Another important consideration in sharing Christ with others is the necessity of leading the new Christian to full assurance of faith in Christ. All of the material in the booklet following the prayer is specifically designed to aid you in helping the new Christian to be sure that he or she is a Christian.
Using Questions to Offer Assurance
After an individual has prayed, ask the following questions contained on page 11 of the booklet. "Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise contained in Revelation 3:20, where is He right now in relation to you?"
If the reply is, "Well, he is in the world," or "he is in heaven," ask the question again, emphasizing "...but where is He in relation to you?"
Explain that, according to Revelation 3:20, Christ said He would come into our lives.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Then ask, "Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer?" Then explain that our only authority is the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. Together read 1 John 5:11-13.
This is the testimony: 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.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Emphasize that we can know we have eternal life on the basis of these promises from God's divinely inspired Word.
Rely on Fact, not Feeling
Recently I shared the gospel as explained in the Four Laws with a man who received Christ but had no assurance of salvation. After reading this particular passage to him, I asked, "What would happen if you died today?"
He replied, "I'm afraid that I would go to hell."
But as I reread the 1 John passage several times, I saw strength come to his eyes and radiance to his face. The Holy Spirit had broken through the resistance that he had built up for fifty years, and this man finally saw God's truth and received Christ into his life by faith.
Always explain the importance of faith. Review and explain the meaning of Ephesians 2:8, 9. Warn against the danger of depending upon feelings.
One of Satan's great lies is that you must have had some kind of an emotional experience when you received Christ. But the Word of God says you are to receive Christ by faith, and you are to live by faith. This doesn't exclude the importance of emotions. But, according to John 14:21, you are not to seek an emotional experience. You are to live by faith and obey God's commands.
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
Explain the train diagram on page 12 of the booklet and the truth that the Christian life is not lived according to feelings but according to faith in God and His Word. Study this information carefully, and always make it clear to the person with whom you are sharing Christ.
Also read and explain briefly and clearly the four wonderful things that have happened to the new Christian, as listed on page 13 of the booklet.
When the individual is assured, on the basis of God's Word, that Christ is in his or her life, suggest that each of you pray aloud, thanking God for what He has done. The very act of thanking God demonstrates faith and often contributes to the assurance of salvation.
Suggestions for Growth also Offer Assurance
Continue with suggestions for Christian growth and the importance of becoming active in a local church, as explained on page 14 and 15.
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of proper follow-up of the new Christian. You should secure the name and address of each individual with whom you pray. This can be done tactfully and without offense if you give the person your name and address first. Then arrange to meet with the new Christian for spiritual counsel and follow-up the very next day, if possible, and certainly not more than forty-eight hours later.
Many receive the assurance of their salvation just by reading and studying the materials that we send them. I recall a new staff member who dropped by to thank me for sending her a series of twelve follow-up letters.
"After receiving Christ," she said, "I was plagued with serious doubts. I decided that I didn't want to be a Christian after all. I even became resentful about you and your letters to me. Then God used your letters to answer my questions and to help me surrender my life to Christ. Now I have made application for staff with Campus Crusade for Christ and have just been accepted. I am so happy, and I want to thank you again for writing those follow-up letters. I wouldn't be here today had it not been for them."
In addition to the use of the follow-up letters, you also have a responsibility to follow up the individual - personally, wherever possible. If you can't meet personally, it will be helpful to the new Christian to receive a personal letter of encouragement from you.
You can help encourage new Christians to grow and to begin to win and build others through personal follow-up, small groups, home Bible studies, Cru conferences, Sunday school and church.
Other Available Materials
Cru wants to serve you and the entire body of Christ, not only by helping to train you to share your faith more effectively, but also by helping to train and build up those whom you introduce to Christ. In addition to the Four Spiritual Laws booklet, other materials are available to assist you in your Christian growth and witness for Christ.
Witnessing as a way of life requires training as a way of life. If the secular world depends upon a continuous training program to promote greater effectiveness in various job skills, how much more important it is that Christians participate in a continuous training program through the local church. We want to help you. Training in the most effective use of these practical tools is available at our head quarters and in hundreds of student, lay, pastor, and military training conferences across America and in most major countries of the world.
Adapted from the Transferable Concept: How You Can Introduce Others To Christ, by Dr. Bill Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. © Cru. All rights reserved.
