Second, always give your students the gospel.
As we mentioned previously, we are to give people the message of the cross, from Scripture. All Scripture has the gospel for its focus, so to share the Bible correctly is to always point to Jesus and His finished work on the cross.
Remember that the gospel is that “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4 NKJV).
You should continually be looking for how all Bible passages point to the cross/resurrection event so that you might not only feed on Christ yourself but also be able to share Him, from specific passages, with others.
The Israelites were to feed on the Passover Lamb themselves, but then if they had more than enough, they were to share some with their neighbors (Exodus 12:3-4). This is what mentoring is; feeding on Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the gospel ourselves, and then sharing the abundance with our students.
You should not respond to your student without giving them the gospel, for that is where the power of God is, both for salvation (Romans 1:16-17) and for sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:18). We want to show them the love of Jesus Who gave up His very life for them, shed His blood for them and rose to justify them and intercede for them.
We want to show them the message of the cross over and over, that their hearts might become greatly affected by the truth. Then watch as they begin pushing their way past their sins, their fears and their doubts, and laying hold of Jesus until healing virtue goes out of Him to them (Luke 8:46). This is our goal in mentoring.
For instance, you might be mentoring someone who is seemingly very religious, but they don't ever mention the cross, and so you see the reason why they have no power in their lives as they are not viewing the cross. You have listened well to them, asked them questions, and can now see their hearts problem, so you decide to quote Psalm 103:12-14 to them:
Psalms 103:12-14 (NCV) He has taken our sins away from us as far as the east is from west. 13 The LORD has mercy on those who respect him, as a father has mercy on his children. 14 He knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust.
Then you say, "Do you see, Jenny, how this verse points to the cross? Jesus has taken your sin away from you and made it His own. He removed it from you as far as the East is from the West. This means you will never see your sin again, even as East and West will never meet up, they are infinitely apart from one another. This is the mercy your Father has given you, and this is what Jesus did for you on the cross, do you see that?"
The main point is that you listened well to your student, drew the issue out of their heart (which was that they were powerless because they were not focused on the cross), and you did not merely quote Scripture but also showed how that Scripture points to the cross.
Or you might be mentoring someone who is in bondage to guilt over their sins, and who needs to know of the forgiveness and removal of their sins. You asked them questions and discovered that they are feeling that they are under a heavy load of guilt. So you decide to quote Romans 3:25 to your student:
Romans 3:25 (NCV) God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith in the blood of Jesus' death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins.
Here you might say something like, "Do you see, Jim, how Jesus Christ has died for the very purpose of taking away your sins? Do you see how Jesus was punished for your sins so that you do not have to be? And Scripture calls us to believe this message, to put faith in it. Do you believe this message about the cross today Jim?"
The point is that you are listening well, asking questions, then using Scripture, both Old and New Testament, and showing how it points to the cross.
Question 2. Have you experienced the power of the cross yourself, and do you understand the need to always share that message with your students when you respond? Please share your thoughts here:
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