Do I have to quote the Bible when sharing the gospel?

[Guido]

Can one be saved when believing the gospel even if they don't hear a Bible verse?

I wrote a piece which I wish I could call a homily, sharing the gospel with certain particulars, and not quoting the Bible once.

If those who read it do not hear a Bible verse, will they remain being lost?

 

[Dave G]

Is it impossible for someone to be saved unless they hear a verse from the Word of God?

" Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." ( James 1:18 ).

" But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." ( Romans 10:8-17 ).

" For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." ( 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 ).

" Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" ( John 17:20 ).

" For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. " ( Hebrews 4:12 ).

There are many others, but based on the above,
I see that it is of utmost importance for one to preach God's actual words, and not to simply summarize using one's own words.

 

[canadyjd]

Can one be saved when believing the gospel even if they don't hear a Bible verse?

I wrote a piece which I wish I could call a homily, sharing the gospel with certain particulars, and not quoting the Bible once.

If those who read it do not hear a Bible verse, will they remain being lost?

If you are asking if you must give a specific reference to a bible verse for someone to be saved, of course not.

If you are sharing the gospel, you are sharing God’s Word.

A better question, imo, is how accurate is your presentation of the gospel?

The Apostle Paul gave a summary of the gospel which saves in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. That is a very good foundation to start.

Peace to you

 

[JonC]

No, you do not have to quote the Bible when sharing the gospel.

 

[Marooncat79]

I count it as a sharing of the Gospel

I never read scripture, but I did say a couple of times that the Word of God says or teaches us ……

 

[Marooncat79]

I count it as a sharing of the Gospel

I never read scripture, but I did say a couple of times that the Word of God says or teaches us ……

This was yesterday. I was under great time restraint

 

[Salty]

...I wrote a piece which I wish I could call a homily, ...

Just to clarify - what is your definition of a "homily"
and why or why not would you want your piece to be a "homily"

 

[KenH]

I haven't posted on this board since last December, but I happened to be perusing this evening and noticed this thread. Yes, you must quote the Scriptures when sharing the gospel. For examples, see Luke 24:27 and Acts 8:35. If the Scriptures are not used, then you end up with something like this poor creature in this meme.

 

[Salty]

I prefer to have the individual to read for himself out of a Bible
(but be tactful if he could not read.)

 

[JonC]

I like Paul's example when he witnesses to Gentiles.

To say "thus saith the Word" does not mean much to the lost. It means even less to those who ate not "Christianized atheists".

But you can explain the need for salvation and the gospel to them.

There is absolutely nothing wrong (of course) with quoting Scripture. But it is better (IMHO) to know Scripture in such a way that you can communicate the Truth to other people. Otherwise quoting Scripture can become almost an incantation never communicating the truth it is intended to convey.

 

[KenH]

Otherwise quoting Scripture can become almost an incantation never communicating the truth it is intended to convey.

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” - Acts‬ ‭17:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” - Ephesians‬ ‭6:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

““For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” - Isaiah‬ ‭55:10-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

 

[JonC]

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” - Acts‬ ‭17:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” - Ephesians‬ ‭6:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

““For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” - Isaiah‬ ‭55:10-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I think you may be confusing "the Word" with quoting Scripture rather than communicating the Word.

Here is the difference:

Suppose I want to talk to you about the importance of our intentions and emphasize this is weighed by God's Word.

"Hebrews 4:12 says 'For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'”

"God's Word is living and powerful, and discernment the thoughts and intents of your heart. Your intentions will be made known in light of the Truth".

 

[Ziggy]

Paul seemed to do quite well in his Acts 17 Aereopagus presentation to a gentile audience by alluding to but not actually quoting the Bible.

 

[Dave G]

Can one be saved when believing the gospel even if they don't hear a Bible verse?

I would say, "no",
as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is established by the very words of God, and not a summarized version of it;
and paraphrasing it is not the same as quoting it.

To me there is a big difference between someone who believes and teaches esoteric and even biblical principles, and someone who teaches the word of God itself and can point to it and say, "God says."

Stated differently,
From the point of view of the audience, one is either believing a set of facts that revolve around what God's word says ( an understanding of them ) and a set of doctrines that was passed on to them through a paraphrase or a summary,
or,
one is gaining their own understanding and belief of it through the actual words themselves.

I remember when I first heard the preaching of the cross in 1978 when I was 12,
and I distinctly remember that the Scriptures are what got my attention.

It wasn't so much the words of the preacher, but the very words of God that came from the mouth of the preacher, my friend.
Those is what made me sit up and take notice, and those are what made me realize that I was a sinner in need of a Saviour.


In the end, His words are what made all the difference to me.

 

[Dave G]

I see that it is of utmost importance for one to preach God's actual words, and not to simply summarize using one's own words.

Following up and adding some Scriptures to what I posted above:

" Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." ( 2 Timothy 2:15 ).
How can one rightly divide the word, if the word of God is not top-most as their authority?
They cannot.

" In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise," ( Ephesians 1:13 ).
People hear and believe the word of truth, not a summary of it.

" For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;" ( Colossians 1:5 ).
Same as before. The word of God, and whether or not someone believes it, makes all the difference between a saved person and one who is not.

" For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4).
Christians take comfort in God's actual words, not what men say about His words.

" All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ).
The words of God, our Saviour, are where we get our doctrine and how we learn about what He did for us... and it is through them that the Christian is made perfect.

" But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." ( Matthew 4:4 ).
We live by the words and the truth of them ( John 17:17 ), not by man's ( often inaccurate ) summaries of them.

" Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." ( Psalms 119:105 ).
The word of God itself is our "lamp" to guide us, my friend.



Many more I could list, but I do hope that what I've shown convinces you.
Accept no substitutes, @Guido...

Man's words are, by themselves, often ( and ultimately ) untrustworthy.
False teachers, for example, can and do "play off" a Christian's unfamiliarity with the Scriptures and present many things that, to the undiscerning ear, "seem right";
But we can be assured that every word of God, who cannot lie, is something that we can trust implicitly and can never go wrong with, as our sure and solid foundation.


May God bless you greatly.

 

[tyndale1946]

Guido... I heard a preacher back in day make this comment... Sermons are beneficial but that being said... I would rather see a walking sermon than hear one... IOW... The best way I know to share the gospel with others is set the example of what the LORD has done for you in your life... Lead by example and others will follow you as you follow the LORD!... Now hear what The Apostle Paul has to say!

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Btw... I like Ken's post #8... Sometime we (including me) get so tied up in theology, doctrine and bible stuff, we turn others off to who we are following!... Brother Glen

 

[Guido]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

I wrote this but I think it's garbage. I can do a much better job than this, I'm sure:

"God, as being a righteous judge, was going to judge all people, (for as they are sinners they all do break His Law), who were going to suffer His endless wrath the moment they passed away; if He were not able by some other means to continue a righteous judge. Thus, seeing we all are sinners, the wrath of God is awaiting us, but through faith in Christ Jesus and the action He did for us, we can receive eternal life.

For as all we are sinners, we all are worthy that the judgement of God should fall on us, if only by this He were able to do His justice. For because of His justice there must of necessity be made a payment for sins. If the payment can therefore be made by no other, we are debtors to pay for our sins.

But God, in His love for all the world, not willing that He should condemn it, appointed a person to be an atonement for sins, even Jesus Christ His Son, of the power to pay for our sins, having this power seeing He never sins, for whom, seeing that He is God, it was needless to suffer forever. And so, being born of a virgin, He entered into the world, and lived a sinless life within the world. And after that, by His death on a cross He atoned for all of our sins, by shedding His blood, by bearing the wrath of God for us. And after the passage of three days and nights, He rose again from the dead, having fulfilled by His blood the justice of God.

By faith in Him and by faith in the payment which was offered by Him for our sins, all who believe in Him are reckoned as righteous, God having made into nothing their every sin, and having also imputed to them the righteousness of Christ. And thus, seeing their sins are abolished, they are saved from eternal judgment, and granted life abiding for all eternity. And as well as this, it is not possible that any of them should be lost. Their sins, therefore, will God not judge, seeing they have been justified.

Therefore on those who believe in Jesus while breathing continues within them, on them is salvation from everlasting judgment, but on those with a heart of unbelief even until their death, the eternal judgment of God shall fall upon them. This is the penalty to come on all sinners, which the justice of God demands, who, out of His love for all the world, has provided a way to escape."

I didn't quote any scripture, so I guess no one is going to get saved. So I have to start from the beginning and write the whole thing all over again with quotations of scripture.

 

[KenH]

I prefer lots and lots of Scripture.

 

[Guido]

Since Paul said in 1 Corinthians, "...Christ... sent me to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words...", does this mean we shouldn't eloquence when preaching the gospel, or use any sort of rhetoric?

 

[Guido]

I prefer lots and lots of Scripture.

What are a couple or few verses of scripture that are most appropriate to quote when sharing the gospel?