One on One
Devotions for Growing Christians
One on One
John 4:10 - Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, `Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
Read John 4:1-42.
“Personal evangelism is just not my thing. It’s not my gift! As long as I lead a godly life, others will see Christ in me. That's all I'm supposed to do!” Does this sound familiar?
There are many excuses for not witnessing for Jesus, but no excuse is valid. We have a mandate to verbalize the gospel! We are falling short of our Lord's commission if we are just living godly lives. It's true that some Christians are gifted in the area of personal evangelism, and a few find it easy to share their faith, but we’re all called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Personal evangelism is carried out one on one. It is personally sharing the faith in such a way that the gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly presented, and a personal decision is called for in one way or another. One on one evangelism may take place over a period of weeks, or it may be more of a one shot deal, like a two hour flight, or a twenty-minute chairlift ride at a ski area!
In John 4 we have an example of our Lord doing personal evangelism. Jesus was tired, and the noon sun was hot, but He was deeply concerned about a soul in search of "water." The Lord spoke just seven times to this Samaritan woman, but in each statement is a principle for personal evangelism. Let’s look at those principles.
First, we have the principle of making contacts and building relationships with non-believers. Jesus met this socially outcast woman, and began a relationship on the basis of something very common to them both - water! She was a Samaritan prostitute, and the Lord broke through several cultural barriers by asking her for a drink of water. According to social custom a Jewish teacher was not to speak to any woman in public, but Jesus broke this barrier of tradition and even made Himself dependent upon her to meet His thirst.
The barrier of prejudice was broken down. Samaritans were only partially Jewish in their heritage, and the Jews considered them "half-breeds." Racism was so acute that some Jews would not even walk on Samaritan soil in their travels between Judea and Galilee. They would actually cross the Jordan river and take the long way around Samaria so as not to "deal with Samaritans" (v9). But Jesus purposely went directly through Samaria (v4), met with this Samaritan woman, and was even willing to drink from the same water jar she used!
What a lesson for us! How can we even begin to communicate the love of God to those in need if we refuse to make contact and build relationships with those outside our usual social group? The gay down the hall in your dorm is in desperate need of liberation found only in Christ. What do you have in common with him? Do you take a course together? Maybe the only thing common to you both is your daily need for water! This is where Jesus began with the Samaritan woman. A warning - you may actually be put down in your efforts to build a relationships by well-meaning brothers and sisters, but so was our Lord! (See verse 27 and Matthew 9:10-11.)
The second statement of Christ to the woman stresses the uniqueness of Christianity. It is not just another religion in which one chalks up good works. We must let the non-Christian "know the gift of God and who..."(v10). True Christianity is a relationship with the living Lord. Anyone can have it by asking (v10). But how can your friend ask, if he doesn't know? May the "if you knew" statement of our Lord be a challenge to us. We are beggars who have found bread. Our job is to let other beggars know where they can find it too.
As the Lord continued the conversation, He explained just what Christianity has to offer (vs1314). Jesus doesn’t offer a high-paying job, or the answers for your next quiz, but He does offer new and everlasting life. It’s interesting to see how the Lord used the original point of contact (physical H20) as an object lesson of the spiritual life that He offers. Every person has a spiritual thirst that can only be quenched by God. We must communicate that the new life Christ offers is not a temporary physical cure-all, but a permanent spiritual thirst-quencher.
By now the woman's interest was aroused to the point where she wanted what Jesus has to offer, even though she was still thinking in physical terms (v15). At this point we would probably try to "close the deal" with prayer, and welcome a new believer into the family! But our Lord's next statement shows that she wasn’t ready yet. "Go, call your husband and come back!" The Samaritan woman had to own up to her past life. Every one of us must "go" and "come back" before the Lord as we really are.
The woman's moral responsibility before her Creator was further pressed home in the Lord's fifth statement (vs17-18). She was confronted with her sin of adultery:"the man you now have is not your husband." A person cannot play games with God who knows all. We must face up to the fact of sin in his life. In personal evangelism we’re not to point the finger and condemn others, but a non-believer must be willing to admit that he or she is a sinner before an infinitely holy God.
The woman was convicted. She "perceived" that the voice of God had been speaking to her (v19). Feeling the pressure of moral responsibility, she tried to escape by asking a typical religious question (v20). For hundreds of years her people hadn’t worshipped in Jerusalem. They had their own religious system on their own mountain. Our Lord's response is beautiful! He didn’t get sidetracked with religious tangents. He stayed with the important issue: her need. She needed a relationship with God as her heavenly Father.
The question of "where's" and "why's" of worship have their place, but let’s remember the real need of the person to whom we are witnessing. This sixth statement by our Lord is loaded with teaching about the woman's religious question. Jesus didn’t ignore her question, but He didn’t spend time on theological arguments. What she really needed was life in the family of God! Only then would her worship be true and accepted (v23-24). In personal evangelism there’s always a temptation to win a discussion point or show off our knowledge. (The Lord could have gone on for hours at this point!) But our goal is to win the soul!
Finally the Samaritan woman came to the point where she really wanted Christ. She was through with her questions and arguments. When she admitted that the coming Messiah would have the answers, she admitted that she needed the Lord. So in the seventh and last statement the Lord revealed Himself: "I who speak to you am HE" (v26). Every soul who comes to this point of decision and asks for Christ will find Him.
The proof of the woman's salvation is found in the next few verses. She left her waterpot and began to evangelize! The converted prostitute's willingness and courage to share her new faith with those who knew all about her brought amazing results!
One on one evangelism always brings amazing blessing. Try it!
- Dave Reid