Deeply Rooted: There are a million ways to skin a cat, but only ONE WAY to get to Heaven…
- A Heart Refined with Rachel Menard
- Jun 6
- 8 min read
Y'all, we have so many options on how to exercise. All we have to do is find what works best for our bodies and STICK WITH IT! The process of finding what works takes some effort, but the task is simple.
Some might think that Salvation works the same way... "Just find what works for you," but that is simply not true. The Bible says that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6). This is not a self-righteous "my-religion-is-better-than-yours" statement. Not at all! It is the truth, and out of love for God and love for people, we must be prepared to share. THEIR ETERNAL SALVATION DEPENDS ON IT!
But Christians, do you know what you believe and why? Do you know how to present the gospel? If you were to be asked today to walk someone through the tenets of the faith, would you be able to?
Honestly, I am still in the process of becoming confident to do so. I used to pray lazily..."God open the door for me to share, and tell me what to say." However, the way He has answered that prayer is to teach me that I have to make every effort to be prepared.
Today's exercise will be fairly simple, but the exercise of preparing yourself to know and be able to present the gospel will take a little more effort. After you work out, take the time to read through the two forms of a Gospel presentation that I have added below. The first is the basic run-through. The second uses my testimony -- a portion you may not have heard from me -- while incorporating the gospel.
We MUST familiarize ourselves with this truth and these tools for the sake of worship and confidence as we GO (Matt 28:16-20). More importantly, though, for the sake of those who do know Jesus. Keep saying this...THEIR ETERNAL SALVATION DEPENDS ON IT!
From there, I challenge you to rewrite both...
Write out the gospel in your own words, incorporating Creation, Fall/Sin, Sacrifice, Resurrection, Repentance, and Eternal life.
Write out your story, incorporating the elements.
I know that you will feel overwhelmed by this, but don't waste time like I did! You don't have to go to school! Save your time and money and start here, today! Make every effort to grow in the knowledge of God!! Your faith, joy, confidence, and boldness will grow exponentially! You will never regret having a heart and mind ready to share the good news of Jesus Christ!!
The Gospel In One Paragraph...
From the beginning, all of Scripture shows that God had a plan to save His created beings and to be in fellowship with them. With care and wonder, He created man (Gen 1:26-27) and woman (Gen 2:20-23), both for union with Him and with one another (Gen 2:24). However, the serpent used cunning questions to lure Eve and ultimately Adam into sin (Gen 3:1-7). Thus, they had to experience the consequence God promised: they would be separated from Him and the Garden He had made for them to worship Him (Gen 3:22-24). Yet, God already had a plan of redemption in place through His Son Jesus Christ (Is 9:6; Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:6-14; John 1:1). He came to earth as a man, offering His own life as a perfect sacrifice by His death on the cross – substitutionary atonement – willing to carry all of the sin of all the generations on His shoulders, saving all who believe from condemnation and eternal death (John 3:16-17; Rom 6:23). Jesus' life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven, were all part of the completion of God's plan to satisfy His wrath, bringing justice and victory over sin, death, hell, and the grave (Rom 6:8-11; 1 Cor, 15:54-58; Heb 10:10). In response to His glorious, most generous gift, every individual person is to accept that their sin is vile enough to need a sinless Savior (Is 59:2; Rom 3:23) and that Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6; 1 Tim 2:5). They must call on Him as the Lord of their life (John 10:9; Rom 10:9), and willingly receive instruction and direction from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; John 16:13; Rom 8:14). Through God's lifelong sanctification process, they would be made pure and holy that they would be able to serve Him on earth and later live with Him, a pure and holy God in eternity (Lev 11:44-45; Rom 6:1-23; Gal 2:20; 1 Thes 5:23; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:15-16).
His Story With Your Story...
In His Image
There were a series of moments during a particular day in which I had an overwhelming understanding that I had been made in the image of God and for His purpose. It was not that I did a deep study of the book of Genesis, and it all became clear. That would come later, but the first moment that forever changed my trajectory happened on the side of an interstate. Less than a year prior, I had overdosed and nearly died. My physical life was miraculous indeed. However, the gradual miracles of a changing soul began when my marriage fell apart. This transformation started on that shoulder on a cold but sunny January Sunday morning as an old Clay Crosse song played in the background. I had been consumed by the Holy Spirit and had to pull over. In just a few minutes and many tears, He taught my heart that I was made to know, love, and serve Him while loving and serving others as unto Him. I completely understood that just like Adam and Eve (Gen 1:26-27; 2:20-23), I was made with fear and wonder for union with Him and His purpose, no matter what happened in my body, marriage, or world surrounding me. I had not chosen Him. I had been chosen by Him. Yet, I did not feel forced but compelled to trust and obey Him, letting Him radiate through me. I went to Church for the first time in a long while that morning. I left knowing that I was being made new and there was work to be done.
Sin and Separation
Later that morning, however, I would be tested on what God had revealed to me. I had been living as an alcoholic for many years. My sinful nature had been the rudder for my every move. Thus, when I left the Church, I did what was natural to me: I went to a bar. My promises of behavioral modification made earlier that morning would not save my soul. They had not even changed my behavior. There, in my alcohol-induced numbness, I knew I needed help. The feeling that had once been my comfort was no longer. There would have to be something, or someone, greater than the death and condemnation that seemed to control my every move (John 3:18b). I had seen the goodness of God, and I wanted to live in it, but I did not know how. I had experienced His supernatural power. I believed what He showed me at that moment on the side of the interstate, but I could not see that the gap of sin and separation from Him -- brought on by the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-7; 22-24) -- was far too wide for me to cover on my own.
Perfect Sacrifice
A few hours into my uncomfortable buzz, I got a phone call from my teenage son. He was working on getting his driver's license, needed to go to the store, and wanted to drive. So, I left my bar stool, fully committed to returning to it when this was all over, and irresponsibly drove home to let him take the wheel. Once we got to the store, he turned off the car and ran in while I waited there. However, when he returned and went to turn the key, the engine hesitated. The more he tried, the less it responded, and it became apparent that we were going nowhere. As I sat there trying to figure out what we would do next, something else became glaringly clear: God had stood in between me and myself. What I could not articulate in that moment, but knew by the power of the Holy Spirit, was that God already had a plan to do what I could not through His Son Jesus Christ (Is 9:6; Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:6-14; John 1:1). Long ago, He came to earth as a man, offering His own life as a perfect sacrifice by His death on the cross for me. He carried all my sins on His shoulders, giving me the opportunity to choose Him and be free from condemnation and eternal death (John 3:16-17; Rom 6:23). He did that then, and He had done it again there in that parking lot. He did not have to prove a thing to me, but in His faithfulness, God bridged the gap through Jesus.
Resurrected Life
By the time we got a tow truck, the sun that had risen around me on the side of the road that morning had set. Yet, even though the night had come, a feeling of light and freedom surrounded me. Again, it was not a feeling of force but of love and resolution. I was weary of my sinful life and felt such a great sense of relief. In retrospect, I can see that it was the Spirit of Jesus resting on me, teaching me what I now know how to say: Jesus' life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven were all part of the completion of God's plan to satisfy His wrath against my sin. In an elementary way, I knew then that He was offering me victory over my sin and its subsequent death and damnation (Rom 6:8-11; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Heb 10:10). He rose so that I could rise.
Repentance and Faith
The next morning, I woke up with that same beautiful sun rising around me again. The circumstances had not changed. I had a hangover, a dead battery in my car, a marriage still in shambles, and two great kids that I needed to be present for. The work ahead of me was intense. I recognized the wretchedness in my heart. However, I knew that I had to change and could do so through Jesus. I knew and believed that He would be the only way that I could be made new. By His power, I could repent. Therefore, that day I began to call on Him as the Lord of my life (John 10:9; Rom 10:9), and one step at a time, I learned – and am still learning – to willingly receive instruction and direction from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; John 16:13; Rom 8:14). I have come to understand that sanctification is a lifelong process, in which I am being made pure and holy in order to serve Him on earth and later stand before Him, a pure and holy God (Lev 11:44-45; Rom 6:1-23; Gal 2:20; 1 Thes 5:23; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:15-16). In the meantime, the fruit of His faithfulness shines through a life forever changed.
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