Beginning the Conversation
Soul-Winning Lesson 4
The Introduction
Greeting and Interacting
Always GREET somebody according to the accepted cultural conventions of the area you are in, and be kind and inviting as a person. Jesus himself expected the kindness of cultural customs (Luke 7:44-46).
Matthew 5:47: And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Matthew 10:11-13: And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Always INTRODUCE yourself to the person, stating who you are (your name) and who you represent (your church, either “I am from a Baptist church,” or specifically, “I am from Bible Baptist Church”).
- Paul introduced himself at the start of each of his epistles (e.g., Romans 1:1), as did other apostles (e.g., James 1:1; I Peter 1:1).
- Angels (messengers of God) sometimes introduced themselves (e.g., Luke 1:19).
- God often introduces himself (e.g., Exodus 3:4-6; Joshua 5:13-15).
Always INFORM the person(s) you are talking to about your purpose by means of a clear statement or simple question. Do not be vague or unclear about your reason for talking to them (see II Timothy 3:10; Joshua 9:7-8).
Always QUESTION those you begin speaking with about their religious background (type of religion/church) and their beliefs about salvation (what they think they must do to go to heaven, whether they think they can lose salvation or not, etc.).
The Tie-down
If you find that the person/people you are speaking with is/are interested to hear the gospel, you must have a good reason to preach to them the gospel before you begin; you must have evidence that they are not saved. This is known as the “tie-down,” and is important for the following reasons: (1) to determine if the person actually needs the gospel, (2) to preach in the context of their unbelief, and (3) to use at the end when you discuss the difference between what you showed them and what they used to believe before they heard the gospel from you.
Persuasion
Attempt your hardest to persuade the person(s) you begin talking with to listen to the gospel. Do not be rude or overly forceful, but do “compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23) that they might be saved. There is a balance: if you are too soft on persuading them, many “fish” will escape the hook, but if you are too hard on persuading them, the hook will tear through the “fish mouth”. Be a wise fisher of men (see Matthew 4:19), and exhibit great care in your persuasion.
I Corinthians 9:22b: …I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
II Corinthians 5:11: Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Acts 26:27-28: King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
As you go out soul-winning more and interact with many different people in various circumstances, you will begin to get a good sense for whether someone is receptive to listen to the gospel or not. If they are not receptive, and do not want to listen to the gospel, do not waste any more time with them.
Mark 2:5: When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Acts 14:9: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed…
Gospel Seed
If someone clearly does not want to listen to the gospel, do not preach the gospel to them. However, it may be helpful to attempt to leave them with a seed of the gospel. Jesus once quoted a saying pertaining to the gospel: “herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth” (John 4:37). This is, therefore, a last-ditch effort to convince them to listen to the gospel, and, if not, to leave them with a short explanation of the gospel to ponder over. Show them a simple, clear verse about the gospel (e.g., John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8-9), and quickly expound the verse and the gospel in about 30-60 seconds. Leave them with a gospel tract, and bid them farewell in a polite manner.
I Corinthians 3:6: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Mark 4:14: The sower soweth the word.
Psalm 126:6: He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
More interestingly, if the person seems interested after hearing the Bible verse, and you think they may actually want to hear the gospel despite their previous denial, offer to preach the gospel again, or you can ask if they would like to hear “another verse like that one,” and then proceed to preach the gospel from the beginning. If they refuse, depart.
The Purpose of Questioning
Questions play an important role in the delivering of the gospel message, especially in a personal (confrontational) format. The wisdom of Jesus is poignantly seen both in his use of (Luke 2:46-47) and his response to (Mark 12:28-31) questions.
To determine what someone believes: A question can be used to find out what someone believes, and to confirm someone agrees with what is being preached. People’s hearts and minds are closed off to our inspection, and can only be inferred by their language, either of their body (body-language) or of their words (see II Kings 9:4-13).
Luke 6:45: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
To engage the hearer: A question can cause someone to directly interact with the message. Questions do for the soul-winner what an appeal to the audience does for an actor: they “break the fourth wall.” A monologue is only effective if the hearer is already intensely interested, but this is not the case for the majority of people we meet out soul-winning.
Acts 8:30: And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
To aid in understanding: A question can cause someone to understand a concept, and can force them to reason with the concept on a deeper level.
Mark 11:30-32: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
The Forms of Questioning in the Gospel
Dichotomous (yes/no) Questions: questions with two potential answers.
- “Did this verse (e.g., Acts 16:31) say that we have to obey the commandments to be saved?”
- “If you believe and commit sin, would you go to heaven or to hell?”
Open-ended Questions: questions with many potential answers.
- “What do you think you have to do to go to heaven?”
- “Where does the Bible say that we have to obey the commandments to go to heaven?”
Hypothetical Questions
In 2nd person (BEST) ––“If you believe in Jesus, but keep sinning, where would you go?”
In 3rd person (GOOD) ––“If someone believes in Jesus, but keeps sinning, where would he go?”
In 1st person (BAD) ––“If I believe in Jesus, but keep sinning, where would I go?”
Sample Questions
Sample Beginning Questions
Are you sure you will go to heaven when you die?
Variations of the question: If you died today, are you sure you will go to heaven? Are you 100% sure you will go to heaven? Do you believe you will go to heaven?
What do you have to do to go to heaven?
Variations on the question: What do you have to do to be saved? How do you go to heaven? What is the difference between those that go to heaven and those that go to hell? Why do you think you will go to heaven? If I asked you, “What do I have to do to go to heaven?”, what would you tell me? If you were standing before the gate of heaven, and God asked you, “Why should I let you in?”, what would you tell him?
Can you lose your salvation?
Variations on the question: Can you go to hell after you believe in Jesus? Where would you go if you believe and commit sin?
Sample Gospel Preaching Questions
- SIN – All are sinners (the doctrine of sin)
Are you a sinner?
Have you ever sinned before?
Are you perfect?
- HELL/HEAVEN – Sinners deserve to go to hell (the doctrine of eternal judgment)
Because we are sinners, where do we deserve to go?
Where should sinners go?
As sinners, do we deserve to go to heaven or to hell?
- JESUS––Jesus Christ is God and our Savior – (the doctrine of Christ)
Do you believe Jesus is God?
What did Jesus do to save us?
How many of your sins did Jesus die for?
- BELIEVE – Only believe in Jesus to be saved (the doctrine of justification by faith)
What is the one thing that we have to do to go to heaven?
According to the Bible, what do we have to do to go to heaven?
What does the Bible say we must to be saved in this verse? Did it say to repent of your sins?
- ETERNAL LIFE – One cannot lose their salvation (the doctrine of eternal security)
Generic: If you believe in Jesus, and disobey God/sin/don’t do good things, would you go to heaven or hell?
Specific: If you believe in Jesus, but then steal/get drunk/murder, would you go to heaven or hell?
NOTE: When asking questions regarding the doctrine of eternal security…
- Use reasonable examples, not unreasonable extremes (e.g., being a serial killer, or psychopath)
- Assure them that, although we cannot lose our salvation, God will punish us on the earth if we do bad, and reward us if we do good
- Explain that you are not teaching them to sin, but do be very clear that even if they did sin, they will still go to heaven (“err on the side of caution”)
CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD – ask God to save you
Do you see the difference between what you believe now from the Bible and what you believed before?
If you would have died an hour ago, where would you have gone?
If you died before you believed what I showed you, would you have gone to heaven or to hell?
Can I help you to pray a short prayer so that you can ask God to save you?
Can I lead you in a prayer right now to help you call upon the Lord?
Would you like to repeat a prayer after me to ask God to save you now?
Review Questioning
Frequently in the Bible, prophets and men of God would spend time reminding the people of all the works God had wrought towards them (e.g., book of Deuteronomy; I Samuel 12:7-17; Psalm 81; Acts 7). When we finish preaching the gospel to someone, we should always take a minute to briefly review what we taught them. Most people are not very intelligent, and the amount of Biblical content given to them across the 10-20 minutes of the gospel is probably more than they’ve heard in their entire life at one time. By reviewing the gospel, we confirm both their comprehension of the gospel, and further strengthen their complete grasp of the truth of the gospel in its full (rather than simply its piece-by-piece) form. The questions should follow the logical order of the gospel, and be prefaced with a statement like, “Let me quickly review what I showed you from the Bible today,” or, “Let me briefly summarize what we’ve talked about.”
- Are you a sinner?
- Where do we deserve to go because we are sinners?
- What did Jesus do for us to save us?
- What is the one thing you have to do to go to heaven? Is there anything else you need to do?
- What is the gift God gives you when you believe? Can you lose your salvation or Is there anything you can do to go to hell after you trust in Jesus?
Answering Questions
If the hearer of the gospel asks you a question, do the following:
- If the question is gospel relevant: Answer the question.
- If the question is not gospel relevant: Set aside the question until after the gospel presentation (say, “That is a good question, but let me answer it after I finish showing you this,” or, “I can answer that question if you remind me later, after I show you the gospel”). Always be diligently studying the Bible as to be ready to answer any Bible question (Proverbs 15:28; I Peter 3:15).
Avoid foolish questions (II Timothy 2:23), and do not allow the hearer to be overly inquisitive, or develop argumentative questions. Often, by someone’s so-called “questions,” you can discover their unreceptivity.