Do you possess this good Christian habit?

Years ago I worked in a dynamic direct sales business that thrived on its salespeople building a positive mental attitude. We used phrases which kept our minds from negative “Stinking thinking” as we called it. Every day we would repeat, “You can if you think you can”, “What the mind can conceive it will achieve” and other such mantras. One positive phrase that has stuck in my memory is about creating good habits. My boss always said “If you do something consecutively for sixteen days, it will become a habit”. 

Food for thought! Whether this is true or not I suppose we will never know. Recently I have been pondering about what sort of habits a Christian should have when it comes to witnessing. 

Key Point: Purpose to have an evangelistic lifestyle for sixteen consecutive days. Expect things to happen.

As believers we are representatives of Christ and as such we ought to be ready and willing to share the good news of the Gospel. Jesus has given each of us a job to do which should become our way of life. There are many scriptures that I could use to back this up. Here are just two that shed some light on the subject:

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:17-18

Witnessing about Jesus should be a natural thing for a Christian. We readily tell others about how we spend our time – where we have been, who with, food we have enjoyed and films we have seen. We tell them about what we feel is important or of interest. We should all be ready and able to share the Gospel with someone just as easily!

Here are five suggestions which are helpful when it comes to effective witnessing. Using the scale below, assess your current position on each of the statements. My aim is to inspire Christians to obey the command of Jesus and “Go”. Be honest with your self when you answer.

Scale

Cold             Cool            Warm            Hot          Boiling

 0 --- 1 ---- 2 --- 3 --- 4 ---- 5 ---- 6 ---- 7 ----- 8 ---- 9 ---- 10

Lifestyle witnesses:

Are prayed up: One of my mentors in evangelism says that prayer and witnessing go hand in hand. Praying for people you know and asking God for opportunities is essential. If you ask Him sincerely, God will put people in your path who will be ready to hear the message. What score did you give yourself?

Are trained, studied and prepared: This is a vital area if you want to be effective. Studying the word and what it has to say about winning the lost; undergoing training, reading books, listening to evangelistic preaching and spending time with soul winners all help you learn how to share the Gospel.

“He that wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30. 

It makes sense that mixing with people who witness will help you considerably. 

“He who walks with the wise grows wise” 

Proverbs 13: 20 

Are ready to take up opportunities: Soul winners share Christ at any time and anywhere; are always open to talking about Jesus at the office (if the situation allows), in a restaurant, on a plane, over the phone - in fact at any and every opportunity! Are you like that? How did you rate yourself here?

Are never worried about the results: These people understand the fact that they cannot save anyone. They appreciate that people come to Christ only through the work of the Holy Spirit. They just share the Gospel, believe in its power and leave the Holy Spirit to do the work.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”  Romans 1:16 

How did you score?

They see their interactions with people as Divine appointments: They begin each day with a sense of anticipation and view themselves as instruments of God’s grace to others.

They let the light of Jesus shine through the way they live and will often seek to make the most of their encounters with people, purposely leading a conversation into spiritual areas.

Do people see Jesus in you? Do you make the most of these divine appointments? How did you score yourself on this area?

The answers you gave may reveal a need to spend more time and prayer in order to become the ready and prepared witness that Jesus wants you to be. Will praying about witnessing and studying what God has to say on the subject  for a period of time, (perhaps even 16 days) make a difference to the way you think about it? Would it even become a habit?

What do you think?

Are you grateful for the cross?

When someone does a big favour for you, or perhaps gives you a lovely present, do you find it easy to show your gratitude? How grateful would you be if a fireman saved you from certain death in a house fire? Or perhaps a person pushed you out of the way of a bus that was going to run you over? How would you demonstrate your thanks?

You would surely agree that after this you would tell everyone about your amazing near death experience. People would listen because you would enthusiastically explain every detail of the dramatic event that took place.

Well, if you know Jesus as Lord of your life then you have been saved from a lost eternity away from God in a place of torment. If you don’t already do so, shouldn’t you tell people about it? I will quote key scriptures repeatedly as they are the truth and help us share important points effectively.

“Go and preach the Gospel to all creation” Matthew 16: 15

When Jesus gave the command in the well known scripture above, He wasn’t just talking to the disciples. No, He was talking to you and me too. The other point to remember is that He wasn’t making a suggestion. In other words “Go” is not a discussion point. Yes, He was giving us a command, but knowing because of our love for Him that we should be ready and willing to act upon His will. 

"If you love me, you will obey what I command” 

John 14: 15

This scripture leaves us with an important question that needs to be asked:

How do you demonstrate your gratitude for the cross?

The simple fact is that unless we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour by repenting of our sin, we really are destined for a miserable lost eternity in a place that was prepared for Satan and his cohorts. Jesus died a horrific death so that we might be saved and go to heaven. The question is how do we show that we are grateful for the work of the Cross and how is that outworked in our Christian walk?

Key Point: Your gratitude for the work of the cross should be outworked in your life and be there for all to see

One of my favourite scriptures is in Jeremiah 29: 11 where we read something amazing. God says through the prophet:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29: 11

I love reading that verse. I am very grateful that the Lord is saying it to me and you. No doubt you feel the same way as I do when you read about the amazing plan that God has for you. For many, a good part of a person’s gratitude is shown by communing in prayer, praising God, worshipping Him and spending time in His word.

When we consider the mighty redemptive work that Jesus did through his death for us at Calvary, shouldn’t it compel us to witness?

As I write this, the words of the old Hymn “At the cross” come to mind. The words of the verses and the chorus explain why we should be sharing the Gospel. Hymn writers wrote out of their experience of coming to faith in Jesus Christ. I love to read these because they are full of the Gospel.

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed

And did my Sov’reign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give myself away,

’Tis all that I can do.

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

A “Witness” is a person who testifies for a cause or has personal knowledge of a particular event that has taken place. A Christian witness must have a first-hand experience of Christ. You will know that hearsay is not acceptable if you are a witness in a court of law. You must tell the facts as they are.

As believers we need to be able to express verbally and also witness practically - through our lifestyle, our work, our relationships, our attitudes and through the problems and the many challenges in life that will inevitably come our way.

Sadly, too many believers have stopped becoming ‘fishers of men’. We must make His great commission our mission. If we really love Jesus and are thankful for what He did for us at Calvary, we will and that includes getting involved in activity to grow individually within the church as well as witnessing outside of church.

Our gratitude should be demonstrative. At the very least, we should be as keen to share the Gospel as much as we are when speak to others of how we saved money on petrol, or discovered a good restaurant.

We had a lovely meal the other day. We experienced friendly service, a nice atmosphere, excellent food and above all it was at a good price. We have told quite a number of friends about it. I am sure you have done the same when you have a good experience.

Jesus knew what He was going to have to endure to purchase our salvation, yet He still did it. As the old saying goes, “While He was on the cross, you were on His mind”.

In the light if this, the very least we can do is to tell people about Him.

Have you left your light on? What is an evangelistic lifestyle? (Part Two)

We can all get a little stressed from time to time and situations come along which test us. It is on occasions like these that others look at us and notice how we handle problems and trials.

The saying that ‘we are often the only Bible that people read’, may be a cliché to some people, but I believe that it is very true. Do people that you know see a different “You” when you are not at church? When people find out that you are a Christian, it should not be a surprise, but rather a confirmation that there is something different about you.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:14-15

This scripture came to mind immediately as I started to write this. Part of an evangelistic lifestyle means letting others see Jesus in our lives. Having the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts changes us. The change should be evident in our lifestyle for everyone to notice – not just the people at church on a Sunday or at prayer meetings.

Lifestyle Evangelists let the light of Jesus in their lives shine for all to see: In a fellowship that I used to attend, part of my responsibility as a leader was to open up the building and ensure everything was ready for people when they arrived. I did this every Sunday for a number of years. This meant I needed to leave home early and my wife Desiree and the children would arrive later, nearer the start of the service. Recently we moved to a new church and so now we travel to meetings together as a family.

At church we have all seen people arriving with big smiles on their faces saying “Good Morning Pastor”, “God Bless You” looking and sounding like very godly people. It is the same for me, but I must admit that over the preceding years I forgot what it was like getting my children ready and driving to church.

On the second Sunday at our new fellowship we were running late and the children were taking ages to get ready. They had been slow to get out of bed, then they had been forgetting things, losing things and it seemed they were doing it intentionally.

Finally - as if to test me - they wanted a last minute visit to the bathroom! My stress level kept escalating and when they were all at the front door eventually ready to go, I roared “Get in the car”!!! (I am certain that the roar came from my Celtic roots). It ended up that we weren’t late for the meeting at all, and though agitated on our ten minute journey, I arrived and managed to put a big smile on my face and said “Good Morning Pastor”, “God Bless You”. All parents, I am sure, will have experienced similar events in their own families.

This is a simple example, but the point I am making is that we need to reflect the light of Jesus in our lives, in all situations. People do genuinely watch us to see how we react to such challenges. You will have heard people say, perhaps jokingly, “I thought you were supposed to be a Christian”, as if we are meant to be perfect. The truth is though, when someone says that, it means that they really are watching you!

Key Point: People are watching what you do and say especially in difficult situations and challenges

When we shine the light of Jesus in our lives it does something quite amazing: It points people towards Him.

Thankfully, people didn’t comment if they saw or heard me as I raised my voice on that Sunday morning. The way we act and handle situations really does speak volumes. I am far from perfect and have got it wrong on many occasions and I probably will again.

Lifestyle evangelism is constant: An evangelistic lifestyle reveals a great deal about the reality of our faith and includes all aspects of our lives; our ambition, approach, accountability - all with the aim to do one thing:  to point people to our  Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our lives should consistently reflect our belief and trust in God to help us, whatever our circumstances. It is not easy, but relying on God’s word to guide us and remaining faithful in prayer daily will help considerably.  

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Over the years I have been blessed to lead people to Christ through preaching, testifying and on a one to one basis sharing the Gospel. It made me pause and think, “Does my life reflect Jesus in the way it should, and does it point people to Christ?” The truthful answer is “In part” because there is much room for improvement.  

How much light does your lifestyle show?

It is a tough, but necessary question to ask ourselves. Living an evangelistic lifestyle is something that needs to be worked at, always mindful that we should ‘walk the talk’. Let’s pray that the light of Jesus in our lives will reveal the truth to others who will see, hear and believe our faith is real because of how we live. We must be a light wherever we are, whoever we are with and in whatever we say and do.

It’s a conscious decision that we must make, each day of our lives. Just like the old song goes:

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!”

 

 

 

 

What is an evangelistic lifestyle? (Part One)

At a recent prayer meeting we were praying about our local church’s activities. These included some new types of evangelistic endeavours for our fellowship. As I  listened to the prayers  I felt the need  to pray into this myself, especially as I am actively involved in the initiatives. When my opportunity came along I asked the Lord to open doors, to draw people to Him, to the events and used many of the phrases that we probably hear uttered at these types of meetings. The last part of my petition to the Lord was asking Him to help the people in our fellowship live evangelistic lifestyles.

On my drive home I asked myself, what exactly is an evangelistic lifestyle”? Having considered this and through studying scripture, I will share the answer that I arrived at. We will cover this subject in greater depth later, as there is much more to learn about it. The term ‘evangelistic lifestyle’ is used frequently these days and  it is important to have a clear understanding of what it actually means.

A Christian should:-

Be alert: Firstly, a lifestyle evangelist is always ready and prepared to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When an opportunity comes along, they will always take it, without hesitation. Paul in Athens is a very good example, when he came across the statue of the unknown God:

“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”

Acts 17: 22-23

He was presented with an opportunity to share the good news and simply took it. When he had finished speaking, scripture records that some people sneered, others wanted to hear him speak again but straightaway many believed and responded to the message! It remains true today - people still react and respond in the same way whenever they hear the Good News.

I know some people who cannot resist sharing their faith, they never let an opportunity pass them by and literally every person they speak to gets to hear the Gospel. I remember a few years ago being in a Chinese takeaway in Glasgow with my cousin, who is  one of those people that speaks about God any time he can. We went up to the counter; the young lady took her pad and held her pen at the ready expecting an order. She waited a few seconds and then looked up to see my cousin’s beaming face. He introduced me saying, “Hello young lady, this is my cousin who is also my brother…….in Christ” as he pointed with his right hand towards heaven. The assistant, who was Chinese and spoke very broken English, looked horrified. I have to admit that at the time even I felt a little embarrassed for her and myself to be honest.

It may appear an extreme example, but amazingly God often moves through people in this way and opens doors for them to present the Gospel. We often don’t know what happens to the seed when we sow it.  It can stay there until one day it germinates and starts to speak to a person’s heart. I have seen it happen many times before. Though it isn’t the way I usually operate, we must all be ready to take the initiative when an opportunity comes along.

Key Point: Be ready to take the initiative when an opportunity comes along

Initially, most opportunities will arise with people that you know, friends, neighbours, family or work colleagues. From my experience, these are very good people to start with. We must be ready and prayed up. When we step out for God in faith and witness, the Holy Spirit is right there with us. What a comfort that is!

Our own contacts are important as we make the decision reach out. Ask the Lord to create opportunities, and He will do it. When they come along, we need to be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have.

Look at the figures below to see how most people have ended up coming to church. The figures are much the same worldwide and it was certainly true in my case  - I initially came to church through someone I knew.

·        A friend or relative 78%

·        Pastor 6%

·        Sunday school 5%

·        Church service or program 3%

·        Walk-in off the street 3%

·        Special need 2%

·        Personal visitation 2%

·        Evangelistic crusade or TV show 1/2%

Baptist church figures USA 1998

We shouldn’t become a pest so that people avoid us; we just need to be prepared to share the truth of the Gospel. When we pray and expect opportunities, they will come along.

That means being ready and prepared in season and out of season. In other words ….. anytime.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:1

Explaining why you can’t earn your way into heaven.

Sometimes when we get into conversations when we witness for Christ we will come across wrong perceptions about, Jesus, heaven, and eternal life. On other occasions, we will be asked tough questions. The way that we deal with these issues and questions is very important. The more you witness, the more experienced you will become at dealing with wrong perceptions, objections or questions with regards to the Gospel.

No doubt you have heard some people say that in effect they believe it’s possible to earn their way into heaven, through beliefs such attending church once a year at Christmas, to being part of a church choir or any other church activities. In other words, through doing works.

I am going to use a different way of using a simple technique that is well used known as, “DO versus Done” to explain what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Using what I am going to go through is proven in its effectiveness. Try it. It works!

Over the years, I have never been slow to let work colleagues know that I am a Christian. Some years ago I was talking to a new colleague who had joined our financial advice office. Whilst chatting one day he very soon discovered that I was a Bible believing church goer. “He said , “I go to church” in a very definite way. I replied, “Hey that’s brilliant, where do you go”? His reply was, “Well……I go with my wife to the Christmas eve service where we live every year”. I thought about his answer for a moment and asked him, “Tell me, why do you only go then”? He said, “I think that’s enough, to be honest. It means I believe in God, and He knows I’m there, so I will end up in heaven.”

When you witness to people about Jesus you will find that they come up with all kinds of theories and beliefs about God and Heaven. They mistakenly believe that they will receive eternal life by giving answers like “I’m in the church choir”, “I am a member of the chapel” and “I give money to charity”. When a person does that, they are saying that they know more than God and are basically putting Him under their feet.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast” Ephesians 2: 8-9

There is nothing we can do to merit our own righteousness, earning our way into heaven. Salvation is a gift from God that we must willingly receive. There is no other way. So here is a simple example of how you can explain the answer. There are many others, but I like this one because it is quick to share and more importantly, it is easy for a person to understand.

“Things I do” vs. “It’s been done”

Things I do: I will often say, “When people talk about doing things like you have suggested, you could probably call it religion, which is simply doing things, hoping that you have done enough to get into heaven. Very often that could be through church attendance, helping in the church or doing other types of good works. My question to you is really very important, ‘How will you ever know that you have done enough to get there?”

The different approach: It is very effective if you keep silent and resist the temptation to speak until the person has answered. Even if it means waiting for thirty seconds, which can often seem like an eternity. Be patient and wait. Keeping silent gives the person time to consider their answer. Very often during the thinking time, the person will realise that the belief that they have built up has no foundation. The result of this means that very often that seeds of doubt will have been sown in the person’s mind regarding their beliefs. This will give you more opportunity to share.

I will often explain religion in this way: It’s rather like a salesman who has to make sales justify their salary. But the simple fact is that they never really know whether they have sold enough to reach their target. If they end up missing their sales quota, it will mean that they will be out of a job.

The truth is that we will always fall short of hitting the target through doing things to earn our way to heaven because scripture says:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3: 23

No matter how hard we try will never be able to hit the mark. Doing things, will never mean that a person can earn forgiveness and favour from God”.

It’s been done: I will say something like, “I have got some great news for you. Real Christianity means that the work has already been done for us. When Jesus came to earth, He lived a perfect life which we could never live, and then He willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty we owed for the wrongs we have done. To become a real Christian means that we should ask the Lord to forgive us for our sins (Things that we know are wrong). When we do that He adopts us into His family and begins to change us from the inside out. You can know without a doubt and you can be sure that you will go to heaven once you have accepted Jesus as Lord.”

Scripture says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5: 13

Another way of explaining it is using the idea of spelling the word religion as “D – O ” and the word Christianity as “D – O – N – E”. Doing this can often help the listeners understanding.

Key Point: There is nothing wrong with preparing answers to questions that people may want to ask

It is very important to remember that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a few answers that you have spent some time preparing. People go to Bible school to study apologetics to be able to answer questions like this. They do it so that the can defend the Gospel as well as being able to explain it.

At the very least, having answers prepared means that you will be a more effective witness for Jesus. The more you do something the better you will become. Without a doubt, preparation increases effectiveness.

What isn't the Gospel?

Consider this for a moment:- What is not the Gospel?

There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel; but too often this wonderful truth is massively distorted or over simplified. Many preachers and people who witness for Christ talk only about the benefits of the Gospel, saying, “Jesus can give you a purpose to your life”, or “Jesus can give you real meaning to your life”.

Both of the above statements and others like them are absolutely true, but they are not the Gospel message. True statements like, “Jesus, wants to bless you” or, “God has a plan for your life” are not the Gospel either, though of course I believe that the Lord does have a fantastic plan for our lives and that He wants to bless us.

I can only conclude that people speak like this because they presume that it sounds more attractive than talking about atonement for sin. Sadly - dare I say it - it would seem that a few prominent preachers believe that we have even out grown the Gospel and preach instead about being blessed, having a new focus, health and wealth. It sound more like a psychology lecture sometimes based around improving our lives through what we can get from God.

They are missing the point. Let’s consider a very important foundational scripture regarding this:

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures!”  1 Corinthians 15: 1-4

Simply put, the Gospel is the good news about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; how His sacrifice provides us with full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. That is according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s Him and only Him, no other god, no other person or belief system. Fact! It’s wonderful news!

It’s all about what Christ did when He was crucified for us at Calvary! This is what we need to communicate effectively. Let’s not fear talking about the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ, but ask the Lord to give us boldness to preach the message!

Key Point: Ask God to give you a boldness to share the good news

Speak boldly, using the name of Jesus – many just talk about God, declaring “God loves you”, or “God wants the best for you”, or “You are the apple of God’s eye!” It’s great to hear this, but the Gospel is about JESUS and what He did for us.

·         He is the one that was tortured and died.

·         He was the one that was put in the tomb.

·         He is the one that rose again after three days.

·         He is the soon coming King.

·         It is through His atoning death alone that we are redeemed.

It’s all about Jesus and what He has done

Jesus commanded us to go and preach the Gospel to all creation. We must be clear about what it is. We are not trying to sell it, or make God more attractive, appealing or acceptable. Jesus died to save sinners like you and me. I am grateful for the cross; what happened there is so important.

When Paul and Silas were miraculously freed from the jail by the earthquake that the Lord sent, even the keeper of the prison fell to his knees and cried:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16: 30 

He had no thought of asking “What can God do for me?” or asking whether God wanted to bless Him, give him money, give him a better life. He saw his sinful state before God, that was all that mattered in those moments. He knew that he needed a saviour. His focus was on nothing else.

Each of the first four books of the New Testament are named “The Gospel”. The obvious question is ‘who are they about’?

We have good news to share about what Jesus did for us at Calvary. All of the other benefits that come with it are fantastic. But they only come after accepting the Lord Jesus as Saviour, don’t they? Salvation is the most important thing, not health, wealth, material possessions or success.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.” 1Timothy 1:15

Jesus Christ died to save sinners. That is you and me, everyone. That is the point. We need to ‘keep the main thing, the main thing’ as the saying goes.

What do I say when I get a tough question?

Have you ever been enthusiastically witnessing of Gods goodness, when all seems to be going well until your listener asks you one of those questions? You know what I mean when I say that. I am sure that you often get asked questions like, “Why did God create the Devil”? or perhaps, “Why does God allow so much evil and suffering in the world”? Quite possibly the most common question is, “Why would a loving God send people to Hell”?

It is true to say that the thought of having to deal with questions like these means that some people shy away from what Jesus commanded them to do, which is to share the good news. But in answer to that, we have some great promises from Jesus that we should remember when we take the all important step to witness for Him.

“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

 “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict”. Luke 21: 15

The scripture above like all others is true. I can assure you that the Holy Spirit always turns up when you share the Gospel. It is amazing how it happens. He really will give you the words to say, as well as bringing scriptures to your memory. You will often finish talking and ask yourself, “Where did that all come from”? God always keeps His promises. He isn’t like you or me thankfully.

When dealing with any kind of objection there are a few very important points that you need to remember:

·        Whatever you are asked, make sure that you don’t look fazed or surprised. You will get asked some strange questions sometimes.

·        Always handle objections with the love of Jesus in your heart. Don’t be confrontational. Your listener must see the love of Jesus in you.

·        Reply with something like “Thank you, I am really glad you asked that question”, or perhaps “Thanks, that’s a really good question to ask”.

·        If you don’t know the answer, admit it and say that you will find out.

·        When getting the “Hell” question the answer I always give is simple and to the point. My reply would be: “Thanks, that’s a good question to ask me, because God didn’t create hell for you or for me”.

This answer usually means that the person you are talking to ends up with a surprised look on their face. You will discover that most questions asked are from a lack of knowledge. If the person asking had read the scriptures, there would be no need to ask the question because they would already know the answer.

If a person denies it, or doesn’t like your answer, it doesn't mean it isn't real

You could say something like this:  “Hell was originally created for Satan and his angels. In the future it will only contain those who join Satan in rejecting God. When a person believes that they don’t need forgiveness of their sin, they will end up joining the Devil who rejected God from the beginning.

“Let me ask, could you honestly believe in a God who would become a human being and then suffer at the hands of humans, and be killed by them, all so that His death could be the payment for their sins? That is an extremely loving thing to do.

“God saves people who deserve to go to a lost eternity - and to be honest, we all deserve that. Remember that the same God does this, also died for them. If they reject what God has provided, then what is God left to do”?

“Whether you believe in something or not does not change the fact of its existence. Jesus spoke often of hell and warned us so we would not go there”.

With all of this the best thing to do is to get out there and share Jesus. Have a look through my previous blogs and you will find lots to help you to be an effective witness.

God Bless.