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Q0709

HOW CAN I SHARE MYFAITH WITHOUTAN ARGUMENT?

OOne answer is to go low-key,relational, and long-term.

“Friendship evangelism” is an important way to attractpeople to the difference thatChrist is making in us (1 Pet.3:15). But is that the wholeanswer? Have some of us beenusing that strategy as an excusenot to talk openly about our faith?

When I met Bill Fay, I senseda deep faith and conviction thatrang true. Hearing his story andlistening to him describe practicalways of being more direct inwitnessing reawakened a sense of urgency in my own heart.

RBC offers Bill’s experienceand method of witnessing notbecause we think it’s the onlyway, but because of the need tobe influenced by someone who isdoing all he can to reach peoplefor Christ.

Martin R. De Haan IIManaging Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: FPG International /Dick LuriaScripture quotations are from the New International Version, ©1973,1978,1984 by theInternational Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers.©1991,1997,2002 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Overcoming Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

How Can I Share My Faith Without An Argument? . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 1:The Approach . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 2:The Bible . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Step 3:The Close . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Dealing With Objections . . . . . . . . . . 23

A Personal Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Key Words . . . . . . . . . . 32

Q0709Share w-o Argument 2col pp 11/10/04 2:15 PM Page 1

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

FOREWORD“Christ Jesus came into theworld to save sinners—ofwhom I am the worst. Butfor that very reason I wasshown mercy so that in me,the worst of sinners, ChristJesus might display Hisunlimited patience as anexample for those who wouldbelieve on Him and receiveeternal life.”

—Paul (1 Tim. 1:15-16)

JJesus Christ transformslives. Just as Hedramatically redirected

the life of the apostlePaul, the Lord continues tochange the lives of men andwomen today. Bill Fay, theauthor of this booklet, isone of those people. Hewas pursuing his own goalswhen the Lord brought himcrashing to his knees.

Early in life Bill haddetermined that he wasgoing to be number one inwhatever he did—no matter

what it took. In college hediscovered ways to cheat toreach his goals. But moreimportant, he learned howto gamble. In fact, hisexceptional talents as acard shark helped pay hisway through college.

After college he landed asales job and rapidly movedup the corporate ladder. But his life took on a newdimension when he visitedLas Vegas, the gambler’smecca. Because of his cardskills he was noticed, andhe made connections withprominent people in theunderworld. While keepinghis corporate job intact, hebegan to be a channel formafia money around thecountry.

Bill moved from city tocity, job to job, wife to wife,pursuing his self-centeredgoals. He thought he had it made when he becamethe president and chiefexecutive officer of a largeheart pacemaker company.

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He had limousines, big expense accounts,recognition, Rolexes,diamond rings, and gold on his hands and aroundhis neck. But amid all themoney, power, and glamour,life was lonely and empty.

In addition to his regularcorporate job, Bill thendecided to get involved in another enterprise thatwould make use of hismarketing skills. He builtone of the larger houses ofprostitution in the United

States. This business,however, got him intotrouble. He was arrested on charges relating to his new venture, and hiscorporation fired him. But

Bill started an executivesearch business and beganmaking money again.

As a relaxing diversionduring his high-rolling,high-stress life, Bill wouldescape to a vacation spot in Colorado called LostValley Ranch. He didn’tknow it at first, but theplace was staffed bybelievers in Christ. He didnotice, however, that therewas something differentabout the place.

Bill could out-argue anybeliever who dared to takehim on, but one Eastermorning he heard somethingthat would eat away at himuntil he gave his life toChrist. During a service inan open field, a young manabout 22 years old talkedabout the difference betweenhappiness and inner peace.Bill listened intently becausehe knew he didn’t haveinner peace. But when theyoung man said that peacecomes only through a

3

Amid all themoney, power, andglamour, life waslonely and empty.



personal relationship withJesus Christ, Bill got on hishorse and muttered, “I don’tneed that kind of junk in mylife.” And he rode out of themeadow.

Some time later, Billwalked into a racketballfacility and met a man whowould play a key role in hiscoming to faith in Christ.Dr. Paul Grant had gone to play racketball that dayafter asking the Lord for an opportunity to share his faith. The two men met,and Paul lovingly told Billabout Christ.

Paul invited Bill and hiswife, Peggy, to church. Afterthe service he invited themto his home. Paul and hiswife, Kathie, radiated apersonal relationship withJesus. Although moved bytheir testimonies, Bill wasnot ready to give his life toChrist.

Still on probation fromhis previous arrest, Bill wascaught in a police sting.

After a weekend in jail witha bond of $250,000, his lifecame to a crisis point. Billsat around his house for 2 days in tears. The pain in his life was surfacing. He considered escapingthrough drugs, alcohol, and even suicide. By God’sgrace he didn’t take any ofthose options.

Bill’s wife suggested thathe call the pastor who hadmarried them. After someinitial reluctance, he pickedup the phone. What he hadheard 7 years before at theranch was on his mind. Hetold the pastor he wantedinner peace. The next dayhe drove 85 miles to a littlecountry church. Kneelingon the dusty floor, he cameto know Jesus Christ in apersonal way. That was onMarch 4, 1981. He left thatchurch a different man.

He returned home andstood trial, but the case wasdismissed. As he left thecourthouse he determined

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never to go near a jail orprison again. But the Lordhad other plans. For thenext several years he visitedprisoners to tell them aboutJesus.

Since then, Bill hasshared his faith with peoplefrom all walks of life andhas taught many others todo the same. But in Bill’sown words, “The greatestmiracle of all is not thechange in what I do but inwhat I have become. Thepursuit of power, money,

and women has beenreplaced by the pursuit of the virtues I had oncescorned: love, honesty,loyalty, self-sacrifice, self-discipline, humility, faith,patience, and endurance.And because I know thatthe only life worth living isthrough Christ, I have madeit my life’s work to shareHim with others.”

In the pages that follow, Bill will explain how he shares his faith with confidence, and howyou can too. —The Editors

5

“I pray that youmay be active in

sharing your faith,so that you will

have a fullunderstanding ofevery good thing

we have in Christ.”Philemon 6

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Bill Fay is a graduate ofDenver Seminary, is thechaplain of several policedepartments, works as achaplain in cooperation withthe Colorado Sectional PGAand the PGA of America, hasan internationally syndicatedradio program Let’s Go, andis a national speaker andseminar leader.



OVERCOMINGOBSTACLES

HHave you everwanted to shareyour faith but

chickened out? When I ask that question inmeetings at churches, eventhe pastor’s hand goes up.That’s normal.

What makes it difficultfor us to share our faith?During a seminar I wasleading, people gave thesereplies:

• I’m unsure how toguide the discussion to the Scripture.

• I fear rejection.• I don’t know how to

start a conversationabout spiritual issues.

• I lack confidence thatthe Lord will speakthrough me.

• I can’t imagine thatsome people wouldeven care to hear what I have to say.

We’re going to deal with

the how-to questions in thepages to follow, but we firstneed to clarify our role andthe proper attitude.

We need to get away from a “win them”mentality. People do notput their faith in Christbecause we cleverly “force”them to believe. We mustrealize that if we “win”someone to Christ, he’sprobably not saved. D. L.Moody, the evangelist, wasriding on a train when adrunk came up to him andsaid, “Mr. Moody, I’m oneof your converts.” Moodyreplied, “I’m afraid you are,because you’re obviouslynot a convert of the Lord’s.”

We also have to believethat success in God’s eyesis sharing our faith andliving out our Christian life. He does not measuresuccess by how manypeople we lead to JesusChrist. Our job is to befaithful to Him.

Still we fear failure and 6



rejection. There is nostronger feeling in the worldthan that. It hurts. But wemust remember that it’s thegospel people are rejecting,it’s Jesus they’re rejecting,it’s not us. It feels like ussometimes, but we have to get free from that desireto cause the conversion.Jesus said, “No one cancome to Me unless theFather who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44).

The apostle Paul wroteto the believers at Corinth,“I came to you in weakness

and fear, and with muchtrembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). But that didn’t stop him. In fact, most of the NewTestament was written bythat “coward.”

God understands that we might be afraid. But we have no excuse not totell others about Christ,because His strength is made perfect in ourweakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

I dread every hospitalvisit I have to make. It’shard for me. But it doesn’texcuse me not to go to seethe people that God puts inmy path in hospitals. We’vegot to go—whether we likeit or not.

Remember Moses. Hestuttered. Moses would not have been a good TVpersonality today. Godchooses the weak things of the world to shame thewise and the strong. And ifanybody qualifies for that,it’s me.

And finally, if you are 7

Success isn’tleading someone to Christ. Success is acting out your

Christian life,sharing the gospel,and trusting Godfor the results.



thinking that the personyou are considering talkingto is an impossible case,you’ve got to trust that God is the God of theimpossible. You and I needto remember our part andGod’s part in the process of sharing our faith.

Our Part• “Then Jesus came to them

and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earthhas been given to Me.Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations’”(Mt. 28:18-19).

• “We are therefore Christ’sambassadors, as thoughGod were making Hisappeal through us” (2 Cor. 5:20).

God’s Part• “‘Not by might nor by

power, but by My Spirit,’says the Lord Almighty”(Zech. 4:6).

• “My message and mypreaching were not with

wise and persuasivewords, but with ademonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4).

• “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him”(Jn. 6:44).

• “No one can come to Meunless the Father hasenabled him” (Jn. 6:65).

8



HOW CAN ISHARE MY FAITHWITHOUT ANARGUMENT?

II would like to outline a simple step-by-stepapproach that I have

used in sharing my faithwith others. By followingthis method I have avoidedunnecessary arguments thatwould have hindered acomplete presentation ofthe gospel.

First, I ask five questionsto determine the otherperson’s spiritual condition.During this time I amprobing for information, not presenting my case.

Next, I have the personread several key Bibleverses and ask what theverses say to him or her.The goal here is not topreach but to allow theHoly Spirit to bringconviction as the personreads and thinks about thetruths of Scripture.

The third step is anotherseries of five questions.These summarize the truthsof the verses the person hasjust read, and they call for a decision to receive Christ.

STEP 1:THE APPROACH

When you ask questions, it allows people to expresstheir viewpoint. People loveto give their opinions.When you ask a question,don’t respond with yourown answer. Then youwon’t end up on somerabbit trail. The minute theother person says he’s going

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THE APPROACH1. Do you have any kind

of spiritual belief?2.To you, who is Jesus?3. Do you think there is a

heaven and a hell?4. If you died right now,

where would you go? 5. If what you believe

were not true, wouldyou want to know it?



to reincarnate or fizzlewhen he dies, you are going to want to jump inand respond. But don’t!

In addition to thefollowing questions, I sometimes use otherintroductory “bridge”questions. Here’s one of my favorites: Do you go tochurch anywhere? It’s sononthreatening. Try that on people at work andwatch what happens. Thatquestion can serve as aneffective transition into thequestions that follow.

1. Do you have anykind of spiritual belief?The first question does notask people if they believe in God. That’ll give you theresponse, “None of yourbusiness.” But if you askthem if they have anyspiritual beliefs, they’ll talkto you, some for 5 or 10minutes. Let them talk,because when they’re donethey’ll have very little tofight with you about. If they

simply answer yes withoutexplaining, go on to thenext question.

2.To you, who isJesus? When you ask a person what he thinks of Jesus, he will usuallyrespond, “The Son of God,”or “The man who died onthe cross.” But if I were toask one of you who Jesusis, I hope your responsewould reflect your personalrelationship to Him. I hopeyou would say, “My Lordand my Savior.” So listencarefully to the person’sanswer.

3. Do you thinkthere is a heaven anda hell? The third questionis safe. It is an intellectualquestion. It simply askswhat they believe about the life to come.

4. If you died rightnow, where would yougo? If heaven, why? Iasked a woman, “Do youthink there is a heaven anda hell?” Her exact words

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were “Absolutely not.” But the fourth question ispersonal. So when I askedher where she would gowhen she died, she said,“Heaven, of course.” Theissue went from her head toher heart. When you starttalking about the personalaspect of a person’s life, heor she will get very serious.

If people answer,“Heaven,” you ask, “Why?”The answer they give willpinpoint their true beliefs. If they say, “I don’t know,”continue on to the nextquestion.

5. If what youbelieve were not true,would you want toknow it? The last question is a tough one.Jesus drove the Phariseesand Sadducees nuts withhard questions, so I makeno apology for asking them.

What are the twopossible answers to questionnumber 5? Yes or no. If it’syes, you go on. If the answer

is no, stop. And I’ll tell youwhat will happen almostevery time you stop. Theperson will say, “Well, aren’tyou going to tell me?” Veryrarely will you ever get a nothat sticks. If you do get ano, remember, it’s not yourproblem, it’s God’s.

VARYING THEAPPROACHYou can vary the approacha number of ways. Let megive you some examples.

Example 1: I was at an airport and I happenedto be where they take thetickets before you get onthe airplane. I noticed awoman who was all byherself. I walked up andsaid, “I have a question.”And she said, “What is it?”I said, “If you died rightnow, where would you go?” She said, “That’s animportant question.” So I took her off to the sidewhile she gave her life to Jesus Christ.

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These questions aremerely a probe to see if the heart is ready. You canadjust them any way youwant. If you want to go rightto the heart of the matter,just ask. There isn’t aconversation you can’t turnto any of these questions.

Example 2: You couldsay to someone, “In thenewspaper you read aboutsports superstars who aremaking lots of money butwhose personal lives are amess. What do you thinkmakes a person happy? I’m curious, do you havespiritual belief in anything?What is your understandingof who Jesus is?”

Example 3: You couldsay, “You know, with thecurrent world tensions andwars going on, do you thinkabout all those soldiers who may die? Do you everwonder what may happento people when they die?I’m curious, what aboutyou? If you died right now,

where would you go?”You can turn any

conversation into a tender

confrontation. But don’t getaway from the questions, or you may not get the

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A DERRINGER

A derringer is a smallpocket pistol.Thegamblers in the oldwesterns used to shootpeople with them.

When you gosomewhere to share with somebody, don’t takea “shotgun” (your churchBible). If you had tried toshare with me before Iwas a believer and daredto put a big Bible on atable in a restaurant, youor the book would havebeen on the floor. Don’tdo that.

Get yourself a“derringer” or sharingBible—a New Testamentpocket/purse version.Every day that you put itin your pocket or purse,you’re saying,“Lord, I’mready.”



opportunity to talk withthem about the Lord.

Example 4: A Jehovah’sWitness came to my door. I was running late for anappointment, but I openedthe door anyway. She said,“Hi, I’m here from theWatchtower.” I said, “Look,I really need to go but Ihave just one question.” Shesaid, “What is it?” I said, “Ifwhat you believe were nottrue, would you want toknow it?” She replied, “Oh,but sir, what I believe istrue, and I came here toshare truth and revelationwith you.” I said, “Ma’am,that’s not my question.” Idid this 12 times. Finally she said, “Well, yes.” Andshe’s been back twice.

The whole idea of thesequestions is to get to theBible. The power is in God’sWord. I want to get to HisBook.

Example 5: I have afriend who reads 1,200words a minute and

remembers everything hehas ever read. For 20 yearshe was a practicing atheistwith a hobby of tearingapart other people’sreligious beliefs.

Then one day in Guam,on a bus, he saw a guy whowas being teased by severalpeople. Someone grabbedthe man’s Bible and tossedit out the window. Myfriend, who had a sensitiveheart, walked up and said,“Why do you let them dothis to you?” The man said, “I’m a Christian.”

My friend responded,“Do you mean to tell methat you believe thatsomebody got vomited outof the mouth of a whale?”The guy’s answer was yes.My friend’s immediateresponse was, “How do you know?” His answerwas, “My Bible tells me so.”

This went on with morequestions and the manreplying with a yes or a noand saying, “My Bible tells

13



me so.” This shook myfriend so badly that he went home, borrowed aBible, and read it throughover the weekend. A versein Job that said “Stop andconsider God’s wonders”spoke to him (Job 37:14).

For 2 weeks heintellectually struggledbetween killing himself ortrusting Christ before hegave himself to the Lord.Today he a strong Christiandefender of the faith.

The point is this: Don’tget intimidated. Let your yesbe yes and your no be no.

STEP 2:THE BIBLE

God uses Scripture tochange people’s lives. The

next step in sharing yourfaith without an argumentis based on two principles.The first is from Romans10:17, “Faith comes fromhearing.” Hearing is thekey. The second principle is in Luke 10:26, which Iparaphrase, “What does itsay to you?” The Holy Spiritwill do the convincing andthe convicting. You’re justgoing to stand by andwatch God do something.

1. Romans 3:23—“For all have sinnedand fall short of theglory of God.”

When I’m sharing, I take my Bible and I put it in front of the otherperson—on the table or onhis lap. I point to Romans3:23 and I ask him to readit out loud. Then I ask him,“What does it say to you?”When you do it this way, hecan’t say, “That’s just yourinterpretation.” He will readit and tell you what it says.Then he won’t be able to

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THE BIBLE

1. Romans 3:232. Romans 6:233. John 3:34. John 14:65. Romans 10:9-116. Revelation 3:20



say you told him. Whenyou do that, the otherperson will be doing thespeaking, the Holy Spiritwill be doing the convicting,and nobody can start anargument with you aboutthe interpretation.

After the person readsthis verse and tells youwhat it says, if you feel that the person needs moreclarification simply say,“Have you ever committedmurder?” The person willlikely say, “No, I haven’t.”You then say, “Well, haveyou ever hated someone or been angry?” He willprobably feel a littledefensive and say, “Yeah.Haven’t you?” You say,“Sure I have.” And thenyou could say, “Did youknow that God says angeris the same as murder?” Atthat point you usually getsilence, because suddenlyhe realizes that by God’sholy standards he’s a mess.

2. Romans 6:23—“For the wages of sinis death, but the giftof God is eternal lifein Christ Jesus ourLord.”

Ask the person to readthe verse, and then ask,“What does it say?” He or

15

WHERE TO GO NEXT?In case you’re wonderinghow to remember whatverse to turn to next,here’s a suggestion.

Open your Bible toRomans 3:23.Turn it so aperson who is facing youcan read your Bible.

In the margin closest toyou, write,“Romans 6:23.”As you review Romans 3:23with a person, you will seethe reference for the nextverse in the margin.

Then, on the page forRomans 6:23, write in themargin,“John 3:3.”

Do this for all the versesyou will be using. Each timeyou turn to a verse, you’llknow where to go next.



she will tell you it says thatfor one sin we die.

This verse can devastatea person’s religion and hisfeeling that he’s okay. InRomans 6:23, underline orcircle the word sin. Thendraw a line through theword death. In big lettersnear it, write the word hell.Then circle the word in. (Dothis in your Bible beforeyou talk with someone.)

There is a tendency in usto be harsh. We might wantto tell a person, “Listen,stupid, for one sin you’regoing to hell. And yourdumb religion isn’t going tosave you!” If you do that,it’s not only unloving, butthe person is not going tolisten. You can get themessage across in a moregentle way. The whole keyis where you point.

After the person has readthe verse and told you whatthe verse says to him, youcan simply say, “Did younotice that in my Bible I’ve

underlined the word sin?”(Point to the word.) He willsay, “Yes.” Then you say,while pointing to the wordsin, “This reminds me thatthere’s no s at the end ofthe word. God says for onesin He will send me to hell.”You point to yourself, butthe other person gets theidea.

Now suppose the person you’re talking to is a churchgoer. You say,“Did you notice that I have circled the word in? Itreminds me that I am to be

16

There is a tendency in us to be harsh, but

we must be lovingand gentle in howwe communicate

the gospel ofChrist.



in a relationship with JesusChrist, not in a religion.”Right then his infantbaptism, his confirmation,his church membership, orwhatever other religiousactions he was trusting justwent out the window. Withthis verse you have politelyshown him that he has nohope. And you’ve done itnicely.

3. John 3:3—“No one can see the kingdom of Godunless he is bornagain.”

As a reminder toyourself, in the margin of your Bible by John 3:3,draw a cross like the crossof Christ, and alongside ofit write the question, “Whydid Jesus come to die?”

Here is the oneexception when you do notask the person what theverse means to him. Why?Because he won’t know.

The way to get into thisverse is to turn to the person

and say, “I know somebodylike you who walked up toJesus Christ and asked himhow to get into heaven. Thiswas a religious guy, but heknew that going to churchdidn’t cut it. I want you toread aloud what Jesus saidto him.” And he will read,“No one can see thekingdom of God unless he is born again.” Do notask him what it means tohim. He won’t know. Weknow from Scripture thatNicodemus was confused.

You can then say,“You’re probably wonderingwhat Jesus was talkingabout. Nicodemus thoughtJesus meant he had to goback inside his mom. Butno, Jesus was talking abouta spiritual birth.”

Now’s the time to ask a question. Take out a penand make the sign of across with your fingeracross your pen. Then ask,“Why did Jesus come todie?” Fifty percent of the

17



people won’t know. Listenfor an answer. The personmay say that Jesus had toor that He wanted to. Ask,“Why?” Eventually he maysay, “Jesus came to die forsin.” Say, “That’s right. Thewages of sin is death. Youjust finished reading that inRomans 6:23.” Then say,“Jesus Christ hung on thecross and He took uponHimself all of your sins, andmy sins, and the sins of thewhole world. When He diedon that cross, He died forme, for my forgiveness.That forgiveness is a giftfrom God.”

Then take your pen inyour hand, hold it out, andsay, “If you want this pen,what do you have to do toget it?” In response he maysay, “I’d have to thankyou.” You would say no.Then he might say, “I haveto pay you.” Say, “No, it’s afree gift.” Don’t give him theanswer. Eventually he willsay, “I just need to take it,

accept it, or receive it.” I don’t know what it is,

but people just hate to takeanything that’s free. Butwhen they take it, that’swhen you can say, “Look,that’s the same thing youhave to do with the cross. It doesn’t become your giftuntil you accept it foryourself.”

4. John 14:6—“I am the way and the truth and the life.No one comes to the Father exceptthrough Me.”

When you turn to thisverse, ask the other personto read it aloud and thenask him what it says. Theperson will tell you it saysthat there is no other wayto go to heaven to be withGod except through Jesus.

Once in a while I’ll say,“Do you see any other wayto heaven except throughJesus Christ?” And I’ve hadpeople angrily say, “No!”Why do you think they’re

18



aggravated? It’s becausethey think it’s a stupidquestion, which it is,because the verse is veryclear. If they see it, theymay give you an agitated“No!” What you arehearing is God at work.

5. Romans 10:9-11—“If you confess withyour mouth, ‘Jesus isLord,’ and believe inyour heart that Godraised Him from the dead, you will besaved. For it is withyour heart that you believe and arejustified, and it is withyour mouth that youconfess and are saved.As the Scripture says,‘Anyone who trusts inHim will never be putto shame.’ ”

One of the most difficultthings for people to believeis that they can be forgiven.After you have asked theperson to read Romans10:9-11 and he has read it,

ask him if the phrase “If you. . . believe . . . you will besaved” includes murderers,alcoholics, drug addicts,etc.” You ask that, becauseif he believes God willforgive a murderer he willbelieve God will forgive himfor adultery, alcoholism,drugs, unlovingness, orwhatever. It’s a key issue.

But let’s suppose thatwhen you ask him if itincludes murderers he saysno. Ask him to read theverse again. Let the Spiritteach him. Remember, thisis the Holy Spirit’s problem.It is not your problem toenter into an argumentabout whether or not Godwill forgive murderers.

6. Revelation 3:20—“I stand at the doorand knock. If anyonehears My voice andopens the door, I willcome in and eat withhim, and he with Me.”

As you did with theother verses, ask the person

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to read this verse out loud.Then ask, “What does itsay to you?” He will saythat when we open the doorof our lives to Jesus, He willcome in.

With this verse you want the person to realizethat Jesus is eager to enterinto our lives. The Lordlongs for us to be in a rightrelationship with Him.

Now you are ready to move to the final step.

STEP 3:THE CLOSE

This is the part that manyof us fear most—the call for a decision. Here’s howto do it.

These final fivequestions are a recap of all the key verses you justguided the other personthrough.

1.Are you a sinner?This question points backto Romans 3:23, “For allhave sinned.” Earlier hesaw that the “all” includeshim.

2. Do you wantforgiveness of sins?Romans 6:23 says thatforgiveness is a giftprovided by Jesus Christ. To have that free gift we must accept it forourselves.

3. Do you believeJesus died on thecross for you and roseagain? In John 3, Christexplained that He woulddie for our sins and that wemust put our trust in Himto be born again.

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THE CLOSE

1.Are you a sinner?2. Do you want

forgiveness of sins?3. Do you believe Jesus

died on the cross foryou and rose again?

4.Are you willing tosurrender yourself to Christ?

5.Are you ready to inviteJesus into your heartand into your life?



4.Are you willing tosurrender yourself toChrist? John 14:6 saysthat the only way to beright with God is throughJesus Christ.

5.Are you ready toinvite Jesus into yourheart and into yourlife? Romans 10:9-10 statesthat we are saved when wepersonally accept the truthabout Jesus and put ourtrust in Him.

When you ask this finalquestion, be silent—andpray silently for the person.The Holy Spirit will beworking on him. Thirtyseconds of silence will feel

like 20 minutes to him. This is the moment whensomebody is making adecision about whether hewants to follow Christ orSatan. So whenever I askthat final question, I pray in my mind as hard as I can while I silently wait for his answer.

I once watched someonebreak out in beads of sweat.I didn’t say a thing. I justmaintained eye contactwith him and prayed.Finally he said, “Yes.” And I said, “Yes what?” He said,“I’m ready.” I said, “Readyfor what?” I wanted him tomake a clear, personaldecision. It had to be hischoice, an expression of his heart’s desire.

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Be silent and pray,

and let the Holy Spirit do

His work.



A SUGGESTED PRAYERWhen the person you aretalking with says that he isready to invite Jesus intohis life, you may wish toguide him through a prayerlike this one:

Father, thank You for thefree gift of eternal life. Iknow I am a sinner andneed Your forgiveness. Iam sorry for my past sins,and I ask You to forgiveme.

Jesus, I believe Youdied on the cross for mysins and arose from thedead. I now open thedoor of my heart andinvite You to come intomy life. I realize there isnothing I can do to earnmy salvation, and I placemy complete trust in Youalone for eternal life. Ichoose to follow You asmy Lord. Please make methe person You want meto be.

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HOW CAN I SHAREMY FAITH WITHOUT

AN ARGUMENT?

THE APPROACH

1. Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?

2.To you, who is Jesus?3. Do you think there is

a heaven and a hell?4. If you died right now,

where would you go? 5. If what you believe

were not true, would you want to know it?

THE BIBLE

1. Romans 3:232. Romans 6:233. John 3:34. John 14:65. Romans 10:9-116. Revelation 3:20THE CLOSE

1. Are you a sinner?2. Do you want forgiveness

of sins?3. Do you believe Jesus

died on the cross for you and rose again?

4.Are you willing tosurrender yourself toChrist?

5.Are you ready to inviteJesus into your heart and into your life?



DEALING WITHOBJECTIONS

WWhen you talkwith peopleabout trusting

Christ, you will hearobjections, reasons theydon’t want to believe. Indealing with their objections,the key word you need toremember is why.

Let me give you anexample. I know a manwho owns severalMcDonalds. I heard that he wanted to talk with someone to learn more about God, so Iarranged to meet him atone of his restaurants. Wesat down in one of thoselittle chairs. We got all donegoing through the questionsand the Scripture and hesaid, “That’s it, Bill?” And I said, “That’s it.” He firstobjection was, “What isGod going to do with mybusiness?” Because I didn’tknow whether God was

going to bless him or busthim I asked, “Why? Whatabout your business?”

Either God dealt withthat objection or it wasn’timportant because heswitched to a completelydifferent objection. He said,“What about my mother?” Iwondered why a successfulbusinessman was worrying

about his mother so I said,“Why, what about yourmom?” He said, “She willdisown me!” I turned toMatthew 10:37, which says,“Anyone who loves hisfather or mother more thanMe is not worthy of Me.” I had him read it out loud,then I asked, “What does it

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In dealing withobjections, the

key word to remember

is why.



say to you?” He said, “Ibetter worry about Momlater and give my life toJesus now.”

Here are some othertypes of objections:

1. “I’m not ready.”What are you going to say?You don’t have the foggiestidea why the person is notready, so you can simplyask, “Why?”

2. “I have to thinkabout it.” Again, ask why. It’s disarming, isn’t it?Because oftentimes the firstobjection is just a reflexdefense.

3. “I’ve alwaysbelieved in God.” I would say something like,“If you’ve answered yes toall five questions, then youwon’t have any problemaccepting Christ. Let’s prayfor you to receive Him.”People tell me all the time that they have alwaysbelieved in God. But I tellthem, “That isn’t going tohelp you any. The demons

believe in God andshudder” (Jas. 2:19).

Remember the penillustration? (p.18). Youcould refer back to it againand say, “Believing that Ihave a pen in my hand isfine, but until you take thatpen it’s not your gift.”

4. “My friends willthink I’m crazy.” Youcould say, “That’s probablytrue, but the issue now is:Are you ready to inviteJesus into your life?”

5. “Other religions tellme that I need to workmy way into heaven.”There are only two types ofreligions in the world. Onesays that Jesus might be a prophet, a teacher, or agood guy, but that He is notGod. It also believes thatyou can work your way toheaven—by a terrorist act,eating the right food,performing religious rites, or living a good life.

Christianity, however,makes two opposite claims:

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(1) Jesus is God, and (2)God had to come to man;man couldn’t go to God.

So we have opposingviews that can’t both beright. The importantquestions are: Which one is true? and How do weknow? Start by examiningthe claims of Christ. He is

either a liar, a lunatic, orthe Lord. Christ either liedabout being God, or He wasdemented, or He is all Heclaimed to be. There is noevidence that Jesus lied. Hecertainly didn’t have any ofthe symptoms of a lunatic.So it leaves only one

conclusion: He is who Heclaimed to be.

6. “Will God want meto quit drinking and startgoing to church?” When Iwas converted on March 4,1981, I turned to a godlypastor and asked, “I don’thave to be a Bible thumper,do I?” “No,” he answered. Isaid, “Good. I don’t have toread the Bible to be saved,do I?” “No,” he replied. Iasked, “Can I go home and have a drink?” He said, “Yeah, but don’t getdrunk.” He knew that if my conversion was real, Ididn’t need to get into theminutiae. (By the way,today I read my Bible dailyand I haven’t had a drinksince 1981.)

When people ask you adirect question, don’t waffle.If they ask you, “Will I have to give up my live-inrelationship?” you better say yes. Why? Because theconviction is already onthem—or else they wouldn’t

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Christ either lied about beingGod, or He wasdemented, or He is all He

claimed to be.



ask the question. If theydon’t bring it up, don’t startbringing up all the sins youknow are in their life. Lookat all the sins in your lifenow, let alone before youknew Christ.

7. “How could Godsend anyone to hell?” Doyou realize that God doesn’tsimply look around and say,“I’ll send that one and thatone to hell”? God sent HisSon into the world to savethe whole world, not someof it. Everyone who calls onthe name of the Lord will besaved (Rom. 10:13).

8. “I’m not ready.” Ihave just one question for aperson who says that: “Ifyou were to die right now,having not accepted Christ,where would you go?” If herealizes that he would go tohell, he won’t resist muchlonger.

9. “There’s error in theBible.” When I hear that, Isimply hand the person myBible and say, “I’ve been

reading this for a while.Could you show me one?”Usually the person will say,“Well, I haven’t read it.” So,depending where you are inthe process of sharing, yousimply point back to whatthe Bible says. That will bethe last time you will hearthat objection.

10. “Aren’t there manytranslations of the Bible?”The answer is absolutelyyes. There are manytranslations, but they all say the same thing.When somebody asks that question, it’s usually adefense mechanism. Simplysay yes, and then turn themback to the Bible verses youhad been looking at.

11. “How do you knowthe Bible is true?” For onething, archaeological dataproves it. There are over14,000 New Testamentmanuscript copies inexistence today. And whenscholars compare them,they can’t find more than

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a paragraph’s worth ofdifference—and most ofthose are misspellings oralternate spellings. None ofthem affect basic doctrinalissues. All the evidencepoints to the conclusionthat we have an accuratetext. The first manuscriptfragment of the gospel ofJohn is dated only about 40 years from the time itwas written.

Even though we knowthe Bible is 100-percent true,we need to realize that wecan’t force people to acceptit as true. If they don’t wantto accept it, they won’t, nomatter how much evidencewe give them. Every time weoffer evidence, they will askfor more—because theydon’t want to believe.

When I run intointellectual skeptics, Iremember that they’retough, angry, and confused,and that they’ve been givena lot of misinformation. Iremind myself what I used

to be like before I wassaved.

When a leading lawyerat Harvard Universitydecided to hold a mock trial to see if there wasenough evidence to provethe resurrection of JesusChrist, do you know whathe concluded? He said that beyond a shadow of adoubt, the preponderanceof evidence exists to showthat Jesus Christ was raisedfrom the dead. But he said,“I choose not to believe it.”

You can’t make anybodybelieve anything. You couldtry to convince me thatAbraham Lincoln lived, but if I didn’t want tobelieve it I wouldn’t.

The question I askpeople who say they won’tbelieve the Bible is this:“What would it take toprove to you that it is God’sWord?” Most of the timethey don’t even know. It isa practiced defense they are giving you.

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A PERSONALCHALLENGE

PPeople who arespiritually dead are

all around us. Peoplewithout a born-again,personal relationship with Jesus Christ are in our workplace, ourneighborhood, our home.

As an evangelist, I travelaround quite a bit. I seechurches with all of theiractivities and programs thatseemingly have little ornothing to do with bringinganyone to know JesusChrist. I think there aresome hard questions thathave to be asked of thechurch today.

HARD QUESTIONSHow many of us have been the means by whichsomeone came to knowJesus Christ? Do we reallybelieve that unless someoneis born again he is damned?Where’s our sense of

urgency? I’m fearful for allof us, that when we standbefore the living, holy Godwe are going to be humbledinto the dust because wehave so pitifully failed tocarry out the GreatCommission.

We seem to haveforgotten our mission, and that God has providedeverything we need to fulfillit. The resurrection power of Christ, the power thatraised Him from the dead,lives in us. With that kindof power, what excuse arewe going to offer to God fornot sharing our faith?

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How many of us have been the means by

which someonecame to knowJesus Christ?



YOU ARE NEEDEDOut of 100 conversions,only 15 come to knowChrist from an event like anevangelistic service. Eighty-five come to know Christthrough a personal witness.That’s how important it isfor us to speak to othersabout Christ.

If you have neveropened your mouth, youare guilty of the sin ofsilence. Maybe you thinkyou can’t make much of a difference, but you can.Consider, for example, the following story. Oneevening a deacon, for areason known only to him,set aside a visitation cardthat somebody had turnedin to the church with arequest for a home visit.That week President John F.Kennedy was assassinated.To that deacon’s shock, thenext Tuesday when hecame back to look at thecards for visitation, thename on that particular

card was Lee HarveyOswald, the man who had shot the President.

EXCUSESThere is a tendency forChristians today to expectsomeone else to evangelize.We have the classicexcuses: “I’m too busy.”“It’s the pastor’s job.” “Idon’t have the gift ofevangelism.” We findexcuse after excuse afterexcuse.

When Peter deniedChrist three times, he said,in so many words, that hehad never seen or heard ofJesus. None of us wouldhave the audacity to saythat. But we do the samething in another way: Wedeny Jesus Christ by ourexcuses and our silence.

HOW MANY SHARETHEIR FAITH?I want to ask a very hardquestion. Have you, in thelast year, taken your Bible

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and turned the pages ofScripture with someonewho is unsaved, to showhim how to become a born-again Christian? I havenever been in a churchwhere more than 10 percent of the congregationindicated that they hadshared their faith in the lastyear. May God forgive us!

This is serious business.A person without a born-again, personal relationshipwith Christ is on the way tohell. The endless torment,the darkness, the gnashingof teeth. There is anurgency about sharing our faith. Yet some of usremain in silence. I don’t understand it.

A DREAMI had a dream. In my dream was an ocean full ofdrowning people. There wasa rock that came up out ofthis ocean. Some peoplecrawled up on that rockand got to safety.

As I watched, 10 percentof the people on the rockbecame active in makingropes and ladders, gettingnear the edge, trying to pullothers up on the rock. But90 percent became veryactive in their rock gardens,their rock music, their rockjobs, their rock lives. Theyhad a lot of rock meetingswhere they spent lots oftime developing theirprograms to go back to the ocean—but they neverwent.

The thought that keptcoming through all the timein this dream was, “Couldthey have forgotten thatthey themselves were oncein the sea?”

A small group of peoplewho seemed to be theleaders bothered me evenmore. They spent timetrying to get up higher onthe rock. It seemed theydidn’t want to get near theedge because it was riskydown there. The dead, the

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diseased, the lost—theywere down there. But thegroup on the rock spentmore time cloistered in falsesecurity on the higher partsof the rock. Yet every one of them heard a voice say,“Will you come? Will youhelp Me?”

WILL WE TAKEA RISK?In my dream, the rock wasthe cross of Calvary. Thevoice they heard was JesusChrist, calling you and meto come. There’s only onething that remains, and thatis whether or not we will.

The question is, will youand I be different? Will webe willing to hear the voiceand take a risk and speakout in order to rescueothers?

If your answer is yes,pray these words right now:

God, make me Yourwilling servant. I havebeen wrong to be silent.Every day, every moment,I will endeavor to shareYou with others.Remember: Success is

not leading someone toChrist. Success is acting outyour Christian life, sharingthe gospel, and trustingGod for the results.

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There is an urgency aboutsharing our

faith.Yet some of us remain insilence. I don’tunderstand it.



KEY WORDSBorn Again: to be givennew spiritual life throughChrist; to become a child of God (see John 3).Christian: someone whohas personally accepted the free gift of salvationprovided by Jesus Christ.Eternal Life: the state ofbeing in a right relationshipwith God, and existingforever in heaven.Evangelism: the processof telling others about Jesusand what He has done forthem.Faith: the act of trusting,relying on, depending onsomeone to do somethingfor you. To be rescued fromsin’s penalty we need totrust Jesus Christ.Forgiveness: the removalof the penalty for thewrongs we have committed.Gospel: the truths aboutJesus’ life, death, andresurrection, and how we can have eternal life.

Heaven: the place ofGod’s special presence andthe eternal home of all whohave been forgiven.Hell: the place of eternaljudgment for all who haverejected Christ.Inner Peace: a personal sense of joy andcontentment that comes tothose who are in a rightrelationship with God.Jesus Christ: the secondperson of the triune Godwho became the God-manin order to pay the penaltyfor our sin and restore us to God. Salvation: the work ofGod by which He rescuessinners bound for hell andgrants forgiveness becauseof what Christ has done onthe cross.Sin: any violation of God’slaws.

For more help in sharing yourfaith in Christ, ask for the RBCMinistries booklet How Can IBreak The Silence? (Q0706).

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