Chapter 10: Defenders of the Faith: Prepared to Share the Gospel
If the children view themselves as Christians, it is probably not because they have studied the facts and come to a point of intellectual conviction but because their family is Christian, so they believe they must be Christians also.1
—BOB BELTZ
THE DYSTOPIAN VISION OF THE WORLD TO COME, found in novels such as Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner, predicts a coming day when totalitarian governments will have virtually eliminated all individual freedoms to ensure a very rigid and artificial peace. Dominated by the Orwellian idea of an all-seeing and controlling power usurping the freedoms of the individual, any attitude or impulse to the contrary is ruthlessly and quickly eliminated. Yet in every case, a hero emerges to battle the overwhelming odds and deliver people from the bondage and control of an ultimately malevolent and suffocating enemy. It is usually young people who come to a knowledge of what is really true and learn to battle the forces of darkness against overwhelming odds and win. J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis created stories like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia that told of grave challenges and incredible odds as well. Reluctant and unlikely young people were called on to rise up and act heroically and courageously to push back the encroaching darkness.
These stories are inspiring and challenging, but they are just that, stories. For followers of Christ, this struggle is no fairy tale. The real-life version of this scenario is seen in the Christian call to proclaim the truth of the gospel and, in doing so, set captives free from the spiritual bondage and control of forces more insidious and deceptive than any depicted in the movies. In this cosmic struggle of good versus evil, there is no neutral corner. All must decide where they stand, what they believe, and how they can make a difference in their generation.
This call to change the world captivated my imagination during my senior year in college. There was no other job or opportunity that pressed on my heart more urgently than the need for people to know Christ. It was the transformation of my skeptical older brother during his third year of law school that had dramatically demonstrated to me the difference the truth of Christ can make on those that seem farthest away from God. I remember saying, “If God can change him, He can change anybody.”
For more than thirty years I have focused on reaching university students. Today our ministry is reaching hundreds of university campuses in more than sixty nations. We have been inspired by so many that have gone before us and shown how open young people are to a credible presentation of the gospel and the truth of the Christian faith. Statistics of how many young people are walking away from their faith once they leave home for college makes the urgent case for training as many as possible, as quickly as possible.
EVERY BELIEVER NEEDS TO BE ENGAGED IN THIS LEARNING PROCESS
I’ve had the privilege of being mentored and taught by some of the best Christian minds on the planet. It is humbling to me to be in the presence of men and women who have dedicated their hearts and minds to communicating the truth of the faith using their academic platform or profession. For some reason, much of their great wisdom and writing doesn’t often make it down to the grass-roots level and make the impact that it could on the average believer. The hope is that this material will make this important knowledge accessible to believers of all walks of life.
As we mentioned in the previous chapter, the first aspect of discipleship is engaging people with the truth of the gospel. In this chapter we hope to bring all that we have discussed in this book (as well as in God’s Not Dead) into practical focus so that the information and revelation of its truths can be clearly communicated to others.
EVANGELISM AND APOLOGETICS ARE CONNECTED
When I first heard the word apologetics, it sounded like Christians should apologize for their bad behavior and hypocrisy. That’s all I had known growing up when attending church. When I think of some of the terrible things I learned while being involved in church functions and events, it still makes me mad. There was actually a collection of pornographic magazines under the staircase of the youth hall in the church I attended in my elementary school days. There was virtually no difference in the lives of people who attended church and those who didn’t. This kind of experience turned my older brother into an atheist and simply confirmed to me that the immoral lifestyle I would adopt a few years later was okay and acceptable.
But apologetics isn’t about apologizing for the failings of people who claim to be Christians. It’s about giving the reasons for your faith. In other words, you are making a defense. The Greek word apologia occurs in 1 Peter 3:15, where it states, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” As we will soon discuss, the last part of that verse is just as important as the first.
I remember the impact reading Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell had on me years ago. The fact that there was real evidence for the reliability of the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus gave me enough confidence to engage university students and try to help them unravel the entanglements of unbelief in which they were trapped. I may not have known a lot, but the little I did know at least kept me from being swept away by the flash floods of skepticism that are so common on a college campus.
I then discovered verses like 2 Corinthians 10:3–5: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” The strongholds spoken of here are referring to the intellectual strongholds in people’s minds. We are called to demolish those strongholds with the knowledge of Christ. It then says that we are to “take every thought captive” to the obedience of that knowledge. The reason we are to take every thought captive is because it only takes one erroneous thought to take you captive.
Time and time again in conversations with believers and unbelievers alike, the testimony is consistent that they either came to Christ or fell away into unbelief because of a few thoughts that seemed to change their worldview almost overnight. Ignorance of God’s truth results in your being susceptible to almost any and every kind of deception. Conversely, the knowledge of God can serve as a positive stronghold, yielding peace and courage. The winds of change sweep Western culture, causing massive confusion in the areas of sexual ethics and even gender identity. This is a testimony to the tragic lack of truth needed to adequately anchor our personal lives as well as our societies.
THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
—Ephesians 6:10–11
Before going out to help others, you must be prepared for the conflict. This admonition about wearing the armor of God is not just a nice Sunday school lesson. Many have tried to minister to others and have not been prepared to handle the objections to the faith that are raised. On top of that is the fact that this is not just an intellectual struggle, as the opening text mentions; it is very much a spiritual conflict. It takes preparation to be able to withstand the onslaught that has caused others to defect and leave the faith. It’s like going into an area contaminated by a deadly virus. You see workers from the CDC wearing protective suits to keep them from being affected by the viruses and contaminants that have devastated others. In a way, the armor of God is like that protective suit. The defensive components listed in the verses following the passage above talk about the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith to extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one (vv. 14–18).
During the writing of this book, as well as God’s Not Dead, I spent hundreds of hours listening to skeptical presentations and reading books from the most committed atheist thinkers of our day. As I pored over their writings, I made sure that no doubts or accusations against God’s truth remained unchallenged in my own heart and mind. It was a difficult task to listen to countless comments given for the express purpose of deliberately and viciously discrediting the Christian faith and then thoroughly research and respond to the underlying arguments. At times I had to use the shield of faith to extinguish the doubtful aftertaste that accompanied these writings. I reminded myself that no one is truly objective. I am not and the skeptics sure are not. I have done my best to be forthright and say that my motive in writing this book is to help people believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Just as the apostle John said, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31 NKJV).
In chapter 9, we looked at being a disciple of Jesus, first and foremost. All of the aspects of being connected to a group of fellow believers, being equipped, trained, and learning to walk out the teachings of Christ in an open and transparent environment, must be a part of your life before you can consistently launch out and help others. Jesus sent out His disciples in pairs. There is no shame in realizing that we need others in our lives to help us. With this kind of solid foundation, we can confidently help others.
When I became a Christian in college, I was privileged to have a small group of Christian friends and a campus church that I could be a part of. That little group of people was a lifeline to me in those early days. Being able to have others that I could share my struggles with and also learn from kept me growing spiritually instead of falling away. There were many days when the strength and accountability of my roommates kept me from becoming a casualty due to the constant opposition I faced at my school. Not only was I able to survive, I was able to begin helping others. It was because of this kind of support that I was able to help many members of my family come to faith in Christ as well as other lifelong friends of mine.
After graduation I embarked on a ministry of establishing Christian congregations in campus communities around the world. The essence of these communities was patterned after what I had benefited from and experienced during my college days. These types of things are usually missing when reading books on apologetics. People want to start with presenting the evidence for God and the shortcomings of the skeptics’ challenges. But first, we must be solid followers of Christ to be His best witnesses to others. Because the goal of our efforts is to bring unbelievers to faith in Christ, they have to join a community of believers in order to grow and be protected and nurtured as their faith develops. If we never commit to a fellowship of believers, we are not likely to influence those we are trying to help.
In addition, congregations must learn to be places where evangelism and apologetics are a part of their very fabric. It is impossible to grow spiritually without learning to help others come to the place of faith. It’s a strange phenomenon, but the more you help others, the stronger your faith becomes. Knowing this truth has led me to devote a significant segment of my time to helping people, as well as churches, learn to share and defend the truth of the Christian faith.
THE MISSING GIFT—EVANGELISTS
I came to the realization early in my Christian life that I was called as an evangelist. This gift is mentioned in Scripture as one of the primary gifts God has given the church to help people grow spiritually. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–13). Evangelists are the women and men who are gifted by God to help model effective evangelism and equip believers to become fruitful communicators of the gospel. In order to have a missional church, you must have this gift that God has specifically given to make that desire a reality. Evangelists act like coaches in helping you to sustain the momentum gained through putting these principles into practice.
My doctoral dissertation at Fuller Theological Seminary was “The Gift of the Evangelist.” When it was published in 2010, I was told it was the first doctoral dissertation in the world on that gift. I was stunned at that realization. There were hundreds of dissertations and studies on evangelism itself, of course, but none (that we knew of) on the specific gift that God had given to make evangelism a reality. The gift of the evangelist was given to the church to equip God’s people to evangelize. If that gift is not in operation, the result will be a lack of fruitfulness in that area. This is exactly what the statistics are telling us.
I take the moment to mention evangelists because those who are apologists usually have this gift and calling. They are passionate about training as many as possible to understand the core beliefs of the faith and the reasons they are true. Apologists also tend to be teachers as well, but the overwhelming number of them yearn to see people come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved.
One of the largest churches in the world is in Manila, Philippines. They have more than eighty thousand people in attendance with more than eight thousand small groups that meet during the week. The senior minister of the congregation is Ferdie Cabiling. He came to Christ in the summer of 1984 when the congregation was established during a summer outreach program consisting of fifty-nine American students and one Canadian who came for a one-month missions trip. The congregation has grown exponentially from that time for many reasons. In Ferdie’s opinion, the growth has been astounding because all the congregations and leaders in the city have remained focused on evangelism and outreach. He states, “Our congregation was birthed because evangelists came and preached the Gospel to us. That same passion still is present in our midst. As an evangelist and leader, it is my number one goal to make sure we stay true to Christ’s final charge to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.”2
In the United States, there is also notable growth when the gift of the evangelist is identified and mobilizted to function alongside pastors and teachers in the local church. From smaller churches to larger ones, there is a notable difference when the evangelists are recognized and released to become a part of the ministry team. We call this “an engaging church” because the people in it have been prepared and equipped to help others.
THE PROCESS OF ENGAGEMENT
This brings us to the place of spelling out as clearly as possible the necessary ingredients for a successful evangelism and apologetics culture to emerge—both in churches and in the lives of ordinary believers. Most of the important things we learn are systemized so they can be repeated again and again and ultimately become second nature. You see this in terms of our early education where the basics of the alphabet and math are presented to us in memorable, repeatable lessons. I actually learned the Hebrew alphabet by hearing a song on a Barney (the purple dinosaur) children’s video. Once something can be put in a clear process, it also becomes easier to teach others. This is critical to grasp when it comes to evangelism and apologetics. There are massive amounts of information available on these crucial topics, yet with all the knowledge available, the majority of Christians are virtually clueless when it comes to explaining why the Christian faith is true. Most default to the position of defending their “right to believe” rather than being able to show that what they believe is right.
I have spent years trying to make evangelism and apologetics both simple and clear. Much of the time the messages on evangelism are focused on the mandate from Scripture to preach the gospel to all nations. This indeed must be taught. But most never present a clear path to accomplish this goal. The lack of clarity in terms of any type of training process leaves the majority of Christians in a place of ineffectiveness and frustration when it comes to evangelism, and even more angst when it comes to being able to present any evidence for the truth of their faith.
Christians, for the most part, are at a loss about how to have a credible course correction and reverse the negative trends when they are advancing the cause of Christ. It points to a massive gap that exists in most places when it comes to any kind of intentional evangelism and apologetic process.
If you’ve ever played golf, you know that a few minor changes can make a major difference in your scoring, which reduces your frustration levels and keeps you from giving up the game. Most have given up on evangelism because they feel the similar frustration and futility and just assume that this kind of thing should be done by religious professionals. If this mentality is not changed, then we are fighting a lost cause. It will be impossible to reach the world for Christ with only full-time ministers involved in the process.
The principles we are about to discuss may seem simple, but they have produced results when faithfully put into practice. I’ve tried to clarify this process and reduce it to five essential steps. They are the key ingredients of the recipe that can make any individual a faithful witness and any congregation a place of dynamic outreach to non-Christians.
To help you remember these vital ingredients to having an intentional evangelism process, here are two key words: great and salt. The word great applies to the overall process that we are recommending and the word salt to a key dimension that has changed evangelism from an awkward burden to an enjoyable and even an extraordinary experience.
I was inspired to use the word great as a memory device for this evangelism process by a verse that described the ministry of John the Baptist. When the angel Gabriel foretold of his birth and his role as the forerunner for the Messiah, he said, “He will be great in the sight of the Lord. . . . He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:15–16 NKJV). John’s greatness would be in his character and his ability to turn people back to God. This is reminiscent of the words from what many scholars think was the same angel who came to the prophet Daniel more than five hundred years earlier and said, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:2–3).
Make no mistake. God cares about people coming to know Him and promises to bless those who are willing to be instruments He can use in that process. There are certainly many other ways to please God, but I believe none is more important than the communication of the gospel to others. As Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
GOSPEL
Everything starts with a clear grasp of the gospel. There have been volumes written on all aspects of what it means and its range of impact. Here, we are talking about memorizing and mastering a clear definition of what the gospel is. If you are able to clearly articulate the gospel in a conversation, you will be able to offer a person a reasonable chance at understanding and accepting its message.
Often when you ask a Christian to tell you what the gospel is, you get a wide variety of answers. If these were directions to a destination, you would probably get lost. We have found that when you teach people to clearly articulate the gospel, it dramatically boosts their confidence and the probability that they will tell it to someone else. Let’s look again at our definition of gospel from chapter 4:
The gospel is the good news that God became man in Jesus Christ. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died—in our place. Three days later He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation to those who repent and believe in Him.
If you understand the meaning of this definition, which is a summary of different verses that are related to the essence of Christ’s saving work accomplished on our behalf, then you will be able to help others while indeed helping yourself. By this I mean that in the gospel is the power to keep you safe, regardless of the spiritual opposition, as well as sustain you through the intellectual arguments against the Christian faith.
God became man in Jesus Christ. God stepped into the world by taking on human flesh. The religions of the world call men to ascend and work their way to God. Christianity explains that God came down to us.
He lived the life we should have lived. God expects us to keep the moral law. Christ lived a perfect life. His life modeled a life completely yielded to God. This was the life that God intended all men and women to live.
He died the death we should have died—in our place. This is a difficult truth for skeptics to embrace, that evil must be punished. If there is no consequence for breaking a law, then the law ceases to be a law. Christ bore our punishment by taking our place through His death on a Roman cross.
Three days later, He rose from the dead. Christ’s resurrection from the dead verified His identity and proved that His authority was real. It also gives us hope that there is life after death. This further demonstrates His exclusive claim to be the true path to God.
He offers salvation and forgiveness of sins to those who repent and believe in Him. In God’s gift of salvation we not only receive forgiveness of sins but also are delivered from the power of evil and its consequences—both in this life and the next. To repent means to turn from evil and from trusting in our own efforts to earn our own salvation. In turning from evil, we turn to Christ and believe. The promise is straightforward: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16 NKJV).
REASONS
More specifically, the r could be listed as reasons to believe. This is what apologetics is all about. We have already mentioned the key verse in 1 Peter 3:15, which calls us to give reasons for the hope we have. If you feel you have no need for apologetics, then chances are that you aren’t engaging real unbelievers. It seems we are good at talking to Christians about being better Christians but not good at all in explaining the reasons for the validity of the faith to unbelievers.
This book has been about giving the reasons to believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and was resurrected in history to verify that claim. We’ve also given reasons to believe the gospel records are reliable and trustworthy. In the first book, God’s Not Dead, the foundational evidences for God’s existence were detailed. One of the most important statements we could make was “real faith isn’t blind.” We don’t come to God against reason but through it. There isn’t a lack of evidence keeping people from believing in God but an abundance of it that leaves us without excuse. This includes the beginning of the universe, the origin of life and morality, and the witness of God in history through Jesus Christ.
There are so many incredible resources in the area of apologetics that it’s hard to know where to begin. C. S. Lewis’s classic work Mere Christianity remains relevant after sixty years as a bestseller. Tim Keller’s The Reason for God is another classic work written by one of America’s most respected pastors and teachers. Many incredible scholars, such as Dr. Gary Habermas (who wrote the foreword to this book); Dr. Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist; and Dr. John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician and philosopher, have written outstanding books that speak to the most formidable intellectual challengers. Their writings speak as well to the young person struggling with doubts and fears.
Other notable people who are helping to equip the church are Stephen C. Meyer, PhD, from Cambridge, who is one of the main proponents of the Intelligent Design Movement; Dr. William Lane Craig, a philosopher and theologian, whose debates are viewed by millions on YouTube; Dr. Brian Miller, a PhD in physics, who was a vital part of this project; Dr. Frank Turek, an excellent debater in his own right; and J. Warner Wallace, a cold case detective, who came to faith from atheism after concluding the Gospels were indeed reliable eyewitness accounts. Also included in this list is Mary Jo Sharp, who is inspiring women to become leading voices in this crucial area of ministry. All of these, and countless more, have dedicated themselves to help empower people of all ages and educational backgrounds to become defenders of the faith.
There is also the need to help people understand the reasons why the Christian faith is true compared to the other religions and philosophies that compete for the hearts and minds of billions in the world today. I hope this book has helped you grasp why Jesus Christ is indeed God’s ultimate revelation to humanity and the true guide to salvation and peace.
EMPATHY
Being empathetic should be a given in terms of evangelism. Empathy is about compassion, mercy, and, ultimately, the love of God toward others. At the heart of this process is having a heart for people. In a world where so much rancor and anger are displayed about the issues people are passionate about, having this kind of empathy is not an easy endeavor. In fact, it truly takes a supernatural work of grace in our hearts. It is so important that Dr. Sean McDowell of Biola University told me in an interview that his primary goal is to bring civility and dignity to those engaged in apologetics. “If you have the truth, then there is no need for anger or impatience with others. We must give our reasons to believe with the kindness and respect that people made in the image of God deserve.”3
As the apostle Paul told Timothy,
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24–26)
Sure, there are nice people who don’t care about God or evangelism. Their sunny dispositions come effortlessly. But they are the exception, not the rule. When you begin to reach out to people with the gospel and the evidence for the truth of the Christian faith, you are minimally inviting a potential argument or even a battle in some cases.
For me, it’s the memory of the enormous struggle I came through before I became a follower of Christ that gives me the most empathy for those in need. When I talk to people who seem so far away from God, and many times not interested in knowing about these things, I get flashbacks of the way I used to be. It doesn’t take much to stir my sense of empathy for their antagonistic disposition.
The more I read the Scripture, the more I see Jesus Himself reaching out with compassion to the unlikeliest of characters. It was scandalous to the religiously proper to see Him in settings with people that were considered unclean and untouchable. This has been a guiding principle as I reach out to others.
Legendary for his anger and toughness, a former NFL player—now an assistant coach in the league—felt he had done too many bad things on the field to ever be good enough to be a Christian. His wife came to our church and experienced a life-changing encounter with Jesus. She had worked previously in Hollywood, running a public relations firm and as an author and a writer for television shows. She often mocked Christians because of their odd behavior. Her testimony now is, “I went from making fun of them to being one of them.” Still, her husband kept his distance from any real dialogue about spiritual matters.
I began reaching out to him and could see that behind the toughness was a sensitivity and desire for God that was stunning. After a lot of prayer I invited him to join me on a trip to Israel. Amazingly, he agreed. From the time we landed, he was fully engaged. He kept saying things like, “This is real!”—meaning that the events and places mentioned in the Bible were actually true. After a few days of touring the city of Jerusalem, we went to the Galilee region, where Jesus spent a majority of His time and ministry. This man, who had been so tough on the outside, asked to be baptized in the Sea of Galilee. What seemed appropriate was the fact that we baptized him at the very place where Jesus cast out a legion of demons into the pigs. When he heard that story, he said, “This is the right place for me to be baptized.” His wife and colleagues often remark at the difference Christ has made in this man’s life, both on and off the field. This story is similar to millions of others, each one with pain and heartache that was overcome by the love of God.
Whether they are family members, classmates, or strangers you encounter through your job, there is the constant opportunity to show God’s love in a practical way to others. Remember, there is no one too lost or too far away from God that His love cannot reach them. Or as Corrie Ten Boom, who suffered at the hands of the Nazis in a concentration camp and watched her beloved sister die from the abuse, would say, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”
As we follow Jesus, we are committing not just to keeping a set of rules but following His example of love and compassion to the world around us. As you engage others with the gospel, and the reasons to believe, may this compassion and mercy fill your words and actions. As Jesus said, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice’ ” (Matthew 9:13 NASB).
APPROACH
In this process of evangelism, there is the inevitable moment when you approach someone with the gospel. This is what many people dread because of the potential awkwardness that has usually been associated with personal evangelism. The word approach as a noun is defined as, “a way of dealing with something; an act of speaking to someone for the first time about something, typically a proposal or request.” As a verb, “come near or nearer to (someone or something) in distance; speak to (someone) for the first time about something, typically with a proposal or request.” This word, approach, is an excellent description of the mind-set in evangelism that we need. The big question is, how can we approach people with the gospel?
We have all seen the awkward, abrupt, and rude methods. Most of us cringe when seeing this done by others, like the person on the airplane, witnessing to a fellow passenger in a loud voice that disturbs their fellow passengers. We need not only to be prepared to give reasons for the hope that is in us but also to do it with gentleness and respect. Whatever approach we use to engage others with the gospel must include that tone to our dialogue.
This was the prime motivation behind the second word I told you was important: salt. It stands for start a conversation; ask questions; listen; tell the story. This simple formula has helped literally thousands of people have the right approach to engaging others. We will explain this in greater detail in a moment, but you can see from Scripture and your own experiences how simple conversations can turn into significant encounters that lead to a presentation of the gospel.
Jesus Himself engaged in conversations with people in fairly normal circumstances that led to a deeper dialogue about His own identity and purpose. The opportunities to start conversations and ask questions of others are virtually endless. If you are willing to listen first to others before you try and share your story and perspective, you usually will find them listening more attentively.
A great evangelism process always includes teaching people to have a wise approach in starting the dialogue about the gospel. In needy areas where possibly a disaster or tragedy has taken place, it can come down to simply giving water, food, or comfort. Life is filled with opportunity to serve others. In fact, Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). Serving others involves meeting the deepest needs of their existence which is, at its root, exactly what Christ offers. Over the years I have seen many people with a variety of wise and winsome approaches to explaining the gospel to unbelievers.
The right approach usually involves understanding the context of the people to whom you are reaching out. This produces the empathy and understanding necessary to speak intelligently about someone’s situation. When we go to various nations to share the love of Christ, it makes a huge difference to know the background of the people’s faith or unbelief. Being effective in a nation like the Philippines requires a different approach than being on the campus at Berkeley in California.
Take for instance the Jewish people. I feel there is a deep sense of debt to them both spiritually and morally. The spiritual debt stems from the fact that virtually all the things we as Christians enjoy are rooted in the Jewish faith and are connected to the land of Israel. From the Old Testament prophets and writings, to the New Testament Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the Savior Jesus Christ, all of these writers and people were Jewish. There is an overwhelming sense of gratitude because of this fact.
There is also an enormous sense of moral debt that exists as well. For centuries, the Jewish people have been persecuted and expelled from country after country. Their chief persecutors have called themselves Christian, even though their actions betrayed commands and teaching of Jesus at their very core. The most unique command of Christ is to love our enemies. This would not inspire anyone to plan harm or retribution to anyone, much less the people that gave the Christians everything they hold dear. The message of Christ crucified and raised from the dead should be a liberating one, not an excuse to oppress or harm anyone.
When a Jewish person asks me about my Christianity and why I care about his people, those things I just mentioned are always on my mind. My confidence is that regardless of your country or ethnicity, the gospel should be the best news you’ve ever heard.
TOOLS
I have found that there are various things we call “tools” that can help people convey the gospel consistently and more effectively. They help you overcome the many types of obstacles in terms of people being willing to engage in a conversation. Movies such as God’s Not Dead have been used to help start the conversation about spiritual things. Probably the most effective tool in history is The Jesus Film, seen by more than one billion people and translated into one hundred languages and dialects.
A simple tool that we developed that is being used in personal evangelism is “The God Test.”4 It consists of two sets of ten questions—one for those who say they believe in God and one for those who don’t. The salt approach we mentioned is the basis for this conversation starter. It has been translated into many languages and is now available for free downloading at the App store on either Android or iPhone. It has thus far been downloaded in more than one hundred twenty countries.
Thousands of people of all ages have been trained to use the God Test and are testifying as to how this tool simplified the evangelism experience and made it actually something fun that they could look forward to. The questions you ask people from the God Test actually help you remember and easily retrieve the apologetic content that is applicable. Just reading a lot of books and listening to YouTube debates don’t mean you will be effective in communicating the right message at the right time to someone who is a non-Christian. The God Test contains some of the key questions that people who don’t believe in God must answer to make sense of our existence and our universal sense of right and wrong. If you follow the approach taught in salt, you will listen first to what people have to say about the questions you’re asking and then patiently wait for the opportunity to speak. We have found that if you respect others by listening to them first, they will usually grant the same courtesy to you. We have had atheists actually thank us for a meaningful conversation without all the drama and tension that usually accompanies this kind of activity.
Frans Olivier in Cape Town has used the God Test to train at least ten thousand people in the last four years. Over four thousand have made decisions to follow Christ in South Africa. “Our mind-set toward evangelism was dramatically altered by the God Test. Evangelism is now a part of the normal Christian experience for most instead of the dreaded duty of a few.”5
Peter Dusan, a campus pastor at Texas State University, has used the God Test as effectively as we’ve seen anywhere, training hundreds of students to share their faith with others consistently. In one week they conducted more than one thousand God Test conversations with students on campus. When he trains people to use this tool, he says, “If someone watches me share my faith with others, they tend to think that my effectiveness is due to my boldness and confidence as a person. If they see me using a tool like the God Test, they believe they can do it as well.”6
Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade developed the “Four Spiritual Laws,” and tens of thousands of young people were given an effective tool to engage others with the gospel. Millions have come to Christ as a result. I could list other exceptional tools, from multimedia seminars to Christian rock bands, that have been instruments through which God’s Spirit was able to utilize and get people’s attention. Given the massive creativity that marks the age we live in, there are countless tools that can be developed to help start conversations that have eternal significance.
SUMMARY
The focus of this book has been to give you evidence that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God and the promised Messiah and Savior of the world. Because this is true, then it is news that is meant to be shared with others. This is what evangelism is. A part of that is an area called apologetics, which means to give the reasons why this story is true. This is a charge of Scripture as well, to be prepared to give those reasons, but to do it with gentleness and respect. Our character is always on display when talking to people about Jesus Christ, not just the content of our message.
In this chapter we have offered a simple evangelism process that is represented by the word great. It stands for gospel, reasons, empathy, approach, and tools. These five steps can give you a clear road map forward to becoming an effective witness for Christ. When these principles are taught in a local congregations and the gift of the evangelist is functioning alongside other pastors and teachers, the result is an engaging church. This is a dynamic congregation that is literally impacting the world for the glory of Christ and His gospel.