A Question of Authority – Winchester Evangelism

It was a beautiful autumn day in Winchester; the sun was shining, and there wasn’t much of a breeze (at first!). The city was buzzing with people moving here and there—all people made in the image of God, who will spend eternity somewhere.

After setting up the literature table and open-air board, we prayed, then commenced the outreach. Paul preached on “God’s Great Offer,” which focused on our need and the wonderful grace of God. One young man took a Gospel of John.

While Paul was preaching, the table was busy with people stopping to browse the literature. Three older ladies showed interest in the New Testaments and the booklet, ‘The Unique Jesus’. They told me they had been watching The Chosen and were now intrigued to discover the real Jesus.

By now, Paul had finished his message, so I began to prepare to preach. As I was getting ready, two young men stopped at the board and started reading the titles of our tracts. One of them began asking questions, and I immediately sensed he was keen for a debate, as his questions were philosophical. I was happy to engage in discussion, but the whole time I was looking for openings to steer the conversation towards the gospel.

At first, the young man argued there was no universal morality, right, or wrong. He consistently maintained that morality was subjective to the individual, meaning that, in some cases, even acts like rape and child abuse could be acceptable. I challenged him on the issue of morality by appealing to Romans 2:15 to demonstrate that God has given His Law to all people. The young man was adamant that the Bible couldn’t be used to prove a point—a claim I rejected.

Surprisingly, he then announced he was a Christian and that he had converted to Eastern Orthodoxy four years ago. I used this opportunity to direct the conversation to Jesus. The man wasn’t particularly keen on this approach, as he believed the Bible couldn’t be used to make a case and that one had to rely solely on logic and reason. My counter was that we cannot rightly have logic or reason without God, as there needs to be an absolute standard. Ultimately, it came down to a question of authority; I argued the Bible is the authority, while the young man claimed his authority was his own reasoning and logic. I highlighted a few flaws in his logic, which he didn’t appreciate, but it helped steer the conversation towards the gospel.

The claims of Eastern Orthodoxy soon arose, and the man argued that salvation is by faith and works. Using Scripture, I showed him that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and that works confirm our faith rather than save us. Together, we examined James 2, Genesis 15-22, Romans 4, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, and Romans 5:1. As we spoke, the young man became more receptive and admitted he was still learning the Bible. He accepted a tract, and I encouraged him to study the passages I had shown him, explaining that if he was trying to earn forgiveness through his works, he would be lost.

While I was in conversation, a man who had listened to me preach during my last visit to Winchester came by and spoke with Paul. He is still considering what I said and wrestling with the claims of Jesus. Please pray that he will come to trust in Christ.

Finally, I had the chance to preach. Today, I spoke on “Why Christianity?” There was little engagement, but the gospel was proclaimed. A couple who listened went over to the literature table, and a Christian visiting from Staines was excited to see us, as she supports The Open-Air Mission.

Paul concluded the outreach by preaching on “Lessons from the Criminal.” It was good to hear him explain once again that salvation is all of Jesus and not based on anything we can do.

Overall, it was a good day in Winchester. Please pray for all those who heard the good news.

SDG!

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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.

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