This is a simple chart which demonstrates the salvation message. Practice drawing the
chart on a piece of paper a couple of times and you will be ready, at
any time and at any place to “show and tell” people how to be saved.
Perhaps
you already have some ideas of your own and you can just get a couple
of good suggestions from this outline. It may be that you are a much
better artist than some of us. Some people have the talent to make a
much more beautifully drawn chart than others. Some people like to use
a stick figure or two. Whatever is comfortable for you.
The
idea of the piece of paper is: IT BECOMES A FOCAL POINT. Most people
retain only a small percentage of what they hear. What we want to do is
give them something to focus on, something to hold their attention
while we present the gospel message to them. We live in a world with a
short attention span. Even the most studious person, from time to time,
finds his mind inadvertently wandering off the subject. We want to keep
it short, to the point, and absolutely biblical and accurate. Here we
go!
“Let’s
let this line represent time. It is the line of time, and according to
the bible, represents about 6,000 years, more or less, from creation
until now.
“The
bible says that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
It gives the account of creation and says that God made man in His own
image.
“God placed the man and the woman, his wife, in the Garden
of Eden and then something terrible happened. We know what that was,
right? They disobeyed God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, and SIN ENTERED THE WORLD.”
STEP
2 in diagram
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned:
“We
don’t have to look very far to see that the bible is true, because all
of us die. Death, then, is the proof that the wages of sin is death.
The bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The glory of God in this case would be eternal life. God has eternal
life and we fall short of it because we are sinners.
“We do not just become sinners when we first sin
but the bible says that we are born in sin. We are all descendents
of Adam, the first man, so we are all blood relatives of Adam. Being
blood relatives, we inherit the nature of Adam. So we are born with a
sin nature. The proof that we have a sin nature is the fact that we
have a natural tendency to sin.
“So
from our very birth, we have the nature of sin, the ability to sin, and
not only that, but the desire to sin. Wouldn’t you say that is true of
you and me? We know that it is because we have a conscience. Adam was
given a conscience in the Garden when he sinned, the knowledge of good
and evil. I know that my conscience sometimes approves of me and
sometimes disapproves.
“The
bible calls this, the work of the Law. Us Gentiles, who were
never given the Law of Moses as the nation of
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and
their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
“So
what exactly, is the work of the law? Many people, and well-meaning
people at that, make the mistake of thinking that by keeping the Law
they can be approved of God. This is a very serious mistake! The truth
of the matter is that the Law was never given by God as a means to gain
approval with Him, but instead it was given to show the world just how
disapproving God is of sin.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the
knowledge of sin.
“So
here I am, born in sin. Because an ancestor of mine sinned against God,
I inherited his nature. I am a sinner by nature, a sinner by choice and
a sinner by practice. I was born in sin, I had no choice in the matter,
and all I have is a Law that is impossible to keep. This sounds like a
raw deal to me. But wait, there’s more: God knew that all of this was
true about us even before we were born. So He did something
that no man would have done if he could, or could have if he would have.
“While it is true that the wages, the payoff, for sin is death,
and we know this is true because all men die, the bible has good news.
As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what the word gospel means, good
message or good news:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
“I, for one, am certainly interested in the gift of God,
especially since it is eternal life. Well, how can I have it?
STEP
3 in diagram
“This (the cross) represents the cross of Christ. In AD 33, Jesus
Christ, the son of God, died, a 33 year old man, and the bible says,
Christ died for our sins.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
“So Christ died, in AD 33, for our sins. But
you and I were not even born until this past century.
STEP
4 in diagram
“Christ died then (pointing to cross) and you were
born here (pointing to the “X”). All of your life, and all of your sins
were yet in the future. How did God do that? Well, the bible speaks of
the foreknowledge of God. The bible says that God can see the end from
the beginning, and that every thing is open and exposed before him, and
that there is nothing that is hid from His eyes.
“So,
before the foundation of the world, God foreknew you. He was able to
look forward in time, and he foreknew the exact time, place and
circumstances of your birth. He also knew that you were born a sinner.
You didn’t have a choice in the matter of the place of your birth, the
time of your birth, or who your parents would be. You had no choice in
the fact that you would be born a sinner, but you were…and God knew it.
So, in His great love for us, the love wherewith he loved us, even
though we, according to the bible, were dead in trespasses and sins…He
gave us a choice. The bible says:
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
“Instead of imputing, instead of counting our sins to us,
nearly 2000 years ago, on the cross, Christ took the penalty for our
sins. The wages of sin is death and so Christ died for our sins. The
bible goes on to say:
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be
sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
“Remember it also says that the gift, the free gift of
God, is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord. So God charged our
sins to Christ and he took the wages, the payoff for them, by being
made to be our sin as he died at the cross. Here’s how it looks on
paper.
STEP
5 in diagram
“Let’s
let the first “X” represent your birth, and the dashes represent the
period of time you live, all of your life on planet Earth, and the
second “X” the day you leave this world. God knew, beforehand, the date
of your birth, he knows your entire life, and he already knows the
exact date and the exact means whereby you will leave this world…and he
also knows everything in between.
“So,
before you were ever born God had already taken a complete inventory of
the body of the sins of your flesh. And when Christ died on the cross,
in AD 33, he put the body of the sins of your flesh upon Christ and
made him to be sin for you, instead of you, and Christ died for ALL of
your sins, past, present and future.
All of your sins were in the future when Christ died, so
if he died for one of them, or some of them, then he must have died for
all of them, since he only died once. He died back then, and your life
is here and now. To believe that Christ only died for a certain part of
your sins and that God has left it up to you to “work out” the rest of
it is to not believe the real truth of the gospel. The bible also says
this:
Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
STEP
6 in diagram
“So
God imputed our sins. He computed our sins. He took a complete
inventory of the body of the sins of our flesh and placed our body
of sin upon Christ on the cross and Christ became our sin and died
for them, all of them. But there was something else very important
which happened.
“God made his righteousness, the very righteousness of the
almighty God, available to you. The way He did this was to offer you a
free gift, the gift of God. But a gift is only of benefit to you if you
receive it.
“You
see, the issue is no longer your sins. The problem of your sins has
been dealt with. Your sins were paid for completely by the death of
Christ on the cross Contrary to the belief of some, your sins will
never cause you to go to hell. Your sins will not keep you out of
Heaven. Then what will? Unbelief!
“The
bible says that God decided, by the foolishness of preaching, to save
them that believe. But believe what? Simply believe the testimony that
God has given. This very message. So salvation is not about good works,
it’s not about walking the aisle, it’s not about praying through at an
alter or joining a church, but it is all about what God has done:
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
‘Now
the washing and renewing simply means that in regeneration, Christ
accomplished the washing away of your sins by his shed blood, He was
renewed of the Holy Ghost, which He always had, except in death, and
was resurrected, never to die again.
“And
the good news is, that all that He did he did in your behalf. It can
all be yours BY FAITH. By simply taking God at his word and truly
believing that Christ died for your sins and was raised again
for your justification.(Romans 4:25) By believing, not just in Christ,
but believing ON the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God is PUT
to your account. It is imputed to you.
STEP
7 in diagram
“Your sins were all
placed on Christ on the cross and the very righteousness of God is
imputed to you, that is “put to your account.”
Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe: for there is no difference:
“To
be saved today is to trust in the Lord. It is to place your faith in
the finished work of Christ, trusting what he did for you instead of
what you could do for him. It is simply taking God at his word.
The bible says God would have all men to be saved and come unto the
knowledge of the truth.
This
simple chart has shown you the truth of the word of God. You can be
saved now, where you are, as you are. It is not necessary to go
anywhere, do anything, or even say anything. To be saved, right now, is
to simply acknowledge the truth of this little chart. This is the truth
of the gospel, the truth of God’s word. Accept it and believe it, and
be saved right now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
“Nearly
two thousand years ago on the cross, your sins were imputed to the Lord
Jesus Christ and he died for your sins. Now the righteousness of God is
IMPUTED to you by faith in what Christ did for you. God puts all of it
to your account.
“In
other words, Christ’s death becomes your death. God sees you dying on
the cross for your sins. Christ burial becomes your burial, God sees
you being buried with Christ. Christ’s resurrection becomes your
resurrection. God sees you as being raised with Christ, ascended up to
Heaven with Christ and at this moment, seated with him in heavenly
places IN CHRIST.
“All
of this. All of the finished work of Christ is legally, judicially, put
to your account. It is imputed unto you. It is yours BY FAITH.. Thank
God for His grace!
(It
is important that we understand that the word impute is a mathematical
term, much like compute. It is also a judicial term in the sense that
it is used in the bible. “Put to your account” is the best way to
describe the word “impute.” This makes a distinction from the word
“impart,” which is a totally different thing. The righteousness of God
is NOT “imparted” unto you, which is the mistaken thinking of many in
religion today. God’s righteousness is never “imparted” to us,
especially in a fleshly, bodily sense. Our flesh is condemned. In our
flesh dwelleth no good thing. Just remember where our ACCOUNT is
located: HEAVEN!)
“Having
the righteousness of God credited to your account results in the
believer having peace with God. No more trying, no more striving, no
more worrying because of false teachers with false and worthless
religious practices. Just knowing that God fixed it. Jesus Christ
worked it out for you, and now you can rest in it.
Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him,
which is the head of all principality and power:
“But
not only are you complete in Christ because of what he did for you, you
now have the assurance that you have been saved from the wrath of God
by what Christ did in your behalf.
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins,
that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the
will of God and our Father:
“In Christ is the most fantastic reality in the universe. Nothing can change that and nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come,
Romans 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
So
this is God’s plan of salvation. It is really very simple. So simple
that anyone can understand it and believe it. Many people try to make
it much more difficult than it is and many try to add things to it.
They
add things like repenting and praying through and water baptism, church
membership, the Lord’s supper and many other things. But the good
message, the good news from God is that God wants you to be saved. And
not only does he want you to be saved, he has done EVERYTHING that
needed to be done to insure that anyone who wants to can be saved, and
that without any effort or any work on their part.
Think
about it, if you could be saved by your own good works, then why was it
necessary for Christ to die? It was necessary because sin is an offense
against the eternal, holy and almighty God. Only HE could make the
provision for forgiveness. The good news is that He has done just that!
God has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ. Now we need to be
reconciled to God. We do that by simply trusting in God’s provision for
us. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
