Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
Acts 16:14

The Holy Spirit must open people’s hearts to the gospel, or no one would ever be saved. He only does this, as we who have already been saved speak about Christ and the gospel.

We have already considered that we must be willing to speak about Christ, rather than remain silent because we are afraid we do not know enough or that we haven’t got a polished presentation. We just need to tell what we know and trust the Holy Spirit to do the saving.

We have also considered the value of using our testimony, so long as we give the gospel in our testimony—because the gospel, not our testimony, is “the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16).

Let us now consider the simplicity of the gospel. An easy way to remember the gospel and to stay on topic is “The Three R’s.”

Ruined. We are all ruined by sin. Why? Because God is Holy and we are not, we deserve His just judgment and condemnation. This is a serious problem for every person.

Remedy. Jesus is the only remedy for our greatest of all problems, which is sin. He died to pay the penalty for our sins so that we may be forgiven instead of condemned.

Receive. Each person must receive Jesus and what He has done to save His people. Receiving Jesus and forgiveness is more than believing the facts. It means trusting in Him alone for forgiveness, and having a sincere desire to turn from our sin because of what He has done for us.

Remembering and sharing these Three R’s is a simple way to tell the gospel. The Holy Spirit cannot open people hearts to believe what they have not heard. So while our presentation of the Three R’s does not need not be slick, it does need to be accurate. And while our testimonies are a great way to share the gospel, the gospel must be shared.

We all have family and friends who need to know Christ. Let us pray for them, that we would have opportunity to share Christ and the gospel, and that the Holy Spirit will “open their hearts” to trust the Lord.