When it seems evident that the inquirer is not a Christian, the Counsellor should present the plan of salvation. The following is a simple, but effective, method of witnessing if you do not have another one which you prefer. We suggest that you memorize the outline so that you will always have a well-organized gospel presentation which may be adapted to any situation.
Counselling for Salvation
God’s Purpose: God loves us and has a purpose for our lives. Read John 3:16. God’s Purpose for you and me is that we should…
Receive Eternal Life as a Free Gift: Because God loves us so much he has provided eternal life as a gift. Read Romans 6:23.
Live a Happy Life Here and Now:Eternal life means having peace and joy in our heartsnow. Read John 10:10.
Spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus: Eternal life means that we will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. He said, “And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be John 14:3.However, we do not automatically receive these gifts, for we have a problem.
God’s purpose for my life: Our Problem which keeps us
We are all sinners by nature: Sin means rebelling against God and living the way we want instead of the way God wants us to live. Romans 3:24.
We deserve death and hell: Sin results in death, so we are in trouble because we face eternal punishment for our sins. Romans 6:23.
We cannot save ourselves by any means.
Baptism, church membership, good works or giving to the church will not save us. Read Ephesians 2:8,9. Although our condition seems hopeless, God has a solution to our problem.
God’s Solution: God is holy and just and must punish sin. Yet he loves us and has provided forgiveness for our sins. Read John 14:6. God’s Solution to our SinProblem is Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God Who became man: The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…John 1:1,14. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth to live as a man.
Jesus died for us: Jesus took our punishment for sin when he died on the cross. Read I Pet. 3:18.
Jesus rose from the dead: The story does not end with Jesus’ death. Read Romans 4:25. Jesus conquered death. That is why he can give us eternal life. Jesus Christ has ‘provided Salvation for all who are willing to submit to God’s Way of Salvation.
Our Submission: This eternal life cannot be ours unless we receive it.Read John1:12. Our Submission to God in Christ Jesus is like this:
We must repent of our sins: First, we must repent of our sins. Let us look at Acts 3:19. To repent means more than being sorry for your sins. It means to turn around and go in a different direction. We turn away from sin and turn to God through Jesus Christ.
We must believe in Jesus: As we repent of our sins, we must trust Jesus to save us, believing that all the Bible says about him is true. Read Acts 16:31.
We must commit our lives to Jesus as Lord: When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we surrender control of our lives to him. Jesus said to those following him. Read Luke9:23.
Commitment: (1) To receive Jesus as Saviour, you must repent of your sins, trust him to save you and give him control of your life as Lord. Have you understood what we have been talking about?
(2) Would you like to receive God’s gift of eternal life and let Jesus be Lord? (Romans 10:13).
(3) Are you willing to turn from your sins, believe in Jesus and turn your life over to him right now? (John 6:47).
(4) Prayer of commitment: If this is what you want, we can pray and you can tell God what you have decided.
(After going through the plan of salvation with the inquirer, praying with him, and leading him to make a definite commitment to Christ, then give him the “Welcome to God’sFamily” tract. Read through the tract with him and made definite plans for follow-up meetings.
Counselling for Rededication
When someone comes to rededicate his life to Christ, the counsellor needs to listen closely to the inquirer and then de-pend on the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation. Occasionally, someone who has never been saved will say he comes for rededication.
If you are not sure of his standing, encourage the inquirer to relate his previous experience with Christ. If he has not experienced the New Birth, tell him the best news in the world by counselling him for salvation. If you do not doubt the person’s salvation, you may help him in the following manner:
- Show the inquirer the cause of separation from God.Read Isaiah 59:1-2.
- Do not condemn the inquirer as you read Scriptures showing that sin separates us from God. Rather, you should speak as one sinner to another as you share the Scriptures with him. If you feel he needs more Scripture, read I Peter 3:12.
- As you read James 4:17, point out that some sins are what is right to do and fail to do it, for him it is sin.”
- Lead the inquirer to confess his sins and claim the promise of I John 1:9. Remind him how happy the father was to welcome his son in the parable of the Prodigal Son(Luke 15:11-32).
- Pray with the inquirer, and as he prays for forgiveness, ask him to renew his covenant with God through Christ’ssacrifice. Praise God with him.
- Suggest some follow-up action. Seek to enlist the inquirer in one of the disciplining programmes mentioned in this book. Assure him that you will continue to pray for him and will be available for further counsel if he still wants it. Urge the self-disciplines of daily prayer and Bible study.
Counselling for Church Membership
After a person has made a decision concerning salvation, rededication or assurance, the Counsellor should talk with him about church membership. It may be that he is already a member of a local church. If the person is transferring church membership, he should be examined for true faith (as with rededication) and scriptural baptism.
The Counsellor may use the following information to ex-plain the purpose of church membership and the procedure for joining a church.
A church is a local congregation of baptized believers in Christ and the spiritual home of God’s Family. Every Christian needs a church home in order to-
(a) Worship God and have fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 10:25).
(b) Study the Bible and receive training in how to live the Christian life, so that he will grow spiritually. (Acts 5:42).
(c) Pray with other Christians. (Acts 2:42).
(d) Work with other Christians to complete Christ’s work of reconciling men to God.
Mathew 28:19-20.
A person can become a member of a Baptist church through:-
Baptism: After a person has repented of his sins and accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord, he should prepare for baptism and church membership. “So those who received his word were baptized … And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:41,47). (Explain that baptism and church membership do not save, but they make a public announcement that the person has accepted Christ as Saviour and is already a Christian. Tell him that baptism should follow conversion if itis to be true to Scripture and follow its purpose.)
Transfer of Membership from another Baptist Church: When a Christian moves to another community and is already a baptized member of a church, he can join a church in his new community by going forward during the invitation and publicly requesting a transfer of membership from his former church. (Emphasize that someone cannot belong to two churches at the same time or that one does not automatically become a member of a church when he starts attending its services.)
The Counsellor should guide someone desiring to join a church by:-
(a) Writing the name of the person and the name and addressof his former church, so the church secretary can officially request a transfer of membership.
(b) Arranging an appointment for the person to talk with the pastor about church membership and be sure that someone knows his residence for follow-up visits.
(c) Going through the church information brochure and the church covenant with him, then inviting him to ask questions about the church.
The Counsellor should consider the following guidelines for helping a new convert:-
(a) Urge him to join a church immediately and suggest that it be a church in his community. Do not try to force him to join a certain church, even your own.
(b) If the person is a convert during an evangelistic crusade, find out where he lives; and if he lives in another community, urge him to join a church in that community. The Counsellor could even suggest one if he knows of one to recommend.
(c) If the convert lives in another community, send his name and address to a pastor in that area, so the pastor can visit and encourage him.
Counselling for Special Christian Service
When someone decides to commit his life to special Christian service such as to be a pastor, missionary, etc., the counsellor should be a good listener as the person tells of his call to service. It is not the responsibility of the Counsellor to determine the exact field of service God may be leading the person to, but he should consider the following ways to guide and help:
- Pray with the person, thanking God for his response to God’s call and asking for continued guidance for him.
- Encourage the person to be aware of and faithful to the present opportunities of service God offers. Help him to identify the immediate action which God requires.
- Explain that God’s call and specific will are often reveal-ed in a series of steps, so he should be willing to follow step by step as God opens doors and reveals his will.
- Tell what you know of Christian ministry opportunities and the training required. Speak of the demands and rewards.
- Help fill out the decision record card. Tell him the pastor could provide further counselling for this important decision and that you would like to arrange an appointment for him to discuss his decision with the pastor.
- Assure him you will continue to pray for God’s guidance in his life.
