Treasures
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Sharing your faith with people and pointing them to salvation through faith in Christ can be a challenging, though very rewarding task. Not everyone is interested in knowing about Jesus or discovering how to enter into a relationship with God. But when people do receive a witness and come to Christ—whether on the spot or later—it is a wonderful privilege to be a part of that or play a role in some way.
Some people you speak with or give a gospel tract to will be at a point in their lives when they are open and ready to receive the message, and want to learn about Christianity. Perhaps others already planted seeds of a witness to them, or perhaps God has worked in their lives in other ways to bring them to that point. Then the Lord places them in your path to help them to come to a saving knowledge of Christ and to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
But don’t be surprised if some people outright reject your witness or even denigrate your faith. It can be a bit disheartening when you reach out to people to share the truth that will set them free (John 8:31–32), only to have them brush you off, change the subject, look at you critically, or in some cases belittle or berate you. When that happens (as it does to everyone at some point), don’t give up. Our job is to plant the seeds of truth and faith in people’s lives—only God can cause them to grow in receptive hearts, as we see in the Parable of the Sower.
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. …
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.—Jesus, Luke 8:5–151
Experience in gardening or farming teaches us that the person who plants the seed doesn’t have the final say in whether it grows or not. The gardener or farmer does his or her part to till the ground, plant the seed, and water and fertilize it. But only God can make the seed grow. No matter how effectively you share the gospel with others, the ultimate fruit or outcome of your witness is in the Lord’s hands, according to the response of the individual. One person may till the ground, another may plant the seed, and another may water, but it is God who gives the increase(1 Corinthians 3:6).
Some people’s first reaction to a Christian witness is negative simply because they were caught off guard. They weren’t expecting or prepared to get into a discussion on such a deep topic as faith in God or their ultimate destiny after this life. Others may have had bad experiences or heard arguments against Christianity that left them disillusioned. Some need to be won over by a personal example—the gospel bound in shoe leather—before they will listen to the sermon.
Some people may feel that if they receive Jesus as their Savior they would be betraying the religion in which their parents raised them or would be ostracized from their family and culture. Some people have yet to discover the futility of seeking ultimate truth, purpose, and meaning in the things of this world, or don’t want to be reminded of death and the afterlife, much less sin and their eternal destiny.
There are many reasons why people don’t open their hearts to Jesus the first time they have the opportunity. In non-Christian and secular cultures, it often takes time and patience to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus. In some cases, it takes friendship-building and being a good neighbor, friend, colleague, or fellow student. Some people are drawn to Christianity by a living example of what we believe—by the way we live and our love and concern for others.
If some people aren’t ready to receive a Christian witness, we shouldn’t try to force it on them—but neither should we give up on them. It may be that our encounter is just one step in their journey to Jesus. We can continue to pray for them and ask the Lord to keep working in their hearts and to water the seeds that we planted. We can make ourselves available for them, and let them know that we’d be happy to have a conversation with them. Perhaps we can encourage their faith by email or by giving them Christian literature from time to time.
Our job is to plant seeds of God’s Word and truth in the earth of people’s hearts. The sunshine of His love and the water of His Word will result in some cases in the miracle of new life for those who will receive Him. Our passion and desire are to share the good news of salvation and help other people come to faith in Christ, but only God can work in people’s hearts and lives. We can only share the truth of the gospel and show them God’s love; whether or not they choose to believe and receive and follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior is between each individual and God.
We can only do our part to prepare the ground, soften it with our prayers, and sow the seed. We may not always see the harvest ourselves, but we can trust that the Lord will work in the hearts and lives of the people who will receive Him. As we are faithful to share a witness, a gospel tract, a New Testament, or other Christian resources with people, we can trust that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts and lives. Whether that person chooses to receive the message and come to Christ or not, we are being faithful to fulfill our calling to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15).
Tips for effectively sharing the good news
Our commission is to share the good news with all people—everyone, everywhere. In doing so, it is important that we look at each person before us as having intrinsic worth in the eyes of God and being loved by Him. We have to look past people’s outward appearance to see them as God does, as one of His unique creations.
Jesus gave us a living example of reaching out to people who would not be culturally acceptable in His day. He spoke to the hated tax collectors, such as Zacchaeus, and called one of them, Matthew, to be His disciple. He reached out to Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman He met at the well, and healed outcasts and “untouchables” of His day. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Ask God to help you to see each person He sends your way as He sees them.
Some argumentative people will debate Christianity because they are skeptical and unbelieving and want to air their views. But not everyone who seems argumentative falls into that category. Some sincere seekers will argue or debate the Bible or Christianity because they are truly seeking answers; they want their objections to be overcome.
The ways in which Jesus answered the questions He was asked provide a helpful example. Some questions came from people who sincerely wanted to know the truth, like Nicodemus, who asked Jesus how one could be born again (John 3:1–21), and the Samaritan woman at the well who asked about the living water (John 4:5–15). Jesus answered their questions and pointed them to the truth of who He was and how they could enter the kingdom of God.
Other questions came from the religious leaders of His day, who were trying to trap Him in His words. When Jesus perceived that those questioning Him only wanted to cause trouble, He answered very carefully by in turn asking them questions that exposed them and their true intent. (See, for example, Matthew 22:15–22; John 8:6–9.)
The Bible teaches us to speak with conviction, but also with gentleness and respect. “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 3:15). The Apostle Paul wrote, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).
If you find that after spending some time attempting to relate to someone who is argumentative or hostile and trying to answer their questions or objections that they clearly don’t want to hear about God’s answers from the Bible, you can politely bow out of the conversation. In Colossians, we are instructed to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:5–6). Often the best way to handle points of disagreement is not by refuting what the other person says, but by hearing them out and then presenting the truth in a loving and positive way.
Sometimes if you try to witness to two or more people together, one person will be unreceptive and try to derail your witness to the group by making derogatory comments, asking insincere or belittling questions, or creating distractions to interfere. It is often more effective, when possible, to speak to people one-on-one, as many people feel awkward about talking about God and faith and spiritual matters in front of others, especially their peers. One-on-one, even those who may have seemed unreceptive while in a group can be more receptive.
A winsome witness
In 1 Corinthians, Paul declared his strategy for reaching people with the gospel: “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ... I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).
When reaching people, we too can seek an approach that will relate to the person in their situation, background, and culture. We can approach and speak with people in a way that is friendly, understanding, compassionate, and sympathetic. We can seek to establish as much common ground as possible. When witnessing to people from non-Christian backgrounds, we can focus on the person of Jesus, the only religious figure who took human form and came to earth and lived a human life and gave His life for the redemption and salvation of humankind. We can talk about His great love for all humankind and His power to change, heal, comfort, and mend broken hearts and lives.
Jesus said that He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The Lord also warns us to exercise wisdom in how and when and to whom we witness. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,” Jesus told His disciples, “therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). We are called to share the message of God’s love and truth with everyone, but especially with those who will believe and receive it.
The rewards
As born-again Christians, we have been called and commissioned to be a witness for Jesus and to share the good news with people the Lord places in our path. “We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” (2 Corinthians 5:20). It is both our calling and our privilege to be His ambassadors.
Sharing the good news of the gospel is a wonderfully rewarding experience! It is a privilege to play a part in the Lord’s transformation of people’s spirits and lives, and to know that a loved one, friend, or someone we witnessed to has been brought to eternal salvation. “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10), and we, as God’s instruments on earth, also partake of that joy. That alone would be reward enough, but there’s much more, as Jesus has promised bountiful rewards in heaven to those who serve as His witnesses. “Whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).
It is not always an easy task, and there may be times when we face discouragement or frustration when our witness doesn’t appear to be bearing much fruit. In times like those, it helps to remember that every sacrifice we make in this life will be worth it all when we see Jesus. One day we will experience the joy of knowing that we played a part in the salvation of others and have been faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission.
Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
1 The parable of the sower is also found in Matthew chapter 13 and Mark chapter 4.
