Set Piece Evangelism
I was amazed, when watching the Masters snooker on television, at the opening shot of each frame. The white ball hit the edge red of the triangle, at just the right angle and speed, to go round three cushions, missing the blue in the middle and stop near the cushion in baulk. How do they do it? They practice and practice the ‘set piece’.
It is the same in all sports. The service in tennis or squash, the free kicks and corners in soccer, the moves in rugby, in all sports success depends on doing these ‘set piece’ functions well.
So it is in our work of winning others for the Lord Jesus, we need to know the fundamental set pieces of evangelism. There are four key stages,
Get into conversation and start a relationship
Arouse interest in spiritual matters
Make it personal
Show the relevance of Jesus Christ
Each will involve the asking of key questions.
Get into conversation and start a relationship
Soon after I had committed my life to Jesus Christ, when a first year student, I began to understand the commission that Jesus had given his followers,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19
Yet I soon learned that most of the Christians I knew found it very difficult to talk about Jesus. So a group of us in our college decided to learn.
The Christian Union organised evangelistic sermons every Sunday evening and we longed that our fellow students should come to hear the message that had so impressed us. So we devised our first ‘set piece’. Sunday supper was key. We made the simple decision that the Christians should not sit together at meal times – we spread out to maximise our influence and inviting power. After the meal we used to invite those around us to come back to our rooms for coffee. Conversation on many topics flowed. It was then simple to ask,
“Are you doing anything special this evening. I am off shortly to the students’ sermon down at Holy Trinity. Would you like to come and see what goes on? They are very impressive”
In our college we started with about 14 Christians out of 360 students. We saw 60 students come to Christ over the next two years. Clearly a lot else went on too but I learnt a lesson, ‘set pieces’ do work.
Starting relationships is not easy for many of us. It does take some determination and effort to talk with people we don’t know. It is good to see, at coffee times after church services, Christians making the effort not to talk with their friends but to look out for visitors and others they don’t know well.
Asking good questions is so important to open any relationship.
“Do you live near here?”
“Do you work in this area?”
“Have you been to this church (or group) before?”
“What did you make of the service?”
“What are you doing for lunch?”
As we chat away, the guest will begin to feel at home and ask similar questions back. So the relationship begins.
Arouse an interest in spiritual matters
This can seem difficult but with good ‘set piece’ preparation it can flow naturally.
At the end of my college terms I used to catch the bus back to my home area – it was cheaper than any other mode of transport but had other advantages. After praying for an opportunity I would enter the bus and would look around. There might be another student sitting there. Starting a conversation was simplified by asking,
“Do you mind if I join you?”
I have never had the response ‘No’.
“Are you a student here?”
So a general conversation begins. The problem was how to get on to spiritual matters without being blunt, rude or off-putting. Let me recount a typical conversation which would have had many tangents in it.
“I am off home for Christmas with the family, are you doing the same?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I live in Bedford, are you from that area too?”
So would start a short conversation about our homes. If he lived in a village or small time, I would at some stage move the direction of the conversation by talking about the church.
“Has it got one of those beautiful old stone churches?”
Then after a short discussion on that subject I would ask a question such as,
“Is it a keen church?”
Inevitably the reply came back,
“What do you mean?”
“I have come to learn that some churches emphasise their traditions, which for me is a turn off, whereas others are keen to get people thinking and to pass on the essential Christian message. Its that urgency that I would consider makes them ‘keen’.”
Their reaction would direct how the conversation went from then on. If they appeared a little hesitant I would share my story - how at school I had been put off by formal public school religion. It had seemed so unreal and ritualistic. When I went to college some friends in the hockey club started me thinking. They convinced me that the important question was not what I thought about church but whether the Christian story was true. I started to go with them to the student sermons each week and became more and more convinced so in the end I committed my life to Christ.
We soon learnt other set pieces. When I was a student I enjoyed playing a lot of tennis and squash. After a match it was natural to ask my opponent,
“Would you like to come and have a drink?”
We would go back to my room, sit down and have a chat. I always tried to have a relevant Christian book on the table. Inevitably eyes would wander, first looking at the bookcase and eventually at the book on the table. Like a wise fisherman, a simple tug on the line is needed at the right time.
“Do you know that book?”
The inevitable reply was,
“No, what is it about?”
“It’s about something I have become interested in. It discusses the evidence for the Christian faith, evidence that I knew little about before.”
Another useful approach is to mention something about your church and then casually ask,
“Have you ever been there? It is a remarkable place.”
Inevitably they will then ask what is so special about it.
I was involved in helping to organise the ‘Passion for Life’ mission in our area. When chatting with people it is natural to discuss whether we have done anything interesting over the previous few days. I would then mention this mission that I was preparing for. It was so natural then to ask,
“Have you heard about ‘Passion for Life’?”
“No, what is it?” was the usual response.
“It’s a series of evening meetings to those who don’t enjoy churches much the opportunity to think again about what the purpose of life is and whether the Christian message could be true and relevant for us all today. We’ve got a series of interesting people being interviewed including . . .”
So the simple approach is to get into a relationship and then move onto to something to do with church or evidence. This may be satisfying for the Christian but our new friend needs to understand more.
Make it personal
Having started a relationship and started to discuss some aspect of religion, the next step is to ask a simple personal question.
“Excuse me asking you, but are you a Christian yourself or aren’t you sure about these things.”
“I couldn’t do that? I’d be too embarrassed,” is the immediate response of some. The truth is that if you ask this question in a matter of fact way, there is no embarrassment. People will come up with remarkable replies that will direct the rest of the conversation.
“I used to go to church, but no longer.”
“I wish I had.”
“No, I haven’t but I am interested.”
All too often it is my fear that prevents me helping others to talk about these matters that are so vital to them.
I went to an all boys schools and then went to an all male college at university. Then I went down the Royal London Hospital to do my medical training. It was not long before I was attached to a gynaecology firm. I was expected to take histories from ladies about very personal matters! When I started I was so embarrassed. I went bright red when taking a person’s history. However I had to get through it as my consultant would be questioning me later. The solution was simple – again it was a ‘set piece’ exercise. Indeed much basic medical training is ‘set piece’. There are certain set questions that should be asked when taking a patient’s history.
“What are the symptoms? When did they start? Where exactly do you feel the pain? What is the pain like?”
By asking the same questions in a well worn path the full story comes out. The history of the present condition, the past history, their social history, their family history and their drug history are discovered in this ‘set piece’ manner. We now teach medical students to take a spiritual history as well as so often lack of purpose or guilt can affect people’s symptoms and the progress of their diseases. To get straight to the point in taking a spiritual history a good question is,
“Do you have a faith that helps you at a time like this or aren’t you sure about these things?”
This brings the conversation onto a personal level. Note again the use of the escape clause at the end, to prevent people feeling cornered. We are on their side.
Jesus used ‘set piece’ techniques to help people think about spiritual matters and so did his apostles. His approach was the same,
He gets into a conversation and starts a relationship
He arouses an interest in spiritual matters
He makes it personal
He shows the relevance of the Christ
Jesus and the Woman at Samaria
This story, told in John chapter 4, is a beautiful example of how Jesus turned small events in a conversation to arouse interest in spiritual matters and then moved on to make it personal. When he starts talking with this lady he is relaxed and sensitive. Keeping the relationship warmis so important. This is particularly so when a person in a professional role is talking about spiritual matters. Consent for having such a conversation must be obtained and re-obtained if the conversation continues.
“Are you happy to talk about these spiritual matters? We’ll stop if you want to.”
Little is worse than an ardent enthusiast going on about a subject close to his heart when his listener has lost interest.
A Christian in our area was trying to share the gospel to someone in a local chemist whilst they waited for a prescription. Once started with his spiel about the gospel he didn’t stop for breath, let alone to see if his hearer was interested and engaging with him. His ardour was admirable, but not his approach. After he left another person who had overheard the sermon was heard to say,
“How rude and obnoxious that man was.”
It was his manner that put his hearers off the message. Such brusque behaviour can easily people off the Lord Jesus who himself was “held in high regard by all the people.” Jesus repeatedly ‘amazed’ people, he was not obnoxious to those he was trying to help. Relaxed conversations are so much more effective than intense, passionate arguments. I would now go further and say that intense arguments are almost never helpful. Jesus has called us to “make disciples” not to preach whatever the consequences.
If we oppose people head on with the resulting antagonism, they will become defensive and tend to fight back. Shamefully, I remember once saying to a Christian friend,
“I had a good religious argument with someone today.”
Naively I thought that I had been witnessing. In fact, I had probably done more harm than good. It is much better to get alongside someone and then gently draw them round to understand Jesus’ perspective. We are to ‘woo’ them for Christ, not to ‘shoo’ them away.
At the beginning of the account of Jesus’ meeting the ‘woman of Samaria’ we read,
“He had to go through Samaria.” John 4:4
Most Jews travelling between Judea and Galilee would avoid this direct route, preferring to walk up the eastern bank of the Jordan. The only reason given for ‘had to’ was to meet this woman. Jesus was clearly expectant. Even when he was tired he was still on active service. This is so important. We must expect to meet people whom the Holy Spirit has prepared for us to meet.
Gets into conversation and starts a relationship
The tired Messiah sat down, probably in the shade as it was midday. What a way to start – so relaxed. It doesn’t say so but I strongly suspect that Jesus prayed something like this,
“Father, please may I meet the person you want me to help.”
We have all met many people who say,
“Sharing the Gospel with others isn’t my gift,” or “I seldom get opportunities to talk about the Lord Jesus.”
This is strange as we have all been given the Holy Spirit so that we can all glorify Jesus. I have come to realise that is not a matter of gifting but a matter of prayer. I have yet to meet any Christian who prays daily for opportunities to share the message of Jesus who does not find opportunities to do so. It is nothing to do with being extroverted and self confident, it is a matter of God opening doors for those who are on the look-out.
A young teenager in our church who came from a non-Christian background became a Christian. She was very shy and found it very difficult to talk to those she did not know. She could not even look people in the face when talking to them. But she understood the Bible’s teaching that the Lord Jesus wanted her to be active in sharing her faith. One morning she decided to pray about this. The day was spent away from home and nothing happened – as usual. She came home by train but there were no conversations. She then got a taxi home. As she sat quietly in the front seat the taxi driver asked her,
“Are you doing anything interesting this evening?”
This was the opportunity she had prayed for.
“Well, I am going out to a Bible Study with others in our church.”
“Are you a Christian then?”
“Yes, I am.”
“How did that come about?”
For the rest of the journey she was able to explain to this complete stranger how she had become convinced about Jesus and had committed her life to him. That evening she was full of it. Never before had this happened to her but the Lord had answered her prayer. This answer changed her life. She is now a very effective Christian thinking of full time Christian work.
We should all keep asking ourselves,
“Am I effective?”
If the honest answer is “No” then we should next ask,
“Am I praying daily that the Lord will make me effective?”
Try it. There is no prayer that is closer to the Lord’s heart than this.
When I travel on a train I usually pray for an opportunity to help someone think about the relevance of the gospel. On one journey from Cambridge to London I saw a young man from an eastern country, sitting on his own, reading a book.
“Do you mind if I join you here?”
His book was clearly an undergraduate law book so I asked if he was a law student. He was. We talked for a while about his college and moved onto to what societies he was involved with. We then discussed my undergraduate days and he asked what I did when I was a student.
“I played a lot of tennis and other sports. On top of that something very interesting happened to me that changed my life.”
By this stage we were talking amicably so he asked,
“What happened?”
We went on to talk about what had led me to first investigate the claims of Jesus and what had convinced me. I had a copy of ‘Cure for Life’ in my case so I gave it to him after writing my e-mail address on the title page. He promised he would read it with interest and come back to me. He never has.
Notice how Jesus gets the relationship going with the Samaritan woman. He must have smiled as he said to her,
“Please could I ask you for a drink?”
Even talking to a woman in this way broke social protocol. Jewish men did not normally talk with Samaritans and certainly not with a woman. However there was an urgent reason why he did on this occasion. This simple request for a drink led onto a discussion and a deepening of that relationship.
It is not uncommon for someone to think,
“I need to know someone really well before I will talk about spiritual matters with them. Even then I usually wait for them to ask me, ‘What makes you so different?’”
Such a way of thinking will make them relatively ineffective in sharing the faith. I would love to know how often people come up and asks them why they are so different. I suspect it is very rare. Jesus did not wait for such a request but opened the door to a conversation. This is just one demonstration of his ‘set piece’ evangelism. It is perfectly acceptable to open the door to a conversation; it does not force anyone to come through it but encourages them to do so.
2. Arouse an interest in spiritual matters
Jesus wanted to arouse her interest in spiritual matters even though he had spent a relatively short time getting into the relationship.
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
I wonder how much she understood of this, I suspect relatively little. The gift of God he refers to is ‘salvation’ or ‘eternal life’. The person speaking to her was the Messiah, God’s chosen King, God’s Only Son. The living water he referred to was a permanent relationship with himself which would give her real purpose, power and pleasure. She would be able to live with and for him from then till eternity.
Jesus began to convince her about who he was by revealing details about her private life. He is very direct about her sinful lifestyle and her need for forgiveness.
Yesterday I was talking for two hours with a man who had had a very privileged education but whose life had become very difficult. He summarised the cause of his problems with a simple sentence,
“I reckon I did not have an answer for my guilt.”
What a wonderful opening to talk about the gospel.
However I would urge us to be very careful here. We are ambassadors for Christ to help people. It is dangerous if we become accusers or insinuate that we are somehow better than them. Of course we should hate sin and the damage it does, just as Jesus did, but unless people admit this is a problem for them, it is far wiser not to go digging. This can so often cause resentment.
A Christian went out to dinner with some work colleagues.
“What do you want to drink, wine, lager?”
“Oh no, I don’t drink. I’m a Christian you know.”
Such a smug response may get onto the issue of Christianity but not in a helpful way. It is doing the opposite; it is judgmental of others and aloof.
I was teaching at a student conference in Russia that was being held on an island in the Volga river. It had previously been a Young Communists centre but was now used as a holiday camp. Many families shared the site and much vodka flowed. One large family, much the worse for wear, invited me and my Baptist teetotal translator to come and join them. It was only mid morning. They offered us the usual drink of vodka. I was amazed when my friend accepted and a full glass was put in front of her. She was not critical of them at all but thanked them for their hospitality, even though they had already clearly drunk much too much already. We had a great conversation with them, starting with what our conference was about and them moving onto the gospel. The conversation lasted over one and a half hours – but she never touched the glass of vodka that was in front of her.
Yet there is a time when we should stand up for what is right. Early in Queen Victoria’s reign a dinner was held in a luxury house in the west end of London. After the ladies withdrew the conversation became crude and vulgar. One man said nothing till he suddenly asked the servant to call his carriage. With great courtesy he turned to his host and apologised for his early departure, adding,
“. . . but I am still a Christian.”
That young man had much to lose, so acting in such a way could have been costly. He had obtained double firsts at Oxford in both classics and mathematics, had become a Member of Parliament when only 21 years of age and was already recognised as an up and coming politician. He needed friends at this stage in his career. His name was Robert Peel. He was later to become a very popular Prime Minister. His action at that dinner was not done to make himself look better than others but to remind his friends, at a huge potential cost to himself, that God is not to be trifled with.
It is a fine balance. If we say nothing, they can learn nothing except perhaps to admire us. However just as birds can so easily be scared off a perch they are sitting on, so we can easily scare people away from the Lord Jesus. If the people we are talking to seem to be becoming tense or defensive, we must back off. It is a waste of time to talk about these precious matters if they are not interested in hearing. Jesus taught this,
“Do not give to dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.“ Matthew 7:6
Some people will be blunt when the door is opened and say,
“I’m not interested.”
To such a response, I might shrug my shoulders and say pleasantly,
“I respect your point of view. But please don’t forget that Jesus tells us that to reject him has eternal consequences.”
The greatest sin in all of creation is to reject the God who made this world and sent his Son into it to save us. Yet even so, our responsibility is to show the grace and love Jesus showed even to those who reject him.
3. Make it personal
At this stage, after being amazed at Jesus’ supernatural knowledge about her relationships, the Samaritan woman’s conversation becomes rather theological, perhaps to change the subject.
“Our fathers worshipped on this mountain but you Jews . . .” John 4:20
It is so easy to go down a path in the discussion that is really a blind alley. But Jesus doesn’t fall for this – he still controls the conversation. He soon brings it back to the central issue of life, to salvation, to being right with God.
Jesus assures her that God’s way of salvation is coming through the Jewish people. He emphasises that true worship is not something performed outwardly but is spiritual and must be in accord with God’s truth.
“God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24
The woman recognised that salvation would be brought to God’s people through God’s Messiah, his chosen king, and that he will explain everything.
“’I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”’ John 4:25
This is always the point that we need to get to, the identity of Jesus, God’s Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
There are many ways we can help steer a conversation onto what really matters.
A lady in her thirties was referred with breast cancer. She came to us from outside our catchment area because I had an interest in breast reconstructions. This is the operation she eventually had. As she was recovering she asked to have a word with me.
“Do you know that I had decided to commit suicide if I had had to have a mastectomy?”
Clearly her appearance meant a great deal to her. I took this to indicate that she might want to talk about spiritual matters so replied,
“Are you ready to meet God then?”
“What do you mean?” she replied.
“The Bible teaches that after we die we face God’s judgment. So to speed up that process is not very wise if you’re not sure you are ready to meet him. Are you sure you are ready for this?
She was certainly keen to talk on! I don’t think anyone had ever shared with her the great news about Christ and the evidence that this story is true. I gave her a book to take with her and suggested she talk about these things with her own doctor, who I knew was also a Christian.
4. Show the relevance of Jesus Christ
Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman now moved onto the vital subject of himself. She had mentioned the Coming Messiah. Jesus said to the woman,
“I who speak to you am he.”
Jesus has clearly made a great impact on this woman. She cannot keep her new discovery to herself. She immediately begins to introduce her friends to Jesus.
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah” John 4:29
What a great catchphrase this is, “Come and see.” Such invitations are a major feature of those in whom God has put his Spirit. They want others to recognise who Jesus is. ‘Come and see what is going on in our church.’ ‘Would you come with me to the Christianity Explored course? I have just finished one and it was life changing.’
Anyone can please the Lord Jesus by giving such invitations. Jesus knew that the life he offers was the secret for her having a fully satisfying life. It is the same for all people,
“My food (what really satisfies me), is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34
It really does satisfy us to live as God wants. There are two priorities in life. To behave privately knowing that he sees everything I do, and publicly to draw others to him. People desperately need to know of the peace with God that the gospel offers.
The key question everybody needs to think about is “Who is this Jesus?” Is he God’s Messiah, the Saviour of the world or is he a charlatan?
Today many of us make tactical mistakes when discussing these matters. It will not be uncommon to be asked questions such as,
“What do you think a Christian is?”
“Do you believe in a heaven and hell?”
The common mistake is to answer directly and say what you believe, but therein lies a pitfall. When a person says, “I believe . . .” or “I think . . .”, the obvious reaction is, “Well I don’t” and a debate about your belief ensues.
Can I suggest that it is much better to blame Jesus. So when asked the above questions, reply,
“Well Jesus said . . .”
“Jesus taught a lot about hell . . .”
In this way the debate is not about you and your beliefs but about Jesus and his authority, which is just where you want to get to.
When Billy Graham was speaking at his missions his catch phrase was,
“The Bible says . . . the Bible says . . . the Bible says. “
This is a similar approach. He is passing the buck from himself onto what God has taught.
A Modern Example
When Paul wrote to the church members at Colossae, he included a short section on evangelism (Colossians 4:2-6). This contained the phrase, “Make the most of every opportunity”. Opportunities are everywhere if only they can be seen.
I was on a teaching ward round with my firm when we came to a very pleasant lady in her 50’s who was in for terminal care. She had liver secondaries and was feeling very weak. She asked if she could have a private talk with me later. When I returned she said,
“I am finding this business of dying very difficult. Could you speed it up for me?
She clearly wanted ‘euthanasia’. I replied,
“We don’t do that,” but we went on to have a discussion about what she was finding difficult and the things we could do to help her. I wondered if there was some spiritual problem underlying all this so I continued,
“I wonder if there is a reason that God is keeping you going like this. Do you think you have got everything ready?”
“I think so,” she replied, “I have cleared all my cupboards at home.”
“Yes, but on a deeper level, are you sure you are ready to meet God or aren’t you sure about these things?”
“Oh! I think I’m ready, I’ve never done anyone any harm.”
Here was this lady about to meet her maker and she wasn’t ready. Fortunately our hospital has Gideon Bibles in the bedside lockers so I asked if I could show her a few things.
“I would like that,” she replied.
The first thing she needed to be clear about was that when we die we will face judgement. I wondered about using the passage in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 but decided that the wording was too aggressive for this lady so we looked up Hebrews 9:27.
“. . . man is destined to die once and after that to face judgement.”
The great attraction of using this verse is that the adjoining verses both talk about Jesus died to “take away the sins of many people.”
I illustrated this by placing a book on my open hand, and explained that this represented my sin, which acts as a barrier between God and myself. My religion, which was illustrated by my fingers actively moving under the book cannot help get rid of the barrier. She seemed to understand this so we went on to talk about sin and to show that no-one is naturally good enough for God. Her claim about ‘not doing anybody any harm’ was both untrue and certainly inadequate. So we looked up Romans 3:11.
“There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.”
She then agreed that being right with God was never something she had bothered about at all. We also looked up Isaiah 59:2,
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden your face from you, so that he will not hear.”
As we talked she began to understand her problem.
“How can I get right with God?” she asked.
Sitting on her bed we talked about the Lord Jesus. We talked about his death on that cross and how he died to take away the consequences of our sin and to enable us to be right with God. We then turned to 1 Peter 2:24.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
As we talked it all seemed so clear to her, the Holy Spirit was convicting her of sin and righteousness and judgement in a non-aggressive way. She then said,
“I need to be forgiven by Jesus. Will you pray for me now?”
At this point the nurses sitting at the adjacent nurses station jumped up and pulled the screens round even though they give hardly any privacy. They must have been listening. I prayed thanking God for what he had done for us on the cross, and asking that, just as he had promised, he would put her name in the ‘Book of Life’, forgive her sin and give her his Spirit. She was very grateful. I left her with a list of the verses we had looked up as well as two more on assurance,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed over from death to life.” John 5:24
The Lord gave her great joy that continued. Her husband phoned me up the next morning.
“Are you the doctor who spoke to my wife yesterday?”
“Yes,” I replied rather hesitantly as I didn’t know what was coming.
“We are not a religious family in any way, but I would like to thank you for spending the time with her. She has such peace. Would you mind explaining to me what you said to her?”
He phoned me at home a few days later at the weekend and came for tea. I was interested to see that somehow he had obtained a large unused Gideon Bible, Authorised Version, which had the words, ‘Headmistress’ printed in bold type on the outside. We went over the gospel in a very similar way. He wasn’t ready to commit himself but I gave him a copy of ‘Cure for Life’ and said he could phone at any time.
His wife moved to the local hospice where I visited her on one occasion. She was holding firmly onto her Saviour even though she was sleepier from the drugs. We looked at Romans 8:1 which is another great verse on assurance.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because . . . ”
To make this simpler to understand, I wrote her name on a piece of paper and placed it inside the Bible.
“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus and this piece of paper represent you. Because you are now ‘in Christ’ when you meet God he will not see your sins at all, he will see that you are in Christ and have ‘his righteousness’. Furthermore Jesus is now in heaven and because you are in Christ he will take you to be with him there.”
The nurses told me that she later asked them to read her the whole chapter of Romans 8. About two weeks later I had a phone call from her husband to say that she had just died. Apparently one of the last things she said to her husband was to ask him to become a Christian and made him promise to “go to the doctor’s church”. He did faithfully come and he later attended a Basics course when he also committed himself to Christ.
What a joy it is to be involved in gospel ministry, to see people’s eyes being opened to the truth about Jesus. The woman at Samaria started thinking of Jesus as just a man but this understanding gradually developed,
“You are a Jew” 4:9
“Are you greater than our father Jacob?” 4:12
“I can see that you are a prophet.” 4:19
“I know that the Messiah is coming.” 4:25
“Could this man be the Christ?” 4:29
“ . . . we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”
Q.E.D.
The Church’s Weapons
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about the weapons the church uses, he starts,
“By the meekness and gentleness of Christ . . .” 2 Corinthians 10:1
It is only by demonstrating the grace of God in our behaviour and conversations that people will come to know the God of Grace himself. The weapons people of this world use against the gospel are usually powerful political pressure. Paul says, in contrast, that the church’s weapons are ultimately more powerful.
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they (our weapons) have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4
Paul goes on to explain the weapons they use to defeat the enemy.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
This ‘demolishing of arguments’ is an intellectual exercise. The church does its best to demonstrate that what God has revealed in Scripture is not only the best way to live but the only way to be saved when the final judgment comes. But such debates must never be at the cost of losing ‘the meekness and gentleness of Christ’. What we are backs up what we say.
Most of this article is discussing our role. However it is God who brings to life the seed that we sow. This is why prayer is fundamental when we share the gospel. The seed sown may take some years to germinate. Out role is to sow, God’s work is to bring the seed to life.
BVP
