“If You Can Save Yourself, why did Jesus need to die?” – Reading Evangelism

With the Easter break upon us, the town centre of Reading was very busy. Lots of young people were about, and many parents were walking around with their children. By the end of the day, we had nearly run out of children’s gospel booklets!

I started off the preaching by speaking on “The Big Picture of Easter.” There wasn’t much engagement – apart from a man who cursed at me, and a couple of people who listened to segments of the preaching.

After preaching, I was handing out tracts when I offered one to a man. He was friendly and polite, but he rejected the leaflet. He told me he is from Afghanistan and is a Muslim. While we chatted, his young adult son was speaking with another team member about the gospel. So, I spent time talking with the father about how different England is from our homelands, and how we both miss the sun! At the end of our chat, he received a Gospel of John in his own language. The other team member was also given the contact details of the father and son, and is going to try to get them a full Bible in their language.

Next up to preach was Bill, who spoke on “Why You Can’t Ignore the Resurrection of Jesus!” It was particularly heartwarming to see a young mother with her children listening. She encouraged her children to go to the board to take gospel booklets designed for them. At the end of the message, three people received copies of John’s Gospel.

Richard preached on “Does the Truth Matter?”, which was an in-depth message. He was closely followed by Trevor, who spoke about how Good Friday opens the way for us into God’s presence, as sin has been dealt with.

As they preached, I was in conversation with four young men. They had lots of questions. All said they attend church and want to find out more about Christianity. I asked them the question, “If you were to die tonight, why would God let you into His heaven?” Their answer revealed that they were trusting in their good works and efforts to merit salvation. So, I asked a question that they couldn’t answer: “If you can save yourself, then why did Jesus need to die?”

After they had considered this question for a time, I then explained sin and our need of Christ. It was wonderful to see the lads understand as I explained how sin brings judgement, but Jesus died and rose again for sinners. By the end of our conversation, they could see that Jesus alone saves – not our works. All took Bibles and an in-depth gospel tract.

I preached the final message of the day; this time I spoke about “The Message of the Cross.” A few listened, with one taking a copy of John’s Gospel. A man who listened to the whole message rejected the offer of John’s Gospel but later came back and spoke at length with Bill. He said the message had really made him think. After talking further, this time he took a copy of the Scriptures.

Normally, it would be at this time that we’d pack down and then have lunch as a team; but today, much of the team was still engaged in conversation. So many people were standing around listening to the good news!

I had a conversation with a Canadian man who was extremely friendly, but said he’d be more of a ‘Christian agnostic’. He asked good questions about the resurrection of Jesus, the existence of God, suffering, and whether Genesis is historical. It was an enjoyable conversation, and he appreciated the answers given. He took several booklets, shook my hand, and then left. It would be nice if all gospel conversations went like this!

It was a rather joyous day in Reading. Please pray for all those who heard the good news of salvation.

SDG!

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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINE AND PRAYER NOTES