Personal Witnessing: Part 5

Plan Two: Marking a New Testament for Witnessing.

There are three basic steps in marking and using a New Testament to share the Gospel. First, you mark the essential point, such as God loves us. Second, you underline and read the essential verse. Third, you tell the person what you want him to hear about the verse.

To mark a New Testament, proceed with the following steps:

1. Acquire a New Testament (a version of your choice) and a red, fine-line pen or red, soft-lead pencil.
2. Open your New Testament and turn to the first verse – John 3:1 6. Notice the page number in your New Testament.
3. Turn back to the flyleaf of your New Testament and on the bottom of the flyleaf print, “turn to page for God’s message to you.” (Insert the page number of John 3:16.)
4. Turn back to the page on which John 3:16 is located and write across the top of the page, “1. God Loves You.” Underline John 3:16 and on the bottom of the page write, “Turn to page .” (Fill in the page number of John 10:10.)

You can now easily and quickly identify the essential point, the Scripture verse, and the page number of the next Scripture verse to be used.
Use the following guide to mark your New Testament:

• On the flyleaf print, “Turn to page____ God’s message to you.”
• On the top of page__, print “1. God Loves Us.” Underline John 3:16. On the bottom of the page print, “Turn to page____.”
• On the top of page____print “2. Eternal life is abundant.” Underline John 10:10. On the bottom of the page print “Turn to page____.”
• On the top of page____print “3. We are all sinners.” Underline Romans 3:23. On the bottom of the page, print “Turn to page _______.”
• On the top of page____ , print “4. Eternal life is God’s free gift.” Underline Romans 6:23. On the bottom of the page____ print, “Turn to page _____.”
• On the top of page , print “5. Christ died for us.” Underline Romans 5:8. On the bottom of the page print____, “Turn to page_____.”
• On the top of page____, print “6. We must receive Jesus.” Underline John 1:12. On the bottom of the page print, “Turn to page _____.”
• On the top of page____, print “7. We must repent.” Underline Acts 3:19. On the bottom of the page print, “Turn to page _____.”
• On the top of page_____ print “8. Confess, believe, ask.” Underline Romans 10:9-10.
• On the bottom of this page, write “Ask God to save you.” Print the following prayer:

“Dear Lord, I know I have done wrong and need forgiveness. Thank you for dying for my sins and for offering me eternal life. Please forgive my sins and help me to turn from them. I now confess you as my Lord and receive you as my Savior. Take control of my life and make it full and meaningful. In Jesus name. Amen.”

Now that you know how to mark a New Testament you might ask, “How do I present the Gospel to a non-Christian using my marked New Testament?” There are two ways which have proven to be very effective.

The first is by sharing your personal testimony. After sharing your testimony, you can ask, “Has this ever happened to you?” If the other person says “No” or “I’m not sure”, you can open your New Testament and say, “May I share from the Bible how it can happen to you?”

The second method involves the use of two simple questions. The first question is, “Have you come to a place in your life that you know for certain you have eternal life and that you will go to heaven when you die?” The second question is, “Suppose you were standing before God right now and He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ What do you think you would say?” By the answer they give, you will know whether they have indeed accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. If not, you have an opportunity to say, “May I share with you from my New Testament how you can know Jesus Christ and how you can be sure you have eternal life?”