On Sunday, we talked about being regular witnesses for Christ. Colossians 4:2-6 gives us a wonderful strategy for witnessing.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
1. Regular witnessing begins with regular prayer.
I know that sounds like “Duh!” but do we do it? Do we have a list of people we are praying for? Are we asking God to use us to win them to Him?
Second, Paul tells us in verse 2 that:
2. Regular witness involves being watchful and thankful.
We need to have our eyes peeled for opportunities connect with people for the purpose of witnessing to them. Satan is like a lion prowling around with his eyes peeled looking to devour people. We should live on the prowl, so to speak, to see who we can snatch from his clutches and snatch from the fires of hell.
Regular witness should involve great wisdom.
Verse 5 tells us to “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Every conversation you have with an unbeliever is critical. Every one. Whether you are discussing how you think the coaches are treating the players at your kids’ school, whether you are voicing your opinions about politics, or whether you are just “shooting the breeze.” Every conversation is important. We need to be wise and understand the kind of tone and talk that unnecessarily turns people off. I’m not talking about shying away from talking about Jesus and the cross. We need more of that. I’m just talking about the way we present ourselves in general even when the content isn’t about Jesus and the cross.
Some want to look for obscure Bible passages that poke holes in our theology and want to argue those. Just share the truth of God’s Word without the emotion that accompanies such debate. Share it with sensitivity and love. Ask lots of questions that cause unbelievers to re-think how they think. Also share your personal experience with God and what your relationship with Him provides for you.
When you live to serve others, to lift people up, to encourage others, to help people in need, you earn a reputation for being a light, for being positive. A negative person will never be a positive witness for Christ. Their life will have the opposite impact and will drive people away.
Be wise in the way you treat people because you are giving Christ a reputation by your actions. God is love. His people need to be loving. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35
Be wise AND make the most of every opportunity. Any chance you have to build a relationship with a non-believer is an opportunity you can seize for the Kingdom of God. That’s what we are about as a church. We look for opportunities to build bridges to our community, to establish a relationship with groups of people, so that when the door is open for a conversation about Jesus, we already have a relationship that enables us to speak into people’s lives and circumstances and offers hope.
Regular witness should involve a healthy heaping of grace.
Look again at Colossians 4:6-Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
The Gospel of Jesus is a Gospel of grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.
Sinners sin. They do things that are contrary to Scripture. They don’t have an immediate understanding of spiritual things. Grace and patience will be required. People may do things that shock you, things that offend you, but don’t let that get in the way of the grace of God. If it was about works and what they were doing or not doing, it wouldn’t be a Gospel of grace.
Nothing will be more discouraging to a non-believer or a young Christian than pressure to be perfect. If you grew up in the church, you learned step by step what God desires for your life. Why would we expect others to take it all in overnight? We need to let people know that a past isn’t a problem for God. We need to assure them that Christ’s perfection is what God is looking at, not our day by day attempts, even if they include some failures along the way. We need to teach people that they can confess their sin, receive forgiveness and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to change, but it takes time.
Regular witness involves a personal touch.
Some people will have to have facts and evidence in order to believe in Jesus. Some will be looking for God to care about the practical needs in their lives. Others will need to experience something supernatural in order to believe. The crowds that followed Jesus all had individual reasons for doing so. Jesus always ministered to people as individuals. Some people received healing through a touch. Others received healing through a word. Some had to be taught first in order to be encouraged to follow. Each person is different. Be personally available and look for ways to be personable and personal with each person you are trying to win.
Do you live to make God famous? Can you say like David that you are a regular witness? That’s the last exam question. How well did you score on the test? Let’s live to make witnessing part of our spiritual DNA!
