Questiob

Glad to hear you're concerned about your friends! It can feel daunting and fearful, but remember that these are their souls we are talking about, and we want to see them in Heaven.

First off, before taking any one person's advice, pray for them. In fact, pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God can work in wonderful ways when we trust Him. The Bible says the prayer of a righteous person has great power (James 5:16). So pray plenty for the salvation of their souls, and, if God wills you to be His instrument to bring the Good News to them (which may very well be possible!), pray that the Holy Spirit helps you speak and find the words, and that a seed can be planted in their hearts. You don't want to just be leaning on your own understanding and efforts, but on God more than anything else (Proverbs 3:5-6). Can't go wrong if you're allowing God to be your guide through it all.

Second, I can imagine a lot of fear and embarrassment goes through the mind and scares us off from sharing the Gospel. A lot of people aren't really as friendly towards Christians these days, so one begins to worry about persecution or losing those friends. Believe you me, I get that. But the Bible says God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7), and that we should fear not the one who can destroy our body on earth, but the one who can send both body and soul to destruction in Hell (Matthew 10:28). Prayer plays a big part in this too. I recommend praying that God would help you get over your fear, and better yet, that he would increase your love for other people to the point it will overpower your fears about sharing the Gospel.

Now, as for how to actually share it, there is a simple but quite effective method. First, ask them "Do you think there's an afterlife?" and "Are you afraid of dying?" Make sure to let them answer the questions, get to know their thoughts on this. Knowing what they think is going to help guide you as you go through the conversation. Depending on their answers, you may have different questions for them, but at some point you need to get to the question: "Do you think you're a good person?" This could arise after another question you've asked, or if they perhaps state that to go to Heaven you need to be a good person. After they answer, ask them if you can go through some of the Ten Commandments with them and see.

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If they oblige, ask these questions (your wording does not have to be exactly like these to the T, they are just examples), ask them to be honest with you, and let them answer.

"Have you ever told a lie?"
"Have you ever taken something that wasn't yours, irrespective of its value?"
"Have you ever taken God's name in vain?" This one has its own particular small line of questions. Most likely, they are going to say yes. Tell them that it's using His name in place of a curse word to express disgust, the S-word in particular. Then ask them "Do you love your mother?" Likely, they do, so ask them next "Would you use her name in place of a curse word?" or, if they say they do not love their mom, you may instead say something like "Well, think about the person you do love the most. Would you use their name as a curse word?" Basically every single time, they're going to say no, and then you can ask "Why not?" They'll probably note it's rude, in which case of course you agree and you should emphasize that it's disrespectful to her. Then you can say something along the lines of "So you respect your mother, but not the God that gave you your mother, and the birds, the sky, the trees, the sun, you, everything else. Using His name like that is called blasphemy, and it was very serious, punishable by death in the Old Testament." At this point, continue.
This one is a bit more touchy, so let them know that it is, but ask them to be honest with you anyway because it is important. "Jesus said that if you look at someone with lust, you've committed adultery with them in your heart. Have you ever looked at someone with lust?" They may say no, or may ask for clarification or what you mean. Clarify if needed, and if they say no, ask them if they have ever looked at adult content. If they respond with yes, let them know that is looking with lust, and continue on. Thank them for their honesty.
At some points you may feel inclined to point out hate as well. "The Bible says hatred is equivalent to murder. Have you ever hated someone?"

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After these questions, you're ready to present the verdict. Make sure to thank them for their honesty and patience. Now you want to recap what we've gone over. What you say here may depend on their answers, but if they have said yes to all of these things, then how the verdict is pronounced should sound something like this (and what they have not done can be exempt from this): "Now, I'm not judging you, this is for you to judge yourself, but you have told me you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterous murderer at heart, and you have to face God on Judgment Day. Would you be innocent or guilty?"

If they have properly understood what's going on so far, they should say guilty. "Heaven or Hell?" Likely, they may answer Hell, but they could be led by an improper understanding of the Gospel or God's nature to say they are going to Heaven. You will want to correct this misunderstanding, because it is vital that they understand the seriousness of sin. There are ways to go about this, but a simple answer may be this (and in fact, you should make sure to include this in the conversation somewhere later, if not here): "Do you know what the Bible says about the consequences of sin? It says that the wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23). In other words, God is paying us in death for our sins, because He is just and holy, and sin cannot enter His presence. Our sin is so gravely serious that it has earned us the death sentence. Hell is this punishment for our sins, it's what we've earned, what's due to us." You should also bring up 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

You may find yourself going off-track, but at some point you need to get to the central message. Ask them: "Do you know what God did for guilty sinners so we wouldn't have to go to Hell?" They may very well know and answer that Jesus died on the cross, or they may not! If they answer no, then say something like "You do, but you don't know what it means, because you don't value it." Otherwise, continue with what to say. It will go something like this:

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"Here's what it means: the Ten Commandments are called the moral law. You and I broke the law; Jesus paid the fine. Like a criminal who walks into court, on trial for speeding, the judge says, 'Look, these fines you have are very serious, but someone else has paid them--you're free to go." In the same way, Jesus paid the death sentence we deserve on the cross, and because of that we can have everlasting life. It was finished that day. And the Bible says that if you repent of your sins, put your trust in Him, and are baptized into His name, that your sins will be forgiven and you will pass from death to life, not because you did anything to deserve it, but because of God's grace and mercy. Does that make sense?"

Explained in such a way, the message of the Gospel becomes clear. If they recognize the weight of their sin, their hearts will be contrite, and they may vocalize that they realize their guilt. Regardless, ask them when they will turn to Jesus Christ. You want to emphasize just how serious this is. One way to do so is to tell them, "What I have done today is to try and put the fear of God in your heart, because the Bible says the fear of God, the reverence of Him, is the beginning of wisdom. That fear is your friend, not your enemy. Like if you're about to jump from an airplane and fall 10,000 feet in the air, you'll put a parachute, because you rightfully fear that you will die without it. In the same way, you want to put on Jesus Christ to be saved from Hell. Does that make sense?"

If they say something other than "now" in response to your question about when they will turn to Christ, remind them just how quick and unexpected death can be. It could happen that night while one's asleep, or within the next week, or they could even die just a few minutes from then, or right at that moment. We don't know when we'll die. You don't want to pressure them here, but make sure to offer this thought, because it's a very important thing, and may indeed cause them to change their mind. Regardless of how they respond after this point, ask if you can pray with them. If they concede, then do so.

This is roughly the end of that part of the conversation, but they may have more questions to ask, and that's OK. Do not be afraid of questions, because God is not afraid of them either. If you don't have an answer for them yet, simply say so, and do some study on it when you can so you have one next time you meet. It is better to be honest than to pretend you know all the answers. But I do recommend being prepared to give a defense before you engage in these conversations, as Peter says to in 1 Peter 3:15. The more equipped you are, the better, because you can be sure that you're giving them Biblically sound truth and evidence. Oh, and one more thing: tell them to read the gospel of John if they wish to start reading the Bible.

I recognize this is a REALLY long explanation, and I'm very sorry about that, but I wanted to make sure that, if you decide to go through with this of course, you would be prepared enough to continue on if you have any deviating answers or circumstances. But please keep in mind, you do not have to recite this word-for-word, and in fact, you probably won't. The fact is that every person is different, and how you witness to someone is going to be different every time. Don't think of these questions and orders as a script, but rather a guideline with the major and necessary points that you want to hit, and some other things to help. But you will certainly have to adapt to some scenarios.

If you need resources for evangelism, I cannot recommend the Living Waters ministry enough. It is through them I learned of this method, and it is probably the most biblical method I know of, and quite effective. An evangelist named Ray Comfort is part of the leadership and is the one who has pushed this method forward, and in the majority of their YouTube videos he is the one you will hear interviewing people to share the Gospel with them. If you need to see these things put into practice, watch their videos. I would start with this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPnD6RoBG6Q But there are plenty more and he interviews plenty of different people. They're wonderful to watch, and insightful.

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Ray's books are also very helpful. In particular, "God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message", which is all about this method, and "Faith is for Weak People: Responding to the Top 20 Objections to the Gospel", which has a lot of apologetics to offer. He has plenty of books on evangelism and apologetics, and the Living Waters ministry offers more too, including Gospel tracts if you feel the need to use those. They also have a podcast. My point here is, they have neat stuff, and I recommend it.

The method I've described is effective not just for talking with family and friends, but also for conversing with complete strangers, and just about anyone. It holds a mirror up on our sin, exposing our wrongdoings for what they are, and then shows us the way to life. It convicts us, and then offers redemption. It's exactly just that, the Gospel. That's what it is.

It is just one way to share the Gospel, sure, but it's one that, from what I can tell, works the best. But indeed, perhaps you'll find yourself instead having several conversations about God with them over the course of your friendship, and that will eventually lead to the Gospel. If God wills, He will use your friendship to bring them to Christ. Now, know this: just because they may not immediately respond to Jesus by turning to Him, that does not mean they did not listen to you at all, or that you messed it up. They may grapple and struggle with it for a while before eventually choosing Him. And even if it's not for a while, you have still planted a seed in their heart. Pray without ceasing that God cultivates it.

Throughout any of what's going on, persist in prayer and ask for God's help. As I said before, if you truly put all of your trust in God, you will not be able to go truly wrong. May God guide you through it all. Forgive me again for such a long thread, but I hope it all made sense, and I thank you if you took the time to read it. I wish you good luck reaching your friends, and God bless!

I enjoy watching and listening to Mr Comfort's videos. Well reasoned, and filled with love for others. Good choice for reaching out to others. Good post! Keep providing a map to the Truth that saves.

Indeed! Someone I admire for sure. The Living Waters team in general are people I respect. Their work has helped me develop a better understanding of the Gospel and Christianity at its core.

Try this, its one of your best shots (it didnt work for me, but I have a good feeling you can do better):

Tell them you want to share something important with them about what you believe about life and whats after death.
Then read some of Proverbs or Ecclesiastes with them and see if they can dig some of that true wisdom found within those pages. (note: first read it and understand it yourself by NOT using archaic versions like the KJV. Try the ESV or NLT is the best I think)
Those books arent too spiritual so they shouldnt be scared away. They apply to secular people too.

Now after they mock for being a bible thumping sissy, laugh it off and tell them you want to read it again with them sometime. Let them seriously think it over and if they let you later on then good on ya.
If they dont then thats a good reason to start cutting ties with them slowly. I did that and lost my 2 closest friends 10 yrs ago. Good riddance.

What I wasnt prepared for was the blizzard of anti-biblical questions they had for me that I couldnt answer off the cuff. I am now, but it took alot of personal study.

Thanks I’ll try it out. Your a life saver, for both me and them.

Hopefully you get through to them.👍

This is the greatest of all problems and the single most important decision each of us must make in this life. Keep seeking! Stay blessed.