The Message: God’s Plan of Salvation, John 16:7-11

The Message: God’s Plan of Salvation, John 16:7-11

    It would be wonderful if every person understood the entire Bible. There are many doctrines in the Bible that make extremely interesting topics of conversation. But in trying to lead a person to the Lord please remember that this person needs to understand the plan of salvation and nothing else until after he is saved.

    God tells us that:

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB)

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

    The unsaved cannot really grasp spiritual teachings because they are not born again and do not have the Holy Spirit within to teach them these things.

    God wants the unsaved to trust Christ as their Savior, and will deal with the unsaved and help them understand the verses on the plan of salvation (John 16:7-11).

John 16:7-11 (NASB)

7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

    Wait until the person is saved before you start talking about service or any so-called “deeper” truths.

    The following will help a person see his need of the Savior and how he can be saved. Because of differences in religious upbringing, every person will not need the same degree of emphasis on each point. As you explain the plan of salvation to someone you will be sensitive to notice which areas he needs to have dealt with at some length.

    First, we will cover the doctrine, and then we will discuss the presentation, throughout most of this teaching.

    1. DOCTRINE—Everyone is a sinner, less perfect than God.

Romans 3:23 (NASB)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NASB)

20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

    The Virgin Mary, the Pope, your minister, your mother, you and I—all are sinners.

Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

    If you compare your life with that of those around you, you might feel you are a good person; and, as man looks upon goodness, you may be. But when you compare even your best qualities with those of the Almighty God, you will immediately see that you are not as perfect as God. Nobody is. One word God uses when He says we “sin” is “hamartano” in the Greek, and means to “miss the mark” (James Strong's Concordance, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, <G264>). We miss the mark of God’s perfection.

    PRESENTATION—Be careful how you point out the person is a sinner. Admit you are, and he will be much more willing to admit he is. An effective statement is, “God says everyone is a sinner...I am, you are, we all are.” Some people associate the term “sinner” only with “vile criminals.” Explain that when the Bible says we are sinners, it means even “good” people, because even they are not perfect. If you happen to know that the person is very moral, compliment him, but show that he still is not perfect in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6, James 2:10).

Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

James 2:10 (NASB)

10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

    While we must never act like, or imply that, we are “holy” because of personal righteousness, neither is it wise to go to the other extreme. Don’t tell him your past (or present) sins. Don’t use phrases like, “I used to be a sinner, but now I am saved.” A person will always be a sinner until he receives his glorified body. I have heard of a person who said he hadn’t sinned in three years. 1 John 1:8 says,

1 John 1:8 (NASB)

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

    Sometimes a person will feel he is too great a sinner for Christ to save him. To such a person, an effective statement is, “God cannot save a good person!” (There are no good people...Romans 3:12.)

Romans 3:12 (NASB)

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

    When the person knows he is a sinner, don’t badger him until he “loses face.” Move on to the next thing you want him to see in the Bible. ALWAYS keep the issue between the Bible and him and not between you and him. The issue isn’t that you have the answers, but that God has the answers. Avoid referring to your opinion, that of his preacher, or of his denomination. Point out that “this is what the Bible says.”