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SCRIPTURAL WITNESSING It is the duty of every Christian to work toward bringing others to Christ. In Acts 1:8, our Lord Jesus Christ told His followers, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” It is our duty to WITNESS to the lost about Jesus Christ and His saving grace. It is NOT our duty to WIN them. God does the winning (the increase, I Cor. 3:6); we do the witnessing. Most of the witnessing that you do in your Christian life will not lead a person to Christ. Most witnessing will simply be a matter of you letting someone know that they are a sinner, Christ died for them, and He wants to save them. You may do this verbally, or you may simply leave someone a tract or write a message. Either way, most people will ignore you for the most part and reject Christ. Regardless, it is still our duty to be a WITNESS. A witness is not a person who wins others, but simply a person who TELLS WHAT HE KNOWS. That’s our duty--to tell the lost what we know about Jesus Christ and His saving grace. This point is well made in Ezekiel 3:17-19: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” It is not our duty to win everyone, but it is our duty to WARN them. Paul said in Acts 20:26-27 that he was pure from the blood of all men because he had declared unto them the whole counsel of God. That’s our job--to tell the world about Jesus Christ. Jesus compared this to fishing in Matthew 4:19 when He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Now, immediately we learn three things from this command: (1) most men will never “bite”, (2) some will “get away,” and (3) we will “catch” some. If I choose to go fishing, I surely know that most of the fish in the lake will never bite my hook. I’d be a fool to think that every fish is out there just waiting for my hook and bait to hit the water. I just accept the fact that most won’t care to “bite.” Some WILL bite, and I can expect that. But I cannot expect to catch each fish that bites. Some, perhaps even most, will get away. They will steal my bait, and I’ll have to bait my hook again and keep trying. I’d be foolish to get discouraged and quit fishing just because some fish got away. A fisherman will catch some fish. A quitter may never catch any, but a person who fishes regularly will catch some fish. There is simply no way you can fish every day and never catch a fish. You say, “I haven’t EVER caught a fish!" That’s because you haven’t been fishing every day. You’ve gone a few times, perhaps several times, but not every day. If you fish every day, you will catch fish. The same is true in witnessing. If you consistently witness and pray, you will see people saved. You may not always be the person to open the Bible and deal with them from the Scriptures, but you will see souls saved through your continual witness. Sometimes you may even be the person to tell them about Christ, show them the Scriptures, and pray with them as they call upon the Lord for salvation. It is at these moments that Satan fights the hardest, so a good knowledge of God’s word will do wonders. There’s nothing like taking a Bible and seeing a person’s eyes light up as they begin to really understand what you show them about salvation. CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE WITNESSING We'll spend the rest of the study in Acts 8:26-40: "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." This is the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who became a Christian after Phillip witnessed to him about Christ. This story offers several good points about effective witnessing. First, we’ll consider some points from the standpoint of Phillip, the Christian witness. Then we’ll consider three points from the eunuch’s standpoint. Thirdly, we’ll examine this event from the standpoint of the Holy Spirit. When all is considered, we will have studied an ideal situation for effective witnessing. From Phillip’s Standpoint . . . He responded to the Holy Spirit’s leadership In verse 26, the Holy Spirit told Phillip to “arise and go.” Then in verse 27 Phillip “arose and went.” Rather than wiggle out of the opportunity, Phillip simply obeyed God’s lead. He asked no questions, and he made no excuses. He “arose and went.” When God speaks to your heart about witnessing to a person, then ARISE and GO. You say, “Well, how do I know it’s God speaking to me?” Well, who else would it be? Do you think Satan wants you to witness to someone about Christ? Follow God’s lead! He proceeded tactfully Notice the wisdom that Phillip used in verse 30. He didn’t run up to the chariot and yell “You’re going to Hell if you don’t repent!” This wasn’t the time and place for that. Phillip used some godly wisdom by taking advantage of the moment. The eunuch was already reading his Bible, so Phillip stepped in smoothly and simply said, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” Now a conversation had been opened. He used the Scriptures In verses 32 through 35 we see that the eunuch was reading Isaiah 53, so Phillip used Isaiah 53 to teach this man about Christ. He didn’t go into long-winded stories about his own “religious experience.” Phillip simply took God’s word and gave this man the answer he was seeking. No man-made method can beat the Scriptures. Just learn the Book and use it (Heb. 4:12). He presented the Lord Jesus Christ Verse 35 says that Phillip “preached unto him Jesus.” Phillip stuck to the subject at hand, Jesus Christ, and avoided discussions that weren’t relevant to this man getting saved. Jesus told us to be witnesses UNTO HIM (Acts 1:8). We should always stick to the subject and preach Jesus. He followed through to completion In verses 36 through 39 we see that Phillip stayed there until the Holy Spirit led him away. He didn’t just witness and then leave. Phillip wanted RESULTS. He wanted to see this man trust Christ as Saviour, so he stayed right on through the end. If you find yourself making some real progress with a lost person, STAY THERE and keep giving them the word! Stick with the subjects of sin and the Saviour, and watch God soften that heart and bring them to a genuine conversion. If no real spiritual progress is being made, then leave the person and start praying for him. From the Eunuch’s Standpoint . . . He was open to the truth This man had come to Jerusalem to worship (vs. 27). From this we can see that he was looking for truth. Why didn’t he stay home and worship the gods of North Africa? He knew there was more. He knew there was a true God, and he sought to know more about Him. To really be effective with a person, that person must be seeking for the truth. Jesus said seek and ye shall find (Mat. 7:7). He needed to understand the word In verses 30 and 31, Phillip wants to make sure that this man understands the Scripture. Just reading a few verses isn’t enough. We need to do our best to help the lost UNDERSTAND New Testament salvation. Too many “soul-winners” have a neat little system of selected Bible verses that they use on people without ever making sure that these verses are really understood. The “Roman’s Road” is fine, but make sure the lost person understands it. It may be necessary to present many other portions of Scripture just to properly explain the Roman’s Road. And, yes, this might take longer than the standard "twenty minutes." He had to believe Notice in verse 36 the eunuch desired to be baptized. No doubt, many preachers today would have went right ahead and baptized him without asking any questions, but not Phillip. Phillip knew that mere baptism couldn’t save anyone, so in verse 37 he made sure that this man BELIEVED. He had just preached to him from Isaiah 53 (the crucifixion), and now he wanted to know if the eunuch believed, if he accepted his message. The eunuch confessed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. We need to make sure that the lost believe on Christ, and mental belief isn’t enough (James 2:19). Before a man can be saved, he must believe FROM THE HEART. Romans 6:17 says, “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” We need to make sure a person really means business. We need to make sure they really believe (Acts 16:30-31; John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10; I Cor. 1:21). From the Holy Spirit’s Standpoint . . . He led Phillip to the right place Notice in verse 29 that God knew exactly where Phillip needed to be. God didn’t tell him why, but He did command Phillip to go to the chariot. Phillip had no idea that a man was about to be saved, but he still obeyed God and trusted His leadership. He led Phillip to the right man God made arrangements for Phillip and the eunuch to have this conversation. He knew that the eunuch needed the Gospel and that he was ready to receive it. We need to pray that God will lead us to those who are most ready, those who are seeking. Some are already being dealt with by the Holy Spirit, and these are usually the best people to speak to about Christ. He led Phillip to the right Scripture Certainly, it was God’s plan for Isaiah 53 to be already opened right there in the chariot. Phillip didn’t have to plan everything and rehearse all of his words. The Holy Spirit led the way, and Phillip followed His lead. He led Phillip to the right result In verse 39, we have a man saved and rejoicing. That’s the work of God. Only God can give true inner joy. Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” When a man is really saved, he has joy because he has peace with God. Notice that in this whole episode it was the HOLY SPIRIT bringing forth the increase. Our duty is to plant and water, but ONLY GOD CAN GIVE THE INCREASE: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." (I Cor. 3:6) The high pressure "soul winners" of fundamentalism often usurp the office of the Holy Spirit by shoving him out of the way and forcing an increase themselves, which results only in a fake convert. A man must be "born of the Spirit" (John 3:8), else he isn't born again at all, so we MUST remain patient and allow God to do his perfect work. This sometimes takes weeks, months and years, a bit more than the standard twenty minutes allowed by the IFB "experts." Do it GOD'S WAY and enjoy God's blessings.