Personal Witnessing: How Jesus Did It

“Before I can preach love, mercy, and grace, I must preach sin, Law, and judgment.”

John Wesley

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

In this lesson we will look at the story of the woman at the well from a very different perspective than perhaps you ever have before. Here we see Jesus in action, witnessing to a stranger in an everyday situation. It is so instructive that we’ve called it “The Way of the Master.”

Questions & Objections

Lesson

In John 4:7–26, the Bible gives us the Master’s example of how to share the gospel. Notice that Jesus spoke to the woman at the well when she was alone. When witnessing, we will often find that people are more open and honest when they are alone. So, if possible, pick a person who is sitting by himself.

From these verses, we can see four clear principles to follow. I call this the RCCR method of evangelism, which consists of Relate, Create, Convict, and Reveal. Let’s see how Jesus put these into practice.

Relate: Jesus began by relating to her in the natural realm (v.7). This woman was unregenerate, and the Bible tells us “the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). He therefore spoke of something she could relate to—water. Most of us can strike up a conversation with a stranger in the natural realm. It may be a friendly “How are you doing?” or a sincere “Good morning!” If the person responds with a sense of warmth, we may then ask, “Do you live around here?” and from there develop a conversation.

Create: Jesus created an opportunity to talk about the spiritual realm (v.10). He simply mentioned the things of God. This will take courage. We may say something like, “Did you go to church on Sunday?” or “Did you see that Christian TV program last week?” If the person responds positively, the question “Do you have a Christian background?” will probe his background. He may answer, “I went to church when I was a child, but I drifted away from it.”

Another simple way to swing to the spiritual is to offer the person a gospel tract and ask, “Did you get one of these?” When he takes it, simply say, “It’s a gospel tract. Do you come from a Christian background?”

Convict: Jesus brought conviction using the Law of God (vv.16–18). Jesus gently spoke to her conscience by alluding to the fact that she had transgressed the Seventh Commandment. He used the Law to bring “the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19, 20). We can do the same by asking, “Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandments?” Most people think they have, so quickly follow with, “Have you ever told a lie?” This is confrontational, but if it’s asked in a spirit of love and gentleness, there won’t be any offense. This is because the “work of the Law [is] written in their hearts” and their conscience will also bear “witness” (Romans 2:15).

Jesus confronted the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18–21 with five of the Ten Commandments and there was no offense. Have confidence that the conscience will do its work and affirm the truth of each Commandment. Don’t be afraid to gently ask, “Have you ever stolen something, even if it’s small?”

Learn how to open up the spirituality of the Law and show how God considers lust to be the same as adultery (Matthew 5:27, 28) and hatred the same as murder (1 John 3:15). Make sure you get an admission of guilt. Then ask the person, “If God judges you by the Ten Commandments on Judgment Day, do you think you will be innocent or guilty?” If he says he will be innocent, ask, “Why is that?” If he admits his guilt, ask, “Do you think you will go to heaven or hell?”

From there the conversation may go one of three ways:

He may confidently say, “I don’t believe in hell.” Gently respond, “That doesn’t matter. You still have to face God on Judgment Day whether you believe in it or not. If I step onto the freeway when a massive truck is heading for me and I say, ‘I don’t believe in trucks,’ my lack of belief isn’t going to change reality.” Then tenderly tell him he has already admitted to you that he has lied, stolen, and committed adultery in his heart, and that God gave him a conscience so he would know right from wrong. His conscience and the conviction of the Holy Spirit will do the rest. That’s why it is essential to draw out an admission of guilt before you mention Judgment Day or the existence of hell.

He may say that he’s guilty, but that he will go to heaven. This is usually because he thinks that God is “good,” and that He will, therefore, overlook sin in his case. Point out that if a judge in a criminal case has a guilty murderer standing before him, the judge, if he is a good man, can’t just let him go. He must ensure that the guilty man is punished. If God is good, He must (by nature) punish murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, fornicators, and those who have lived in rebellion to the inner light that God has given to every man.

He may admit that he is guilty and therefore going to hell. Ask him if that concerns him. Speak to him about how much he values his eyes and how much more he should value the salvation of his soul.

Reveal: Jesus revealed Himself to her (v.26). Once the Law has humbled the person, he is ready for grace. The Bible says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The gospel is for the humble. Only the sick need a physician, and only those who will admit that they have the disease of sin will truly embrace the cure of the gospel. Learn how to present the work of the cross—that God sent His Son to suffer and die in our place, and that Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. Take the person back to civil law and say, “It’s as simple as this: We broke God’s Law, and Jesus paid our fine. If you will repent and trust in the Savior, God will forgive your sins and dismiss your case.”

Ask him if he understands what you have told him. If he is willing to confess and forsake his sins, and trust the Savior with his eternal salvation, have him pray and ask God to forgive him. Then pray for him. Get him a Bible. Instruct him to read it daily and obey what he reads, and encourage him to get into a Bible-believing, Christ-preaching church.

Preacher’s Progress

A sample witnessing conversation, written in the style of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Words of Comfort

The Ouachita Mountain Neighbor newspaper in Arkansas reported the following incident on September 26, 1995:

A local woman in a small town came out of a Wal-Mart store, placed her groceries in the back of her car, and sat in the driver’s seat. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a loud gunshot crashing through her back window, and in the same instant something impacted the back of her head. Terrified, she put her hand on the back of her head and felt the horrific sensation of her warm brains oozing onto her hand. She screamed in terror and went into a fit of uncontrollable hysterics.

A number of frantic shoppers immediately called 911 on their cell phones, and within minutes police arrived and rushed to the aid of the screaming woman.

After hearing that the woman was literally holding her brains in, an officer gently pried away her hand and found some gooey, warm biscuit dough. The woman had purchased a can of the mixture with her groceries, and it had expanded in the hot sun and exploded with a bang, sending warm dough onto the back of her head.

Questions

1. What are the four principles of evangelism that Jesus demonstrated with the woman at the well?
2. List some different ways to relate in the natural realm to sinners.
3. Why can you ask if someone has kept the Ten Commandments without it seeming confrontational?
4. Why doesn’t our unbelief negate reality?
5. Why can the sinner not rely on God’s “goodness” to save him?
6. At what point in the evangelism process should you talk about the Savior? Why?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“Jesus answered and said to her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 4:13-14

Last Words

If I had the whole world, I would give it to live one day. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at. About to take a leap in the dark!

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1674), noted English political philosopher whose most famous work was Leviathan; this cultured, clever skeptic corrupted many of the great men of his time