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You know, we make this witnessing thing so hard. It's really not rocket science. When we think of witnessing to someone, we break out in a cold sweat, our pulse quickens, and we quickly think of something else to do. There are lots of reasons that we don't witness when we know that we should, but that's another article. In this article, we want to concentrate on what the responsibilities of a witness are. Basically, there are two major responsibilities of witnessing.
Identify the attractiveness of the Christian faith!
What makes Christianity attractive to you? Whatever that is, you simply tell someone those reasons. It's not unlike telling someone why you would recommend your favorite restaurant. You might say, "The atmosphere is clean and friendly, the service is speedy, the waitresses are nice, the price is very reasonable, and the food is great!". If you said that to me, I would, no doubt, end up trying that restaurant. The same is true of your faith.
There are many things that make our faith attractive; peace with our maker, a God who cares about us and answers our prayers, a sense of a higher purpose and meaning in our lives, a reason to get up in the morning, comfort in times of sorrow, forgiveness of all of our sins, deliverance from addictions, no more guilt, (and don't forget Heaven), etc., etc.. We all have our own personal testimonies and reasons for being a Christian. What are your reasons? Whatever they are, tell someone!
Remove their obstacles to the Christian faith!
This is a bit more difficult and time consuming. Everybody has a road to faith. Some have already traveled that road and come to faith. Those that are lost are still on that road. There are obstacles in the road that are blocking their journey to faith. Their road may be short with just one obstacle or it may be long with many obstacles. Some of their obstacles were discussed in the last newsletter. Our job, as a witness, is to, first, find out what those obstacles are and, then, proceed to try and remove them. You may not be able to remove all of the obstacles at once but maybe you can remove one. Your goal is to, at least, leave them closer to faith. If you can do this, you have been a successful witness.
"But wait a minute!", you say, "I haven't been successful unless they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior." If that's how you see it, you will give up on witnessing very quickly. That's one reason we get so discouraged. We want results and we want it NOW! You've got to respect them. Realize that these obstacles have been in place for many years and are very ingrained in their emotional make-up. Give them time to think about it (and they will). Let the Holy Spirit take the seed that you've planted and deal with the person. Let God be God. He's the one that gives the increase (1Cor 3:6-7). Come back later to follow up or address another obstacle. Don't rush them. Patience in witnessing will produce results. You WILL notice movement if you are patient. Maybe, after you have removed a number of obstacles, you will have the privilege of removing that last one. Maybe someone else will come along and remove it. Oh, the joy of seeing that person take that last step to faith and knowing you had something to do with it. Whether you're there in the beginning or at the end, it's the result you are ultimately after. God is well pleased with your efforts and He will be faithful to reward you according to your work (1Cor 3:8).
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