One of the BEST non-offensive questions you can ask anyone:
Life Requires Balance between:
Saving & Spending
Exercise & Recreation
Social & Solitude
Friends & Family...
the same is true between Church & Evangelism
We can't think because we "do church" we are exempt from Jesus' command:
“Go and make disciples of all nations . . . and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” -Jesus
"The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that,
all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose."
-C. S. Lewis
How did we become so terrified about Evangelism?
There was a time in your life when you evangelized-
-you may have forgotten -but if you recall when you were saved -you could not wait to share your faith with friends and family. Most likely it didn't go as planned -and those you shared your new found love of Jesus -did not respond enthusiastically or positively.
Jesus made it happen -why not us?
1. We expect Different Results
Why should we expect our family and friends to trust in us and our new-found faith when Jesus was rejected by His hometown?!
2. We expect results with a Different Method
We must present the truth (the Gospel) in a captivating way.
Getting it right . . .
AVOIDING A FALSE GOSPEL
A false gospel is omitting the life-saving Gospel
and replacing it with the wrong motive and message.
Any DISTRACTION that keeps people from the Truth about Jesus (He is Holy) and about themselves (they are SINFUL or unholy) is not of God. We must come to God FIRST to get saved. Not to be healed or to be blessed with abundance. God is NOT our personal butler to carry out our whims. Telling people that Jesus loves them or that He has a WONDERFUL PLAN for their life is not biblical. False converts are created under this teaching so that when sickness, poverty, persecution comes, people are caught by surprise and turn away from God -rather than turn to Him for strength. Jesus avoided the crowds who were only following Him to be fed.
Nor should our first words to strangers be "Can I pray for you?"
Twice I've been teamed up partners who have asked this.
The first almost got punched when he asked an unfriendly burly man, "Can I pray for your LIMP ? " " WHAT LIMP? !!! " the man angrily asked.
The second asked a man wearing running shoes if he needed any healing. "Yes, my foot is sore . . . "
My partner prayed for the man's foot to be healed -then had him jog around the parking lot coming back with the same pain. "Some times healing is delayed explained my friend to me -still believing he had the gift of healing! This is not to say that healing doesn't occur -but it is NOT our priority. By all means we can pray for someone -but only after we have presented the gospel.
"If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order
to attract converts, you don't get converts to God, you get
converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism, but deception."
-John Piper
"Jesus loves you!" or "-You're headed for hell !"
You are NOT going to get far with either . . .
The last thing a "HEALTHY" person needs is "MEDICINE."
Do we tell someone that Jesus loves them
and died on the cross for them?
Surely, this is a message of love will be well-received rather than telling people they are sinners under God's wrath and heading for hell. NO, it will NOT be well-received any more than medicine will be taken by people who think that they are healthy. People must be shown the X-rays first to see that they will perish without a life-giving intervention.
Sinners have stored up a lifetime of wrath and one day GOD will carry out vengeance. The wages of sin is death -and people have earned capital punishment.
"The gospel is only good news when we understand the bad news."
-R. C. Sproul
So how do we convey this message without being preachy,
in a honest presentation that is captivating from the onset?
Do I tell you the Key -or explain the Importance 1st?
I'm afraid if I tell you immediately -you will be like us initially and just as you glance at the top of an iceberg -you fail to grasp the weighty importance below. However. if I share first what we have learned and the reason for doing or saying things -you might get bored -and miss the all important key! I will share immediately as you can begin learning by watching -and refer back here for why things work and why they don't. My wife and I casually watched a YouTube video of a man on a bike (with a cute dog wearing sunglasses) sharing Jesus with a stranger. We thought that this was a one-of video that was likely staged because at the end - the young man got saved! Little did we know the Wealth of Biblical knowledge and godly insight that this man has from over 50 years of doing street preaching! Every sentence is carefully crafted so that he controls the entire conversation -a welcome relief for anyone sharing their faith! As you can imagine . . . (continued)
. . . Ray has encountered every faith -and though every unbeliever seems "UNSINKABLE" -they are like the Titanic when they hit the biblical truths of a man named Ray Comfort.
Ray uses his basic script and slightly tweaks parts according to the person he is talking to. You may think you could never be as skilled or ever learn his narrative -but if you daily watch his short videos -and play a game with yourself saying the line that comes next -you will effortlessly learn and become just as skilled! My wife and I have had great success using Ray's technique in Canada and on our recent Caribbean vacation. Ray has found a clever way of first Preaching the Law in a playful manner so that people admit their sins, become convicted and see their need for the Saviour.
In the past, when sharing your faith -you likely made the mistake of just "telling" which makes them feel they are being "preached to."
We like to use Ray Comfort’s approach as it gives you a game plan to dominate and direct the conversation through asking questions. Of course there are variables in the script as everyone is different. The Holy Spirit can guide you with these challenges.
Rather than having a stern approach -we can have a playful, engaging approach. If we take ourselves too seriously -we will be easily crushed by the first rejection.
Once we realize being rejected is part of the cost of doing business -we can smile and move on to the next person. God seems to respond to our rejection by having the next person be more open. Those who initially reject us may later replay that conversation, so don’t think that God is done with them. If they reject taking a tract -say, “You may need it one day.” Pray that they will have a change of heart.
Our goal should not be to hand out Christian tracts
-but to have a conversation
(not so much in telling -but asking with directed questions).