Sharing Him: Part 2

stw1In our last article, we introduced the subject of personal evangelism.  I asked each Christian reading the article to make a resolution to try to teach one person about Jesus this year. We have much more to say on the subject, and in future articles we’re going to talk specifically about what we need to be telling people.

But for now, how do we begin?

Let’s start simply and take it from there.  If you are going to be involved in sharing Christ with others (and I hope you will!) then consider the following:

1.  Have an assurance of your relationship with God. It’s going to be impossible for you to positively and confidently speak to others about their relationship with God unless you have assurance of your own.  If you are not fully committed to God, determine that you will be.  Determine that now, and pray for God to help you.  Being a faithful, committed Christian doesn’t demand perfection or flawlessness; it does demand having our priorities in order (Matthew 6:33) and acknowledging God as our first love (Revelation 2:4) and personal Savior.

2.  Have a concern for the lost. Read carefully Romans 10:1-3 and note Paul’s heart-felt concern for his fleshly kinsmen who did not know Jesus.  Let us make sure we have a genuine concern for the lost.  Our motivation is not to win an argument, but to share Christ with others.  There are people all around us who are lost in sin – there is no shortage of people who need to hear the gospel.  Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37).  See people as lost, and be concerned enough to want to do something about it.

3.  Have a working knowledge of scripture. We are to be ready always to answer others concerning our Christian hope (1 Peter 3:15).  We don’t have to know everything, but we should have a general knowledge of the Bible.  If you don’t, then now is the time to get started learning.  There is nothing wrong with saying “I don’t know” – there is something wrong if we continue to “not know” (2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:12-14).  If you don’t know, pray about it and determine you’ll find out.  And remember – if you are a Christian, you know what God did for our salvation; telling others what Jesus has done for our sin and what the Bible requires is what sharing Him is all about.

dailybiblereading14.  Make a determined effort to speak to someone today. We all talk about many things during the course of our day – sports, politics, business, job, home, family, hobbies, interests, and so forth.  Decide you are going to discuss the Bible or you own personal walk with God with someone.  Where to start?  Consider some of the following as “opening questions” that can begin a conversation about spiritual matters:

  • “Do you go to church?”  If the answer is “yes,” you can ask the individual where they go, and something about his / her church.  This can lead to an opportunity to tell the friend about Jesus Christ, the Head of the church.  If one answers “no,” then you have the perfect opportunity to invite that person to attend with you.  There are many people who think about “starting to go to church,” they just need to begin.  And a simple invitation from someone they know may help them get started.  There are people waiting to be asked.
  • “Are you a Christian?”  This is a more straightforward question, but one that cuts right to the heart of the matter.  If one answers “yes,” you can ask them about their Christian walk, and what they did to become a Christian.  If one answers “no,” take a few minutes to explain what being a Christian means to you, why you consider it important, and why you like to talk about what God has done for you and in your life.
  • “Have you ever studied the Bible?”  You’ll be surprised how many will say “no, not really.”  Bible study has not generally been a very high priority with most people.  Yet there are many who would really like to know more about what the Bible actually says; they just don’t know how to begin.  So at this point, you might suggest, “How about we get together for some Bible study?”  If this is offered as something to do together, not in a threatening or belittling way, you can find some who are interested.  Set a definite date and time to get together, and keep it to no more than an hour.  You can begin in a very simple way (such as reading and discussing the gospel of John together).  Pray for wisdom in teaching them and that their heart will be open. Remember, God and His Word will do the work.

girlpray5. Make God a natural part of your everyday conversations. When we truly love God and are continually praying and studying His word, our conversations should naturally include God (Luke 6:45). If you find it difficult to talk about God in a natural way, make sure you are focusing on Him enough, and keep talking! Once your lips and heart become used to speaking good things, especially about God, you will find that what becomes unnatural is not including Him in conversation. When we talk about God like He’s our best friend, we often have a larger impact on other people’s thoughts than we realize.

Remember

As you ask these (or similar) questions, remember the goal is to share God with others, in hope that it will allow God to use you to teach them. Decide to tell them about God to open that door. There are many who are looking to find the answers that will satisfy the soul.

As a Christian, you have a message they need to hear.  In all your conversations, always try to leave a door open for another discussion.  We do people no good if we “run them off” and they don’t want to talk with us anymore.

If you are a Christian, more than likely, someone cared enough about you to make sure you knew the Gospel.  Let us all have the same concern for others.  We have some “good news” that’s much too good to keep to ourselves!

More to come…

By John M. Brown

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