How to effectively share your faith - Nov. 25, 2006

Our topic since mid-July has been "How to effectively share your faith with others." Our goal is that at the end of our study we will have an increased desire and an increased ability to effectively share our faith with others, calling them to repentance from sin and to trust in Jesus as Savior.

The final session, Nov. 26, contained a variety of resources not previously mentioned in the study. They are referenced below:

Article: "Are You Listening?" by David Ping from Outreach Magazine. Spiritual opportunities surround us every day when we take the time to engage with others and practice the fine art of listening.

Article: "Speaking to the Secular Mind" by Bill Hybels. We can't win non-Christians if we don't know how they think, and we can't know how they think if we never enter their world.

Article: "Ten Surprises About the Unchurched" by Thom Rainer. Results of research among the unchurched across the U.S. and Canada.

Article: "Delighting in Differences" by Erica Graf. A mom makes an unlikely friend when she steps outside her comfort zone.

Article: "Jesus Gets a Witness at KC's 'Gay Pride' Event" by Dwight Widaman.

Article: "What I Learned from Hootie and the Blowfish about Evanhelism" by Jim Clayton.

Article: "God Came Down" interview with Rebecca Manley Pippert of Salt Shaker Ministries (saltshaker.org).

Article: "Crossing Cultures" by Rajendra K. Pillai. America's religious landscape has changed dramatically, giving the Church unprecedented potential to share Christ with the world in our own backyard.

Article: "Ask Before You Answer" by Randy Newman. How to talk to skeptics, unbelievers, and mule-headed friends and family about God.

Article: Story about Billy Graham's spiritual father's history.
You will never know this side of heaven the impact on others, the ripple effect through the years, that your witnessing may have on others.

Photo: "Not My Job" - An amazing photo of a dead possum that a highway department road crew actually painted a yellow strip over instead of moving from the middle of the road before painting. The reason? It wasn't their job to remove dead animals from the road. Relevance to us? It's the job of each of us to share our faith with others and not to claim "not my job."

News story: A man studying to become a Baptist pastor has converted to Islam. He claimed that Islam was all that he wished Christianity would be. How can that happen? Was the man actually saved before his conversion to Islam? The only possible answer is that he was not a true convert to begin with.

Brochure: "Evidence for the Resurrection" from Rose Publishing.

Web site: www.carm.org – Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.

Web site: studentz.com - The student ministry site of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Check out the evangelism guide located there.

Thought: While it is important for us to communicate effectively with unbelievers, we dare not abandon the key terms related to the faith. Don't avoid using Christian terms. Just take the time to explain what they mean if the hearer doesn't know. Have you ever learned new words and their meanings? Of course you have. So can the unsaved. Don't water down the words of Scripture in an attempt to be "relevant" or "seeker-sensitive." There is nothing more relevant than what Christ did for sinners. French philosopher Simone Weil said: "To be always relevant, you have to say things which are eternal." God's Word is eternal, so it is already and always relevant.

Below is a summary of our discussions from Nov. 12 & 19: "True and False Conversion."

The Ray Comfort DVD "True and False Conversion" has been the subject for two weeks. You can hear the message online here. Below are some notes & quotes from the message.

Intro: (Romans 7:4)
D. L. Moody: “The law can only chase a man to Calvary – no further.”
What fruit will grow in a true Christian’s life? repentance, thankfulness, good works, fruit of the Spirit, righteousness

Parable of the Sower:
Mark 4:3-20;
Six characteristics of a false convert (stony ground hearer): immediate results (Mark 4:5); lacks moisture (Luke 8:6); no root (Matthew 13:6); receives with gladness (Mark 4:16); receives with joy (Matthew 13:20); believes for a season (Luke 8:13)

Two Plants:
Three things that expose false converts are tribulation, temptation and persecution.

Clean out the church:
Two effects of a church clean out: get rid of murmurers & complainers – those who cause division; show the stony ground hearer the error of his ways.
“God’s law strips us of self-righteousness.”
“The difference between Christian discipline and legalism is your motivation for doing what you do. For a legalist, he does good works to impress God and others. For a Christian, he’s motivated to be obedient because of what Christ has already done for him.” – Chuck Smith
Colossians 4:5 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”

Machete visit:
“We’ve got to stop putting our arm around everyone who professes faith, and begin examining each other – see if we’re in the faith.”

Ultimate false convert:
“A false convert will try to impress you outwardly with what he lacks inwardly.”

False prophets:
“The Bible speaks of false brethren, false apostles, false prophets, false teachers, and false converts.”
Matthew 7:15-23 – false prophets; good & bad fruit
Acts 20:29-30 – ‘savage wolves’ and ‘from your own number men will arise’

Life of false convert:
Genuine convert:
“That’s what happens to a true convert. He doesn’t fall away. He puts his hand to the plow and doesn’t look back.”
Was Judas a Christian? No. “One of you is a devil.”
Colossians 4:7-14 – Paul commends certain believers, but not Demas.
2 Timothy 4:10 – Demas has forsaken me for his love of this present world.
Matthew 13:23 – a genuine convert hears the word & understands it.

Unlawful use of the law:
1 Tim. 1:9-10 (not 2 Tim. 8:9-10 as said on DVD which doesn’t exist) – who the law is made for

Closing thoughts:
1 Peter 1:6-7 – greatly rejoice though in heavy temptation
Psalm 66:10-12 – God refines us like silver
2 Corinthians 4:17 – light and momentary troubles now nothing to compare with the eternal glory to come

Here's a summary of our discussions from Oct. 22, 29 & Nov. 5: "Hell's Best Kept Secret."

We've been watching Ray Comfort's DVD "Hell's Best Kept Secret" for 3 weeks, carving up the video into various segments and discussing it along the way, looking at relevant Scriptures as well. You can listen to it online here. It's also included with the book The Way of the Master and available for purchase from www.livingwaters.com. We used a listening sheet that is available in the room if others would like it. Below are some key points of the different DVD chapters.

Intro (2 minutes)
What percentage of converts does Ray say that modern evangelism is producing who turn away from the faith? (80-90%)
He says we "erroneously" (mistakenly) refer to these as "backsliders." The "True and False Conversion" DVD will explain why he disagrees with terms like that and 'carnal Christian'.

The Law (3 minutes)
What does the Bible say is perfect and actually converts the soul? (The Law of the Lord)
Telling someone what they’ve done wrong first makes the Good News make sense.
If I approach an impenitent sinner, someone whose understanding is darkened and say "Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins", it will be foolishness and offensive to him. (1 Cor. 1:18)

Open Air (2 minutes)
Will God forgive you just because you say you are sorry and won’t do it again? (No, there is a penalty to pay for breaking the law)

What sin is (1 minute)
Rom. 3:19-20; 1 John 3:4; Rom. 7:7; Gal. 3:24

Open Air New York (3 minutes)
Notice how he employs humor in the message. Even the one confronted has to laugh at the humor when the truth is revealed.
Notice how Ray is not distracted by the man's irreverent jokes and responses.

The Parachute (5 minutes)
Why was the first man told to wear the parachute? (to improve his flight) Why did he discard it? (because of discomfort and humiliation) His result is a bitter end where his condition is worse than at first – another inoculated and bitter backslider.
Why was the second man told to wear the parachute? (to save him when he has to jump) Why did he not discard it? (he knew it was about to save his life)
"Instead of preaching that Jesus improves the flight, we should be warning sinners that they're going to have to jump out of the plane."
"The issue isn't one of happiness, but one of righteousness."
"Peace and joy are legitimate fruits of salvation, but it's not legitimate to use these fruits as a draw card for salvation. If we continue to do so, sinners will respond with an impure motive lacking repentance."

False Convert (4.5 minutes)
"I so wanted sinners to respond to the gospel, I unwittingly preached a man-centered message."
"There is no outward evidence the guy in inwardly sorry for his sins." – Ray's reaction to the young man chewing gum, nonchalantly praying the sinner's prayer.
"He wasn't fleeing from the wrath to come because I hadn't told him there was wrath to come. There was a glaring omission from my message. He wasn't broken in contrition because the poor guy didn't know what sin was." Rom. 7:7

Preaching Santa Monica (8 minutes)
Blake said "I know that God loves the sinner, but he hates the sin." What about Ray's claim that "That's not biblical. That's something that we say so that we don't offend homosexuals. The Bible doesn't say that."
John 3:18 – whoever does not believe is condemned already; the Law just reveals the truth about this state of condemnation.
Ray talks with Rose about moving from the realm of belief to the realm of experience to counter her argument that people cannot know spiritual things in this life.

Ten Commandments (5 minutes)
"Time doesn't forgive sin."
Do not make a God to suit yourself. Statements like "My God…" are all true, because they are statements about the god someone has made up in their own mind.
James 2:10 – If you break one law, you've broken them all.

Open Air Santa Monica (3 minutes)
"If God is good, he must by nature punish…"

Using the Law (13 minutes)
"conscience" = "with knowledge"; when we sin we do it with knowledge that it is wrong
John Wesley: "Preach 90% law and 10% grace."
Charles Spurgeon: "They'll never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy law."
"You'll never convince a man to take a cure until you persuade him of the disease."
Clips on how many of the 10 commandments can you name vs. how many beers can you name

Closing Thoughts (1 minute)
"So I leave the ball in your court."

Here's a summary of our discussion from Oct. 15: "Less Going, More Knowing."

The discussion starter was the article "Less going, more knowing: Wherever you go, remember to pack your compassion." The article reminds us to not move so fast through our day-to-day lives that we fail to connect with the people we encounter on a personal level. While that is true, the intent of looking at the article was to explore further the author of the article, Alan Cohen, and his beliefs according to his web site.

I asked those present, "Do you think the author is a Christian? Why or why not?" There was a mixed reaction with some saying 'yes' and others skeptical. We then went to Cohen's web site (www.alancohen.com) where I read some of the Questions and Answers in his "Spritual Path" section of the site. It was obvious from that exercise that the person is not Christian, though he may occasionally use some words, phrases and even biblical quotes in his responses.

After visiting the web site and reading Cohen's other writings, we revisited the question "Do you think the author is a Christian? Why or why not?" This time all were in agreement that he is not. He has made up a god in his own mind who is not the God of the Bible.

The point? Just because we may have conversations with people who use a few words that we place importance on as Christians, that does not mean that their use of the terms and the Bible's use of the terms are the same. We need to dig deeper in conversation with others to make sure that we are using the same definitions of key terms like "salvation", "faith", "grace", even "God." More importantly, we need to make sure that our understanding of such terms is soundly biblical, comparing any other uses to God's Word and not accepting distortions.

Here's a summary of our discussion from Oct. 8: "Facing Opposition When Witnessing."

The discussion revolved around the experiences of some others and our presumptions about our own reactions to facing opposition when sharing our faith. The following four articles were read by small groups and summarized. They are available at the links provided if you want to read them yourself.

1. "PJI successfully defends youth minister arrested for mall evangelism"
2. "State agency launches probe after NY rink advertises 'Christian Skate'"
3. "ADF defends Christian couple arrested while preaching, praying in public"
4. "Pennsylvania Street Preachers Win Right to Witness in Public"

We discussed apparent trends in efforts to prevent free expression of Christian faith in the U.S, even to the point of violating free speech rights which Americans claim to value.

Several relevant Scriptures were referenced, including Matthew 10:19-20; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:4-5; 1 Peter 4:16; and we read Acts 4:1-22 about when Peter and John were hauled before the Sanhedrin and ordered to stop preaching in Jesus' name. Ofcourse, their response to the authorities was "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

When asked why we tend not to be very vocal in sharing our faith, some responded that we want to be accepted. We don't want to alienate people. How I wish we longed to be obedient to and accepted by Christ more than by mere men and women. It is far better to risk temporary alienation from a few mortals in our obedience to Christ than to risk eternal alienation from the God who created us and for whom we exist.

Here's a summary of our discussions from September 17, 24 & Oct. 1: "Praying Effectively for the Lost."

Billy Graham said that "Prayer is not the least you can do for someone, prayer is the most you can do for someone." I confess to thinking too often that most of the burden is on me to bring a lost person to Christ, forgetting the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to Christ. Since these weeks of study emphasizing prayer for the lost, I now have a regular time and approach to praying for those on my list who need salvation. Look over the content for this topic and beef up your prayer life for the lost. Someone's eternity may depend on it.

Our primary external resource for this topic was the booklet "Praying Effectively for the Lost" by Lee E. Thomas, published 2003 by John the Baptist Printing Ministry, Milford, Ohio. You can also freely download the booklet in Word or PDF format from www.pelministries.org.

The booklet has 7 brief chapters summarized below:

Chapter 1 – "Understanding the Necessity"

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Charles Finney: "In the case of an impenitent friend, the very condition on which he is to be saved from hell may be the fervency and importunity of your prayer for that individual."

Chapter 2 – "The Biblical Basis"

The strongest reasons to pray are always biblical.
- Our love for the lost compels us.
- We have faith in God’s ability to save them. Mark 9:23: "Everything is possible to him who believes."
- Prayer is powerful. James 5:16: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
- (not in book) God wants all to be saved. 2 Peter 3:9: "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
- Our prayer is a God-given priority for us. 1 Timothy 2:1-4: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to some to a knowledge of the truth."
- It is our responsibility as a holy priesthood. 2 Peter 2:5

Chapter 3 – "The Personal Factors"

What factors are important for the one doing the praying for the lost?
- Righteousness - both the righteousness of Christ attributed to us through repentance and faith and personal righteousness. Psalm 66:18:"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."
- Faith. Matthew 9:29: "According to your faith will it be done to you."
- Motive must be God’s glory. James 4:3: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
- Unity in praying with other believers. Matthew 18:19-20: "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
- Other factors: brokenness, travail, persistence, fasting, aggression, pleading
- p. 9: "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. All prayer is warfare and, when you pray, Satan is being defeated even though you see no change in circumstances."
- p. 9: "Keep on praying for the lost whether you see results or not because your prayers are being answered."
- The story (pp. 9-10) of George Muller praying for 5 people for over 63 years before the fifth was saved.

Chapter 4 – "The Specific Requests"

The suggestions of this chapter have helped guide my prayer for the lost daily. I recommend that you pray the following for the lost on your prayer list.

- Pray for individuals by name, asking the Lord to do 5 things:
1. Sanctify the person (set apart). 2 Thessalonians 2:13: "From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."
2. Bless the person.
3. Convict the person of the sin of not believing in Jesus. John 16:8-9: "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me"
4. Illuminate the person's mind to the truth.
5. Save the person.

- Pray for someone to share the gospel with the person (it may be you). Matthew 9:37-38: "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
- Pray for the word of God that is to be shared with the person. p. 19: "The word of God is to Satan as kryptonite is to Superman – it makes him weak and defenseless."
- Pray for revival. 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Chapter 5 – "The Spiritual Warfare"

The primary purpose of praying for the lost is freeing them of demonic influence so they can be saved. The lost are: prisoners Satan refuses to release (Is. 14:17); slaves under Satan’s authority and jurisdiction (Acts 26:18); children of the devil (John 8:44); blinded to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4); energized by Satan (Eph. 2:2); helplessly held in Satan’s grasp (1 John 5:19); a strong man’s house (Mark 3:27).

God has provided weapons for us to use, but we are neither familiar with them nor with the war itself. We fight by praying. All prayer is warfare.

Our weapons:
- The blood of Christ (Rev. 12:11; Heb. 2:14)
- The name of Jesus (Luke 10:17)
- The word of God – the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)
- Praise – praising God beforehand for what he will do (Psalm 22:3)
- Fasting (Mark 9:29)
- Love (1 Cor. 13:7-8)
- Exercising our authority in Christ (Matthew 16:19)
- Resist the devil (Eph. 6:10-18)

Strongholds are mind-sets that are against the word and will of God. There is always one key stronghold in the life of each unsaved individual that hinders that person from receiving the gospel. Whoever controls the mind controls the person

Common strongholds:
- Unbelief – the strongest of them all. "In a Christian it is designed to keep him from really believing certain truths in God’s word that will make him powerful and effective in God’s kingdom. In the unsaved it is designed to keep him from believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord."
- Greed – the rich young ruler (Mark 10)
- Bitterness – closed heart and mind due to past wrongs against us or others
- Control – unwilling to yield control of one’s life to another
- Two reasons why prayer for the lost is unanswered:
- Sin in the life of the one praying
- Satan is hindering the answer

Strategies for warfare:
- The church gives itself continually to prayer (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:41; 1 Thess. 5:17)
- Form prayer groups
- Have a prayer partner
- Use a prayer list

Chapter 6 – "Personal Testimonies"
There are several good stories of praying effectively for the lost in this chapter. I suggest you read them as an encouragement for you to be faithful and persistent in praying for the lost.

Chapter 7 – "Making a Commitment"
"This book was not written to sit on a shelf somewhere, but rather to penetrate your heart with this awful piercing truth: someone’s eternal destiny is in your hands – someone will die, and go to hell unless you pray!!"

The challenge issued to the class regarding praying for the lost was:
- Make a prayer list
- Pray for them daily using the specific requests of chapter 4 above
- Ask others to join you in praying for them

Here's a summary of our discussion from September 10: "Key Scriptures Related to Witnessing."

We read and explained the relationship of the following passages to witnessing. Some are in the list because they speak to why we must share our faith. Others speak to the lost condition of people, future judgment, Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, evidence of salvation in someone's life, etc. I will continue to add to this list and will group them by topic with brief explanations elsewhere. Below, however, is just a list of included Bible passages from beginning to end. Read each and see if you can explain why it is included. If you have a question, post a comment.

(Note: Here's the list as given on the date above. A final brochure with these and numerous additional passages was made available Oct. 28, copies of which are available in the room.)

Exodus 20:3-17 & Deuteronomy 5:7-21
Exodus 20:7 & Deuteronomy 5:11
Joshua 1:9
Psalm 51:4
Proverbs 11:30
Ecclesiastes 12:14
Isaiah 41:10
Matthew 5:28; 7:16; 7:21; 28:19-20
Mark 8:36
Luke 6:22-23; 12:4-5; 13:3
John 3:16; 6:44; 14:6
Acts 1:8; 3:19; 4:12; 26:20
Romans 1:16; 1:20; 2:14-15; 3:12; 3:20; 3:23; 6:23; 7:7; 8:1; 12:9
Galatians 5:19-21; 5:22-23; 5:24
Philippians 4:13
1 Timothy 2:5
2 Timothy 1:7-8; 3:16-17
Hebrews 2:15; 9:27; 10:31
James 2:10; 2:19; 4:6
1 Peter 3:15; 4:16
2 Peter 3:9
1 John 1:9; 2:3-4; 3:15
Revelation 21:8

Remember, the goal of witnessing is not to get people to "accept Jesus into their heart" – a phrase that has no basis in the Bible – but to allow God’s truth of the sinfulness of people, the certainty of judgment and the provision of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf to pierce their conscience so that they repent and trust in the Savior. There is no "magic" quick prayer they should repeat after you, mistakenly believing their eternity is then settled. The proof of a regenerate life is seen after their repentance in the life they live, growing in Christlikeness and bearing godly fruit. Also remember that you cannot save anyone. That is God’s job. Your job is to speak the truth in love.

Here's a summary of our discussion from August 27: "Telling Your Story in Witnessing."

We heard the exciting story of a class member telling me last week "I want to be saved." I shared the story of our conversation and asked for prayer for her as she follows up on her repentance and trust in the Savior.

We looked at some of the info in the Evangelism Manual published by the North American Mission Board on the college ministry web site at www.studentz.com, your testimony can be effective in evangelism because it's personal, it's conversational, no one can dispute it, and (hopefully) it's interesting.

As a rule, one's testimony may include information about your life before Christ, what happened that caused you to realize your need to repent and trust in the savior, and what your life is like now as a beliver.

Some testimony Do's according to the evangelism manual mentioned above:

1. Begin with an attention-getting sentence.
2. End with a decision question.
3. Adjust your testimony so others can identify with you.
4. Give enough details to arouse and keep interest.
5. Use Sripture.
6. Present Christ as the center of your testimony.
7. Stress the personal relationship you have with Christ.

Some testimony Don'ts include:

1. Don't use church and Christian talk.
2. Don't be too wordy.
3. Don't avoid the point.
4. Don't overemphasize how bad you were.
5. Don't use words that are too general.
6. Don't criticize other denominations, groups, people, etc.
7. Don't make argumentative statements.
8. Don't paint a picture that everything is rosy now that you're a Christian.
9. Don't speak in a judgmental or critical way.

I showed those present the "My Story" tract template you can download and modify to create your own testimony tract. If you want to write our your testimony and get it to me, I'll make some tracts for you to hand out.

You have 3 current challenges stemming from our series:

1. Write out your testimony. (Optional - get it to me to make tracts of it for you.)
2. Listen to at least 10 hours of Way of the Master radio broadcasts.
3. Memorize the 10 Commandments.

Here's a summary of our discussion from August 20: "10 Objections to Christianity and How to Respond."

We started the hour hearing from recent Northwestern University graduate Hanell Allison, a member of Walnut Street. Hanell is returning to Northwestern to serve as an intern for Campus Crusade for Christ. Please pray for her and her work. She is on the front lines in witnessing for Christ daily. If you'd like to be on her email update list, let us know and we'll pass on the word to Hanell.

We read the brief story of a 9-year-old boy's impact on a doctor spiritually prior to the boy's surgery. Was the boy trained extensively in theology? No. Did he have superior intellect compared to the doctor? No. But he was an effective witness for Christ. Read the touching and challenging story here.

The largest part of our discussion centered around the article "10 Objections to Christianity and How to Respond." A summary of the objections and some relevant Spripture references that can help you counter the objections are below:

1. Christians are hypocrites.
a. Jesus never sinned: 1Peter 2:21-22; 1 John 3:5; John 8:46
b. Some people are hypocrites; "Don't judge Jesus by the actions of some of his presumed followers" - Todd Friel, Way of the Master Radio;

2. What about the atrocities Christians have committed?
a. Those in Christ cannot continue to live in sin: 1 John 3:6-10;
b. We must hate sin as God hates sin: Rom. 12:9 ("Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.); Psalm 45:7 ("You love righteousness and hate wickedness")

3. Christianity is a crutch.
a. We use crutches when we don't have a leg to stand on. We have no leg to stand on before a holy & just God.
b. 2 Cor. 12:7-10 ("When I am weak, then I am strong."); John 15:5 (vine & branches)

4. It's narrow-minded to think Jesus is the only way to God.
a. John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth and the life."); Acts 4:12 ("no other name…"

5. Being a good person is all that really matters.
a. Eph. 2:8-9 (saved by grace through faith…not by works)

6. What about those who've never heard about Jesus?
a. Matthew 7:7-8 (ask, seek, knock)
b. Rom. 2:12-15 (the law on our hearts – our conscience)

7. The Bible is filled with errors.
a. 2 Tim. 3:16-17

8. If God is so good, why is there evil?
a. Gen. 3 – man caused evil through willful disobedience of God's command

9. Why is there suffering?
a. Not all suffering is bad. We learn from it. Christ chose to suffer. We aren't too good for it.

10. If there's a hell, why would a loving God send people there?
a. Heb. 10:28-31 (A just God must deal justly with evil.)

Will your response to the above objections always convince the ones objecting? No. Frequently the objections are smoke screens or excuses someone uses to avoid discussing his/her spiritual void. Responding with Scripture to one who does not value the Scriptures may not "prove" your case in their mind. But we as Christians need to have a biblical response to objections to our faith, whether others accept those responses or not.

Here's a summary of our discussion from August 13: "Resources from The Way of the Master."

One Christian radio and television ministry you should be aware of is "The Way of the Master." Through radio shows, TV shows and a host of printed resources, the organization promotes an approah to Biblical evangelism through the general principle of "Law to the proud - grace to the humble." That means that you don't try to intellectually convince someone of the truths of Christianity, that you don't just try to talk them into being Christian so life will be better. It means that we use the Law (the 10 Commandments) to get to the conscience by showing we are all lawbreakers and deserving of a just God's eternal punishment. That's the "law to the proud" part of it. The "grace to the humble" part comes when the person acknowledges his/her lawbreaking condition. It is the offer of the Good News that Christ died on the cross in our place, that he rose again conquering death and that if we repent and trust in the savior and live a life of growing faith and obedience to Christ, then we will be the recipients of eternal life - life that we cannot otherwise ever earn the right to experience apart from faith in Christ.

The four primary web sites that house the resources of Way of the Master are:
1. Way of the Master
2. Way of the Master Radio
3. Living Waters
4. The Great News

Take some time to browse all of the above sites. Some of the great resources you'll find there are:
1. a schedule of TV and radio broadcasts on various broadcast and satellite stations;
2. audio of all radio shows since early 2006 available to listen to online or to download as MP3s;
3. "Biblical Evalgelism Using the Divine Law" booklet;
4. "Are you a good person?" cartoon Gospel tract and numerous other tracts and trinkets such as the $1 million bill recently confiscated by the Secret Service and coins with the 10 Commandments and Gospel messages on them;
5. "The School of Biblical Evangelism" book;
6. "Hell's best kept secret" message;
7. "True and false conversion" message;
8. "Take the love test" online quiz;
9. "8 Reasons I don't share my faith" video;
10. "The Evidence Bible" - due to be published in a new edition in late September 2006;

My challenges to the class so far in this study are two-fold:

1. Commit to listening to a total of at least ten hours of the Way of the Master radio broadcasts over the next few weeks and see how it changes you. (That's 10 hours total over a few weeks - not 10 hours in a single week.) I believe it will challenge you in a very positive and perhaps life-changing way. If you have an MP3 player, download some shows (they're about one hour long each) from www.wayofthemasterradio.com and listen as you go about your day. I do most of my listening while running or while sitting at my computer.

2. Memorize the 10 Commandments. At least remember key phrases to help you in your own awareness of sin and to assist with your witnessing efforts to prove that nodoby else is good enough on his/her own to get to heaven. For example, just remember the following summary of the 10 Commandments:

#1 - no other Gods
#2 - no graven image (idol)
#3 - don't take God's name in vain
#4 - remember the Sabbath
#5 - honor father and mother
#6 - don't kill
#7 - no adultery
#8 - no stealing
#9 - no lying
#10 - no coveting

You'll find several of the Way of the Master resources such as the tracts and trinkets on the tables in the Sunday School room. Take all you will use. The $1 million bills especially spark interest.

One final quote: "Action without study is fatal. Study without action is futile." - Mary Beard, historian.

Here's a summary of our discussion from August 6: "Is there more than one way to get to heaven?"

1. We discussed billionaire Warren Buffett's comment from the June 27, 2006 Courier-Journal newspaper article "Buffett Donates His Billions" about Buffett donating over $37 billion of his fortune to charity. His comment: "There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way."

2. When asked to brainstorm relevant Scriptures to respond to the question "Is there more than one way to get to heaven?", participants mentioned the following - some of which deal with Jesus being the only way and some that speak to the inadequacy of riches to get you into heaven: John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8; Matthew 6:19-20; Luke 10:27 and Acts 8:20.

3. We watched the Oprah video clip from one of her TV shows where she claims that there can't possibly be just one way to heaven. You can watch the clip from this web site: http://www.watchman.org/oprah.wmv

4. Participants received a copy of "The Deity of Christ" - lesson 49 from the book The School of Biblical Evangelism by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. You can download a PDF version of the chapter here: http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/pdf/Lesson049.pdf. Why this chapter? Because to claim that there are others ways to get to heaven besides Christ is to lower who you believe Christ is - to deny His deity. This resource identifies many Scripture references that show Christ as having the attributes that can only be attributed to God.

5. We illustrated the importance of taking the right path to a destination by giving different directions to The Old Spaghetti Factory to different students. The point was that only the person following the right directions would reach the destination. The others following the wrong route may well be people considered to be good by others, and they may do good things and be liked by others along the way, but they won't end up at the same place. Nor do those who fail to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as Savior end up with their sins forgiven and with eternity with Christ promised.

6. We listened to a radio ad by Lifeline Produtions that was part of the July 3, 2006 Way of the Master Radio Hour#1 show. You can listen to the full broadcast at this link: http://www.wotmradio.com/2006/07/03/july-03-2006-hour-1/


Here's a summary of our discussion from July 30:

1. When asked to report on any witnessing experiences from the past week, there were (unfortunately) no reports given. Seems like we need to work on the "lab work" in between our Sunday Bible study sessions...

2. We read the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-30. When asked about what lessons we can learn from how Jesus dealt with the woman, class participants offered the following:
a. Jesus extended an offer to the woman just as we need to extend an offer of the Gospel to others.
b. Jesus aroused the woman's curiosity in what he said to her.
c. Jesus went outside the cultural norms by talking with someone who was female as well as a Samaritan. We need to go outside our comfort zones in sharing the Gospel.
d. The conversation was one-on-one. While some witnessing may take place in larger groups, much will and should take place one on one.
e. Jesus started with where the woman was - with the situation of her coming to the well to draw water - and then built on that aspect of the physical realm to move to a discussion of spritual matters.
f. This was a unique conversation that (as far as we know) only happened this way once. Jesus didn't use these same words and comments with everyone he met.
g. The woman asked questions freely. We need to be open to people's questions without feeling like we need to have all the answers. Don't allow some questions to distract you from the main point of sharing the Gospel.

3. Quotes from Way of the Master resources:
a. "I'm just a nobody telling everybody that there's somebody who can save anybody."
b. "Law to the proud and grace to the humble" - Until people realize that their sin separates them from a perfect, holy God and His standard, they will not realize their need for God's grace.

4. Online resources referenced:
a. article: "Personal Witnessing: How Jesus Did It"
b. article: "The Biggest Celebrity is Jesus" - actor Kirk Cameron's testimony about his transition from staunch atheist to Christian.
c. U.S. Census Bureau Statistics of World Vital Events. Did you know that 1.8 people in the world die every second? that 108 die every minute? 6,459 an hour? 155,012 each day? over 4.7 million per month? over 56 million per year? What is your reaction to the claim that most of those die without Christ and spend eternity in Hell? What are you willing to do about it?


Here's a summary of our discussion from July 23:

1. When asking for initial reactions to the topic of sharing your faith, here are some of the student's responses:
a. make sure the life you live is consistent with what you say (practice what you preach)
b. don't write off people as ones we won't witness to for any reason
c. all too often sharing our faith isn't enjoyable
d. we might be criticized for sharing our faith
e. know what you believe and why you believe it

2. Here are some of the relevant scriptures students first thought of related to sharing our faith:
a. John 4:1-30 - Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well
b. Acts 2 - the day of Pentecost
c. Acts 17 - Paul at Athens
d. Acts 21:27-36 - Paul's arrest
e. Acts 22 - Paul in Jerusalem
f. Acts - various examples of Peter, John, Paul, Stephen
g. Isaiah 42 - the Servant's mission
h. Paul's missionary journeys

3. Parking lot topics: The Parking Lot is where we make a note of topics raised in class that we didn't have time to pursue that day but want to address at some point. We added one from Sunday's discussion:
a. How do you witness to someone who claims to have been a Christian at one time but who now rejects the faith?

4. Online resources referenced:
a. article: "PJI Successfully Defends Youth Minister Arrested for Mall Evangelism"

Join us next Sunday morning as we continue our study of...