Sooner or later, we all end up talking to someone who has a religious belief or worldview we do not know much about. Despite our differences, Mark Schaufler maintains that some key areas of evangelism are the same the world over and can be used to open the door for Jesus in their lives.
Jesus said to love your neighbor. The greatest love we can ultimately show is to share the Gospel with them. But today, that could mean a lot more than it did when your neighbor looked like you, thought like you, and had probably already heard the Gospel at least once before.
With the globalization of jobs, ease of travel, and opening of borders, just about anyone can be your neighbor. They don't look like you, eat like you, and most importantly, they don't think like you nor have they necessarily ever heard the Gospel before.
Given that kind of reality, how do you share Christ with them? You could ask that question a hundred different times given the different religious backgrounds they may have. You could research all of their backgrounds and beliefs. You could read a hundred "How-to" books. Given all that, you could still be mystified by their backgrounds and beliefs or you could work with some things we have found are relevant to people worldwide.
They Cannot Be Honest About Their Sin, We Can
First, you can be honest about your sin, they cannot. From 1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."
Forgiveness is unique to Christ's followers. Everyone else is riding the good works or acts like sin does not exist. That requires mental gymnastics of Olympic proportions since the Holy Spirit convicts people worldwide as indicated in John 16:8, "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."
Once, we were working in the public schools of Australia in a setting where the students had free reign to heckle those who gave free lunch time talks to them. They had begun to do that with us once they realized our program had the Gospel message in it.
At the end of the program, we were able to mingle with them (many still heckling) so I headed to the loudest group of young men.
"There is no God!" "You're wasting your lives on this religious &$#*!"
"Yes, there is a God."
"No, there isn't!"
"Not only is there a God, but He speaks to you."
"How could a God who doesn't exist speak?"
"Not only does He speak to you, you understand it when He does."
"You're crazy!"
"When was the last time you felt guilty?"
It suddenly got very silent. Then one of them meekly replied, "About two hours ago, mate."
"He would like to say a whole lot more to you but He has to start somewhere."
Two young men from this crowd walked forty-five minutes to come to church that Sunday. In less than five minutes, they went from loud vocal atheists to seekers because we had connected their life experience to the God who was already a part of it. Spoken in love and with gentleness, truth can find a way through the thickest armor the human heart can wear.
Our forgiveness is not based on our performance but on Christ's shed blood. Because of that, we have the privilege of perpetual forgiveness. The rest of the world only knows conviction without forgiveness. They try good deeds, sacrifice, and the shedding of the blood of goats and sheep. None of these are good enough to satisfy the Holy Spirit and cease his work of conviction.
When you come with the Good News, a key component that makes it "Good News" is the forgiveness you know and they do not. It is such a compelling force in life that people will strap bombs to their body, mutilate themselves, crawl on their knees for miles, or give all their possessions away, all in hope of finding the peace that forgiveness brings.
They Do Not Have The Power Over The Forces Of Darkness Or Death, We Do
Next is the fear factor that is normal for those without Christ. When you have a nightmare, what do you do? You pray and Jesus does a work in you that restores the peace and you go back to sleep. Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What does the rest of the world do? They go to psychologists or seek medications that will enable them to get through the night. From our platform of peace, we can minister to them. We can offer to pray for them and ask Jesus to protect them just like He protects us. Giving them a good night's sleep can be the doorway to their hearts.
Their Books Will Not Get Them Through Life, Ours Will
Despite life's storms, we also have the benefit of stability that others do not. Matthew 7:24-27 says, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
When we are working with students, they often struggle with the fact that they do not feel all that different from their friends who are Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. But at their ten or twenty year reunion, they will see more differences than they can imagine as the storms have taken a toll on the lives built on sand.
You may have to wait for a disaster to wash through before this stability becomes a witnessing tool, but you are being watched and they will see you still standing. From that platform, your words carry a lot of weight.
They Do Not Have God's Daily Direction, We Do
However, we do not have to wait for a disaster for some of the most powerful witnessing opportunities. Isaiah 30:21 says, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it." How often have we been grateful we listened to that still small voice or wished we had in the everyday events of life? Some people call it intuition, a feeling, or any number of things, but in all honesty, we need to give credit to whom credit is due. Remember the prompting the boy received from the Holy Spirit in Australia? This is a part of the "whole lot more" that He does say to us on a daily basis. Giving the Holy Spirit credit and paying attention to His voice will open up doors as you live your life alongside others. Answering the "why" of your actions will work into a spiritual discussion.
Now, before we enter into spiritual weirdness and assume that everything we "feel" or "think" is from the Lord, we need to remember the balance of Scripture. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Given the opportunity, He becomes our compass and can provide for daily opportunities to share about His incredible love for us, His capacity to know our situation, and give input to our lives.
Because They Closed The Door To Jesus, They Cannot Know God Personally, We Can
That leads us towards another key. We can know Father God but others only have ideas, teachings, or leaders. In John 14:6, Jesus said "... No one comes to the Father except through Me"
Our lives are lived based on firsthand experiences, not secondhand smoke. If they are hungry for the real thing, then you have something to offer them. If they are not hungry, you can pray. Pray for people's eyes, ears, and hearts to be open; for the conviction of the Holy Spirit to be clear, and for a hunger for truth to become overwhelming - this is your privilege.
With all these ways to speak into a person's life, the transition to what is important can be another key to opening their hearts. This simple question, "At this point in your life, what do you know about Jesus?" can help keep Jesus the focus along the path of the spiritual discussion. Mentioning church or organized religion can put an obstacle in the path that does not need to be there.
I am a follower of Christ today, not because I come from a long line of followers of Christ but because some people began to pray for me when they could not get my parents to go to church with them. This is always a part of the work of evangelism that no one can stop us from doing.
Their joy was made complete when years later, they heard me preaching while they were on vacation. Upon seeing the bulletin, they realized that I was that teenage kid they had begun to pray for so long ago.
When you start talking to your neighbor, you cannot determine the outcome. When or where or how they may come to Christ has an unlimited list of possibilities. The only certain thing is if we do nothing. Utilizing these keys can open doors you did not think existed.
Mark Schaufler is an author and the founder of Finish-the-Race.org, a youth ministry training program in the United States. He also started and is the CEO of MST Ministries, providing evangelism preaching, training, and resources. Mark has planned and led more than a hundred short term missions on six continents since 1984. Visit www.mstgo.com to find out more about Mark's ministry.
The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.