There are a number of ways to witness for Christ and there are hundreds of verses of Scripture that have helped people to accept Christ as their Savior. However, the most used paths have been narrowed to about five. I’ve previously mentioned I favor what is known as the “Roman road” where I used almost exclusively verses from Pauls’ epistle to the Romans to lead a person to Christ in a logical progression. This is by far the most popular way to witness to unbelievers because it’s easy to see the step by step progression to a logical conclusion. I start with Romans 3:23 (all have sinned), then Romans 6:23 (sins must be paid for), on to Romans 5:8 (Jesus paid our sin debt), and finally Romans 10:9 (acceptance of God’s gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior). Although it’s not necessary, I like to throw in John 3:16 (God loves you) at the beginning because I believe once people believe someone cares about them they’re more likely to listen.
As a witness for Christ you have to decide what works best for you but you should at least be aware of other paths to reach the unbeliever. Our forefathers were much more knowledgeable about the Bible than we are today. We currently live in a biblically illiterate society and the problem is getting worse. We need to keep the foundational truths of the gospel fairly simple at first as we witness to unbelievers. You can lay out broad general guidelines that are easy to understand. Man was separated from God, the reason for the separation was our sin, Jesus came as the peacemaker to eliminate the cause of our separation (sin) and all we have to do is accept by faith the work of Jesus on the cross in our behalf. Everything else is just details.
In addition to the “Roman road” witness protocol we have what I call “John’s highway” because it uses mostly verses from the gospel of John. John stresses the divinity of Jesus and our personal relationship to Him. You can highlight John 3:16, John 6:35, John 14:6, John 8:12, and use Matthew 11:28 to ask for a decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We witness using the “four steps to God” which are 1. God’s love and holiness (1 John 1:5, Psalm 100:3). 2. Man’s fallen state (James 2:10, Psalm 14:2-3). 3. Jesus’ work of redemption (Romans 5:6-8). Man can repent, believe and receive God’s grace unto salvation (Acts 17:30, John 1:12).
Some witness using the “three steps to restored fellowship” 1. The problem – separation from God (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:11-12). 2. The cause of the problem – sin (Mark 7:15). The solution to the problem – faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior (Romans 5:8, 1 Peter 2:24). We also have what I call “grace by faith” witnessing through a series of Scriptures that stress God’s love, mercy and grace toward us based on our faith in the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. Review the following verses to highlight this path to salvation, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9. Romans 5:8, Romans 3:28, and Romans 5:1.
Witnessing for Christ