6. Don’t condemn
When witnessing you never want to come off as holier than thou. We are all sinners equally in need of God’s grace. People easily spot someone talking down to them and it’s a turnoff. We all have good points and bad points. Find the other person’s good points and offer a sincere compliment if you can. Make the person feel good about themselves. You need to have empathy with the person you are witnessing to.
7. Stick with the main issue
When witnessing, always keep in the forefront of your mind the central message of reconciliation between God and man through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the cross and the resurrection Christianity wouldn’t exist. Jesus is Christianity. Don’t let yourself be sidetracked by questions about denominational doctrine. Always bring the conversation back to the need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. In Scripture Jesus said the only way to the Father is through him. The only way to heaven and eternal life is through Jesus and you need to emphasize that point. I know a person who witnesses for Christ by initially saying, “God has great plans for your life!” Since everyone’s favorite topic is themselves it’s a good way to get a positive response and break the ice.
8. Confront the person directly
As an ambassador for Christ your job is to close the deal. A lot of people can bring the case for Jesus to someone but for some reason they can’t take that last step and make the sale. They can’t ask for a commitment. Your whole reason for witnessing is to make the person reach a point where they understand the importance of deciding to trust Jesus for their salvation right then and there before it’s too late. Remind them they’re only a heartbeat away from their eternal destiny. Try not to ask yes or no questions. You might ask, “Have you ever personally trusted Jesus Christ or are you still on the way?” This lets them know clearly what a Christian is and gives them a face-saving way to tell you they aren’t where they need to be. Their answer, whatever it is, will allow you to ask the follow up question, “That’s interesting. How far along the way are you?”
This question will draw the person out in a non-threatening way and often works to get them to tell you exactly where they are in their faith. Once they do respond you can then fill in all the gaps and tailor your message to address their concerns. As you move the person along the road to salvation ask the third question, “Would you like to become a real Christian and be sure of it?” There are many people out there who are seeking spiritual certainty in their lives and they’re just waiting to be asked. There are many people who don’t know how to find God and our mission is to be that bridge by giving them the information they need and asking them to make a decision. God is graciously allowing us to participate in his salvation plan for man.
Remember, to be saved God must first draw them and the Holy Spirit must convict them of their sin. The Holy Spirit actually saves the person by changing their eternal destiny from hell to heaven based on their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There is no pressure on us. We are simply the messenger. God does the heavy lifting and we are rewarded as long as we sow the gospel message of Christ. We need to always pray for God to bring people across our path who need a witness and we need to ask God’s help in making us better at witnessing the more we do it. It will get easier. Witnessing for Christ is the number one job of every Christian and the thing that will determine our rewards once we get to heaven. If you’ve never sown the gospel seed to an unbeliever or reaped a soul for the kingdom of God you can fully expect your works to be consumed by fire before the bema judgement seat of Jesus. Once saved you’re always saved but any potential rewards will be lost if you don’t witness for Christ.
Witnessing for Christ