My Granddaughter Tara had a wonderful suggestion — “Why not show others how to share their faith in Christ.”
I would need a book to do that, however, Ray Stanford, who led me to Christ, has already written the classic and easy to read Personal Evangelism Handbook. You should download a FREE PDF or MSWord version. It is well worth the few seconds it takes to download.
MS Word download entire book (726 kb)
Adobe PDF download entire book (777 kb)
Or Click here to read it online.
Here is an excerpt from the Foreword:
FOREWORD
This book places at your fingertips practical, clear, effective methods to reach people for Christ in a loving way. You will be provided the answers to difficult questions concerning cults, sects, religions, agnostics and atheists and how to recognize the truth from false doctrine.
You will have proof that creation is a scientific fact and that the theory of evolution is a farce. It will give you the know-how to give comfort and assurance to believers, that they can be saved for eternity and that God will never let them be lost. This book is dedicated to all who love people and don’t want them to end up in hell.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15
Later I will attempt to give a few quick suggestions about my own experiences.
Share your Savior, Jesus Christ — You will be happy you did and so will the person with whom you shared Christ.
Thank you, Tara, for your wonderful idea.
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As a teaser, here are some of the interesting chapter headings:
The Message: God’s Plan of Salvation
CHAPTER II Eternal Security
CHAPTER III – Chastening and Rewards
CHAPTER IV – The Messenger
CHAPTER V – The Opening and the Close
CHAPTER VI – Repentance
CHAPTER VII – “Lordship Salvation”
CHAPTER VIII – Faith without Works
CHAPTER IX – Water Baptism
CHAPTER X Evolution
CHAPTER XI – The Atheist and Agnostic
CHAPTER XII – The Jew
CHAPTER XIII – The Roman Catholic
CHAPTER XIV – 20th Century Protestantism
CHAPTER XV – Jehovah’s Witnesses
CHAPTER XVI – Seventh-Day Adventism
CHAPTER XVII – Christian Science and Unity
CHAPTER XVIII – Mormonism
CHAPTER XIX – Understanding the Two Natures
CHAPTER XX – Understanding Predestination
CHAPTER XXI – Helpful Hints
CHAPTER XXII – Literature: Recommended Reading List
CHAPTER XXIII – Salvation Illustration Illustrated
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How cool is that, in a matter of seconds I got a whole book on what I want to read about,– and for free!
Bless you, thank you for sharing this!
Brittany,
Be sure to read and remember the Bible verses suggested.
We can tell folks stories but unless we can back it up with contextual Scripture, it is merely a story.
God’s Word says:
“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Praying for you!
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
8)
Jack, I’ve enjoyed reading many of your posts and the very insightful comments on them as well. I feel as though I’m struggling to consistently have the type of faith walk that you and your readers profess,any advice?
Greetings Altonwoods:
Thanks for joining us today. Just to let you know, I certainly have my share of struggles in the daily Christian life, just as you do. Some wise person once asked the question, “Do you know what is so difficult about the ‘daily Christian life’?” Answer: “It’s because it’s so DAILY!” The breakthrough for me came several years ago as I read some helpful books on living by grace. One of my favorites was “The Grace Awakening” by Charles Swindoll. Another good one is “Simply by Grace,” by Dr. Charles Bing. In “The Grace Awakening,” Swindoll speaks out strongly against legalism in the church; he invites the reader to examine his or her life to see whether he or she is really living a life of joyful expectancy under God’s unlimited love and grace, NOT under the bondage of legalism and guilt/fear-driven motivation. Listen to his words which I quote in an article I wrote for this site and for Free Grace Alliance (see the link below):
“In his best-selling book, The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll relates the baffling true historical narrative of how the slaves were legally declared free by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in late 1865, yet many or most of them chose to remain on the plantations, not exercising their new legal status of free men and women. He makes the comparison that many Christians, although freed by the death and resurrection of Christ, choose to continue to live in a state of bondage to sin, legalism, fear and doubt. To quote Swindoll, using the analogy of Lincoln freeing the slaves, he says, “To use terms everyone can understand, President Grace legally freed us from our lifelong master, Sin, and his wife, Shame. Theoretically, we were freed when we believed in Christ, but practically speaking, our plantation owners do everything in their power to keep us ignorant, afraid, and thinking like a slave. . . . Many Christians still live as though they are enslaved.” A bit later he inquires, “What in the world has happened to grace? Furthermore, where is the abundant life Christ offered? Are freed people supposed to live such a frightened existence? Are we emancipated or not? If so, let’s live like it! That isn’t heresy; it’s the healthiest kind of theology imaginable!”
http://www.freegracealliance.com/pdf/DRIVEN_byB_Bauer.pdf
Bruce
P. S. to last comment:
The unbiblical teaching of which we speak so often on this site called, “lordship salvation,” is totally characterized by the legalistic guilt and fear-based motivation of which was mentioned above.
AltonWoods,
You certainly are welcome here. My advice?? Keep visiting, reading and commenting here. We are here to help you (and all of us) to better understand God’s Grace, the Scripture and the Christian life. Bruce’s great comment and advice above is a good example.
Sometime you may read our articles and comments but not realize that we also have struggles in our lives. That is why it helps all of us to have this community of believers sharing our faith and thereby growing.
I visited your Blog and find that you write very well about your Christian life. However I did not see on your Blog how you trusted Christ as your Savior and specifically what you believe about your salvation. I may have missed it — if so please forgive me and direct me to the link.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [Gentile].
Romans 1:16
Thanks again for dropping by.. Please come back.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack
I’d like to thank you both so much (Bruce and Jack) for your replies to my initial comment. Bruce, your analogy was a great encouragement to me, I believe we’re on the same page as far as what we believe about grace and how Christians are in needless bondage to sin.
Jack, I will definitely keep coming back, I think that I could learn a great deal from this blog! Thank you for your comment, my writing is very important to me and your recognition of it means a great deal. Speaking of which, I wanted to include this link to a blog I wrote that expresses what I personally believe about salvation.
http://altonwoods.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/free/
You asked about how I initially came to trust Christ as my savior and in response I’d like to say that it happened in a Baptist church one Sunday morning when I was nine.No one else in my family was there or ever knew about it…I was merely sent to church on a bus to get me out of my parents hair for a while.I did mention it briefly here…
http://altonwoods.wordpress.com/who-am-i/
I don’t remember much about it to be honest but I believe what happened that day was real. In the many years since then I have re-dedicated my life to Christ several times with complete sincerity each time.
I believe that God has a plan for me. I’d really like to see a breakthrough in my life to move me from where I’m at now into living in the reality of total freedom and victory and into having the sort of relationship with our Father that Jesus died to enable us to have.
Thank you for your encouragement, and for asking the questions you did…
I appreciate that you care enough to do so!
Thanks for this resource, Jack. I have shared the gospel with some people, and most have rejected it. That’s disheartening. Some people at work ganged up on me and mocked me after I shared the gospel there, so I got discouraged and uncomfortable after that and haven’t shared the gospel with co-workers for a few years. I’ve been asking God to bless me with a Christian friend at work because it would be so beneficial for me. Work is a stressful place sometimes, and it would be nice to have the friendship and support of another Christian. There are several people at work, who call themselves Christians, but they are deceived and in cults. I pray for them.
I’m thankful for this forum and the Christian fellowship here. God bless everyone!
Marcella,
I will pray the Lord encourages you — and that you will find a doctrinally sound Christian friend at work. People will mock and jeer but the Lord’s Holy Spirit indwelling each of us believers promises He will strengthen and guide us.
John 16:13a
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: …
Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil [the noisome, wicked], but overcome evil with good.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
Thanks again for visiting and giving us your comments.
In Jesus Christ eternally, Jack