Salvation scriptures

When I was a seminary student, I learned an evangelistic outline by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was better known as, "Evangelism Explosion".

Have you ever had a conversation with someone about where you will spend eternity? Many Christians would like to tell their friends and family how to get to heaven, but they are afraid they cannot explain it adequately. Kennedy's approach is to walk a person through a series of Bible verses that cover a range of subjects pertaining to faith in Jesus.

Two questions that should be considered. The first question is, "Have you come to a place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die tonight you would go to heaven?"

To answer that question, turn to 1 John 5:11-13. (New King James Version)

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."

The second question is, "If you were to die tonight and stand before God and He were to say to you, 'Why should I let you into my Heaven?' What would you say?"

Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

Begin with Grace, what it is and it is not. Heaven is a free gift:

Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Heaven cannot be earned or deserved:

Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."

Human beings are sinners and we cannot save ourselves:

Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God is love and He is Judge:

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

We see God as Judge during the Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 20:11-15.

It is important to talk about who Jesus is and what He did:

In Matthew 16:16, Peter proclaims, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And we learn about what Jesus did for us on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24, "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.

We talk about what faith is not and what it means to put our faith in Jesus:

James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble." Saving faith according to Romans 10:9-10, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

This is the point in the conversation where you ask if they understand and are willing to trust in Jesus for salvation. Pray with them and encourage them to join a Bible-believing church.

The next step is to make a public profession of faith followed by believer's baptism. When a person is baptized, he or she is identifying with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. We die to self and live for Jesus. Repentance means we have changed from rebellion to obedience.

How about you? Do you expect to go to heaven? Have you asked Jesus to give you eternal life?