In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that I was thinking about how we can learn to share what Christianity is all about [and what is involved in our own personal faith] in a quick and simple way.  I came up with an approach I had used personally over the years and which stemmed from my own conversion experience over 61 years ago. It was based on the simple ABCD approach I used in a prayer of commitment to the Lord way back then. The sections ABCD below give an outline of what is involved in this approach.

In the previous article we looked at A] Admitting we are all sinners in the sight of God and Note 1 at the end of that article gave some of the suggested verses to consider in relation to that.

In this article we are going to look at B}  BELIEVING that Christ came to die for sinners, and at the end of the article will be NOTE 2 giving suggested verses to consider when sharing this truth.  What I hope to provide is a smorgasbord of biblical passages and verses so that you can take what will suit your palate best as you seek to share the good news of the gospel.  It may be wise to start off by memorising just simply one verse for each section, and then to add others verses as you become more proficient in sharing your faith with others. The large collation of verses below is not to impress you, but to save you time from having to do the research yourself.  We now move to section B and its Note 2. [Section A is minimised below, as we have previously dealt with it in the previous article. However it is retained here to give the overall view of the ABCD approach.]

A].       ADMITTING WE ARE SINNERS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. WE ALL NEED GOD’S FORGIVENESS. [NOTE 1 is to be found on previous article No 343.] 

1. What the OT says. Ps 14:2-3, 51:5, Jer 17:5,9, Eccles 9:3 are some examples.

2. What Jesus said. Jn 3:16, 17, 36. Mat 15:19, Mk 7:21-23. Jn 8:12. 

3. What the Apostles said. Paul, Rom 3:23, 6:23, 2Cor 5:15, Eph 2:8-9. John in 1 Jn 5:11-13. Peter in 1 Pet :18-19, 2:24.

4. What the Church says. 39 Articles. Westminster Confession.

B].        BELIEVING that Christ came to die for sinners. [ NOTE 2 is to be found below.]

We obtain forgiveness in Jesus and only in Him!

1. It had been prophesied. 

2. It was fulfilled. “It is finished!” exclaimed Jesus.

3. It is available in Him alone.

C].        CONSIDERING the cost of becoming a Christian. [NOTE 3 will be found in the next article]

Salvation is a free gift to us, but it costs us everything. 

1. Salvation is a free gift in Christ. Eph 2:8-10
2. He died for all, so that we might live for Him. 2 Cor 5:15.

 D].       DOING something about it. [Not just believing but acting on that belief.] [NOTE 4 will be found in a forthcoming article]

1. Inviting Christ to come into our lives as our Saviour from sin. Rev 3:20
2. Inviting Christ to come into every area of our lives to be our Lord and Master.
3. Inviting Him to fill us with His Spirit so that we can know His will and do it.

……………………………………………………………………….…………………………………

NOTES:- (Note 1 is to be found at the end of the previous article No.343.]

 NOTE 2. This is on B].  BELIEVING THAT CHRIST CAME TO DIE FOR SINNERS.

We obtain forgiveness in Jesus and only in Him!

1. IT HAD BEEN PROPHESIED.

   The number of prophesies about the coming Messiah or Christ [the Anointed One] varies amongst scholars. However one organisation has given a list of the 40 most helpful passages, on this linked site,

https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/top-40-most-helpful-messianic-prophecies/

Among those passages are some which are more well-known than others. For example,

• Ps 16:8-11. “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” [see Acts 23:22-23 and 13:35-37.]
• Ps 22 has many detailed prophecies about the Messiah including the crucifixion scene. 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 22:7-8, “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 ‘He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’” 22:16-18, “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17  I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. [See Mat 27 and Mk 15.]
• Jer31:31,  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah”, [see Mk 14:24, 1 Cor 11:25, Heb 9:15, 12:24]
• Isa 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn”[See Lk 4:17-21 where Jesus said this about Himself.]
• Isa 52:4 to 53:12 “ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” {See Mat 8:16-17, “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” Mt 27:40, “and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
• Zech 11:12-13, re the 30 pieces of silver, [See Mat 26:14, “Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 25 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.”
• A forerunner to Jesus was prophesied, Isa 40:3-5 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” And Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” John the Baptist proclaimed as the forerunner to Jesus, Mk 1:12-2, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
• Isa 35:5-6. The Messiah would heal people. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.“ [See Mat 11:4, And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”]
• Isa 42:1-7, the Messiah to be a light to the nations. [See Jn 8;12, “again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”]

2}.     IT WAS FULFILLED. “IT IS FINISHED!” EXCLAIMED JESUS.[ Jesus’ Death Was For Sinners.]

Jesus said so.

Mk 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Luk 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jn 3:16-17,“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

 Jn 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The long-promised work of redemption by Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, had been accomplished! [The title of one of my favorite books by John Murray is,  “Redemption Accomplished and Applied.” Redemption was accomplished on the cross by Jesus’ sacrificial death. It was made available to His followers by His resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God as He poured out His Spirit on His followers on the Day of Pentecost.

Paul described His death as being for sinners.

Rom 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Rom 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

2Cor 5:14 “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died”

1Thess 5:10 “who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”

Hebrews. The writer saw Jesus’ death as being sufficient to bring forgiveness of all sins,

Heb 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

Heb 9:12  “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption…. 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Heb 10:14’ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” AND Heb 10:18 ‘Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

Peter

1Pet 1:18 “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

1Pet 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

1Pet 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

John in Revelation writing about Jesus’ death for sinners

Rev 1:5  “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”

Rev 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Rev 7:13-14, “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

 3].    FORGIVENESS IS AVAILABLE IN JESUS ALONE

Jesus. Some examples

• He said He was THE light of the world. Jn 8:12, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
• He said He was THE way and THE truth and THE life. John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
• He said He was THE only way to the Father. Jn 14:6, “…No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Acts.

• Act 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
• Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Act 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
• Act 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
• Act 13:38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
• Act 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

 Paul. [Salvation and forgiveness are to be found only in Jesus.]

• Paul put it simply and clearly in Eph 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” Forgiveness for sin is to be found in Him and in Him alone. There is no other source to obtain forgiveness. He is THE Redeemer and THE only Saviour from sin.
• Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
• 1 Tim 2:5, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
• Heb 9:22,  for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
• Heb 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
• Heb 10:13-14, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Peter.

1 Pet 1:18-19, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

John.

• 1Jn 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
• 1 Jn 3:16, By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
• 1 Jn 4:10, In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
• 1 Jn 4:14, And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.
• 1 Jn 5:11-12, And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 This has been an exhausting but not exhaustive search. As I remarked above, you can read all the verses in their contexts if you wish, but then take your fork and try to sample and memorise only what suits you best in your efforts to share your faith with others.

[ In the next article we will look at Section [C] on counting the cost of becoming a Christian, and the accompanying NOTE 3 will provide biblical texts related to this.]

Blog No.344 posted on www.jimholbeck.blog  on Thursday 16^th January 2020.