Coming Events
Friday February 2, 9, 16 4-7 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday February 3, 10, 17 11 AM–3 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
(Call us a few hours before the outreach at (510) 282-5629 for outreach location.)
REACHING THE SKEPTIC
Dear Christian friends,
Sixty years ago, most Americans believed that the Bible is God’s Word. When Christians would show unsaved people the plan of salvation out of the Bible, many would respond by receiving Christ as their savior.
Today, things have changed. Often, when we show someone passages from the Bible, he responds “Why should I believe the Bible?” When we share our testimony of what Jesus has done for us, he may respond, “I get inner peace from yoga (or some other religious practice).”
Today, many people are skeptical of the claims of Christianity. We need to answer their objections, and give them solid reasons for believing in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The Greek word for answer is “apologia,” from which we get the term “apologetics.” The word “apologetics” does not mean apologizing for our faith, but rather giving an intelligent defense of our faith.
Christianity is the only religion for which there is convincing evidence of its truthfulness. Mormons point to an inner experience, a “burning in the bosom.” Muslims point to the visions of their founder Mohammed. Hindus and Buddhists have mystical experiences. But none of these religions can offer proof beyond these subjective experiences.
There are a number of arguments we can use. One of the tracts we use (Who is this Man?) presents C.S.Lewis’s argument that “a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic…or else he would be the Devil of Hell….Either this man was and is the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse.”
Another argument deals with evidence for the resurrection of Christ. This argument deals with legal evidence–the testimonies and reliability of eyewitnesses. People are sentenced to prison every day based solely on the testimony of eyewitnesses. Analyzing various possible explanations of the evidence leads to the most likely conclusion–that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead.
A third argument deals with Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The Bible is the only book that predicts the future with perfect accuracy. It was this evidence that confirmed my faith in Jesus Christ as a new believer. Jesus fulfilled about 300 Old Testament prophesies during his lifetime. Many of them are quite specific. Peter Stoner computed the probability of just eight of these prophesies being fulfilled by chance as 1 in 10 with 17 zeros after it! In other words, it is quite impossible that these prophecies were accidentally fulfilled.
I cannot go into these arguments in detail in this newsletter, but I encourage you to do some reading on the subject. Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell or The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel are both good books to start with. Both are available online at Christianbook.com or many other websites.
There are also many excellent web sites that have good answers for almost any question a person might have about Christianity as well as information about every cult and religion. Three sites I recommend as generally reliable: carm.org; apologeticsindex.org, gotquestions.org.
While we should be familiar with the evidence for Christianity, we must remember that people are usually not saved by convincing arguments alone. The passage in 1 Peter 3:15 I quoted earlier continues “but do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.” We must be gentle with those we are witnessing to, show respect for them, and back up our words with godly deeds.
When the wise men visited Herod in Matthew 2, they asked him where the Christ would be born. He asked the Jewish priests and teachers, who told him “Bethlehem,” based upon Micah 5. Herod believed that the Bible’s prophecy in Micah 5 was true, but his response was to kill every male child in Bethlehem. Many people, even after they know that Christianity is true, choose to reject Jesus. Still, we should let them know that there is solid and convincing evidence for the truth of Christianity.
On The Streets
On Friday September 29, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Mike spoke with a group of 7 men in their 20’s. We have seen them many times and they seem to be drug dealers, who were quite stoned themselves. Mike offered one of them, Joseph, a gospel tract. He said he had received that tract the week before and had read it. He had a Christian background, and said he agreed with the gospel message. Mike encouraged him to read the Bible and obey what it teaches. The other men listened to their conversation. Mike also spoke with Jim, 48, who said he had quit drinking and had his own beliefs. Mike said that all of us have sinned, that there will be a judgment, and we need to come to Jesus for salvation. Mike witnessed to Dale. He said his father was a pastor in Fresno. He said he had received Christ as his savior. He prays daily but has not read the Bible for 25 years. Mike encouraged him to read the Bible, so he could know God’s will for his life. Finally, Mike witnessed to Nathaniel, 30, who was addicted to fentanyl. He claimed to be a believer and quoted Eph. 6 about the armor of God from memory. He said he had been to detox centers several times but he couldn’t get free from his addiction. Several of us prayed with him.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Andy witnessed to Steve, 53, who we’ve witnessed to for many years. He claims to be an atheist and used to mock us but now is getting more serious. He admitted that he had no real friends and that his life had no purpose. Andy shared with him how by knowing Jesus, his life would have a purpose. He listened, but walked away.
On Sat. October 7, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was fleet week. Dan Beaudoin of Open Air Campaigners was with us. He witnessed to Chris, who prayed to receive Christ. John also ministered to him and planned to meet him on Tuesday.
On Fri. Nov. 3 we witnessed at 24th and Mission. Andy witnessed to Damon, who works for a biotech company. He had never read the Bible, but wanted to receive one. Andy gave him a Bible and information about his church and gave him his phone number. Alex and Andy also spoke with Eric, a young believer with a wife and children. He worked a minimum-wage job and had saved $5000 in his bank. He attended a Brazilian church called Universal Church. The pastor told the church they needed to empty out their bank accounts and put the money in the offering to be blessed by God. If they held anything back, God would curse them. Alex and Andy urged Eric to leave that false church immediately. He seemed to receive their counsel. Andy invited him to attend church with him and he gave Andy his number. Mike and Dylan witnessed to Aaron, 45, a Jewish man who was watching their preaching. He had been attending Glide, which is an apostate church. Mike shared the gospel with him and invited him to City Impact. John ministered to Kyle, who was listening to our preaching. He struggled with the idea that Jesus is God, and John shared some scriptures with him, including John 8:58.
The next day, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Andy witnessed to Jann and Hillary, an older, well-dressed couple. They thought that eating meat was the worst possible sin. They even thought that it was better to kill a person than to kill a fish for food. Andy instructed them from the Bible that God has given us dominion over all animals. They strongly disagreed. Mike witnessed to Darrell, 30, who is a musician. He was raised in a Christian home and knew some scriptures but had new age ideas. Mike shared with him about the evidence for intelligent design and fulfilled prophecy in the Bible. Alex spoke with Shane, who was a cinematography major at SF State. He was raised Catholic, but believed all religions lead to God. Alex said that Jesus claimed to be the only Way to God. Either he was telling the truth, or he was a liar. Shane was receptive to what Alex said.
A Final Word
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We have a new member of our ministry house: Kaz Bautista. Kaz is 33 and has been walking with Jesus for 7 years. We are happy to have him join our ministry.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month or witness in your own community.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
