A basic summary of the gospel should answer three questions:
1) What has Christ earned for us?
2) How has Christ earned it?
3) How do we receive it?
John 3:16 is famous because, to my knowledge, it is the only verse in the Bible that answers all three questions (in a single verse).
The Bible teaches one gospel. The Bible also articulates this one gospel in a wide variety of ways. For example, depending on the passage you are reading, Christ has earned for us...
Eternal Life - John 3:16
Justification - Romans 3:21-22
Reconciliation - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Adoption - Galatians 3:26-4:7
Salvation - Ephesians 2:8-10
Freedom - Romans 6
Glory - 1 Corinthians 15
Imagine I ask two Christians to explain the gospel to me. One tells how Jesus can free me from my bondage to sin and give me a new life as a member of Christ's church. The other believer discusses how Jesus my Advocate has provided a way for me to get out of God's courtroom and into God's family room. These Christians are explaining the same gospel to me. Different images, different language, same message.
Please recognize the great diversity in your friends and family members. The way you explain the gospel to one person may not be the best way to explain it to another. Part of our task in evangelism, then, is to "figure people out."
If you discover that the person you are evangelizing connects with different Bible passages and images than ones you prefer, please do not hold it against him! For example, given my background in logic and debate, the Romans 3 discussion of justification really speaks to me. But another person might understand the gospel better from the Luke 7 account of Jesus forgiving the sinful woman. It would be silly of me to get annoyed with someone simply because Luke 7 does more for her than Romans 3.
The Bible explains the good news of Jesus Christ in so many different ways because God has created so many different kinds of people. This, then, is our mission. Get to know Scripture. Get to know people. Connect people with passages that will best connect with them.
Do a little brainstorming before Thanksgiving and Christmas. The non-Christians you will hanging out with, what are they like? How do they think? What Bible stories or passages "speak their language?"
May the Holy Spirit grant you great success in sharing Christ this holiday season!
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