How do I share the gospel?

from the old testament

• The groundwork for the gospel is laid in the Old Testament. It starts with God's holiness (Leviticus 19:2; Isaiah 6:1–4): “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Our holy God cannot tolerate sin, and His perfect justice demands payment for sin.
• Sharing the gospel is about helping people understand their sin. While God created us morally upright (Ecclesiastes 7:29), very quickly we rebelled against Him (Genesis 3:1-7).
• Adam and Eve's sin subjected creation to corruption and death (Genesis 3:14–19), death that was both physical and spiritual. However, in His mercy, God provided a way for us to escape His wrath. Genesis 3:15 contains this messianic prophecy: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." In this first of many promises, God pointed to a Redeemer who would undo the curse and crush Satan.
• The Redeemer, otherwise known as Messiah and the Suffering Servant, would come and be like us but without sin. God would crush Him as if He sinned, punishing Him for our sin (Isaiah 53:5–6; cf. Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31–34).
• The Old Testament also teaches that salvation comes through faith. Abraham "believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham’s faith was the means through which God applied salvation to him. That’s consistent with the rest of the Old Testament, which teaches that “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4b).

from the new testament

• The book of Matthew opens by showing the Jews of His day that Jesus was the Messiah the Old Testament had been pointing to (Matthew 1). Jesus, when He began His ministry on Earth, started by saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
• Jesus is God (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9) who added on humanity (Philippians 2:6–7; John 1:14) by being born to Mary (Matthew 1:20–23). Being fully God, He is holy. Being fully human, Jesus was exactly like us except without sin (Hebrews 2:14; 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). Being perfect meant He did not need to die, since death is the punishment for sinners (Romans 6:23a). However, He did so willingly, dying a sacrificial death in the place of repentant sinners. The Father sent Jesus for this purpose (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13).
• Paul commented later that it was through Jesus’ propitiatory death (a blood sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath) that God could be “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25–26). He was just because sin was really dealt with. He was justifier because He could apply Jesus’ death to sinners.
• On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), demonstrating that God’s judgment was fully satisfied by Jesus’ death. This is why Jesus is said to have conquered death (Hebrews 2:14–15; 1 Corinthians 15:54–57). We will still physically die, but we won't experience spiritual death.
• Repenting of sin (Romans 3:10–12; Acts 17:30) and trusting in Jesus as the only way we can be saved (Romans 10:9–10; John 14:6). Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection provide salvation, but that gift is only for those who repent and believe.
• Jesus has promised that all who genuinely believe will be saved (John 6:37; 10:27–29) and that because their sin has thus been paid for, the Father can adopt them as sons and daughters (Romans 8:15–16) and will preserve them until the end (Romans 8:29–30).
• Jesus gave all believers a mission: go into all of the world and proclaim salvation through Him (Matthew 28:18–20; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Romans 10:14–15).
• When we share the gospel we must adapt our presentation of the gospel to fit those we are speaking with (1 Corinthians 9:19–23; Colossians 4:5–6; 1 Peter 3:15).

implications for today

The key to sharing the gospel is … share it! Ways and methods vary, but it starts with taking advantage of opportunities that God provides for us.

To make the most of those opportunities, a four-point outline of the core elements of the gospel can help: 1) We are sinners 2) at odds with the holy and just God. 3) To avoid God's wrath against sin, God sent the sinless Christ to die in our place. 4) Repentence of sin and belief in Jesus leads to salvation.

Those first two points are often the hardest because people don’t like hearing about sin; most people think of themselves as "good"—-but that's only relative to other people, not the God.

And listen to people. Genuinely pay attention to how they understand the world. Sharing the gospel is about taking them from where they are to show them who the Bible says they are. People can tell the difference between genuine care and a “pitch.”

Finally, remember that salvation is not in your hands. God alone saves. We are not called to save anyone. We are called to share the truth