When looking for direction about sharing the gospel, I find Colossians 4:3-6 extremely helpful:
Colossians 4:3-6 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison-4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Paul breaks it down into two simple principles: talking to God about people (vv3-4), and talking to people about God (vv5-6). I’ll deal with the first in this column and the second next week.
Notice how the inspired apostle directs people to pray for him (and presumably themselves) about his evangelism.
First, he asks them to pray “that God may open a door for the word” (v3). In other words, we ought to pray for opportunities to talk to people about Jesus. Isn’t it interesting that the great Apostle Paul asked his friends to pray for him in his evangelism? He had been ridiculed for Jesus, kicked out of cities for Jesus, even stoned for Jesus. Yet he still asked his friends to pray for him to be the right kind of evangelist.
But this can be a scary prayer to pray, can’t it? What if God actually answers?! That’s why we pray the next part: that we may “declare the mystery of Christ… [and] make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (vv3-4). Request one is that God might give us opportunities to talk about Jesus, and request two is that we’ll actually say something when the opportunity comes!
Notice what exactly we must share: “the mystery of Christ.” Evangelism is talking about Jesus, not merely about church or spirituality or even just God generically. It’s sharing the story about who Jesus is, what He did, and what it means to trust Him.
Notice, as well, our simple responsibility: to make the message clear. Not to save them. Not even to persuade them. Just to explain it to them. Often I mistake my responsibility in evangelism as using my knowledge and skill to change the sinner. And I somehow imagine God standing back as a gentleman, quietly waiting for the individual to render a favorable verdict on Him. But that’s exactly backward! I am supposed to be the gentleman, simply making clear this life-changing news, while God uses all his power to convict and change the sinner. God is happy to help you because He is eager for His gospel to be known!
Evangelism does not begin with talking to people about God. It begins with talking to God about people.