Featured Will you be out witnessing this weekend?

witnessing

I'm always 'prepared' to witness as the word calls us to prepared in season and out of season to give an answer for the hope we have.

Not everybody is called or gifted to do the work of an evangelist. If I just went up to random people warning them of their sin and hell, the love & forgiveness of Christ I would just botch it. Not my gift. Some are gifted with teaching, administration, helps, etc.

I've been out on Evangelism teams years ago and one guy who obviously had an incredible gift in witnessing, led many to the Lord and it just came naturally as if he had very little difficulty in knowing what to say, when to say it and how to react to every question/rejection.

A gifted teacher will also in the same way have it just come out of them naturally because these gifts are from the Holy Spirit, not our flesh. Even though Evangelism is not listed as a gift per se, neither is a lead vocalist in a choir/praise team or a musician or a writer of Hymns, Doctrinal books, etc but those are special gifts that is apparent to anyone they are gifte.:godisgood:

 

No....too cold.

 

Witnessing is what you are, not a weekend activity.

 

Now there is a good answer. :thumbsup:

 

Our evangelism team isn't going out this weekend, as the temperatures are expected to be in the single digits and the roads and sidewalks here are treacherous.

 

But everybody is called to share the Gospel.

If you had cancer and found a doctor who had a cure, wouldn't you tell everybody about him so he could cure them, too?

You're confusing gifts for ministry within the Church with something God has commanded us all to do.

Witnessing is scary, but it isn't hard.

I was a professional musician for many years and, even after all those years, I still had stage fright. The only way to get over it is to just get out there and start playing.

I'll bet if you tried to tell me about your favorite sports team or a movie you saw, you'd do just fine.

Witnessing is no different.

For instance, pick a recently dead celebrity. "Hey, did you hear about _____? Boy, you don't ever think of somebody so young dying like that. What do you think happens when you die? If you were to die today, do you think you'd go to Heaven or to Hell? Why?"

It's that easy.

Sometimes. It also comes from practicing.

 

Why not? In the Bible, witnessing is intentional.

 

So should our lives be.

 

Agreed, not much else to say!

 

OK. Let's say your life is. How does that explain the law and the Gospel to the lost?

 

The Holy Spirit takes care of that at the right time. We just need to be prepared.

 

That wasn't the question. How does your life being "intentional" explain the law and the Gospel to the lost? And what happens to them if they die before they get to observe your life?

 

The timing of how we live our lives leads to those opportunities, that is why we live our lives...daily...in obedience looking for opportunities to share the Gospel. The OP makes it out to be something like a task that is planned for. It isn't.

 

Why then, did the Christians in the Bible go out into the cities to purposely share the Gospel and not just wait for the lost to come to them?

I'm assuming you must be an Arminian.

 

OUTSTANDING!!!!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Perhaps the issue is presented by some that witnessing is a command, rather than what it really is - a state of what a believer "is."

The Lord Jesus Christ states that you (all believers) "SHALL" be witnesses...

Paul also presents that some have the "gift" of evangelism.

Here is the difference.

The believer is a witness. They cannot help but be a witness - good or bad, the person is a witness. That is the state of the light and life within them. "Out of your bellies WILL flow..." There is not really any option.

Evangelism though is a whole other pie.

Some folks have the ability to "read others" and are tuned into others in such a way as they intuitively know not only how to follow some "method" of sharing, but of looking for cues as to what method and what actually to present.

Teaching is much the same way (another gift). Many "teachers" are not "gifted." The gifted teacher intuitively looks at the pupil at not only what they could be, but where they are, and what steps they will need to go through to become what they could become.

Evangelism is witnessing done by an evangelist - one who is gifted by the Holy Spirit with that ability as explained above.

Witnessing is a state of experiential life of every believer, and is lived out in a "living testimony" and as opportunity arises testified, too.

 

Funny that some folks will talk all day about their favorite sports team or some movie they just saw, but when it comes to sharing the Gospel with the lost, they'll make up any excuse to get out of it.

 

Perhaps.

But then the question must come - are they truly believers.

Again, not making any judgment of salvation, but look at your own experiential walk?

Did it not have a point of conviction, of deep understanding of the need of Christ, and following a continued growth of experiential learning?

Frankly, some folks never left the starting gate.

They are like the seed sown in little soil, that grows a bit, but has no true root, no true life. They will only flourish in the ease with no ability to stand in the time of drought; furthermore, they so easily take on the likeness of tares.

Most are ships with no rudder - being pushed by what is the most comfortable, convenient, and popular; such are easily swayed and falling into whatever "sounds good" and never really learning from the source of all wisdom.

But a true witness is not that way.

When called upon, they the true witness stands up and speaks up to testify of what God has done for them because they know first hand the depths of sinful sin, the awesome power of the conviction, of judgment and the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

Such have an experiential story in which they may account for what (as Paul states) they once were, but are now by the grace of God ... different.

The basic line in the sand is, "by their fruits you shall know them."

The true believer bears fruit (not "soul winning" but fruit of character in which no law can be made against) unto harvest. That is the witness -- they are true believers for they have a testimony to share.

 

As is the norm, your assumption is wrong.

Applying the early church to today is apples and oranges. They also went into synagogues. How many synagogues have you gone in?