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I love to study the Bible with people.  I love to see people interested in learning God’s word and the love that others have for God.  It doesn’t really matter what we’re studying together so long as we’re looking for the answer in the Scriptures.  I especially love to study the Bible with someone who is looking to answer the most important question ever asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

When it comes to answering questions, we have a treasure trove of wisdom in the Scriptures if we will open up the Bible and study.  We have the difference between life and death, mercy and judgment, grace and wrath.  We have in the Bible the message that was given to save all mankind from their sins (Acts 11.14).  Let us think for just a minute about the obligation we now have since we’ve been given the wonderful gift of our salvation.

When we hear great news on the radio, don’t we tell other people?  When we hear about a couple getting engaged, isn’t that something we talk about on the phone?  We send out announcements for graduations, births, marriages, engagements, anniversaries; we call people when our children do well on tests, in sports or in théâtre.  We tell people about these things because we’re overjoyed by good news and we feel obligated to mention it.  How much more ought this to be true with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

God has saved Christians from the wages of sin, everlasting death, and given us something that we never could earn on our own: eternal life.  This was something given to us freely, like a gift, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross (Romans 6.22-23).  We are obliged to tell other people about salvation because we already have this wonderful present.

One great thing about the gospel of Christ is its simplicity.  We can share it with someone in a single sitting and give them enough information to become children of God.  If it takes more than one sitting to introduce the basic principles of the gospel, then we’re making things too complicated.

When Philip preached the gospel to the Ethiopian court official, he explained the gospel by preaching Jesus (Acts 8.30-39).  Beginning where the court official was reading in the Old Testament, Philip started explaining the gospel.  In that single study, he talked about Jesus Christ, his sacrifice and resurrection, and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  At the end of their study together, the man from Ethiopia practically demanded to be baptized!

In Philippi, Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to a Roman jailor (Acts 16.25-34).  This study took place in the middle of the night and seems to have lasted little more than an hour.  The result of the gospel being preached was an entire household who believed the message and received salvation from sin.

Sometimes, it takes more than one study to explain detailed concepts completely and answer all the questions someone has.  In Acts 13.42-43, the Jews and Gentiles who feared God asked Paul to come back a second time and preach the gospel.  The Bereans, in Acts 17, seem to have studied over the course of several days examining the Scriptures carefully to see if Paul was teaching the truth.  Whether it takes one study or ten, if someone is willing to search for the truth in the word of God, we have an obligation to teach them.

We are warned in Hebrews 2.3 not to neglect our salvation.  While this certainly has regard to our personal faith, it also deals with how we think about salvation generally.  Is it important to us?  Do we realize salvation as the wonderful, incredible gift it is?  Do we see in our salvation the wisdom of God and the power of God?  Do we realize that the gospel is what has made the difference between heaven and hell?  We must not make salvation common or meaningless.  It is something incredible, wonderful and awesome.  It is something that should be on our lips every time we have the chance to talk about it.  Christ is our savior and our king – let us not neglect to mention Jesus when we talk about good news.  It can take less than an hour to teach the gospel, but the effects are everlasting.