RESOURCE: Guiding People through the Scriptures

A Life Pattern of an Insider - From the Detroit Metro Faith@Work Team

GUIDING PEOPLE TO CHRIST THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES:
How To Lead A Bible Study For Unbelievers U.S. City R & D – Michigan/Ohio (Jan 31st – Feb 1st, 1997) – Jim Petersen

1. Be clear on what needs to happen. Two things
   • Understanding: People need to understand the Gospel; who Jesus Christ is, why He did what He did and what He wants of us in response. But ignorance is not the real obstacle to faith.
   • Submission: The real problem is rebellion. Sin is “everyone turning to his own way.” Conversion is ending the rebellion; it is coming out with your hands up.
2. Understand the division of labor in evangelism.
   • The Scriptures: Speak the truth. They cut away the blindness and reveal out thoughts and attitudes. Hebrews 4:11,12. This happens whether a person believes the Bible or not.
   • The Holy Spirit: He is the One who convicts a person. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He gives life. John 16:4-11
   • Our Part: We “show and tell.” We love people and help them understand what is written in the Scriptures. 1 John 1:2,3. Our tendency is to overstep this role and try to do the work of the Holy Spirit and of the Scriptures as well. This leaves us attempting to do the impossible, and frustrating both ourselves and those we minister to.
3. Go into the discussion as a learner among learners. That’s what you are! There is always more to learn about Christ and becoming like Him. Realize that you are on the same journey as the unbeliever. He or she needs to submit to Christ and follow Him. So do you. It’s just that the unbeliever is on the death side of the cross and you are on the other. But the goal for both is Ephesians 4:13.
4. Be prepared for the discussion - but don’t let it show.
   • Pray!
   • Understand the chapter you are going to discuss. Meditate on it. Let it speak to you first.
   • Prepare a few questions that will direct people into the big ideas of the passage.
   • Be prepared to simply and succinctly explain the critical ideas of the chapter. Use these explanations only if necessary.
5. Give people the space they need to think. They need room to doubt, to wrestle with the truths they encounter and to weigh the cost of their decision to submit to Christ. We need to create an environment that says: thinking is encouraged here! This takes skill.
   
   Space to think is difficult to create and easily destroyed. It is destroyed when we as leaders:
   • Talk more than listen.
   • Give answers more than ask questions.
   • Use chapter and verse to prove that we are right and the others are wrong. (Cross-references should be used to bring additional information into the discussion, not as proof texts.)
   • Remember, the real issue in evangelism is the submission of the will to Christ. The temptation to try to win every point in the discussion can actually work against that happening. Our need to win can generate resistance - against us, and consequently the Gospel!
6. Be more interested in getting people to express their own thought than in expressing your own. This means:
   • Being an active, attentive listener
   • Welcoming questions - not being threatened by them.
   • Probing a participant’s comments with additional questions when you suspect there is more where that came from.
7. Keep the discussion on track. A rambling discussion meets no one’s needs and frustrates everyone. Your job is to consistently bring the discussion back to the biblical text.
   
   Keep in mind that you’re together to help each other understand what is written in the Scriptures.
8. Don’t be afraid of silence. People need time to think.
9. Watch your timing, your pace. Be sensitive to how long to spend on each subject. Go for the big ideas of the chapter. Resist the urge to dig into all the details that are there. Know when to move on. Quit before the group does.
10. Occasionally summarize the truths you have covered. Sometimes a summary is a good occasion to give a succinct explanation of the Gospel. This helps clarify the fact that this message calls for a decision.

My experience has been that most spiritual births take place without a third-party precipitating the decision. But sometimes it becomes obvious that the understanding and the desire are there, and that the person needs our help in taking the step.