I’ve seen enough preaching and have witnessed enough evangelistic encounters to know that much of what passes today for evangelism is bankrupt from true spiritual substance because it is jam-packed with the arguments of human reasoning and is greatly lacking in direct citation of the Word of God. Nothing packs a punch right to the gut of sin like a direct quote from God’s Word. Reasoning with sinners on the streets is essential, but doing so without quoting the Word of God is fatal to the true work of evangelism. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Nothing else pierces and cuts hearts like God’s Word. Nothing else exposes secret motives and prophesies directly to the hearts of men like God’s Word, anointed with Holy Spirit power, quoted from the lips of a sanctified vessel meet for the Master’s use.
Brethren, it is a trap to get involved in endless debating, using logic to try to persuade sinners to abandon their sin and flee to the Savior for mercy. Intellectual persuasion can reach the intellect and at its best, persuade the mind, but God’s Word pierces to the heart, convinces the conscience, and floods God’s truth right into the very soul of man. While there is a place for debating, and we must not be intellectually incompetent, the truth is that true power to convince, convict and convert is found only in God’s Word.
It is the Word of God that is alive and carries with it supernatural power to impart divine life into the spiritually dead. “…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” (1 Pet. 1:23) God has ordained to use His inspired Word as the instrument through which He sovereignly reveals Himself and brings forth sons unto glory: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (Jam. 1:18) It is the Scriptures that are able to make sinners “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). In fact, it is by faith that we are justified, and “…faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17) People must hear Christ’s word in order to believe, have eternal life, and escape the condemnation that awaits the ungodly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (Jn 5:24)
Not only does God save sinners through His Word, but if we’re to be useful as servants of the Lord in the task of evangelism, we must have our minds saturated with the truth of the Scriptures. Our competency must come from God, and He supplies it to us by means of His Word: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) Just as the apostle Paul also said: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Col. 3:16) When Paul wrote the Thessalonians, he said: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Th. 2:13) Even Paul didn’t rely on his own intellect and ability to use persuasive logic, but on the power and efficacy of God’s Word to convert souls (cf. 1 Cor. 2:1).
One time I was in a barber shop and a man was cutting my hair. We started talking, and soon the conversation turned to spiritual things. I don’t remember everything that was said. All I remember is that a river of Scriptures flowed forth from my mouth, much to my surprise, as I shared the Gospel with this man who claimed to be a Christian. God’s Word convinced him quickly of his sinfulness, his lost condition, and his need for a Savior. By the end of the haircut, the man was floored under the power of divine truth, and in the midst of trying to restrain his inward anguish, appeared almost delirious under the burden of a guilty conscience. He wept and told me to leave without paying. I insisted on paying, but he would not accept. Then he fled to the back room to find refuge from the public eye, and I left. What convinced this man who just 10 minutes prior believed himself to be saved that he was utterly lost and desperately in need of Christ’s saving grace? I can assure you it wasn’t me, it wasn’t any fancy arguments or persuasive speech. It was God’s Word under the blessing of the Holy Spirit. God blesses His Word when it is quoted, explained and applied. Brethren, it is such a simple key to seeing God bless your evangelistic endeavors, and yet so powerful. It is absolutely vital that you pack your witnessing with the living Word of God.
When you’re sharing the Gospel with someone, be sure to have your hand firmly gripped around your sword, ready to draw it and pierce right into the heart of any objection to the Gospel that is raised. Be conscious of the fact that objections will come, and that when they come, you will respond to them not with logic or human reasoning but with “It is written!” It is important that you consciously be alert to recognizing objections and that you will strive to answer as biblically as possible at all times. This takes conscious effort and focus. As soon as an objection arises, with sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit (with prayers arising in your heart and mind to the Lord in the midst of it looking for His guidance), let your mind fly through the pages of your mental Bible until a verse jumps out that answers the objection. As soon as it jumps into your consciousness, let it fly off your tongue and strike its target.
Every sinner who has not yet surrendered to Jesus Christ hasn’t done so because there are certain strongholds, certain patterns of thinking, and certain lies that they have believed that keeps them in a spiritually blind state. You must search out and destroy every last false refuge the sinner has, chase him out of all his false assurances and cut through the webs of lies and deceptions he has believed, until he’s left naked and exposed before the truth of God with nothing to do but to humble himself and confess his shame before the Lord in repentance. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:4-5) Yet reason with the Word of God in meekness, not with an accusing tone of voice, but with boldness coupled with gentleness and respect (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24-26). “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:6)
Here is the point of everything I’ve said: be sure to jam pack your evangelism with direct quotation from Holy Scripture. Heap buckets of salt on those who listen to you. Strive to answer every question and objection that is raised with either a direct quote from, or a clear reference to, a biblical text. Have a (preferably, hand-sized) Bible with you and as soon as you’re going to quote a text, flip open your Bible and point your finger to it. Sometimes it is even helpful to stand right next to the person you’re witnessing to, and as you read the text, follow along with your finger as the person’s eyes follow the words you’re reading out loud.
Before the Lord saved me, I clearly remember that the preacher who shared the Gospel with me said: “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” A clear quote from 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV). However, the preacher didn’t say he was quoting Scripture or give the verse reference. I had no idea that that was in the Bible at that time as I was lost and dead in my sins. However, those specific words seemed to pierce my heart with prophetic power and I knew the voice of God Himself was speaking directly to me. Though I didn’t even know it was in the Bible, I knew God spoke those words directly to my soul. The Word of God has power like no other word. The Spirit of God blesses it to convert sinners. It is a living Word that still speaks. When God owns it as it is quoted, it imparts divine life and raises the spiritually dead. If you saturate your soul and feast continually on the words of the Bible, then when you evangelize, it will flow out of your belly like rivers of living water that produce life where the thirsty land was only barren and dead before.
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