By Larry Rosenbaum
Q. What is the most important thing a person can do on this earth?
“He who wins souls is wise.” Prov. 11:30.
And he said unto them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16.
The Great Commission which I call the Great Omission since so few Christians obey it.
“Exalt the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you to explain the hope you have with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15.
Giving an answer:
Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
Q Why doesn’t God take someone to Heaven the minute that person puts their trust in Jesus? Why does He leave us on this earth?
A To tell others about Him. God could use angels to preach his gospel, but He chooses to use us instead.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ left us with one Great Commission‑‑to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, making disciples of all nations. However, according to one survey, 90% of all Christians never witness to anyone. Why is it that Christians do not witness?
1. Fear. Although we are unlikely to experience real persecution‑‑imprisonment or death‑‑in this country, we are likely to be rejected. People will think we are weird, fanatical, clinging to an outdated moral code, out of touch with modern science, etc. We are told not to push our religion on others. Our friends, family and co‑workers may avoid us or gossip about us. Strangers we witness to may ignore us, curse at us, or rebuke us for talking with them. We must learn to fear God, not man, and realize that the servant is not better than his master. If they crucified our Lord, we can expect to be rejected for His name.
2. Satan. We all know that God has a plan for our lives. Satan also has a plan for our lives: 1. to keep us from getting saved. and 2. having failed at that, to keep us from reaching others with the gospel. As we can see, Satan has been very successful in his objective, especially the second part. He will give us every imaginable excuse not to witness‑‑you aren’t called, you’re too busy, your life is a witness so you don’t need to say anything, you don’t know the Bible well enough or aren’t a good enough Christian, etc.
We say we are too busy to witness‑ we have our family, our church activities, our job, etc. But what about the Jehovah’s Witnesses (J.W.’s) and the Mormons. The average J.W. is involved in spreading his beliefs for four hours each week. At this rate, it takes an average of 16 years to get one convert! Yet they persevere and their cult is growing rapidly throughout the world. We assume that a mother with small children can’t witness, but the J.W. women will go door‑to‑door with their children in baby carriages. Almost every Mormon man takes two years out of his life for full time missionary work before settling down with a family.
Why can’t we do as much? What would you think of a doctor who had discovered a cure for cancer, but kept it to himself because he was afraid people would laugh at him? What would you think of a person who sat beside a swimming pool watching a child drowning in the water, and did nothing to help him? How can we withhold the way of salvation from those around us who are soon to perish in eternal torment?
We all find time for what is important to us. If winning souls is important, we will find time for it. It is good to be available to witness in our everyday lives, but we should also set aside special times to witness. Make a commitment to be involved in some kind of evangelism ministry on a weekly or monthly basis and stick to it. Otherwise, it will get squeezed out of your life.
The Bible says we are to walk by faith, not by sight. But we all want to walk by sight. We want to see the results of our witnessing. Otherwise, we quickly get discouraged and give up. We may go out witnessing one or two times and if nobody gets saved or even seems interested, we will decide this isn’t for us. Or we may be so eager to get results that we will convince someone to recite a “sinner’s prayer” when he doesn’t sense his need of forgiveness. We end up with a name on a follow‑up card but not a real convert.
Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, defined successful witnessing as “simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, leaving the results to God.” Taking the initiative involves overcoming fear. It’s a lot like jumping into cold water. You can sit all day by the shore thinking about how cold the water is, but the only way to get in is to take the plunge. After the initial shock, you may find that the water is quite refreshing. It’s hard to go up to a stranger (or friend) and start a conversation about Christ, but if we will take the step of obedience, go up to the person and start taking, God will give us the words to say.
Starting the Conversation. There are different ways to do this, and you need to find an approach you are comfortable with. Basically, there is the direct and the indirect approach. The indirect approach is starting a conversation about anything and then bringing the conversation around to Christ. Many people prefer this approach, but it has several drawbacks: 1. A stranger may be suspicious as to why you are so friendly when you start talking with him, and don’t mention the reason. 2. It is often difficult to turn the conversation around to spiritual things. 3. The person may have to leave before you get around to talking about Christ. 4. One might spend a lot of time talking to someone who you later find out is not interested in the gospel. On the other hand, by building a relationship first, one might be able to witness to someone who would not have spoken with you had you begun by mentioning Jesus.
Find an approach you are personally comfortable with. I generally use the direct approach. Often, I will use a tract. I might say, “Here’s something for you to read. It’s about Jesus Christ.” Then I will ask him a question, such as “What do you think about Jesus?” or “Have you ever read the Bible? What do you think is the main message of the Bible?” Then I might ask “Can I share with you what the Bible says about what it means to be a real Christian?” Asking questions gets the person involved and helps you learn where he’s coming from. Listen to what he says. Show him you’re interested in him as a person.
To Share Christ A person must understand the bad news before he can appreciate the good news. He must see that he has sinned and that he will be judged for his sin. The purpose of God’s law is to show us our sin and its seriousness‑‑see Romans 7:7,13; Romans 3:19‑20; Gal. 3:24. “I had not known sin but by the law….that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.” A good way to do this is to go through some of the Ten Commandments and allow the Holy Spirit to use this to show the person that he is exceedingly sinful. Explain to the person that if anything in your life is more important than God, it is an idol; that if I hate someone in my heart, according to Jesus I am a murderer; that if I break a single commandment only once, I am a lawbreaker who must be judged for my sin. Yet, all of us have broken God’s law many, many times and deserve to be punished for our continued disobedience.
Once we have explained this, we can present what Christ has done‑‑providing the only way through which we can be forgiven for our sins and reconciled to God. We are all like condemned killers on death row who have offered a pardon. If we reject this pardon, we deserve punishment all the more‑‑first, for committing the crime and second, for rejecting the pardon.
What we must do‑‑repent and believe: Repent‑‑to turn around, change our mind, acknowledge the way we are going is wrong, to turn from that way and commit ourselves by God’s power to live the way God wants us to live. Believe‑‑put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, believe that He died for our sins and rose from the dead, ask Him to forgive us for our sins and be our Savior and Lord.
Before praying with someone to receive Christ, encourage him to count the cost. Make sure he understands what he is doing. God accepts us as we are but He does not leave us that way. He will make changes in us to make us more like Jesus. God will call us to endure hardships and persecution and put aside sinful desires. God will give us the strength to make these changes, and he works gently with us. He knows how much we can handle, and will not put a greater burden on us than we can bear with His help.
God is calling us to give up living for self and instead live for Him. We are to lose our lives for Christ and the gospel. People need to understand that their sin is displeasing to God, and be willing to turn from it so their lives will please God. They need a godly sorrow, not a worldly sorrow (sorrow that they have hurt God by their sins, not just hurt themselves with the consequences of their sins).
Listen to the person. Is he ready to receive salvation? If not, you can pray that God will open his heart or pray for some personal need he has. When praying with him, have him pray first in his own words. You can help him with the prayer if necessary, but make sure he means it and is not merely repeating some words.
Begin follow‑up immediately. Get the person’s name, complete address (including apartment number) and phone number. Find out the best time to reach him. If you don’t live near him, try to introduce him immediately to a person who lives near him who can take him to church. Keep in contact with him by phone or letter. The key to follow‑up is personal contact. Also, make sure the person gets a New Testament.
In the Power of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:8‑‑”You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.” Ps. 81:10‑‑”Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” The Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak to each person. Sometimes He will lead you in an unexpected direction. He may give you a word of knowledge about someone or have you pray for them for some specific need. It is His job to convict the person of sin and to confirm the truth of the gospel message.
Leaving the results to God. Be patient. “Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap if we faith not.” (Gal 6:9) “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not you hand; for you know not which shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Eccl. 11:6). One of Satan’s best tools is discouragement. God promised his word would not return void. A person may appear hard, or disinterested, but we don’t know what is going on in his heart. Noah preached for centuries, yet only his family was saved. Jonah preached a few days, with no love in his heart, yet all of Ninevah repented. Our job is to be obedient to preach the Gospel. God is the one who gives the increase and saves people. We can’t save anyone. Sometimes we will see some of the fruit of our labors right away; sometimes we will not see it for many years; sometimes we will see it only in heaven. We need to walk by faith, not by sight.
Be prepared for rejection. “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12) “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20). When you turn on a light in a dark room, it makes people uncomfortable. When a person is convicted of sin, it makes him uncomfortable and he may say some unkind things to you. We need to respond gently with love. When you throw a rock at a pack of dogs, the one who barks is the one who got hit. Often the person who gets angriest at our preaching is the one who will end up getting saved.
Witnessing to Children We have some special tracts for children, “7 Important Questions.” Don’t forget children. Most people come to Christ before they are 18. Explain the gospel in simple terms. You can read through the tract with them. There is a prayer on the back. We have a Bible study course for children they can get if they give us their name and address, or write it on the back of the tract and mail it to us. (The “7 Important Questions” tract is also useful for adults who can’t read English very well. It shouldn’t be used for other adults.)
FOLLOW‑UP‑‑We will be distributing follow‑up cards to you. Fill out a card for every person you talk to who sincerely prays to receive Christ (encourage them to count the cost and understand the commitment they are making) or is genuinely interested in the gospel (use discernment). Be sure to get their apartment number and phone number. Try to keep in contact with them by letter or phone. Any follow‑up you can do will probably be more effective than anything we can do. Give all follow‑up cards to your team leader each day.
Personal contact is the key to successful follow‑up. Find out if anyone on your team attends a San Francisco church. If you pray with someone who lives in San Francisco, introduce him or her to that person. Have them make arrangements to attend church together. It is best to pick the person up at their home on Sunday morning and bring them to church.
