Personal evangelism
comes easy to some
Christians, but to
others it is a
frightening
experience. Many
books have been
written on this
subject and many
classes have been
held in an attempt
to teach Christians
how to witness to
another person,
one-on-one. Several
techniques have been
offered from simple
to complex methods.
Some methods are
even quite similar
to little tricks
learned by those who
are in sales. Before
getting to the “how
to”, allow me to
cover some points to
get us there first.
I remember my first
experience. I was a
young teenager, and
scared to death. Our
pastor worked with
us teenagers and
encouraged us to
witness. He helped
us with Bible
verses, and we were
to witness to those
our own age. I
finally got up the
nerve and knocked on
the door of a
friend. To my
amazement, I was not
rebuffed, and left
with no physical
trauma. It occurred
to me later that I
had nothing to fear.
Person-to-person
conversations were
always difficult for
me. I could speak
before a crowd of
hundreds and be
completely at ease,
but to speak to just
one person was
another matter. I
say this to merely
point out that we
are all different.
Most people would
just die if they had
to speak to a crowd,
but would be
comfortable with
just one other
person. Others are
like I was. God
wants to use all of
His children to tell
others about His
Son. Once we realize
a few things,
witnessing becomes
much easier,
regardless of your
personality.
Do understand that I
am not promoting
myself as an
authority on
witnessing. We are
all different, and I
try to practice what
works for me. If
anything I say can
help you, then that
would be wonderful.
The Holy Spirit will
work with you, just
as He does me, based
on our personality
and gifts He has
provided.
PREPARATION
Know The Subject:
The most important
thing that could be
said about
witnessing is to
know the subject. In
this case, I’m not
referring to the
Bible per se,
although I’ll get to
that, but I am
referring to Jesus.
Let me also state,
that the best time
to start witnessing
is immediately after
you come to know
Jesus as your
Savior. You won’t
“know” that much,
but you aren’t
expected to either,
even by those who
are lost. Also, it’s
a matter of starting
a good habit right
from the start.
Jesus is always the
subject of
witnessing. Anything
else is a tool given
to us by the Lord.
It is Jesus we want
to tell others
about, and the more
we know about Him
personally, is the
more we can share
with others. As an
example, it would be
easy for me to tell
you about my wife
since I know her so
well, but I would be
very limited in
telling you what I
know about someone
who I know by name
only.
Know The Word:
There is no way to
know Jesus apart
from His Word. So
from the Bible I
learn about Him, and
therefore become
much acquainted with
the Word. It is
without saying that
a personal testimony
is important, but
not to the neglect
of God’s Word.
The Bible is the
most important thing
in our lives from
this standpoint.
Since Jesus wrote
it, we should know
it. The more
acquainted we are
with our Bible, the
more relaxed we will
be when talking to
others about Jesus.
Carry a New
Testament for the
purpose of
witnessing. Mark it.
“Dog ear” it if need
be. Write Scriptures
on the inside back
cover if that will
help.
Pray For
Opportunities:
I guarantee you will
have opportunities
to witness if you
pray for the Holy
Spirit to bring them
your way. Without a
doubt, case closed,
it will happen,
period. They will
come your way, but
what if you fail to
recognize them, or
you fail to open
your mouth? It will
happen. I’ve been
there. Keep praying
about it, and God
will bring back
those same
opportunities or He
will supply new
ones, or both.
Do not beat yourself
up if you fail in
some way! The
Lord will be patient
with you, and you
should do no less.
You’re learning.
Pray For Guidance:
Pray daily that the
Holy Spirit has His
way in every
opportunity you have
to witness. The
Spirit of God, who
lives within each of
us, is our strength.
Even as Christians,
there is nothing
within us that has
any power over dark
forces except the
Spirit of God, who
we call the Holy
Spirit. Let Him
guide. Follow His
lead.
WITNESSING
Be Yourself:
People can spot a
phony, so don’t be
one. Be yourself.
Have compassion,
care. Ask the Lord
to burden your heart
for that person’s
soul.
Ignore Rejection:
Recognize the other
person as a human
being who needs to
hear about Jesus, as
one who is eternally
lost without Him.
Sales people quickly
learn to ignore
rejection. It’s just
part of selling a
product. Now we are
not selling
anything, but we do
need to learn to
ignore rejection.
Christians usually
have problems with
rejection because
they take it
personally. It is
not personal, even
though it may seem
to be. Rejection is
coming from Satan
using the person you
are witnessing to as
a pawn in a
spiritual battle. It
isn’t about us. It
is about Jesus
Christ. Therefore
the rejection is
against Christ.
Never Argue:
If you allow
yourself to get into
an argument with
someone, you have
already lost.
Nothing you say will
be accepted from
that point on. The
person of Jesus and
His Word are not to
be relegated to an
argument. If a
witnessing
opportunity reaches
this point, it just
becomes a matter of
wills between two
people with
differing beliefs.
Everybody loses.
There are no
winners. Satan knows
that.
Do Not Be Pushy:
A close relative to
“arguing” is being
“pushy” with the
Gospel. Don’t try to
cram the Gospel down
the other person’s
throat. It will not
be appreciated, and
it will not be
accepted. Again,
everybody loses. I
am not saying that
we should not be
enthusiastic. The
Gospel of Jesus
Christ is certainly
something to be
enthusiastic about,
but there is a
difference in being
excited and being
right up in
someone’s face with
something they don’t
want to hear in the
first place. Wait on
the Spirit to show
you the opportunity
to interject what He
wants you to say.
Be Honest:
If you can’t answer
a question, be
honest. Just say, “I
don’t know, but I’ll
try to find out.”
Sometimes a
Christian will think
they have to have
all the answers.
Then they will
supply an answer
that is wrong. Why
would they do that?
Maybe it is because
they don’t want “to
look bad … or appear
to be stupid.” Just
be honest with what
you know at the
time.
Allow God’s Word To
Speak For Itself:
Calmly deliver the
message, without
force feeding. When
using Scripture, it
will speak for
itself. You may have
to elaborate on the
Scripture, but the
power is in God’s
Word. Listen to what
God says about His
Word. “So
shall my word be
that goeth forth out
of my mouth: it
shall not return
unto me void, but it
shall accomplish
that which I please,
and it shall prosper
in the thing whereto
I sent it.”
(Isaiah 55:11) We
don’t have to defend
it, nor use our
“power of
persuasion.” The
Holy Spirit will do
the persuading. We
don’t persuade. We
deliver.
Be Patient:
Witnessing is not a
contest. It is an
opportunity to share
Jesus with others.
We want the person
we are witnessing
to, to accept Jesus,
because we know how
great God is and the
person’s dilemma of
rejecting His Son.
However, we must be
patient. We want
results right now,
but it’s God’s work,
not ours. We must be
patient.
God Does The Saving:
This sums up what I
have said thus far.
If only we could
understand, that
Jesus wants us to
“share” the message,
and then He will
take care of the
rest. It’s very
simple. Share what
you know about
Jesus, and get out
of the way. The Holy
Spirit will take
over from at that
point. Do we think
we can do a better
job than the Spirit
of God? Of course we
don’t. So speak of
Jesus. Share the
Word. Step aside.
Get out of the way.
I have heard many
times over a
Christian say
something to the
effect of, “We need
to get people
saved.” People, the
lost, do need to get
saved, but we can’t
save anyone. God
does the saving. We
deliver the message.
He saves. Here is an
example: God is
going to prepare a
meal. He sends us
out to get the
ingredients. We
return with the
ingredients and give
them to Him. We
leave the kitchen,
and He prepares the
meal. My point is;
if you can’t cook,
get out of the
kitchen. None of us
can cook. Our
responsibility is to
deliver the goods,
and leave the rest
up to Him.
But I Will Mess Up:
So what? The Spirit
of God will take
whatever feeble
attempt you make and
use it for the glory
of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. The
power of witnessing
does not rest on our
Biblical
intelligence, our
speaking ability,
our charisma, our
“persuasive powers”,
our “whatever”. The
power of witnessing
comes
only from the
throne of God,
nowhere else. So let
us stop worrying
over “our”
abilities. The only
thing we need to use
is our mouth. God
will handle the
rest.
Give Me Some
Scriptures To Use:
If you want to use
just one verse then
how about John 3:16?
If you want to stay
in one book of the
Bible, try:
Romans 3:10
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:8-9.
If you want to
expand, use the
following
Scriptures:
John 3:16
Acts 16:31
Romans 3:10
Romans 3:23
Romans 5:8-9
Romans 6:23
1Corinthians 15:1-4
(the Gospel in a
nutshell)
Ephesians 2:8-9;
1:13-14.
As you get into
God’s Word, many
more Scriptures will
come to light.
Most Important:
The Apostle Paul
told his protégé
Timothy, “For
God hath not given
us the spirit of
fear; but of power,
and of love, and of
a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7) In
his letter to the
Corinthians at
chapter thirteen, he
gives us the mind of
the Lord that should
be in our hearts
toward Jesus, our
fellow brethren, and
those who still need
to hear the Gospel.
As sour as the
anti-Christian force
is becoming in our
country, we still
have it easy when
witnessing,
especially compared
to countries
controlled by
dictators and
tyrants. It won’t
always be that way,
and hard times may
be very close upon
us, when we may have
to “suffer” more
than a little verbal
rejection.
The main thing is
get in the Word,
walk with the Lord,
and share Jesus with
a loving heart for
those who are lost,
always keeping in
mind that we are His
representatives.
On two occasions,
Jesus sent His
disciples out, two
by two, to witness,
but before doing so,
what else did Jesus
do with His
disciples? He
trained them. He did
not send them out
unprepared.
Bottom Line:
1.
Strengthen your
relationship with
Jesus by daily
prayer and Bible
study.
2.
Learn Scripture.
3.
Don’t demean the
Gospel by allowing
yourself to be
pulled into an
argument.
4.
Don’t be pushy, but
be available.
5.
Deliver the message,
and leave the rest
up to God.
6.
Be patient.
7.
Continue to be
patient.
Grant Phillips
grantphillips@windstream.net
My articles are
posted at
“Pre-Rapture
Commentary”
http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
and many are also
posted at “Rapture
Ready”
http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html.
