How Will They Know...?

I just began teaching a discipleship class at my church on witnessing, and I’m using a book to which I contributed a chapter—The Complete Evangelism Guidebook, edited by Scott Dawson. One of the great values of this book is that the reader discovers how to define, demonstrate, declare, and defend faith with almost anyone from virtually any background.

I’m convinced that we can weave the essence of the gospel into practically any conversation. That’s why we need a variety of tools in our tool box. But I must confess to you that I’m not one of those loquacious people who finds it easy to talk to anyone anywhere. By nature, I’m an introvert. Most people laugh when I tell them that because the only time they see me I’m talking in front of lots of people.

Evangelism has never come easy for me, though. Yet I’ve known clearly for the last twenty-five years that I have a story to tell. I came across a definition of witnessing a number of years ago that set me free: “Witnessing is being faithful to share Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.”

For the first time, I discovered that my job in evangelism is to be faithful to share Jesus Christ…and that my introverted personality is a non-issue since I am to rely upon the Holy Spirit’s power…and that I’m not responsible for what people do with the gospel once I’ve given it to them.

We sometimes use a term that I understand and even use, but I’m afraid it leads to confusion more than clarity. The term? “Soul-winner.” By that term, obviously, we mean someone who shares the gospel and leads people to faith in Christ. But what happens when the lost person says “No” to the gospel? Does that make the witness a “soul-loser”? Of course not. Yet I’ve seen far more than my share of witnesses who hold to an “ends-justify-the-means” mentality in evangelism…which leads to tactics that might lead to decisions but not necessarily disciples! Perhaps I’ll write about that more at a later time…

I’ve read that at the end of World War 1, there were many French soldiers who were shell-shocked to the degree that they didn’t know who they were. The French responded by hosting what was called an “Identification Rally” in Paris. Multiplied thousands of people gathered in the designated area, and one-by-one each of the soldiers mounted a platform, looked out at the crowd, and said: “Please someone tell me who I am.”

What a privilege we have to tell people in our circles of influence who they are. They are people created in the image of God and loved beyond degree by Him. But how will they know that if we don’t tell them…?