Evengelism Tips

One of the biggest reasons given by Christians for why they don't share their faith is because they say they do not know how. Fear of 'messing up' when witnessing, fear of being stumped by a non believer and fear of driving someone further from Jesus are very valid fears, but fears that can easily be overcome. In this brief article I am going to give some quick tips on sharing your faith and point you to resources to help you learn further. Much of what I learned about witnessing and evangelism I learned from Mark Cahill and his wonderful book 'The One Thing you can't do in Heaven' a book I seriously recommend to all those desiring to serve God and spread His Word of salvation.

God's Word: 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The most important place to turn for help in any situation is the bible. Reading God's word daily will help us to be equipped to answer questions, show people the path of salvation and, very importantly, help us to make sure we are living in God's will. It is important to apply the Word to our lives also, not just read the bible and memorize verses. If we go out and just preach without applying the word to our lives first we're going to be very poor witnesses of Christ and will most likely end up making people wary of Christianity all together, after all, who wants to listen to a hypocrite. An important aspect of the bible to use in witnessing is the law. The law is God's standards, though it is actually more than just the ten commandments, these are usually sufficient to show others that they are sinners in need of a savior. This is actually why the law was given in the first place, it was not given to tell us how to live, God gave it to us to let us know how far we from His holy standards we fall.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The law was given to teach us, and guide us to the cross. Paul compares the law to a school teacher, leading students to the truth, which is Jesus Christ. Since this is what God intended the law for, lets use it that way. Walking people through the ten commandments can show them that they are not as good as they think.

'Wait,' some would say, 'this is only the bad I've done. What about my good deeds, surely these outweigh my bad!' Is it possible to be good enough to outdo our sins? Lets look again to God's word and find out.

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

So, in God' eyes, the good we do is nothing more than filth. If our good deeds are dirt, what must our sins look like to Him? This is why we need the cross, only through the gift of salvation can we possibly hope to escape God's judgment of our sins. This is why sharing the law with people is so important.

Apologetics: 1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

The word apologetics comes from a Greek word meaning 'reasoned defense' and while apologetics are not anywhere as important as the bible, they are non-the less very important issues to be aware of. I always see apologetics as a way to get past walls that some people build, they use 'science' and 'history' to build up protective barriers and excuses to keep God out. By educating ourselves in apologetic issues we are able to better tear down these walls and get inside. The biggest issues to tackle are always about the divinity of the bible, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the last century, evolution.

There is much to point to the bible's divine authorship. The bible was written over 1500 years, in thirteen countries, on three continents by over forty authors. Despite this the bible has a cohesiveness to it not seen in any other book or series of books. You could read any popular series of books or watch a series of movies and see many minor and major continuity errors in which the author will contradict themselves, yet this does not happen in the bible. Also, the bible contains many prophecies which are very detailed and-save for the prophecies regarding the second coming-have come true. It is not a matter of vague, self-fulfilling prophecies, these are greatly detailed and carried out accordingly in ways one could not possibly cause to happen unless God was the one causing it.

The books 'The Case for the Resurrection' by Michael Licona and Gary Habermas and 'The Case for the Real Jesus' by Lee Strobel give much insight into the historical evidence we have for the resurrection. It is not a case of some people saying they think something happened, there is hard, solid historical data to support the claims of the Gospels. While I do not have the space needed in this article to go into it the books are great places to look.

Evolution has risen in the last century to become the leading challenger to religious beliefs. In evolution, some people claim, there is a natural explanation for the world. Unfortunately for them on closer inspection this solid brick building is no more than a house of cards. Again I do not have the time to address all of evolution here, but suffice it to say that the strong evidence supporting macro-evolution, or common descent, is no better evidence for a common ancestor than for a common creator. I would recommend 'Case for a Creator', by Lee Strobel.

There you go, that is what I have to add. I thank God for allowing me to serve Him with this message, I hope that His word will shine through in all of this and hide me behind His Will. Thank you for reading this, God bless and keep you, see you in the mission field!