BE PREPARED TO GIVE AN ANSWER
A. How many of you know someone who is not a Christian? (RAISE YOUR HAND)
1. We all do, don’t we—FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, CO-WORKER, CLASS-MATES.
COMMENT:
We want more than anything for these people to OBEY the Gospel? But what do we do? How do we bring up the SUBJECT with them? What if they ASK us something we don’t know? Shouldn’t we have some kind of EVANGELISTIC TRAINING?
2. I think these are legitimate CONCERNS.
COMMENT:
The problem with SOUL-WINNING is that we think that we have to be a PREACHER, or TEACHER, or undergo INTENSE TRAINING to bring others to Christ. That’s just not the case.
ILLUSTRATION:
When I went on a MISSION TRIP to Corozal Town, Belize in Central America a few years ago, I met a young lady who was responsible for BRINGING 10 people to Christ. In fact, she had CONVERTED two people while our MISSION TEAM was there.
When I asked the local preacher, Randolph Baptist, about her, he told me that she had been a Christian for just a few months. She had lived a very UNGODLY LIFESTYLE that involved DRUGS, ROBBERY, and PROSTITUTION. Randolph said that after ACCEPTING Jesus as her Lord and Savior, this new-Christian young lady couldn’t WAIT to TELL others what Christ has done for her.
B. SOUL-WINNING is simply TALKING about whom you LOVE.
COMMENT:
There’s no certain STRATEGY to adopt. There’s no SET of CDs to listen to. There’s no VIDEO to watch. There’s no EVANGELISM CLASS to attend. There’s no LITERATURE to DISTRIBUTE. There’s no special METHOD to be used. There’s no REVIVAL to host. It is simply telling people you LOVE and CARE FOR about what Jesus has done for you.
C. Jesus- “When I am LIFTED UP, I will draw all men to myself”- John 12:32.
1. Jesus, of course, is referring to being LIFT UP on the CROSS for the SINS of the WORLD.
COMMENT:
His SACRIFICE for you and me is the DRAWING POWER that causes people like this young lady in Belize to TURN AWAY from their SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN to Jesus.
2. We also LIFT UP Jesus every time we tell someone what He has done for us.
COMMENT:
The DRAWING POWER of the CROSS comes from LIFTING UP Jesus, not from our SOUL-WINNING expertise. Nor will our LACK of SOUL-WINNING expertise hinder the DRAWING POWER of the CROSS.
Peter tells us that we are to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us concerning the hope we have” – I Peter 3:15. How do we go about that? I want to share with you how God can use you to LEAD someone to ETERNAL LIFE. It’s not that COMPLICATED. You simply need to be CONSCIOUS of the process and PRAY daily for God to use you for someone else’s SALVATION.
MESSAGE: (IF YOU WANT TO BE A SOUL WINNER FOR GOD…..)
I. MAKE FRIENDS WITH NON-CHRISTIANS
A. Some Christians in their zeal to AVOID “bad company” (I Corinthians 15:33) and “friendship withthe world” (James 4:4), tend to ISOLATE themselves from non-Christians.
ILLUSTRATION:
They only have a CASUAL acquaintance with their non-Christian NEIGHBORS. The only contact they have with non-Christian CO-WORKERS is on the JOB. Even non-Christian FAMILY MEMBERS are AVOIDED as much as possible.
COMMENT:
Neither Paul nor James is advocating that Christians cannot have non-Christian FRIENDS. They are simply saying that we are not to allow the WICKEDNESS of another person to INFLUENCE us.
Just six chapters earlier Paul said, “he became ALL THINGS to ALL MEN to SAVE some”- I Corinthians 9:22. He also reminded the Thessalonians that “before they became Christians, he shared not only the GOSPEL with them but his LIFE”- I Thessalonians 2:8. Paul knew the IMPORTANCE of making FRIENDS with non-Christians if he was to bring them to Christ.
B. The biggest FRIEND of non-Christians, was Jesus, Himself.
1. He UPSET the ISOLATIONISTS of His day, the Pharisees, by BEFRIENDING SINNERS.
a. Luke 7:34 – “Friend of sinners”
b. Luke 7:36-39 – “Woman entering Simon’s house and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears”
c. Luke 15:1-2 – “Sinners coming to Jesus, and accused: ‘This man welcomes sinners.’”
d. Luke 19:5-7, 10 – “Goes with Zacheaus: ‘This man goes home and eats with sinners.’” v. 10 – “For the Son of man has come to SEEK and SAVE the LOST.”
2. Developing a FRIENDSHIP with someone who doesn’t KNOW Christ is the first step in BREAKING down the BARRIER between that person and the GOSPEL.
II. LET YOUR LIFE AROUSE OTHERS’ INTEREST IN CHRIST
A. Peter said that “we are to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks . . .”- I Peter 3:15
1. Before anyone will ASK, however, he or she will have to see something DIFFERENT about us.
ILLUSTRATION:
At WORK or SCHOOL do MORE than your SHARE on any PROJECT. Be GRATEFUL for your JOB, refuse to be a CLOCK-WATCHER or GOSSIP, and always do your BEST. Be KIND to your TEACHERS. Don’t GIVE INTO the PRESSURES of your FELLOW STUDENTS or CO-WORKERS.
Be SENSITIVE to anyone who is SAD or HURTING. Admit when you are in the WRONG, and APOLOGIZE to the people you HURT. Say only POSITIVE things about your HUSBAND or WIFE and your CHILDREN, or about your PARENTS. SMILE A LOT!
Then when someone ASKS you why you are DIFFERENT—and somebody will—tell them very GENTLY that you are a Christian, that you want God to be LORD of your LIFE, and that you try to FOLLOW the EXAMPLE of Jesus.
2. Even when being MISTREATED or facing DIFFICULTIES, let people SEE Christ in you.
COMMENT:
Peter said that “our SPEECH and our MANNER should be SUCH that it would put to SHAME anyone who would SPEAK MALICIOUSLY against us”- I Peter 3:16.
B. People are WATCHING, so it’s important that we make every effort to live HOLY lives before them.
1. I Thessalonians 2:10- “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, and BLAMELESS we were among you . . .”
COMMENT:
Paul realized that he couldn’t talk about PURITY if he went around committing IMMORALITY with the local STREETWALKERS. He couldn’t talk about FAITHFULNESS if he didn’t FAITHFULLY serve the Lord. He couldn’t talk about LOVING ONE ANOTHER if he treated people like DIRT.
2. Following Jesus requires a HIGHER STANDARD of MORALITY than what is prevalent in the WORLD.
ILLUSTRATION:
The world APPLAUDS Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for the STUNT they pulled at the 2004 SUPER BOWL. The world finds AMUSEMENT in the EROTIC KISS of Britney Spears and Madona at the 2004 Grammy Awards. The world LAUGHS at the IMMORAL JOKES and SEXUAL INNUENDO of Chris Rock and other STAND UP COMEDIANS.
COMMENT:
We are to be DIFFERENT from the WORLD—and people should see the DIFFERENCE. Now, certainly we are not to PRESENT ourselves as HOLIER-THAN-THOU or pretend that we have no SIN PROBLEM (even Paul talked about his own struggle with sin in Romans 7).
But if we are to BRING others to Christ, our non-Christian FRIENDS will have to see that we are TRYING to OVERCOME our SINS and FOLLOW closely in the STEPS of Jesus.
The SINFUL PEOPLE that GRAVITATED toward Jesus saw in Him a marked DIFFERENCE from what was EVIDENT in their own lives, and they wanted to know how they could be DIFFERENT too.
III. KEEP YOUR ANSWER FOCUSED ON JESUS
A. Notice that Peter said, “when people ask about the HOPE that we have, we are to give an answer.”
1. This is not the time to debate ISSUES.
COMMENT:
Our HOPE is in what Jesus Christ has done for YOU and ME, not in whether it’s RIGHT or WRONG to use any BIBLE TRANSLATION but the King James. Or whether it’s RIGHT or WRONG to CLAP HANDS in WORSHIP. Or if the church should SING more TRADITIONAL SONGS than CONTEMPORARY SONGS. Or whether the PRE-MILLENNIAL or A-MILLENNIAL view of the END TIMES is the CORRECT one.
2. All that these and other ISSUES do is generate ARGUMENT. I don’t think Jesus gave us the
COMMISSION to “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND ARGUE.”
COMMENT:
If someone asks you about ISSUES, gently move your CONVERSATION from ISSUES to the GOSPEL—the GOOD NEWS of Christ.
B. When I’m ASKED about MY HOPE, I tell them about Jesus and nothing else.
1. Paul told the Corinthians, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”- I Corinthians 2:2.
COMMENT:
The Corinthians put a great deal of EMPHASIS on WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE. They loved to DEBATE. That’s why Paul told them, “For the message of God is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the POWER of God”- I Corinthians 1:18.
Paul wasn’t going to get caught up in their senseless ARGUMENTS. He was determined to tell them about Jesus, and nothing else.
2. When your life has GENERATED the sort of INTEREST I’ve just described and when you are ASKED about why you are DIFFERENT, the door for your “PERSONAL TESTIMONY” is wide open.
COMMENT:
Don’t talk about CHURCH OF CHRIST; talk about JESUS CHRIST. Say something like, “I’m DIFFERENT because Jesus Christ has CHANGED my life. What does He MEAN to you?”
Don’t ask her if she’s a church member. Don’t ask him if he is a Christian or a born-again believer. Simply ask, “WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN TO YOU?” That’s the real question of SALVATION and ETERNAL LIFE.
IV. DON’T PRESS TOO HARD, JUDGE, OR CONDEMN THE PERSON
A. Peter said, “we are to ANSWER with GENTLENESS and RESPECT”- v. 15.
1. You’ll be surprised at some of the things people will TELL you about their FAMILIES, personal CONFUSION, or MESSED-UP lives.
a. Try not to be too SURPRISED or too SHOCKED!
b. Just be INTERESTED, COMPASSIONATE, and UNDERSTANDING.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some SINGLE woman’s SADNESS is due to the fact that she just learned she is PREGNANT. Some co-worker’s ANGER is because his son was ARRESTED for drug POSSESSION. Somebody’s TEARS are because of the DIVORCE in PROGRESS. Some TEENAGER’S melancholy is the result of a BEST FRIEND’S SUICIDE.
A friend SHARES with you that she’s having an AFFAIR with a MARRIED man. A neighbor talks about his HOMOSEXUAL tendencies. Your EMPLOYER is overwhelmed by his GAMBLING DEBT.
2. I know it is DIFFICULT not to sit in JUDGMENT of these people.
ILLUSTRATION:
When I was a PREACHER STUDENT, I went on an EVANGELISTIC DOOR-KNOCKING CAMPAIGN in Wes Texas trying to set up BIBLE STUDIES and INVITING people to a REVIVAL MEETING being held at a local CHURCH. At one door I knocked on, a man answered with a CAN of BEER in his HAND. He had his SHIRT off and his BEER BELLY was hanging over his SHORT, RAGGED CUT-OFF JEANS.
He said in a FRIENDLY but slightly INEBRIATED voice, “Can I HELP YOU?” I made an IMMEDIATE JUDGMENT of the guy. And I know this is wrong, but I looked at the HOUSE NUMBER above his door and asked, “Oh, is this 918? I was looking for 920.”
And I went on my MERRY WAY to the next house thinking, “The GOSPEL sure isn’t for THAT guy!”
I pictured him coming to CHURCH with NO SHIRT, his CUT-OFF JEANS, and a CAN of BEER in his hand saying, “Okay, where do I sit!” “You want a BEER, preacher!”
THAT DAY SATAN MADE ME FORGET THAT THE GOSPEL IS FOR HIM JUST AS MUCH AS IT IS FOR ME!!!!
3. Instead of JUDGING people when they share with you their DARKEST SECRETS, you GENTLY tell them that “God is the SOLUTION to their STRUGGLES.”
COMMENT:
“While everybody else was CONDEMNING the woman caught in ADULTERY, Jesus would not CONDEMN but instead offered SALVATION”- John 8:1-11.
B. When people share their SINS and PROBLEMS with us, keep everything FOCUSED on Christ and the SALVATION He offers.
COMMENT:
Just AFFIRM Jesus to that person. Affirm your BELIEF that Jesus is the only One who can GIVE any of us the ANSWERS we ultimately need to make sense out of our EXISTENCE. He’s the only One who can help us DEAL with the CRUEL things that HURT us. He’s the only One who can help us get out of the MESS we make of our lives because of SIN.
And when you show these people LOVE and COMPASSION instead of DISGUST and CONDEMNATION, you’ll be surprised of how many will want to HEAR more about Jesus and what they can do to be SAVED!
CONCLUSION:
ILLUSTRATION:
A faithful Christian man was DYING. His wife and son and daughter, who were all devout Christians, came to his bedside. He HUGGED them and said, “Good night, I’ll MEET you in a BETTER PLACE.”
He had another son, however, who never OBEYED the GOSPEL. He was a GOOD BOY, but he just never saw the NEED to turn his LIFE over to Christ and be BAPTIZED into Him. While giving him a HUG his father said very SADLY, “GOOD-BYE, MY SON, GOOD-BYE.” Having TOUCHED the young man’s heart he said, “Dad, you said GOOD NIGHT to Mom and my brother and sister, but to me you said ‘GOOD-BYE.’ Why is that?”
The dying man said, “Son, your mother, brother, and sister are Christians, and I know that one day we’re going to be TOGETHER again in HEAVEN. So to them I said, ‘GOOD NIGHT.’ But you know that as much as I’ve PRAYED for you and PLEADED with you to OBEY the Gospel, you never have. I will never SEE you again, and as much as it BREAKS my HEART all I can say is ‘GOOD-BYE.’”
With TEARS welling up in his eyes the young man said, “Dad, don’t say GOOD-BYE, yet. Don’t GO ANYWHERE--don’t DIE. I’ll be back.” He quickly ran out of the ROOM and drove to the CHURCH BUILDING where his PARENTS were MEMBERS—the very same CHURCH he GREW UP in but NOW seldom ATTENDED. He told the PREACHER that he was ready to give his LIFE to Jesus.
The PREACHER took his CONFESSION and BAPTIZED him. Both he and the PREACHER drove back to the HOSPITAL and RUSHED to his father’s ROOM. Shaking his WEAKENED father awake he said, “Dad, dad, I finally did it. I’ve given my life to Jesus and promise I will SERVE Him until the day I DIE.”
The dying man, with his fast DECLINING STRENGTH, put his ARMS around his boy and said, “Good night, son, good night, I’ll MEET you in a BETTER PLACE.”
I KNOW THAT FATHER DIED A HAPPY MAN!
