Book Feature

Leading Someone to Faith in Christ

By NIck Pollard

What can we do when someone wants to become a Christian? How do we take our friend through that process?

Just as there is no one formula for helping people to understand the gospel, there is no one formula for helping people to take that step of faith to become Christians. The Bible does not contain a universal “sinner’s prayer” that we have to pray in order to enter God’s kingdom. The thief on the cross next to Jesus just said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). But Jesus warned that “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). It is the response of our heart that matters, more than the words of our mouths.

I am not going to give you a set of pat statements and prayers to use. Instead, I will try to give you an idea of an approach I often (but not always) find appropriate.

Do They Really Mean It?

First of all, I want to help people be sure they are indeed ready to make this step of commitment to Christ. Jesus made it very clear that we must count the cost of following Him. You may think I’m a terrible evangelist, but when people tell me they want to be Christians, I often begin by telling them if they follow Jesus they will be swimming against the tide for the rest of their lives. The world is going one way, and they are choosing to go another. They may well find that if they become identified with Jesus, the world that rejected Him will begin to reject them too.

People must be sure they know the implications of the step they are taking. I don’t want to risk their becoming “stillborn Christians.” I meet too many who tell me they once prayed a prayer of commitment but nothing happened.

If it becomes clear they are not ready to take that major step, I invite them to take whatever step they can take with integrity. Once I sat in a student coffee bar with a young woman who told me she had been impressed by all she had heard and read about Jesus and she wanted to become a Christian. But she knew she wasn’t ready to take that step. I struggled, trying to help her. And then it suddenly came to me. I took her to Ephesians 5, where Paul talks about our relationship with Jesus being rather like marriage.

“And that’s the problem,” she said. “I don’t feel ready to get married to Jesus.”

“I understand that,” I said. “I don’t want to push you into it. But are you perhaps ready to start going out with Jesus?”

Her face brightened. “Yes,” she said. “I can do that.”

We found a quiet corner, and she prayed to Jesus, saying that when she becomes a Christian she wants to mean it, but for now she wanted to start developing a relationship with Him. After she had prayed, I talked with her about what it might mean to “go out” with Jesus—to spend time with Him, to talk to Him (in prayer) and to listen to Him talking to her (primarily through the Bible). I haven’t seen her since, but I pray that soon she will find herself ready to take that major step of faith to become a Christian.

When They Are Ready

At this crucial step, it is important to help a person do what the Bible says, not what you say. Although there is no set “sinners’ prayer” in the Bible, there is a clear and simple command, which Jesus set out right at the beginning of His ministry. He said, “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). The gospel centers around “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Our response to discovering that Jesus is the Christ is to repent, and our response to His crucifixion is to receive the forgiveness He has made available for us.

However I lead people to faith, I want to be sure they finally understand they are repenting of all their sin and receiving forgiveness, not on the grounds of anything they are doing, but on the grounds of Jesus’ death for them on the cross. And I want, if possible, to focus them on information coming from the Bible rather than from me. Here is one way I sometimes do so.

If they ask, “What must I do to become a Christian?” I point out that other people asked exactly the same question in the Bible and the answer they were given is recorded for us there. I then get them to look with me at Acts 2:37, which says, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

Now, let’s see what Peter told them to do. The answer comes in the next verse: “Peter replied, ‘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.’” Before I guide them through this step, I point out the next verse, which says that this offer was not just for those people there in Jerusalem, but is for everyone—and that includes them. Verse 38, then, tells us we are to do two things and receive two things. We are to repent and be baptized; we are to receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. I then help inquirers understand each of these four points.

To repent means literally to “change your mind.” It is about change, and it is our minds that need to be changed. If people are serious about becoming Christians, they will want to change. They will have realized they are doing things that are wrong, and they will want to start doing what is right. Indeed, if they know anything about relationships, they will know that all relationships mean change. When people start going out with a new girlfriend or boyfriend, they don’t stay the same; they change. So when we enter a relationship with the holy, living God, of course we expect to have to change.

We need to understand what has to change. It is our minds. It is not initially our behavior that has to change. Although, once our minds have changed, our behavior will gradually follow, God does not require us to achieve a certain standard of behavior to be acceptable to Him. All He asks is that we change our minds, so that we don’t want to do what is wrong and we do want to do what is right. Similarly, it is not primarily our emotions that have to change. Although once our minds have changed, our emotions will gradually follow, God does not require us to have certain types of feelings to come to know Him. All He asks if that we change our minds, so that we want to feel the same way He does.

When people are sure they want to change their minds, they can move on to the second thing they have to do, which is be baptized. Does this mean they have to run down to the local river to become a Christian? Not necessarily. Although baptism is important, what matters at this stage is the fact that it was a public sign. Are they prepared to acknowledge publicly that they are following Jesus?

Many people tell me their faith is personal and private. Well, the Bible says they are half-right. Our faith must be personal—but not private. Baptism in Acts 2 was not a private affair carried out in a little church with the doors closed. It was a public event carried out in an open river. Following this principle, are people ready to identify themselves publicly as Christians, ready to let others know that from now on they want to follow Jesus? If so, we can move on to the two things God has promised us.

First, He promises we will receive forgiveness of our sins. Because Jesus died for us, we can be forgiven for everything wrong we have ever done. Usually, when people are at this stage, they already understand what that means. But I am particularly eager to help them see they are receiving forgiveness because of what Jesus did for them on the cross, not because of a particular prayer they are praying now. They are receiving what God has made available for them. They cannot earn it, but they do need to ask for it.

Second, He promises we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. God promises not just to forgive us our sins, but also to come and live inside us by His Holy Spirit, so we are able to change and have the power to live in His world His way. Again, people usually already have a clear understanding of what this means. But I am anxious to help them see what God does not promise them. I ask them to look carefully at this verse and notice it does not say, “You will receive warm fuzzy feelings.” In fact, it doesn’t say anything about feelings at all.

Some people, when they become Christians, experience a strong, overwhelming feeling. Others don’t. It’s just like getting married. As a boy, I sang in the church choir, and I must have seen hundreds of weddings. I noticed some couples, when they got married, clearly experienced a tremendous feeling. Some laughed, some cheered, some even fainted. But most people didn’t appear to feel anything special. They can all have been in no doubt, however, that through the vows they had declared and the promises they had received, they were indeed married. In the same way, people have different experiences when they enter into relationship with God through Jesus. But whatever they feel or don’t feel, if they have truly repented and asked God to forgive them, they can be sure they are Christians.

Helping Them Take That Step

Once someone understands what she has to do, how can we help her take that step of faith? I usually ask outright: “Are you ready to become a Christian? If not, I’m not here to push you. But if you are, I’m here to help you.” If the reply is yes, I suggest a way of proceeding.

I invite the person to pray with me, in her own words, out loud. I stress that the words of the prayer don’t really matter, but she might want to say something about wanting to repent and receive the forgiveness Jesus provides, asking God to forgive her and give her the Holy Spirit. I emphasize, however, that the prayer is not meant to be a memory test. She doesn’t need to say all these four things, but she does need to mean them. I then suggest that, to make it easier, I could pray for her before she prays, and again afterward. If she is happy with that, I often put my hand on her shoulder just to show that I am there, identifying with her, and pray something like this: “Lord, thank You for [person’s name]. Thank You that she wants to come to You. You know how nervous she is. Please help her to be able to pray to become a Christian now.” I then encourage her to pray.

Then the person prays. If you have never been with someone when he or she prays to become a Christian, you have never experienced one of the greatest thrills in evangelism. I have led many people to faith in Christ over the years, but their prayers never fail to move me. I sometimes cry—but that helps them, because they sometimes do too!

Once the person has prayed, I pray for her. I ask God to give me a Bible verse as a particular word for this individual at this time.

What Do I Do Now?

In one sense, that is the end of the evangelism story. Your friend has now moved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. But in another sense, it is just the beginning. As she takes her first steps in her new life with Jesus, she still needs help. She needs to know how to go on and grow in her new faith.

Try reading Acts 2:42, where we see the new Christians did four things. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. In the same way, all of us, but new Christians especially, need to devote ourselves to these four things.