How can lead someone to Jesus?

It’s helpful to have a simple plan. If we were all God, we wouldn’t need to have a simple plan; we could just overflow spontaneously. But we’re not God. 

Hard and Happy Way

You could explain from Psalm 37:4 that it’s a happy way: “Delight yourself in the Lord.” The Lord is worthy of our joy; he wants us to be happy in him. “In [his] presence there is fullness of joy; at [his] right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). 

And from Matthew 16:24, you might explain that Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” And you might say a few words about how taking up the cross is not a vacation. It’s where you die; it’s where you suffer. In other words, you will say to them, “Jesus will lead you through some very hard things.” “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

Four concepts of biblical truth: God - Sin - Christ -Faith

1. Begin with truth about God.

Everything starts with God. Everything starts with the greatness of God, the glory of God. You might start with his holiness or his justice, because what we need to clarify here in this first treasure chest is that everything else is not going to make any sense if we don’t have some sense of who God is and what he’s like, and how sin. And we can’t do that if we don’t know who God is.

I like to start with God’s glory because Paul’s going to define sin as a falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). So, I would like to say to my friend Isaiah 43:6–7:

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

“You were created, you exist, to glorify God — to make God look glorious. You were created to show God’s glory, his greatness, his beauty, his worth. That’s our duty.” First Corinthians 10:31: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

2. Explain truth about sin.

All of us have failed to live for the glory of God. You have, I have, everybody has. Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” — which I think means we have exchanged the glory of God for images (Romans 1:23). All of us have preferred other things to God, and so we’ve made the glory of God look worthless. We’ve dishonoured God in so many ways, which means we’ve chosen the way of death. Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And sin isn’t just things we do; it’s the way we are. We are “by nature,” Paul said in Ephesians 2:3, “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” None of us escapes this condition; none of us escapes the penalty of death and judgment and hell. Jesus said in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

3. Proclaim truth about Christ.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)

God sent his Son, his divine, eternal Son, to bear the punishment we deserve. This is the heart of everything. This is the most glorious news in the world. There’s no way we can save ourselves from our sin and from his wrath.

So, here’s the wonder. Romans 8:3: 

“God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” God condemned sin; he punished sin. The death of Jesus, his Son, is our punishment. All the sins of all those who would ever be united to Christ by faith were punished in Jesus. So, he says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). This is spectacular news: no more guilt, no more punishment, no more wrath, no more condemnation. Eternal life, peace with God forever. Romans 6:23: “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

4. Finish with the truth about faith.

I think it helps at every point, by the way, to make these as personal as possible from your own experience. I might say, “My favourite verse in the Bible to help explain how to receive all of this is Ephesians 2:8–9: ‘By grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.’”

In other words, you can’t work for your salvation. You can’t earn it; it’s a free gift. You can’t deserve it; it comes from God’s grace or God’s love. Just a few verses earlier, it says, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace, you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5).

That means that even your faith is a gift of God right now in this moment. If you are reaching out to take Christ, if you are ready to have him as your Savior and Lord and the Treasure of your life, you are a miracle. God has made you alive; it’s called a new birth. Trust him, speak to him, tell him all your heart. Declare your faith to him, welcome him as your friend.

Prayer and the Word

And you might ask at this point, “Do you have any questions?” Of course, they’re going to have questions. You have to decide how long you’re going to talk, and you might draw things to a close either by inviting them to pray or giving them the option of dealing with God in private. 

Send them away to pray: I’ve said, “You need to get alone with God and deal with him on the basis of everything you’ve heard so that I don’t do any manipulating here.” 

You’ll suggest some texts that they should read when they hang up, maybe some places to go in the Bible, giving them particular Scriptures. 

You may welcome them into a discipleship relationship with yourself or with somebody else your church has arranged or invite them to a class. You’ll want to encourage them to think about baptism and prepare for baptism in due time. And you’re going to warn them that the devil is real and will put them to the test. You’re going to say, “Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9).

And you’re going to leave them with a promise. And oh my, there are so many you could choose. Maybe you’ll leave them like this. Hebrews 13:5–6:

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper;I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Authoer: John Piper