Have you ever asked yourself, "Why should I witness?" Several reasons should come to mind. First, because Jesus commands you to: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19). Also, Ezek. 3:11 says, "and go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not..."
Second, you must witness because you love the unsaved (if you don't, you should). The most loving thing you can do is present the gospel in hopes of bringing others to salvation. Galatians 5:22 lists love as one of the fruit of the Spirit. It is love's nature to give. Take for example John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." Love gives, and if you have only a small portion of His love, you will want to give to others.
Third, witness because it is a wise thing to do. Prov. 11:30 says, "...he who is wise wins souls." Now, I know I am not a very wise person. But, since God says I'll be wise to win souls, or try to, then great, let me at it. I want to be wise in God's sight.
Fourth, witness to keep people out of hell. Hell is a terrifying place of utter anguish and eternal separation from God. Those who are not saved go there. Witnessing is an attempt to keep them out of hell.
Fifth, witness because it pleases God and brings glory to His name. And finally, and most important, witness so they may find the love and fellowship of God (1 John 1:3), the greatest of all treasures. I can think of no greater gift than salvation. It frees the sinner from sin, it delivers the lost from damnation, and it reveals the true and living God to those who don't know Him.
The angels of heaven rejoice greatly when anyone passes from judgment into salvation (Luke 15:10). Shouldn't we as Christians rejoice too? Shouldn't we weep over the lost? Shouldn't we ask the Lord of the field to send laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2)? Certainly! The salvation of others is the goal of your efforts. The love of God is your motive. Is there anything greater? So, give.
Like most things in life, witnessing has guidelines. Following is a list of 20 Do's and 12 Don't's. They should aid you while witnessing and help prevent serious errors. If, however, you choose to ignore them, witnessing will be difficult and awkward.
1. Do Pray.
2. Do speak to please God.
3. Do read your Bible.
4. Do start with a positive witness for Christ.
5. Do keep things simple.
6. Do share your salvation experience with them.
7. Do know what you believe.
8. Do have a genuine love.
9. Do be simple and define your terms.
10. Do memorize appropriate Scriptures if possible.
11. Do be ready to learn from the people you witness to.
12. Do be patient and gentle.
13. Do listen attentively.
14. Do answer their questions.
15. Do ask questions.
16. Do let him save face.
17. Do bring him, if possible, to a decision about Jesus.
18. Do encourage him to study the Bible by itself.
19. Do use Scripture in context.
20. Do remember that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).
1. Don't attack directly or make fun of someone.
2. Don't jump from one subject to another.
3. Don't expect too much from him.
4. Don't have a spiritual chip on your shoulder.
5. Don't lose patience.
6. Don't come on too strong.
7. Don't debate peripheral issues or doctrines.
8. Don't get sidetracked defending your denomination.
9. Don't be uptight.
10. Don't assume.
11. Don't argue.
12. Don't speak too fast or unclearly.
If you've gone through a discussion with someone and you want to present the gospel message in a simple and systematic way, the well known "Four Spiritual Laws" can be of help. They are simple, to the point, and use Scripture to convict, convince, and convert. They are:
God loves you:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Man is sinful and separated from God:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Rom. 3:23);
"For the wages of sin is death"(Rom. 6:23);
"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God" (Isaiah 59:2).
Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin:
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6);
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).
We must individually receive Jesus as Savior and Lord:
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12);
"if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Rom. 10:9);
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8).
Another list of verses usable in the same way as the Four Spiritual Laws is the "Roman Road." The advantage to these seven verses is that they are all in the book of Romans. Sometimes this is an advantage when you don't want to flip through a lot of pages.
Rom. 3:10, "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one...'"
Rom. 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Rom. 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned."
Rom. 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Rom. 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Rom. 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Rom. 10:13, "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
Alright, so you know about the Law, the Gospel, sin, salvation, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the Roman Road, but how do you lead someone to the Lord? How do you introduce someone to Christ?
First of all, you tell them about God, sin, and Jesus dying on the cross. So, let's say that after all this, the person you're witnessing to is touched by God's Word and wants to become a Christian. You say...
"Do you understand what I've been telling you?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to receive Jesus as your Savior?"
"Yes. Yes I do."
"Good. But first, I need to tell you something. Being a Christian means living for Christ. It means seeking to do His will and not your own. It won't always be easy. Satan will make your life difficult at times. You may lose friends and things won't necessarily get better overnight. Being a Christian can be costly. In fact, Jesus said that you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). That is what Jesus wants you to do, to follow Him always -- even when others don't want you to.
"Now, If you still want Jesus as your Savior and Lord, I would be glad to pray with you."
"Yes, I do. I understand and I still want Jesus."
"Then let's pray." You tell him to repeat what you say, maybe bow his head and close his eyes, or not... It doesn't matter.
An example of what to say is "Dear Jesus, I know I have sinned against you. I confess that I am a sinner. I accept the sacrifice you made on the cross on my behalf. I ask you to come into my heart. Please cleanse me of my sin. And give me eternal life. I repent from my sins and put my trust in You. Thank you Jesus. Amen."
The preceding paragraph is only an example of how to lead someone to Christ. As I've said before, there is no formula, but only a recognition of one's sinfulness before God, confession and repentance of sin, and trusting in Jesus' sacrifice for sin.
I would like you to take special note to tell the person that being a Christian is not easy. In a way, when you do this you are trying to talk him out of being saved. But what is really happening is three things: