Pope Provides Great Witnessing Opportunities

[Pope Provides Great Witnessing Opportunities by Jason Hauser Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries] "Benedict XVI's recent resignation has generated a lot of conversation. Are there other factors, besides his health, that might have led to his resignation? What will the next pope be known for and what positions will he take? Will he become Petrus Romanus according to Malachy's prophecies? While much can be said about such things, I want to encourage you not to miss this wonderful opportunity for engaging Catholics with the Gospel. How unfortunate would it be, if those who know the truth regarding eternal life, talked about non-essential speculations and never shared the Gospel (1 Cor. 2:2; Rom. 10:14)?

In light of this, I want to propose a simple example of how one might engage a Catholic with the Gospel using current events as a starting point. You can start by asking a Catholic what they think about the Pope resigning or who the next Pope will be. Then, transition from this shared interest to a discussion on values and attitudes. You might ask questions such as, "How do you believe this new Pope will impact your faith?" or "How does your Catholic faith impact your day to day life?" The purpose here is to discern where Catholics are spiritually. This is important because few Catholics understand, let alone agree with, all of Catholic teaching.

Once we have an idea of a Catholic's values and attitudes, we can ask them about their personal beliefs related to the Gospel. Note that up to this point, we have not disagreed with, challenged, or corrected the Catholic. Rather, we are seeking to understand their personal worldview so that we know what to emphasize when we share the Gospel (
Prov. 18:13). A great question to ask next is, "How do you believe one gets to heaven?" Then ask, "Do you believe you will go to Heaven?" Next ask, "Why do you believe that?" In addition to not knowing the Gospel, I have found that the majority of Catholics don't mention Jesus at all. At this point you can gently say, "If the Bible said something different, would you want to know what it says?" If they are humble and teachable, you can lovingly show them Scriptures that focus on the Gospel. I like to use our Greatest News Tract because it contains only Scripture and I can leave it with them. Be prepared to discuss why works can't save anyone (Rom. 11:6; Is. 64:6), how God's justice is reconciled in light of His mercy and love (Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:24), what true faith (1 John 2:4) and repentance look like (Acts 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10) and why Jesus had to die (Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:25-26). Additional resources that can also be very helpful are our Catholic Reference Bookmarks that you can keep in your Bible and our Gospel Cards, either for personal review or for witnessing.

Let's go fishing (
Mat 4:19)..."

 

Pope Provides Great Witnessing Opportunities