Resources - Books

The next book I would like to recommend is the book Handbook of Personal Evangelism by Dr. A. Ray Stanford.

This is another book that breaks soul winning down to the basics and presents the Biblical pattern in a clear, easy to understand way.

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:

This book is written to guide a Christian in his personal witnessing so that he will present the plan of salvation in a clear and simple way that the lost can understand. To achieve simplicity in presenting the gospel takes much thought, much effort, and much practice. We must give the message in words the people can understand.

A doctor cannot communicate with most of his patients by using medical terminology. What the physician says may be true, but most patients will not be able to grasp the meaning. The Scriptures tell us in II Cor. 3:12, "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech," and in I Cor. 14:8, 9, "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So like wise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For ye shall speak into the air."

Communication is with words, and they have to be on the level of the person's understanding. Christ said, "Feed My sheep." He did not say, "Feed My giraffes."

As we prepare ourselves to reach a person for the Lord, we must constantly bear in mind how our words will come across to the lost. Remember, the average American cannot quote two Scriptures from memory. We do the lost a great injustice to speak in ecclesiastical terms which, though they may be precious to us, do not convey the proper meaning to the unsaved . . . and this defeats our whole purpose in witnessing.

Many people testify that before they were saved, although they went to church regularly and heard their minister use terms like "born again," "redemption," "justification," "propitiation," etc., they didn't understand that Christ had paid for all their sins on the cross. They didn't understand the gospel.

It is a crime to keep people from coming to know the Lord as their Saviour because we felt like exhibiting our "30,000 word vocabulary." Some may feel that a speaker is not "educated" unless he uses words the people cannot understand. They completely overlook the fact that to make something understandable takes much brilliance, thought, and work. As you strive to make the message plain, you will discover that "simplicity" is not simple . . . but it will greatly increase the fruit in your ministry.

This is a book I have made much use of and have found to be very helpful. Dr. Sanford even included chapters dealing with Repentance, Lordship Salvation, Water Baptism, Evolution , and on a few religious groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Christian Science.

You can download this book for free at http://www.freegraceresources.org/pebook.html

I'll close with the closing of chapter 4 from this wonderful book.

Stop and think . . .


God saved you by His grace,
God keeps you saved by His grace,
God leads and guides you by His grace,
God enables you to serve Him by His grace,
God rewards you with love, joy, and peace in this life for serving Him by His grace,
God rewards you in heaven for having served Him on earth . . . SUCH GRACE!

Surely, God is good, and with the Psalmist we must say, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" (Psa. 116:12)

I love the Lord, don't you?

Yes I do.