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NASB | John 1:7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 1:7 This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him. |
Bible Question:
Witnessing- what is your style? As I continue my experience as a Christian and observe myself and other Christians, I have found that there are many "styles" that people use that are very effective in witnessing for Christ! There are a few "styles" that I've found: 1) The "Direct" Approach... This style describes my father to a "T".. It is a "in your face" style, where a person doesn't really need any preparation: they just go for it regardless of the outcome! Lets just say for a moment that I wasn't saved and I said something like: "Boy, that nice red corvette looks great!" And a person with a "direct" approach would say, "Yeah, and you'd sure look great as a follower of Jesus Christ!" or something like that. They have a God-given, 'in your face', blessed way of witnessing.. A Scriptural example of this 'direct' approach would be Peter in Acts 2.. Peter was very direct and told the Jews that they killed this man Jesus, and they are not going to heaven unless they repent! And many people were saved through that "direct" approach that day. I would say that a contemporary preacher that would fit this "style" or approach is D. James Kennedy. Praise the Lord for these people! 2) The "Intellectual" Approach.. These are people who are "thinkers" and who are able to reason with people about the existence and death of Christ! These are the kinds of thinkers that "prove" the foundations of the Christian faith through reasoning it out and explaining that there is no other way.. In Acts 17, Paul reasons with the Athenians about the very existence of God! These are people who have "kept" their intellectual minds after salvation.. :) They put their minds to excellent use by making a case for Christ! A few contemporary examples of this style would be C.S. Lewis and his "Mere Christianity" and Josh McDowell and his "More than a Carpenter" books.. Praise the Lord for these "thinkers"! 3) The "Testimonial" Approach... I have met and know many people who have discovered what a powerful impact that their testimony can have, just by sharing it! Just by giving their testimony and sharing what Jesus has done for them, they have a strong witness for Christ. There is just something about a testimony that makes it authentic, that makes it powerful! And a good example of this kind of witness would be the man born blind in John 9 whose testimony was simply, "One thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!" These people may not be great orators, but they sure have a powerful story to tell! And more often than not I've seen this method of witness produce results, especially if someone unsaved and directly relate to a particular story.. This is also a powerful witness! Praise the Lord for those who share! 4) The "Social" Approach... Some people find a great opportunity to share Christ through social 'get-togethers'.. These are people who can throw a party or have a church softball league or have a social gathering in which they find the opportunity to share Christ. A good example of a person like this is one who likes to invite people to church. And sometimes, the only thing that an unsaved person needs is an invitation! These people are very social and probably have a lot of friends. Matthew was a tax collector, but the moment that Jesus called him, he threw a party, invited his friends over and asked Jesus to come! (Matthew 9:9-13) I know several people have this "gift" in my church, and I'd have to say that this "style" definitely describes me, Nolan Keck, in a lot of ways! It can be very effective and "far reaching" at the same time. Praise the Lord for people who witness through socialization! I'm not saying that a person can't be "multi-dimensional", that is: being able to witness for Christ by using a different way or combining the ways above, but I'm saying that regardless of whichever way comes naturally for you, they are all equally effective and powerful in winning people to Christ! So we must discover which "way" best describes each one of us and use it to the best of our abilities! So how about you? Is there a particular "style" that best describes you? And have you been able to lead others to Christ by your example? Thank you in advance for your comments! |
Bible Answer: Greetings Nolan! Great question! I agree with you that most Chrisitians should and will use one or more of these various methods throughout their lives. There is one important one that you did not list: Friendship Evangelism. Allow me to share a case history! I was going to a pretty rough place (where they had monthly game gatherings) to meet non-christians. I meet a man and befriended him. He needed a ride home one night and we got to talking. It turned out that he and his wife had a baby at home who was born with Spina Bifida. Well, my wife and I had lost a son with congential heart defects, so we were familiar with the hospital scene. So, we decided to befriend this family. It turned out that the husband left his family a short time later, but we kept befriending the wife and son. We would take them to the hospital whenever he needed surgery. We would be there for prayer, whenever he was in the hospital. We would take them to the doctor. We invited them to our church. He was confined to a wheelchair, so we offered to use our van to come pick him up. To make a long story short, one day after our services, I was in my office and this lady was talking to my wife. She said that she had finally decided that she wanted to accept Christ. So, we all went down to the altar and prayed with her. To me, this is the best kind of evangelism. Earn the right to be heard! Show the love of Christ in a tangible way! But, I have used all of the other methods at one time or another as well! :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |