It would be a mistake to give a formula to help all people come to faith
in Jesus Christ because obviously every person is unique. Some people have
more of an intellectual, abstract mind-set, while others tend toward
thinking of life in terms of relationships. Still others tend to be
motivated by logical arguments, while many are largely influenced by
emotional arguments. Which type of person are you? What kind of “evidence”
appeals to your mind and heart? What about your friend?

To begin with, it might be helpful to consider how the early disciples
went about convincing those they met to believe in Jesus Christ. Based on
scripture, let us propose four types of “evidence” the early church used.

1. The evidence of the awesome, loving relationships that disciples of
Jesus have for one another. Jesus said “All men will know you are my
disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) People may be convinced
they have found the truth if they are exposed to a fellowship of love
which testifies to the influence of Christ. Of course, you will only be
able to use this evidence if you are blessed to be part of a great,
loving, Christian family/church. If you are, you should bring people along
to experience what you have in Christ. If not, you need to keep looking!

2. The evidence of the miracles of Jesus, especially the resurrection. In
nearly every gospel sermon recorded in the book of Acts, the miracles of
Jesus play a central role. The gospel of John records the miracles of
Jesus for the specific purpose “that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ.” (John 20:31). A useful essay on the miracles of Jesus is found at
this web site, entitled The Miracles of Jesus. Without a doubt, the
miracle most often used as evidence for Christianity by the early church
was the resurrection of Christ. This is an excellent place to start in
bringing anyone to faith in Jesus. An article which might be helpful in
this account is The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

3. The evidence of fulfilled prophecy. As with point two above, if one
searches the gospel sermons recorded in the book of Acts, one will find
all or nearly all of them included use of the fact that Jesus fulfilled
the prophecies of the Messiah as evidence to support belief in him. In
fact, one could give an extremely sketchy outline of the sermons in acts
as follows: Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah in the
Bible. Jesus’ words were attested to by the miracles, wonders and signs he
worked. Above all, God showed Jesus was his son by raising him from the
dead. Therefore repent of your sins and be baptized so that your sins may
be wiped away by the blood of Jesus. A study of prophecies of the Messiah
which were fulfilled by Jesus may be exactly what some people need to come
to faith in Jesus Christ. The essay We Should Have Known He Was Coming may
be helpful for this purpose, as well as others under the heading “Jesus”
in the reference section of the web site.

4. The evidence of true Christian unity. Jesus said in John 17:23, “May
they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me
and have loved them, even as you have loved me.” The unity of believers
from every ethnic, cultural, economic and class background, whether old or
young, educated or not, is a powerful force to let the world know that his
kingdom is not of this world. A church which does not reflect the kind of
unity in diversity Jesus envisioned will not be a good witness for faith
in him.

As mentioned, different people will be moved by different types of
evidence. Some will be convinced simply by reading the Bible. Others are
deep thinkers and come with a great number of good questions. One
suggestion is for people to make a habit of writing down their questions,
and gradually, over a period of time, find reasonable answers to those
questions. Sometimes people ask questions which are in reality a smoke
screen for their not being willing to change their life. One strategy is
to give a good and reasoned answer to the question, but turn the
discussion back to the real issue. This is exactly what Jesus did in John
4:1-26. If you come across a question you cannot answer, please submit it
to this site and we will give it our best shot. Send an e-mail to
john.oakes@gcccd.net

John Oakes