Steps to Life
(Evangelism Explosion)
- Step 1 – Do you know?
* Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in Heaven?
If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” what would you say? You don’t know? Then we have the best news you could ever hear!
The few minutes it will take you to read these steps to life may be the most important time you will ever spend. Did you know that the Bible tells how you can know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to be with God in Heaven?
The Bible says there are five things you need to know about eternal life:
“These things I have written unto you . . . that you may know that you have eternal life . . .” (1 John 5:13)
- Step 2 – Grace
* The Bible says, “ . . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). And because Heaven is a gift, like any other genuine gift, it is not earned or deserved.
No amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can earn a place in Heaven for you.
“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
WHY is it that no one can earn his way to Heaven? Because . . .
- Step 3 – Man
* Man is a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Sin is transgressing God’s law and includes such things as lying, lust, cheating, deceit, evil thoughts, immoral behavior, and more.
And because of this, man cannot save himself. If you wanted to save yourself by good deeds, do you know how good you would have to be?
“Be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
With such a high standard, no one can save himself.
However, in spite of our sin . . .
- Step 4 – God
* God is merciful, and therefore doesn’t want to punish us.
This is because “ . . . God is love” (1 John 4:8). And He says, “ . . . I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
But the same Bible which tells us that God loves us, also tells us that God is just and therefore must punish sin. He says “. . . (I) will by no means clear the guilty . . .” (Exodus 34:7). And “. . . the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
We have a problem. God solved this problem for us in the Person of Jesus Christ.
- Step 5 – Christ
* Who is He? The Bible tells us clearly that He is the infinite God-Man.
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus). . . and the Word (Jesus) was God. And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . .” (John 1:1,14).
Jesus Christ came to earth and lived a sinless life, but while on earth, what did he do? He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave to purchase a place for us in Heaven.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity (sin) of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Jesus Christ bore our sin in His body on the cross and now offers you eternal life (Heaven) as a free gift.
This gift is received by faith.
- Step 6 – Faith
* Many people mistake two things for saving faith:
Saving faith is not mere head knowledge, like believing certain historical facts. The Bible says that the devil believes there is one God, so believing that there is one God is not saving faith.
Saving faith is also not mere temporal faith, that is, trusting God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs. Now these are good, and you should trust Christ for these, but they are not saving faith!
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than in what you or I have done to get us into Heaven.
“. . . Believe (trust) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . .” (Acts 16:31).
The question that God is asking you now is would you like to receive the gift of eternal life?
- Step 7 – Surrender
* Because this is such an important matter let’s clarify just what it involves.
It means that you need to:
Transfer your trust From what you have been doing to what Christ has done for you on His cross
Accept Christ as Savior Open the “door” to your heart and invite Him in. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to Him . . . .” (Revelation 3:20)
Receive Jesus Christ as Lord Give Him the “driver’s seat” and “controls” of your life, not the “back seat.”
Repent Be willing to turn from anything that is not pleasing to Him. He will reveal His will to you as you grow in your relationship with Him.
Now, if this is what you really want, you can go to God in prayer right where you are. You can receive His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ right now.
“For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:10,13).
If you want to receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, then call on Him asking Him for this gift right now. Here’s a suggested prayer:
“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your gift of eternal life. I know I’m a sinner and do not deserve eternal life. But You loved me so You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. I now trust in You alone for eternal life and repent of my sin. Please take control as Lord of my life. Thank you so much!”
If this prayer is the sincere desire of your heart, look at what Jesus promises to those who believe in Him:“. . . I say unto you, he that believes on Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47).
- Step 8 – Welcome to God’s Family
* If you have truly repented (forsaken, turned away) from your sins, placed your trust in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, and received the gift of eternal life you are now a child of God! Forever!
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name”(John 1:12).
Today is your spiritual birthday—a day you will always want to remember! The Bible speaks of those who receive eternal life in these words:
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
THE HAND ILLUSTRATION
A Visual Aid to Understand Salvation
For any person to be saved, he needs to understand two things:
- The seriousness of his sins
- The way God takes away his sins.
Begin your conversation like this: “…the problem for every person is sin, for man is sinful (Romans 3:23) and God is holy. Now God has a record of every sin you ever committed. To illustrate, hold up a book, preferably a Bible. Now the Bible says every sin we have ever committed is recorded in a book (Rev. 20:12). Suppose this book is that record of your sins. Lets say you only commit 3 sins a day and remember, even losing your temper on Market Street is a sin according to Jesus (Matt. 5:22) (Be prepared to use the 10 Commandments as a mirror at this point). This would mean about 1000 sins per year. Say you are 30 years old (estimate the age of the person) that would mean there are 30,000 sins listed in this book. Suppose you had 30,000 traffic violations and went before a judge. He wouldn’t put you in jail but under the jail. Well, this is the problem. At one time, it was mine also.”
But God has solved this problem for us. Let me show you how. (Stretch out your left hand exposing your palm) and say, “Suppose my left hand were your immortal soul.” Now lay the book on the palm of your hand. Every sin you ever committed is on your soul. You cannot have a relationship with God in this life because of these sins and if you die you cannot go to live with Him in Heaven but must be separated in hell forever. But God has made a wonderful way to not only escape hell but to have a relationship with Him.’ Now stretch out your right hand and say ‘suppose my right hand is Jesus dying for you on the cross and taking every sin you ever committed. This is what He did just for you. There is a verse of Scripture which tells us He died for every sin and how you can transfer your guilty sin to Him.’ Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, but the Lord has laid on Him the sins of us all.” As you speak the words “The Lord laid on Him the sins of us all,” transfer the book in your left hand over to cover your right hand as you say “laid”, thus showing how Jesus takes every sin off our guilty soul, forgives, and washes it clean by His blood shed on the cross. Then turn to your candidate and ask, “Where does that leave your soul now?” He will reply, “Clean.” “And where are your sins now?” And he will reply, “They are on Jesus.” “Does all this make sense?” He will reply, “Yes.”
Now, the question remains, “How do you transfer your sins from your guilty soul to the cross of Jesus? There are several things you need to do:
(a) Admit you are a sinner – (Rom. 3:23)
(b) Acknowledge that your sins separate you from God – (Is. 59:1-2)
(c) Admit you cannot save yourself – (Eph. 2:9)
(d) Be willing to turn from sin (repent) – (Luke 13:3)
(e) Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins – (Eph. 1:7)
(f) Trust only Jesus and His work on the cross to save you – (John 14:6)
(g) Call on Jesus and invite Him to come in and be Lord of your life – (Rom. 10:13)
At this point, ask the candidate if he would like to do (g). If he replies, “Yes,” the best thing to do now is have him bow his head and pray, admitting his sin, asking Jesus to forgive him and be the Lord of his life. Offer guidance, but do not tell him what to say. Let him talk to God on his own.
THE FIVE SHARE JESUS QUESTIONS
- Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs?
- To you, who is Jesus Christ?
- Do you think there is a heaven or hell?
- If you died, where would you go? If heaven, Why?
- If what you are believing is not true, would you want to know?
Answer to all: “hmmm.”
THE SEVEN SCRIPTURES
Ask them “Read this Scripture aloud”, then ask them: “What does this say to you?” When they answer, just go to the next verse. You are in the page-turning business with one goal, to stay out of God’s way.
- 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. (circle “sin” – no “s”, God said only one needed to send me to hell; and “death” which often means hell in the Bible)
- John 3:3 – In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (Ask “Why did Jesus come to die?”)
- John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- Romans 10:9-11 – 9) That you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11) As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:15 – And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
- Revelations 3:20 – “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.”
THE FIVE DECISION QUESTIONS
- Are you a sinner? – Romans 3:23
- Do you want forgiveness of sins? – Romans 6:23
- Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and rose again? – Romans 10:9-11
- Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ?
- Are you ready to invite Jesus into your life and into your heart?
Now: Please shut up and pray in your mind, not out-loud. Be silent and await an answer. There are only two answers; yes or no. If yes comes from a persons heart, this is the precise moment they become born again. You may ask them to pray or lead them in prayer. If the answer is “No”, ask “Why?”
THE PRAYER
“Heavenly Father, I have sinned against you. I want forgiveness of all my sins. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again. Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay with Linda Evans Shepherd