Engaging Evangelistic Phrases/Questions

As to the first question, what if they say yes? What's the next question?

As to the second, that's sort of like bait and switch. If I were the target, I'd feel manipulated.

One of the best opening questions to a discussion about salvation is to ask the other person, "do you give much thought to spiritual things?" A good followup is "What would you say it takes to come into a right relationship with God?"

These two questions will give you a feel for where they are spiriutally, and you can proceed accordingly.

BTW, One night my visiting partner and I knocked on the door of a home occupied by three bachelor brothers. They graciously invited us in. When I asked how one comes into a right relationship with God, one of them replied "You must repent of your sins and place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

I was a little taken aback. "Well, uh, have you ever done that?"

"Naw, never have"

"Uh, would you like to""

"Naw, don't think so. And if we ever do, we'll probably go down to that Presbyterian church."

What shocked me was that he knew exactly what was involved in salvation. I was less shocked that he flatly refused to do so.

Opening questions to avoid are
Are you a Christian? Too many different definitions.
Are you saved? Again, to many different criteria
Ask them only if you are prepared to follow a yes anwer with "what are you basing that on?"

 

"Can I ask you what you base your confidence on?"

The second does seem a bait and switch.

You could ask, "According to your understanding, how does a person get to heaven?"

 

Here is another one -- ask the person, "If you died today, why would God let you into heaven?" That moves it away from a yes/no question.

 

Good one. It's important early to determine if one holds to a works salvation, and to knock it down quickly.

 

I usually ask, "do you know Jesus"?

 

"Straw man" questions to confuse the ignorant!

 

This was from my dad, a Baptist preacher who went to be with the Lord a couple of years ago.

 

Good point!

Ed