The centrality of witnessing. At the center of the Christian faith is the Great Commission. In it Jesus told us to witness to the lost. This was His first command to His disciples: "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). This was also His last command to His disciples: "You shall be My witnesses" (Acts 1:8). He said to go into all the world and share the gospel. He said that once the Holy Spirit would come, we would receive divine power that would enable us to be witnesses of Him. Witnessing is central to the Christian life. And once you have discovered the joy of witnessing, a Christian life without witnessing hardly seems Christian and hardly seems like life.
Excuses for not witnessing. The command is clear, and someone might think that believers would gleefully obey. After all, their Savior has given them a command, and it would only be right that they would do anything He might ask out of their loving gratitude for all He had done for them. But also, since they have the greatest and most important news the world has ever known, one would expect that believers would share this news of how to go to heaven with those who so desperately need it.
But that is not the case. Most believers, rather than sharing the good news with the lost, share excuses among themselves as to why they aren't obeying the Great Commission. When people don't want to do something, they look for excuses to get them out of having to do those things. Even good Christians seem eager to find ways to disobey any command that makes them feel uncomfortable. And let's face it: Sharing our faith with others can be very uncomfortable &emdash;especially when we don't know how to do it very well. And so, we look for excuses.
I want to demolish a very common excuse you might have heard for not witnessing. This is very important because getting the excuses out of the way is the first step in becoming a mighty witness for Jesus. In order to demolish excuses, it is helpful to understand something about the nature of Christian excuses. What makes some excuses so convincing is that they sound so good. A really good excuse usually has the following characteristics. First, it sounds spiritual by using religious terms. For example, most people won't accept an excuse like, "I don't want to witness." There's nothing spiritual sounding about that. But if the excuse says something like, "I don't feel led to," then someone might think that the Lord Himself is behind the decision to not witness. Second, a good excuse has to sound as if your disobedience is really obedience. For example, people usually don't say, "I don't have time." Instead, they say something like, "I'm busy with a different ministry." And so, believers think that if they are busy serving the Lord, then it must certainly be all right if they disobey the command to witness.
With these principles in mind, let's look at a really "good" excuse for not witnessing. You've probably heard it before. You might have even used it before. I know I have. But I thank God that He has liberated me from it. Right now we'll look at one of the most commonly heard excuses.
Perhaps the most common excuse for not witnessing is "I don't have the gift of evangelism." Now, doesn't that sound spiritual and Biblically enlightened? But the problem with it is that it is based on a false assumption: the wrong assumption that there is a special gift of evangelism given to some believers. There are two major reasons why we need to reject that excuse as bogus: first, the Bible never mentions a special gift of evangelism, and second, every believer already has the general gift of evangelism.
Did you know that the Bible never mentions a gift of evangelism? That's right. In the lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible, many gifts are listed, but the gift of evangelism is not. If you want to check that out, read the following passages: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30.
Now if you know your Bible well, you know that Ephesians 4:11-12 lists evangelists among those people that God gives to the church. Many people deduce from this that evangelism must be a spiritual gift. That text says, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry." Notice, in this passage evangelists are part of the group of leaders that God has given to equip the believers to do the work of the ministry. Evangelists in this passage are those who teach and train believers to do the work of the ministry. The evangelist is not someone who has a gift of evangelism; it is someone who has a gift of training people for evangelizing the lost.
So the bottom line is that the Bible never says or implies that there is a special gift of evangelism given to only certain believers. I am not saying that He does not specially equip some believers so that they are able to witness extraordinarily well. If you want to call that a gift of evangelism, I can't argue with you. But just remember: the Bible never mentions a special gift of evangelism.
Not only is there no special gift of evangelism mentioned in the Bible, but no such gift is needed for evangelism. While I have said that there is no special gift of evangelism, I am not denying that there is a gift of evangelism. The point I am trying to make is that (if you want to call it a gift), every believer has the gift of evangelism. This will become clearer as we look at three things God has provided for us to do the work of evangelizing. There are three things that are needed to do effective evangelism. First, you need God's power; second, you need passion; and third, you need practical skill. Each one of these is either something that you already have because you are saved or else is readily available to you.
When people speak of someone having a gift of evangelism, usually they are merely describing someone who has these three things (power, passion, and practical skill) at a highly developed level. They have these things, not because God gave them some special gift, but because they have developed to a better degree these things that all believers have.
Power. First, God has already given you His power for evangelism. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." The divine power of God is mentioned in connection with being witnesses. Although that power can certainly help in other areas of our Christian life (such as for having victory over sin and for growing in Christlikeness), that power of the Holy Spirit is focused in this passage on evangelism. The bottom line is that God empowers all believers to be witnesses for Jesus.
In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, something very similar is stated. Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." Notice once more that the power of God is mentioned as the context in which we are told to be witnesses.
Look at 2 Corinthians 4:3-7. In it Paul talks about the gospel being hidden to those who are spiritually blinded. Then he says that we preach Christ to those spiritually blinded people (v. 5). But in verse 6 Paul says a most important thing: God has made His light shine in our hearts so that we can shine that light of the knowledge of God for the lost to see it. God shining the light in our hearts is not mentioned as being for our personal benefit, but as something that is done in connection with our witnessing to those who are blinded, who do not know of "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." He shines in our hearts so we can shine the true light to the lost so that they can see. Finally, in that passage he says that God has placed this treasure in our earthen vessels (our bodies) so that the greatness of the power would be seen to be of God and not of ourselves.
You see, every believer has the power of God within him, and that power is given to us to help us in evangelism. That power is a gift God has given to all believers. When it comes to the power you need to be a witness, God has included all the power you need. His salvation gift package to you says in bold letters across the box, "Batteries included." Those who are effective witnesses don't have more of that power, that power just has more control of them. They have merely turned the switch to the on position. The only thing you can do to maximize that power that God has already put within you is to walk in fellowship with Christ.
Passion. The second thing you need to do evangelism is passion for the lost and for the Lord. To be perfectly frank, this is why many people do not witness: They don't have enough passion, enough love, for the lost or for the Lord.
To get this principle of passion in proper perspective, it helps to see three truths about the love needed for evangelism. First, Jesus had this love for the lost. Second, God has given us His love (which includes love for the lost). And third, if we love Him, we will obey Him.
First, there is no doubt that Jesus had a deep love for the lost. The most obvious proof is that He went to the cross for the lost. In 1 John 4:10 it says, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the payment] for our sins." This passion for the lost is something that Jesus definitely had throughout His ministry. Matthew 9:36-38 tells us that when Jesus saw the multitudes, "He felt compassion for them." Then He told His disciples that the harvest was large, but that there weren't many workers. In the next chapter He then commissioned His disciples to become workers.
Second, God has given us His love. God's love is something He has placed within every believer. Romans 5:5 says, "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Then 1 John 4:19 says, "We love, because He first loved us." A new believer starts out with enough of the love he needs to be an effective witness. God has put it there. The problem is that rather than letting that love show and grow, too many of us have become like the pastor at Ephesus. Jesus complained to him, "I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (Rev. 2:4).
Third, if this love is active in our hearts, we will obey Him and witness. Jesus said in John 14:23-24, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … . He who does not love Me does not keep My words." Jesus commanded us to go and witness for Him. Therefore if you love Him, you will witness for Him. If you do not witness at all, you cannot genuinely claim to love Him.
If you really love the lost and if you really believe that they are under God's wrath, but that they could be saved through the gospel, how could you not tell them how to know for sure they are going to heaven? A lack of passion for the Lord and a lack of passion for the lost is why many believers don't witness. You see, they don't have anything active in their lives to witness about.
This passion is not a special gift. Now, I'm sure you can see that passion for the Lord and passion for the lost is not some kind of special gift from God that only effective evangelists have. It is something He has graciously given to all believers.
Practical Skill. The third thing you need to do effective evangelism is practical skill in witnessing. There are various levels of this skill. The good news about this is that every true believer knows enough to begin witnessing well enough to lead others to Christ. Every believer knows enough to at least tell others how he came to trust Christ as his Savior. It's like the blind man that Jesus healed. When the religious leaders demanded an explanation of how he got his sight restored, he said, "One thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25).
So also, every believer can at least tell others what happened to him. He can say, "Before I trusted Christ as my Savior, I didn't know if I was going to heaven when I die. But then I found out that Jesus died for my sins and then came back from the dead to prove it. And now I know that I'm going to heaven when I die because Jesus really did die for me and He has credited me with His righteousness. It was a free gift, and I didn't do anything to deserve it. All I had to do was to receive God's gift to me of eternal life. Wouldn't you like to receive that free gift too?"
On the other hand, if someone says he doesn't know enough to witness, you have to wonder why he'd say that. There are two possible explanations. If someone really doesn't know enough to witness, that's a pretty strong indication that he isn't saved. Then again, if he says he doesn't know enough to witness, it might be that he really does know enough, but he just doesn't realize that he does. What he needs to do is the same thing that Jesus told the demoniac in Mark 5:19 to do. Jesus had just brought the man to spiritual renewal and told him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." Jesus knew that effective witnesses are first and foremost those who just tell others what God has done for them. No special spiritual gift is needed to be able to do that.
Being an expert witness requires more training. While every believer knows enough to be a witness, not everyone knows enough to be an expert witness. That is where training comes in. There is no shame in admitting that you don't yet have the skills you need to be an expert witness. The problem is not how much you have learned, but how much you are learning. If you say, "I don't know how to witness very well," my answer would be, "That's okay. But what are you doing to change that?" If you want to become an expert witness, I have just the answer: the Witnessing Workshop.
There are three things you need to learn in order to be an expert witness: concepts, communication, and conduct. You can learn all of these at our "Witnessing Workshop." First, you need to be trained in the concepts of evangelism. This involves learning the passages and doctrines of the Bible that relate to the gospel and witnessing as well as some general principles for witnessing to the lost. It involves knowing what the gospel is and what it is not, because there are a lot of false gospels in the world today.
Second, you need to be trained in the communication of evangelism. This involves learning a "canned" presentation so you know exactly what to say. The purpose of learning a canned presentation from rote memory is not to straight jacket you and keep you from being dynamic. Rather, a memorized presentation gives you a starting point and it helps your witnessing to flow smoothly, clearly, and (with enough practice) naturally. First Peter 3:15 says, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." That is a direct command, and having a prepared presentation makes it easy to obey.
Third, you need to be trained in the conduct of evangelism. The only effective way to learn this is through actual practice. On-the-job training is basically the only successful way to train people to witness. It is the method which Jesus used to train His disciples. When Jesus called His disciples, He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). While the first two steps of the concepts of evangelism and the communication of evangelism are learned in the classroom and in study, the last step of the conduct of evangelism is learned through practical experience. This experience comes from going out with others who are already effective witnesses and watching them do in real life what you have been studying in the classroom. This on-the-job training will help you learn how to enjoyably give the gospel to others. It needs to be done in stages: first, by watching your trainer witness; second, by helping your trainer witness; third, by being watched and evaluated by your trainer as you witness; fourth, by practicing training others to witness with the help of a trainer. This process allows us to replicate in each trainee the entire training process needed to reach the world by multiplying witnesses. This on-the-job-training is perhaps the most powerful training tool for developing expert witnesses, but it is also probably the most neglected step in most every evangelism training program out there (with a few notable exceptions). If the idea of going out witnessing terrifies you, let me assure you that when you go out with someone else who shows you how to do it in real life, the fear fades away and a tremendous excitement grows from seeing people listen to the gospel and receive Christ as their Savior.
So let's review up to this point. If someone says, "I don't have the gift of evangelism," I'd tell him, "I'm glad you said that. It shows me you've given a lot of thought about your spiritual gifts and how the Lord wants to use you. But did you know the Bible never mentions anything about a gift of evangelism? On the contrary, the Bible shows that we need three things to be effective witnesses. So, I'd like to ask you three questions that highlight each of these things you need to be a witness. May I?" Assuming he says yes, I'd say, "Good, thank you. Now remember, these questions are not meant to question your intelligence or make you feel uncomfortable. I'm just asking them to help you think through what God wants you to do. So here we go.
"The first question has to do with the power to be a witness. Here it is: Have you trusted Christ as your personal Savior? If you say yes, then I'd remind you that Jesus Himself said that when you trust Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit gives you the power you need to be a dynamic witness for Christ.
"The second question has to do with the passion of evangelism. Here it is: Do you have a passion for the lost and for the Lord? That is, do you really care about whether people go to heaven or not and do you really love the Lord? Before you answer, I want you to understand that I'm not talking about whether you always think about it or always act like it, but whether deep in your heart that is the way you really feel. If you are really a believer, I know you do, because the Bible tells us that God Himself has put His love in the hearts of all believers. So, if you say yes, then I'd challenge you to let that passion come up to the surface of your heart and life so that it is obvious to everyone that knows you. Is that something you want? I know it is.
"The third question has to do with the practice of evangelism. Here it is: Do you know how you got saved? That is, do you know what Jesus did to save you from your sins and what you did to receive His gift of heaven and eternal life? Well, if you are saved, then you know enough to begin witnessing to others. But at the same time, do you feel you know enough to comfortably witness to strangers, deal with their objections, and actually lead them through trusting Christ as their Savior? Would you like to be a better witness? You can learn to be a better witness, and you need to be mentored in being a better witness. I'd love to train you and give you real on-the-job training. Are you interested?
"Now then, let me ask you one last thing. Since you have trust Christ, you do have the power of God to be a witness. Right? And you do have at least some passion for the lost and for the Lord. Right? And you are willing to develop the practical skill of being a witness. Right? So can you see why I say that to be an effective, great witness you don't need a special gift of evangelism? You've already got or can get everything you need to be an effective witness."
When someone says he doesn't have the gift of evangelism, he is basically using a spiritual sounding, but Biblically unfounded, argument to explain why he has been disobedient to the Great Commission. When people say they don't have the gift of evangelism, that makes it easier for others to say they don't either, and they in turn excuse their disobedience. And in the same way, when someone says that he does have the gift of evangelism, he is merely confirming in the minds of other believers who "know" they don't have a special gift of evangelism the false idea that God doesn't expect them to be witnesses for Him.
I am not denying that God blesses some people in a unique way to be especially skilled at witnessing. He does. He also blesses some people with special opportunities, and others with special results in their witnessing. This is clear in 1 Corinthians 12:5-6 which says that there are a variety of ministries that God gives us and a variety of effects (or, results) that He produces through His people.
If after all I've said and shown you from the Bible you still want to insist that some people have a special gift of evangelism, then for the sake of argument let me side with you and state my point this way. Every believer has the ordinary, plain vanilla gift of evangelism, but some people have been blessed with special skillfulness and a special obsession for evangelism. In the NBA every player is really quite talented. But not everyone in the NBA is gifted enough to be on the Dream Team. If you take the player on the NBA who is the least talented, he is still really quite talented, even though he can't compare to Michael Jordan. And in comparison to Michael Jordan he might not seem to be talented at all, even though he was obviously talented enough to get drafted.
Well, that's the way it is with evangelism. Every believer has enough of the gift of evangelism to be on God's witnessing league. Some people are superstars, while others are on the B-string of God's evangelism team. But every believer is gifted and talented enough to be on the team.
Imagine the impact on a B-string player if he thought that since he isn't as good as Michael Jordan, he isn't gifted at basketball. And imagine the impact on the other players if a superstar player were to say that he alone, unlike his teammates, was a gifted basketball player. When it comes to the so-called gift of evangelism, it's not a matter of the have's versus the have-not's. It's a matter of the have-some's versus the have-more's. Or as Jesus put it, it's a matter of those who bear fruit, those who bear more fruit, and those who bear much fruit (John 15:1-8). In this sense, every believer has the so-called gift of evangelism, while admittedly some believers can become superstars at it.
But remember, no genuine superstars got that way apart from lots of training and practice. So also, you cannot know for sure whether you could become a witnessing superstar without lots of training and practice. Even Michael Jordan was cut from a team earlier in his career because his coach didn't feel he had what it takes to be on the team. I'm telling you from God's Word that you all have what it takes to be on His witnessing team. But you'll never find out just how gifted you are without training and practice. And I'm here to help you get that training and practice.