible and they should pray. They should find a good church that believes the Bible (Hebrews 10:25). There, they will find good Christian friends who can help them. They should confess to God the wrong things that they do. God will forgive them (1 John 1:9). They should tell other people about Jesus. They should start to do God’s work, and they should show his love in practical ways. They will do this both inside the church, and among people who do not yet know Jesus (James 2:15-17). As they do these things, God will help them to become mature in their Christian lives.

And they can be confident that God is now their God. They have a relationship with him, and he will always be with them. And so, each day, they can trust him completely.