The First Step

You’d think after years of being a Christian, sharing my faith with someone would come easily. But I confess, as I approached the doors of the mall yesterday my stomach was tied in knots and I held firmly to my pad of paper and pen in an attempt to at least reduce the visibility of my shaking hands. It was a mixture of eager anticipation and fear of not knowing what to say that kept me in a continual state of prayer all morning, in preparation for our afternoon mission. In addition to requesting wisdom and courage, my prayer was that God would direct me specifically to those with whom He wanted me to share the Gospel and that He would enable me to rejoice if I was persecuted or rejected in any way.

Upon our arrival, I followed Seth around, since he’s done this before, and attempted to learn from him and in so doing build up my courage. Then, it was my turn. Armed with a pad of Intelligence Test Surveys and a pen, I approached a trio of elderly men. One of the three was nominated to take the survey in spite of his protest that he was not very intelligent. He proved himself correct as he proceeded to answer almost every question on the survey incorrectly. One of his friends made faces and chimed in periodically to let him know he was wrong, and of course I had to remind him that he had nominated his friend to take the test, so he had to be quiet and not give away the answers. :-) I had a great time talking with them and some very interesting discussion about God and sin ensued. I attempted to faithfully present the Truth from God’s Word in response to the false views the man stated, because “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) My words are empty; but God’s Word is powerful!

Until I get some sort of small recording device to carry with me, I will not make a habit of posting conversations word-for-word, so that I don’t unintentionally misrepresent what was spoken. However, I do recall with clarity a portion of a conversation I had with the last woman with whom I spoke. She had never heard the Gospel and represented a view that is very prevalent in our culture. However prevalent it may be, it is not logical and cannot be lived out consistently. A worldview of relativism and non-absolutes is self-refuting. Check out the resources page on
this site for some excellent examples of self-refuting statements.

Me: Are God’s standards the same as ours?
Her: Well, it’s all subjective. Nobody’s standards are the same. Yours aren’t the same as mine. Mine aren’t the same as God’s. Yours aren’t the same as God’s.
Me: So God’s standards aren’t the same as ours?
Her: No, I would say not.
Me: Do you think God’s standards are higher or lower than ours?
Her: Who can say? It’s all subjective. God’s standards aren’t higher or lower than ours. It’s all the same.
Me: According to one of the 10 Commandments that you mentioned earlier in the survey, God says, “Thou shalt not kill.” But obviously, some people have a standard that allows them to kill others. So do you think that both standards are equally right?
Her: Well, it’s wrong to kill according to society’s standard.
Me: Society’s standard? But isn’t society made up of people? And if every person has a different standard, who determines society’s standard?
Her: Some people do kill other people. But it’s not right according to society’s standard.
Me: So then, where does society get the standard?
Her: [pause] I don’t know.

We continued the survey and I concluded by sharing several verses and leaving her to read the back of the survey and discover how she scored on the intelligence test. I really like using the surveys because it gives me a chance to naturally work into a conversation with someone and find out what they believe and where they’re coming from. I did realize, however, the importance of having a separate tract available to hand out to those who decline to take the Intelligence Test. I’ll be better prepared for that the next time.

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2