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)..."
