One Book of the Bible, One Month, A Spiritual Roadtrip With an Unbeliever.

The Gospel of St. John.

Hi AFG, I thought your focus was on "unbelievers", not "newbies"? I guess it doesn't really matter however, because the Gospel of John is the first book I would recommend to either, especially if a mature believer was going along for the ride (so to speak ) to help them understand it.

The Gospel of John tells us like no other Book who Jesus really is (God incarnate), as well what the Lord requires of "UN-believers" to become "believers"

Yours in Christ,
David

Hi Aspie, the needs of each person we run into is different, of course, but when we get down to the rubber meeting the road, what is it that you believe unbelievers* really need to know?

*(let's assume that the person the Lord has given you the opportunity to witness to is an acquaintance that you will not have time to build a trusting/long-term friendship with)

Do you take them to Mark's Gospel and show them his enthusiasm .. w/o presenting the Gospel to them, or do you tell them the "bad news" concerning those who are still outside of Christ, and then give them the "remedy" for that bad news which can found in Christ alone (perhaps witnessing to them as well about your own personal experience in coming to know Christ and what doing so, what being saved from so much because of Him, has meant to you ).

One last thing, if the Gospel is not the "milk" of the Bible, what is?

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The other problem with reading through large portions of the Bible with an unbeliever (rather than witnessing to them and making a simple presentation of the Gospel) is the fact that the Bible wasn't written for unbelievers because they are incapable of accepting or understanding what it has to say (from God's POV anyway). It is, in fact, foolishness to them .. 1 Corinthians 2:14. It certainly was for me before I became a Christian.

Such a thing can only be done by those who have 'already' been born again, have become believers, and have been made into new creatures in Christ .. Ezekiel 36:26; John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17. IOW, understanding God's word can only be done by those who already "know" God .. John 17:3, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and have already received the "mind of Christ" .. e.g. 1 Corinthians 2:12-16.

Yours and His,
David

Here are a few quotes to consider from evangelist and pastor, Charles H. Spurgeon, concerning evangelism and the Gospel:


Yours and His,
David

Maybe John's Gospel, but I wouldn't want to limit the person to one book of the Bible.

I Would personaly not show them just one Book because Christ's works can't be found in just one book. Christ works in Miracles to heal the sick, and i was taught that unbelief i n the Lord is an Abomination sickness that can only be Healed through God's will. How can someone who doesn't know the Word of wisdom allow GOD to heal them? If it is GOD's will, speaking to them with a Holy Presence will draw them to Christ

I would say Luke's gospel, unless they were from a Jewish background in which case I would say Matthew's so they could see how Jesus fulfilled the OT prophecies. My choices are based on introducing them to the Lord Jesus, so they understand what He did and taught. I know other scriptures would be needed to explain salvation, but I would like them to be saved primarily because they grow to love the Lord.

AspieforGod - why Ecclesiastes? Is it to show that life is meaningless without God?

AspieforGod said:

This isn't for advice it's purely out of interest to see what others responses are to give my an idea of where people are.

You have one month to take an unbeliever through just one book of the Bible which would you pick?

Me - Ecclesiastes.

You?

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Song of Solomon

I think it depends on the person.

For a Rationalistic person, Ecclesiastes is a good bet. My only problem though is that Christianity is about Christ, so it would probably have to be one of the Gospels.