Messy Gospel, Week 13: Starting Gospel Conversations
In his 92nd year of life, he sat in a chair drifting in and out of consciousness. When he did speak, it was to condemn any talk of politics, evade religion and celebrate his Jewish heritage. Knowing death is near, and longing for him to be saved, what would you say? How would you attempt to pry open the door for a gospel conversation?
Starting gospel conversations is made much easier when we take time to consider the life situation of each individual. Think about how Jesus engaged the woman at the well in John 4. He began with a simple request for a drink of water. Then followed it up with a comment about living water, from which if she drank, she would never thirst again. Within a few sentences, He had provoked her curiosity and began to explain how she could be forgiven of her sin! The most profound conversation the ear can hear began with a simple request for water.
As you think about the individuals in your mission field, what questions can you prepare to ask at a timely moment? While our goal is to explain the gospel, introducing the subject sometimes requires a bit of tact on our part. This is vital for any conversation. A good, open-ended question cannot be answered by a simple “yes” or “no.” These questions draw out thoughts, but be careful to ask questions they can answer, giving them a platform to explain their religion, their worldview. By asking questions that reveal their thoughts and impressions, we gain a window into what is important for that individual.
Here are a few examples of good “open-ended” questions:
“How did you make that decision?” “What motivated you to choose this job?”
“Why is that so important to you?” “What would you have done?”
“Can you give me an example of that?” “What is troubling you?”
Here are a few directly related to evangelism:
“How does your religion / church teach you to deal with guilt?”
“If you were to die today, where will you spend eternity?”
“What are God’s requirements to enter heaven?”
Listen carefully as you ask questions (body language, eye contact, etc…). We must pay careful attention to what they are saying and how they are saying it. You will gain valuable insight into their thinking process and feelings. A good listener will pick up on issues or events that trouble the unbeliever as well as important themes in their thinking. A good listener communicates genuine concern and love for the unbeliever. The goal here is to allow the unbeliever to “verbalize his theology.”
Their answer to your question will give you insight into aspects of the gospel that might need more explanation. For example, if they think:
Man is basically good and can enter into heaven.
God loves too much to condemn anyone to hell.
Christ was just a good man, nothing more than that.
Their answers will most likely be works based. This provides a useful springboard, as you respond by saying something like the following:
“The Bible says God’s standard is much different. May I explain what He requires?”
“You obviously thought through your answer, but it is different than what the Bible says. May I show you what God says we need to know about Him?”
“What you told me about God is interesting, but God describes Himself much differently in the Bible. May I show you what He has said about Himself?”
“You make it sound like you are a pretty good person, but the Bible says you are missing something. May I show you what it is?”
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said: “We must recognize the different types of persons, and we must learn to discriminate between them. There is nothing so pathetic or so unscriptural as a mechanical way of testifying to others. There are some Christians who are guilty of that. They witness and testify, but they do it in a thoroughly mechanical way. They never really consider the person with whom they are dealing; they never try to assess the person, or to discover exactly what his position is. They fail completely to implement this exhortation. They present the truth in exactly the same way to all and sundry. Quite apart from the fact that their testifying is generally quite useless, and that the only thing they achieve is a great feeling of self-righteousness, it is utterly unscriptural.”
In evangelism, we gauge success not by the persons’ response but by the clarity of the message given. Our responsibility is to deliver the saving truth of the Gospel, trusting the Holy Spirit to bring conviction as His Word is explained and the power of Christ’s death and resurrection is proclaimed (Hebrews 4:12). Scripture alone, not experience is authoritative. Speak His message, not our experience, opinions, preferences. No gimmicks or fancy recipes will move people to repentance.