5 Ways To Witness To Unbelievers

Here are 5 ways you can share Christ with those who don’t believe.

By Your Love

There was one identifying mark of believers that is very important to God. It is so important that Jesus said it would be one thing that would stand out to the world. He told His disciples, “I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). People won’t know we are Jesus’ disciples by our church attendance, by our apologetics, by our Bible history, or by our memorizing Scripture. It will be by our love for one another that “all men” will know we are His disciples. It is by our love for one another that everyone will know who Jesus’ disciples are, but also who are not Jesus’ disciples. It’s guaranteed that you are not a child of God if you hate others, including your brother or sister in Christ. We cannot say we love God but hate our brother or sister (1 John 3). Those things are irreconcilable. You cannot say, “I love you God,” but say to your neighbor, “I hate you!” I don’t think God appreciates it when you say you love Him, but you can’t stand to be around His children.

By Your Life

Jesus said we are to be salt and light in a dead, decaying, dark world (Matt 5:13-16). Salt is a preservative, and we have the words of eternal life (in the Bible). We are a light that’s to be set on a hill, but we can’t shine the light in people’s faces, and we can’t pour too much salt into a person’s life. Too much of anything makes people avoid it, so we must be a light in a darkened world, and salt that enhances, but not overwhelms those around us. Salted speech is good as it builds others up (Col 4:6), and since there’s enough negativity already out there, we can use all the help we can get. John MacArthur said that we might be the only Bible some people will ever read. How true.

By Your Words

Words can hurt. Not long ago a friend of mine committed suicide. He was a fellow pastor, and his friends said “He died the death of a thousand cuts.” Words hurt. They can build up or they can tear down, and if unbelievers see us cutting others down by our words, they’ll see us as no different from the rest of the world. If there’s no difference between us and the world, why would they ever want to become a Christian? One man said, “I love your Jesus…it’s your Christians I have trouble with,” and that’s too bad because a bad example is a bad witness for Christ. Truly, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Prov 18:21). What we say matters. Jesus warned that “by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemn” (Matt 12:37), proving that “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matt 12:36).

By Your Humility

God resists the proud but gives His grace to the humble (James 4:6), but I believe people resist the proud too. Who likes being around someone who seems to know it all and is constantly bragging about their accomplishments? No one generally likes to hang around with people like that, but humble people are different. They speak with gentleness, respect, and in a quiet, meek spirit. They don’t condemn or judge others. They don’t gossip about others, but instead, they’re honest about their self and their own shortcomings. Transparency is attractive to people, and it’s a powerful magnet that can draw people to Christ. Moses was said to be the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3), but no one ever accused him of being weak. Being humble is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength under control.

By Your Trials

How can trials help you in witnessing to the lost? When we get into hard places and it looks like we’re in big trouble, the world is watching us. When our backs are against the wall, they’re watching to see if we’ll crumple. They want to see how we’ll react to the pressure. Will we really trust the God we profess? Will we have peace while we’re in the storm? Will our faith shine through in the times of darkness? If so, that’s a powerful witness, because the lost are going through the same thing, but they don’t have God to help them! When we rely on God, trusting Him in the storm, unbelievers will see that our faith is real, even when it’s tested, because a faith that’s never been tested can never be trusted.

Conclusion

It will be by your love that you will attract people to Christ. Jesus drilled into the disciples head “that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11b). This is how “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (1 John 3:14), so it is of the first and utmost importance that we love one other. This is how unbelievers will know who Jesus’ disciples (John 13:34-45), but it is also by your words. Will they hear uplifting words or words of judgment and gossip? Will hear the words that build others up or tear others down? It should be by your life that they see the light of Christ. It is by your love that they will know who Jesus’ disciples are. It is by your humility that they can see Christ-likeness, and it is by enduring trials that show unbelievers just how strong your faith is. God does not test us so that we’ll fail. God does not test us to learn how strong or weak our faith is. He already knows this. God allows tests to refine us and make us depend upon Him, but also to show to us just how weak and strong our faith is. If it’s strong…that’s a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.