As you witness to people about Christ you will sometimes get into heated discussions. Some people will make there position clear because they have made a firm decision not to believe in God. While many will make an argument that under questioning often will not stand up. This will often open the door for you to present the truth of the Gospel.
Today I am going to talk about a technique used in counselling, business and communication called “Three Level Questioning”. This is a huge subject, and I am only covering it very briefly. At all times you must rely on and listen to the Holy Spirit. He will direct and guide you as well as bringing all important scriptures to your memory. After all Jesus said that would happen. “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” John 14:26
Before I came to know Jesus, I was pretty much anti God, and didn’t want anything to do with Christians. Looking back, I found them weak, and imagined them to be a little nerdy, or the train spotter type. I would often argue that there was no God, and that I didn’t believe in Jesus. I made that decision myself and didn’t really base it on much evidence that I had discovered at all. It was just a belief system that I had developed over the years, based on a couple of TV programmes that I watched and mainly because my friends, family and work colleagues had a similar opinion.
If anyone was to have asked me why I believed that and had taken the time to actually drill down to see how strong my beliefs actually were, they would have very quickly discovered that I wasn’t really sure about what I believed at all.
Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism-where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" Matthew 21: 24-25
If you read the Gospels you will soon discover that Jesus asked a huge mount of questions when he encountered people. By doing this He was able to quickly see people hearts. So with that in mind I thought it would be helpful to go through a technique that I often use that works. I will sometimes do this to find out what an unbeliever truly believes.
It is essential that you are not confrontational as you do this. We might win the battle but lose the person who was defeated. The first thing an unbeliever must see in us is the love of Christ. At the end of the day God is love.
People form their own perspective and views on life, which are built through, experiences, learning, films, TV and much more. Asking a few simple questions will usually get you to a point where both you and the person you are in conversation with will discover just how firm the foundations of their beliefs are.
I am using open questions in this example. Closed questions invite responses that are often quite short such as “No”, “I don’t think so” etc. The idea here is to get a person talking to you.
Example:
You are in conversation and start to share Christ. After a few moments your listener says “I don’t believe in God at all. I think that we just die and that’s it. There is no heaven”.
Question Level One: “That’s interesting, tell me why that got your attention”? Depending on the statement the person originally gave you, your question could include words like “Who, When, How, Where, How often”. (This is often known as data collection)
My answer before accepting Christ would have been “Er…well I saw a programme saying that aliens visited the earth thousands of years ago”. Plus I saw the film “Chariots of the Gods.
Question Level Two: “Great, so you are saying that watching a film and a TV programme gave you enough information to decide that there is no God or heaven. Let me ask what did you see that gave you feelings that there was no God” Other questions could include “What you feel about of think about, What does that mean to you, What are the implications of that, What interests you about that”? (The meaning, interest, feeling, attraction and interest level)
The truth is that I would have started to struggle here to define what I truly believed.
Question Level Three: “Why did you decide to believe that”? Other questions you could use are “Why is that important, Why does that concern you”? (The attitudes and values level) The “Why question is important. My children will often ask for something, like sweets, or because they want to do something. Sometimes the answer will be no. In almost all cases they ask me “Why”?
This is where most people will either be certain of their beliefs or unsure of them. You will in most cases know where you stand. The person who is firm in the beliefs will be a greater challenge, whereas the latter will be easier for you to share the good news with. In most cases asking questions build rapport and makes it easier to share your own experiences as well.
In either case the Holy Spirit can move a person’s heart. Jesus saves the most opinionated and hard nosed people. I have seen it so many times over the years. Give it a try sometime.
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