God wants “…all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). As born-again believers, we are the ones entrusted with leading others to Christ, “…for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” but by the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Once saved, the new believer has been brought back together with God. They are no longer separated from Him by being unsaved. This is wonderful! But leading others to Christ goes beyond reaching out to the unsaved only. The saved also need further teaching in the knowledge of the truth of God’s Word in order to claim the more abundant life. As ambassadors for Christ, we want to operate our God-given ministry of reconciliation by telling others about Jesus Christ whether they are unsaved or saved.
So, who do we lead to Christ? The answer is everyone—we want to help everyone claim the more abundant life. People in the world fall into two general categories: the unsaved and the saved. The saved are those already born again with the gift of holy spirit, the fullness of Christ inside. Those without the gift of holy spirt in them are unsaved. The unsaved person doesn’t have the greatness of “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
When an unsaved person is born again, they are reconciled to God spiritually, bringing back together that which was separated. This spiritual separation (caused by the first sin of mankind) was overcome by what God accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ. Now the unsaved person only needs to hear the Word pertaining to Christ to be able to believe and claim the new birth.
Romans 10:17:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
How do we know if a person is saved or unsaved? We can start by simply asking if they are born again. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, or maybe they don’t know. After asking, whatever their response, a great place to go next in the conversation is to the new birth, the foundation of the abundant life.
Romans 10:9,10:
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.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
When a person confesses Jesus as lord and believes in the innermost part of their being that God has indeed raised him from the dead, they are saved.
Once saved, does a person still need anything further? Of course. God doesn’t only will for all to be saved, but also for them to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Once spiritually reconciled, the born-again individual is now responsible to line up their thoughts and actions with God’s Word. Otherwise, they will be unable to claim all aspects of the more abundant life that God has made available. We can tell those born again the benefits of being saved. We can ask, “Are you claiming all the benefits of walking in the steps of Jesus Christ?”
Colossians 2:6,7:
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
We want to help God’s people get rooted and grounded in their walk on God’s Word. By teaching them how to walk in the greatness of what they have received in Christ, we are enabling them to abound in the Lord. We can show them how to claim the more abundant life that Jesus Christ made available (John 10:10). It is our joy to teach them what they have and how to claim it.
Being born again includes many wonderful benefits. One of those benefits is that we are made righteous—able to stand in the presence of God free of any sense of sin, guilt, or shortcoming. Who wouldn’t want to be released from these mental prisons? Another benefit is that we have access to God, our Father. We can pray to Him anytime, anywhere, and receive answers to our prayers. We can have power, peace, prosperity, and victory in every situation. We can pray perfectly by speaking in tongues. The benefits for those born again are endless, and they can be expressed in the phrase “the more abundant life.”
The more abundant life is what we want for everyone. Whether the person we are speaking with is unsaved or saved, we can bring the Word up in our conversation with them to lead them to Christ. If they are unsaved, we can help them get born again, spiritually reconciled to God; and if they are saved, we can teach them how to line up their thoughts and actions with the Word. As ambassadors for Christ, we are able to develop and operate our God-given ministry of reconciliation, telling everyone about Jesus Christ and the more abundant life that is available.