An Introduction to Paul’s Presentation of the Gospel
How many steps does it take to lead a person to Christ? That is not an easy question, for there is so much that enters into the receptiveness of the counselee which may hinder him from grasping the details of the gospel. Or on the other hand the primary Soul-winner, the Holy Spirit, already may have prepared him and enabled him to grasp and respond to the gospel readily. For that matter, no single passage in Scripture gives a final answer to the question. Indeed, I suspect that the answer is one which must be answered by the Holy Spirit as the one who is witnessing cooperates with the work of the Holy Spirit in drawing that man or woman to Christ. This seems to be suggested by Christ’s words in that great Upper Room Discourse. In it He marvelously prepared the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit after His own resurrection and departure for heaven 40 days later. In part He said: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who will go out from the presence of the Father, He will testify of me; and you also shall bear witness …” (Jn. 15:26–27).*
Northrup, Bernard E. True Evangelism: Paul’s Presentation of the First Five Steps of the Soul-Winner in Romans. N. p., 1997. Print.
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