Speaking of Jesus with Clarity, Humility, and Love
Doctrine: Understanding the gospel we announce, the response it calls for, and our dependence on God in making Christ known.
Devotion: Growing in gratitude for our salvation, prayerful concern for others, and willingness to speak of Jesus without pressure or pretense.
Discipling: Helping another believer explain the gospel clearly, listen thoughtfully, and accompany someone who wants to explore faith.
Main passages: ;
Supporting passages: ; ; ;
Memory verse: , using the NET2 Bible.
Our Purpose
By the end of this session, we should be better able to explain the central message of the gospel and distinguish it from advice about becoming a better person. We should also be prepared to speak naturally about Christ, listen to another person’s questions, and offer an appropriate opportunity to learn more.
Our aim is faithful witness, not mastery of a persuasive technique. We want people to understand who Jesus is, what he has accomplished, and how to respond to him. We depend on the Holy Spirit while taking responsibility for speaking truthfully, clearly, and lovingly.
1. Beginning Together
In Session 8, we considered the church as a people formed by the good news. Christ gathers us, nourishes us through his Word, and teaches us to receive and serve one another. This shared life also bears witness to the Lord who has made us his own.
We now turn more directly to speaking about him. Knowing Christ, becoming like him, and making him known belong together. We do not wait until we are fully mature before speaking, but neither do we separate our message from the character of our lives.
Many Christians feel hesitant here. We may fear causing offense, losing a friendship, or being asked something we cannot answer. Others feel pressure to turn every conversation into a presentation. Scripture offers a wiser path: prayerful readiness, clear speech, genuine love, and trust in God.
Our Explore courses invited people to investigate Jesus through John’s Gospel. Those same resources can now help us accompany someone else. We are not asking people to take our word for everything; we can open Scripture and consider Jesus together.
Looking Back
What did you learn about receiving or contributing within the church? How might a community marked by truth and love help someone understand the message we proclaim?
Discuss
- What makes you most hesitant to speak about Jesus?
- Think of someone who explained Christian faith helpfully. What made their approach trustworthy or understandable?
A Prayer to Begin
Father, thank you for the good news through which you have brought us to yourself. Renew our gratitude for Jesus and our love for the people around us. Give us opportunities to speak, wisdom to listen, and courage to be clear. By your Spirit, help us make Christ known with humility and genuine care. Amen.
2. Read — The Message and the Manner
Read in the NET2 Bible.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he proclaimed and they received. He places Christ’s death for sins, burial, resurrection, and appearances at the center of his summary. These events fulfill God’s purposes revealed in Scripture.
Notice that the message concerns something God has accomplished in history. It is not first a description of our feelings or an invitation to invent a more meaningful life.
Look Closely
- How does Paul describe the Corinthians’ relationship to the gospel?
- What does he identify as being of first importance?
- What does the passage say about the significance of Christ’s death?
- Why do his burial, resurrection, and appearances matter to the message?
Now read in the NET2 Bible.
Paul asks for prayer that God would open a door for the message and that he would speak clearly. He also instructs believers about their conduct and speech toward those outside the Christian community.
The passage brings prayer, opportunity, wisdom, and gracious conversation together. Neither the message nor the person hearing it is treated casually.
Look Closely
- What characterizes the prayer Paul encourages?
- What does he ask others to pray for him?
- How should believers conduct themselves toward outsiders?
- What does the instruction about answering each person suggest about listening and thoughtful responses?
3. Doctrine — Receiving God’s Truth
The Gospel Announces What God Has Done in Christ
The gospel is good news about Jesus Christ. The eternal Son became truly human, lived in faithful obedience to the Father, died for our sins, and was raised bodily from the dead. He is the risen Lord through whom God grants forgiveness and reconciliation.
Christian teaching includes commands, wisdom, and instruction for life, but the gospel cannot be reduced to these. Advice tells us what we should do; the gospel announces what God has done to save us and calls us to respond.
This distinction matters when we speak. “Try to live like Jesus” does not explain how sinners are reconciled to God. “Church has helped me” may be an honest testimony, but it does not yet identify the Savior or his saving work.
We want our speech to lead people to Christ himself, not merely to the benefits of religious participation.
Christ Died for Our Sins and Rose Again
Paul’s summary includes both the event and its meaning: Christ died for our sins. We are not simply misunderstood people who need encouragement. We are sinners who need forgiveness and a right relationship with the holy God who made us.
At the cross, Jesus gave himself for us, bearing the judgment our sins deserve. His death is the ground of the forgiveness we receive through faith. We should explain this with reverence and joy, never treating forgiveness as a small or preliminary blessing.
His resurrection is equally essential. Jesus is not a dead teacher whose influence survives. He is the living Lord. God’s saving purpose was not defeated at the cross, and the Savior who died for us is alive.
Because of him, we can speak of forgiveness, reconciliation, adoption, life in the Spirit, and the hope of resurrection. These gifts belong together in the salvation God gives.
The Gospel Calls for Repentance and Faith
Read .
The gospel is not simply information to admire. It calls us to respond to Jesus. Repentance involves turning from sin toward God; faith involves relying on Jesus Christ rather than on ourselves for salvation.
These are not achievements by which we earn God’s grace. They describe our response to the Savior who offers what we cannot provide for ourselves. We come with our need and entrust ourselves to him.
We should neither conceal this call nor turn it into pressure. A person needs to understand whom they are trusting and why. Repeating particular words is not a substitute for faith, and visible emotion is not a reliable measure of conversion.
We can invite someone to respond, pray with them, and help them understand the next steps. We cannot see the heart or manufacture genuine faith.
Our Lives Support Our Words, but Do Not Replace Them
Kindness, integrity, hospitality, and service matter deeply. They express love and can help others see the goodness of the Lord we proclaim. Conduct that contradicts our message can obscure it and wound those who hear us.
Yet good conduct alone does not explain Christ’s death and resurrection. People may appreciate our care without knowing its relationship to Jesus. The gospel needs to be communicated in words.
This is not a choice between serving and speaking. We love our neighbors because they matter to God, whether or not they become interested in our faith. When appropriate opportunities arise, we also explain the hope we have.
Our care must never become a transaction in which kindness is withdrawn if someone declines a religious conversation.
God Gives Growth; We Serve Faithfully
Read .
Paul describes different servants contributing while God gives the growth. This frees us from both pride and paralysis. We have a real responsibility to speak and serve, but we do not possess the power to create spiritual life.
One person may begin a conversation, another answer a question, and another read Scripture with someone over time. We do not need to control the whole process or receive credit for its outcome.
Faithfulness includes clarity, courage, patience, and love. An immediate positive response is not the only evidence that a conversation was worthwhile. Equally, trusting God does not excuse avoidable confusion or unwillingness to speak.
The Person Hearing Us Deserves Respect
Read .
Peter connects honoring Christ as Lord with readiness to explain our hope. He also specifies gentleness, respect, and a good conscience. The manner of our witness belongs to our obedience, not merely to our communication strategy.
People bring different experiences and questions. Some know very little about Christianity. Others have heard distorted accounts or suffered through Christian misconduct. We should not assume that we understand their objections before listening.
Respect does not require hiding disagreement. It requires treating the person as someone to love rather than an opponent to defeat.
4. Devotion — Speaking from Fellowship with Christ
Let Gratitude Renew Your Willingness
Read .
Paul’s ministry is shaped by Christ’s love and God’s reconciling work. We need this starting point too. Witness becomes distorted when driven chiefly by guilt, competitiveness, or a desire to prove ourselves useful.
Return to what you have received. Through faith in Jesus Christ, you receive the forgiveness he secured through his death. You have been reconciled to God and welcomed into life with him. Speaking of Christ grows from the wonder of that grace.
You do not need to produce a dramatic emotional experience before you can speak. Quiet gratitude and sincere concern for another person are sufficient reasons to become willing.
A Guided Practice: Pray, Listen, and Prepare
Allow approximately ten to fifteen minutes. Keep open and think of one person you know.
1. Pray for the person, not merely for an opportunity.
Consider their circumstances, concerns, and relationships. Ask God to care for them and help them come to know Christ. Let prayer enlarge your love rather than reduce the person to a task.
You might pray, Father, you know this person far better than I do. Help me care about what they are carrying and speak of Jesus in a way they can understand.
2. Ask for an open door and clear speech.
Following Paul’s example, ask for a suitable opportunity and help to communicate clearly. You do not need to force a conversation to demonstrate sincerity.
Consider whether something they have already said invites a thoughtful question. A natural beginning might be, “Would you be interested in hearing how my faith relates to that?”
3. Prepare a simple explanation.
Practice explaining the gospel in ordinary language. Include who Jesus is, our need, his death and resurrection, and the response of repentance and faith.
Preparation helps you become clear, but avoid treating your explanation as a script you must complete regardless of the other person’s questions.
4. Prepare to listen.
Think of one question that invites their perspective: “What do you understand about Jesus?” or “What has shaped the way you think about Christianity?”
Listen to the answer without immediately planning a correction. Understanding what they mean will help you respond to the actual person rather than an imagined objection.
5. Entrust the outcome to God.
Ask for courage to speak and humility to leave what you cannot control with him. Decide on one appropriate next step, which may simply be reconnecting or asking a sincere question.
Prayerful readiness is not a guarantee that a conversation will happen on your preferred schedule.
A Clear Gospel Summary
The following is an example, not a formula to memorize mechanically:
God made us to know him and live under his good rule, but we have sinned and cannot put ourselves right with him. In love, the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who became truly human. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Through repentance and faith in him, we receive the forgiveness he secured and are reconciled to God. He gives us his Spirit and brings us into a new life of following him, with the hope of resurrection and life with him forever.
Depending on the conversation, you may need to explain words such as sin, repentance, or reconciliation. Ask what is clear and what raises questions. A shorter explanation understood well is more helpful than a longer one filled with unfamiliar terms.
Share Your Experience without Making It the Gospel
Your own story can show how the gospel has become personally meaningful. Explain what you came to understand about Jesus, how you responded, and how knowing him is shaping your life.
Do not exaggerate your past or imply that becoming a Christian removed every difficulty. Some people have a distinct turning point; others came to understand and trust Christ more gradually. The importance of the story lies in the Savior, not its dramatic quality.
Keep enough attention on Christ that the listener can distinguish what he has done from what you have experienced. Your story serves the message; it does not replace it.
When You Do Not Know the Answer
It is entirely appropriate to say, “That is a good question, and I do not know enough to answer it carefully.” You can offer to investigate it together or ask someone trustworthy for help.
Do not invent an answer to protect your credibility. Honesty often makes a conversation more trustworthy. You are a witness to Christ, not a person claiming complete knowledge.
Some questions will require more than one conversation. Others involve pain that needs patient care before an extended explanation will be helpful. Ask whether the person would prefer to discuss the question, share what happened, or return to it later.
Pray with Breadth and Patience
Use Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, Intercession, and Petition in praying about witness. Praise God for his saving goodness, thank him for grace you have received, confess fear or pride, intercede for people by name, and ask for opportunities and clarity.
Include prayer for other Christians who know the person and for churches that could welcome them well. Making Christ known is not a private project in which everything depends on you.
If someone is uninterested, remain courteous and respect their boundaries. Continue to love them without repeated pressure or treating their response as a personal rejection.
5. Discipling — Helping Others Speak of Christ
Share: Help Them Understand the Message
Before encouraging someone to explain the gospel, ask how they currently understand it. Read together and identify what Paul places at the center.
Help them distinguish the gospel from a church invitation, a personal improvement plan, or a testimony. Each may have a place in a conversation, but none should obscure Jesus’ saving work.
Encourage plain language. If an explanation depends on terms the listener may not understand, practice explaining those terms rather than simply removing important truths.
Model: Let Them See Respectful Witness
Where appropriate and welcome to everyone involved, invite another believer to join a Scripture discussion or a conversation with someone exploring faith. Model listening, asking permission, admitting uncertainty, and returning to the text.
Afterward, reflect together without turning the person discussed into an object of analysis. Ask what was communicated clearly, what questions remained, and how further care could be offered respectfully.
You can also model witness through ordinary hospitality. Making room for people, remembering their concerns, and following through on promises give practical expression to the love we profess.
Guide: Offer a Suitable Next Step
A next step should fit the person’s interest and understanding. It might be reading a short passage from John, discussing an unanswered question, attending a church gathering, or exploring a course together.
Our Come and See and That You May Believe courses provide opportunities to investigate Jesus through Scripture. Offer them as invitations, not obligations. Someone may prefer a single passage and a conversation before considering a whole course.
If a person wants to trust Christ, help them understand repentance and faith, invite them to express that trust to God, and connect them with ongoing Christian care. Encourage baptism and participation in a faithful local church. A response to the gospel begins a life of discipleship; it is not the end of our concern.
Practice Together
In pairs, take turns explaining the gospel in two or three minutes. Then ask your partner to respond as someone unfamiliar with Christian vocabulary.
Use these questions to review the explanation:
- Was Jesus’ identity and saving work clear?
- Were sin, forgiveness, and the resurrection explained?
- Was the invitation to repent and believe understandable?
- Did the speaker leave room for questions?
- Was the manner gracious rather than pressured?
Then practice responding to: “I am interested, but I have questions, and I am not ready to call myself a Christian.”
A faithful response can welcome honest investigation without hiding the call of the gospel or demanding an immediate decision.
6. Living This Session During the Week
With Christ
Return to and during your Scripture and prayer times. Let the message renew your gratitude before considering how to communicate it. Begin memorizing in NET2, keeping its connection with prayer and wise conduct in view.
With Others
Pray regularly for one or two people you know. Where appropriate, ask a sincere question about their understanding of Jesus or offer to discuss a passage together. If an opportunity does not arise, continue with patience rather than manufacturing one.
In Everyday Life
Practice a clear explanation of the gospel and a brief account of what knowing Christ means to you. Ask a trusted believer for feedback. Pay attention to whether your conduct supports your words, especially in the relationships where you hope to speak.
When We Meet Again
Come ready to share what you learned about prayer, listening, or clarity. You do not need a dramatic story to report. In the next session, we will widen our attention to God’s purpose among the nations and consider our place in making Christ known beyond our immediate relationships.
7. Closing — Faithful Witness to a Living Savior
We proclaim good news because Jesus Christ has acted to save sinners. He died for our sins and rose again, and through faith in him we receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God. This message deserves clarity, and the people who hear it deserve love.
We speak as those who have received grace, not as those who have made themselves superior. We pray, listen, explain, invite, and accompany, trusting God to give growth. As we make Christ known, we also learn to depend on him more deeply and become more like him in patience, courage, and love.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank you for the good news of your Son. Keep his death and resurrection central in our understanding and speech. Give us love for the people around us, courage to speak when opportunities arise, and wisdom to listen well. Guard us from pride, pressure, and careless answers. Help us explain your grace clearly and welcome honest questions patiently. By your Spirit, bring people to faith in Christ and help us accompany them faithfully. May our words and lives honor the Savior who has brought us to you. Amen.