Be Bold! Tell Them About Jesus

Be bold and tell them about Jesus! “Tell who?” you may ask. Well, as Christians we should be telling everyone we know who isn’t saved. Now, telling the unsaved of the world about Jesus isn’t always as easy as it may sound. But, if we ask the Lord to open the doors for us, you will be surprised at how easy it can be. It’s easier to share Jesus with people you know but with total strangers? Well that is where we need boldness. Where does that boldness come from?

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”       Acts 4:31 www.biblegateway.com

 

This is a good example of what the Lord will do for us if we just ask. He filled them with the boldness of the Holy Spirit; they were bold in their witness of Jesus when they were preaching but even more when they were challenged by the religious leaders of the day. And that is the type of witnessing I would like to talk about here. In most cases, it will be easier to witness to those who have no religious orientation than those who are involved in some type of organization other than Christianity. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness are two that come under this category.

Sharing Jesus is Not an Argument

There will a time when you will hear that knock on your door or maybe you will be approached on the street and you will have your faith challenged by a member of the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witness) or by two guys on ten speed bikes wearing white shirts and skinny black ties. This is not a time to argue the different points of different religions or to mock each other. The Bible tells us,

                           “…….be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks for the hope that is in you…..”    1 Pet. 3:15

I have always found it easier to allow them to speak first; then I can pick out the things that fly in the face of the truth. You don’t have to be an expert in Mormonism or Jehovah’ Witness, you just have to know your Bible. I read about how banks train their tellers on how to spot counterfeit money. At no time was counterfeit money ever used in the training; they repeatedly handled real money, over and over. The thinking is, after knowing the real thing so well, it will be easy for them to spot a fake bill. Bible students should be prepared in the same manner.  If you know the Bible, as a good Bible student should, you will be equipped to stand your ground and show them the love of Jesus and where they have erred in their belief. Sounds easy, right? Well, don’t get too cocky, just ask God for boldness and let the Holy Spirit be the guide in the conversation. As a young Christian, young in my faith, I was cornered in my garage on a Saturday morning by two Jehovah’s Witness’ and for about an hour and a half we went toe to toe discussing the two faiths. It seemed like only a matter of minutes when we were finished and it was then that I realized the Holy Spirit had been in control the entire time. He had given me scripture to counter them with, scripture I would have never remembered on my own. I felt so blessed, knowing that many seeds had been planted in the minds and hearts of these two guys but I made one mistake. When they knew there was no progress to be made that morning and they were leaving, I allowed an opening for them to return. I not only felt blessed but just a little bit cocky or proud that I was able to hold my own against two seasoned cult members. They asked if they could return again sometime and discuss this further and I agreed. The Holy Spirit had not agreed to that, I did! They returned the next Saturday morning but I had since been chastised by the Lord and I sent them away. These people are extremely well trained so don’t be deceived into believing you can defeat them in a heated debate or argument. I don’t know anyone who was ever saved as the result of losing an argument! Be bold! Tell them about Jesus! Remember, it is an opportunity to allow them to see the real Jesus, the real God and all of His love.

Show Them The Love of Jesus

I remember a time when I was in the process of  moving and was approached by two Jehovah” Witness’. We were loading a truck with all our stuff, and that is never fun, when they came down the sidewalk and instead of approaching the adults, they began to talk to the children. My two daughters were about 11 and 13 and I exploded. Well, not exactly showing the love of Jesus there, these two seized the opportunity to point that out. Well, any chance of being a witness now was really gone because I reacted even worse. They were calm, cool and collected but I had totally lost it. I was extremely frustrated by the move; it was hot and we were beginning to tire. The devil knows when to strike, he is a genius when it comes to bringing on the attack. I had reacted to them approaching my daughters; to me, it was like Satan himself approaching them at the time. But, when they baited me into becoming even more enraged, I knew it was a lost cause and any chance of being a witness was long gone. So, as the man and the woman who represented the Watchtower Society walked away, they commented on Christians not being the loving people they proclaimed to be! I wanted to dig a hole and jump in. I was now more upset with myself than I had been with them. I was still, at that point, very young in my faith and the Lord used that experience to teach me the right way to react when challenged. It is not about reacting in a violent manner or with an argumentative attitude, it is all about letting them see the love of God. Remember, be bold and tell them about Jesus!

Both the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witness will use the Bible in one way or another so there is an open door for us. Allow them to speak first with the understanding that after you listen to them, they will listen to you. Too many times, when I was speaking with either one of these, they would have their say and when I began to talk, they immediately remembered another commitment they had to run off to. No, there is not another commitment, they are taught to do this so we don’t have the opportunity to tell them the truth. Of course, to them it is lies they are not to hear. So, hear them out and pay close attention to the scripture, if any, they might use. Hear is where you will have the opportunity to take them into scripture, using their own Bible, and tell them the truth. Don’t argue scripture with them! Remember, they have been well trained and indoctrinated; you don’t want to fall into that trap. I was approached at my home by two women from the Watchtower Society on a Saturday morning; I was just arriving home and they were approaching my front door. Well, before I could even greet them, I was bombarded with questions concerning the trinity. It was a calculated attack since one of the women had been there the previous Saturday and now returned with a well seasoned veteran. I simply told the woman that I usually didn’t discuss the trinity with people who are not saved because they would never comprehend it without the Holy Spirit. I’m not sure if she was offended by that remark or not but she insisted so I asked if she would allow me to use her Bible and I then, using her Bible, took her to Zechariah 12:10,

                       ”And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and

                        supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one

                        mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

She just looked at me and I began to explain the meaning of the scripture and slowly pointed out the trinity within this scripture. She had insisted that no where in the Bible was the trinity mentioned. This was a scripture that was not part of their training and indoctrination. It very well might be now since I was not the only Christian to use it to show the trinity is in the Bible. I used her Bible so she would know I wasn’t using another Bible which might have been doctored to meet a Christian agenda. There was no argument, no debating, we simply discussed the trinity and the sincere love of God which was mentioned in that verse. God the father sent His one and only Son to die in our place to pay the debt which sin required. His mourning, Jesus being pierced while hanging on the cross, the Holy Spirit being poured out as it was on the day of Pentecost. It was all there for her to see and from her own New World Translation Bible! With the help of the Holy Spirit, he had given me the ability to be bold and tell them about Jesus.

I have been told by Christians how they received either of these movements when they come to their door. I would expect non-Christians to tell me these things but not Christians. Some of the responses from Christians have been, “I’m a Christian! Now go away!” as the door is slammed in their face. Others have openly, at their front door, mocked and made fun of them calling them names and being extremely rude. Some Christians don’t know how to react or respond to them so they just slam the door shut. Non-Christians have told me they have sent their dog out after them and another told me he threw water on them. Other Christians have admitted to me they don’t know anything about Mormonism or Johovah’s Witness and thought they were just another denomination. When approached they told them they already have a church home and to go away. Well, since they didn’t know anything about them, at least they didn’t attempt to argue or debate because that wouldn’t have went to well. We, as Christians need to show them the love of Jesus.

One more story which relates to this (I promise this is the last one) is another time I returned home and found two Mormon missionaries sitting on my front porch with my son. I greeted them and struck up a conversation and that led to a discussion about the Bible. I knew they considered the Bible inferior to the Book of Mormon so, I ask them why. They told me there are too many contradictions in the Bible. So, with a quick prayer, I asked them to give me a contradiction in the Bible. They quickly replied with an example and I was asking the Lord to not let me look stupid and to provide a response and an explanation of how the scripture they had given me was not a contradiction. The Lord came through and as soon as they had finished I jumped quickly for my Bible and discussed with them the truth and was able to explain why the scripture in question was not a contradiction. It was obvious this scripture is one they were taught to use against Christians concerning Bible contradiction. Now, we were able to communicate with each other without arguing or mocking each other and the Lord planted seeds that day. As I explained the scripture in question, they had the intense look of , “Wow, I didn’t know that!” on their faces. It was a real blessing to have been bold and  tell them about Jesus. By the way, they were sitting on my from porch at the invitation of my son. He told me later he had seen them across the street and thought I would be interested in talking to them. I was at the church taking care of some business when he did this and he told me he wasn’t sure how long he could keep them there. Kids do the craziest things, regardless of what age they are. He was about 15 at the time. So, I didn’t have to wait for them to come to my door, my son would chase them down and bring them home. Well, that a topic for another writing.

Be a Student of the Bible

Finally, be a student of the Bible. It is absolutely imperative to know what the word of God says if and when you are challenged by a non-believer.

                        “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly

                          dividing the word of truth.”    2 Timothy 2:15

If we don’t know what the word of God says, then how can we respond when challenged. There is an epidemic of Bible illiteracy running through the Church today. The Bible is for all Christians, not just pastors or Bible teachers. I’ve seen Christians wearing t-shirts with scripture on them and when challenged about the verse or passage on the shirt, they were clueless! The fact is, we need to know the Bible in order to be a credible witness. If approached by a non-believer or one of the movements mentioned earlier, how are you going to respond? How can you be bold in your witness if you don’t even know how to respond? Being bold and telling them about Jesus requires you to have some Bible knowledge.  The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness’ will know if you are a student of the Bible by the way you counter their lies with Bible truth. If not you have brought a knife to a gun fight. As Christians we should be Bible students regardless of the situation; our relationship with Jesus grows through our study of the Bible. We learn about the love of God from His word. How can we share His love with others if we don’t understand it ourselves. Because, it is all about love and compassion; we don’t counter their approach to prove we are right and they are wrong. We counter as a witness of Jesus Christ and show them His love for a lost and dying world. If the person doesn’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are bound for hell and eternal condemnation! Those who are members of a cult or cult like movement are in need of salvation from their sin. They need to hear about and know Jesus and it is our responsibility to share Him with them. So, be bold and tell them about Jesus!

There are ministries which are dedicated to helping us learn how to be a witness to these cult or cult-like movements. One of the best apologists which I have listened to in my Christian life was Dr. Walter Martin. His material and teachings are on a web site which has been dedicated to keeping his ministry available. The web site is: www.waltermartin.com  Another site that is very helpful in this area is The Berean Call. This is the ministry site of Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon and is named after Acts 17:11, concerning the Bereans checking out the apostle Paul’s teaching. The web site is: www.thebereancall.org