How to share your faith by using WDJD: The Four Stepping-Stones

Two men are seated on a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put it on, as it would improve his flight. He’s a little sceptical at first, since he can’t see how wearing a parachute on a plane could possibly improve his flight. He decides to experiment and see if the claims are true. As he puts it on, he notices the weight of it upon his shoulders and he finds he has difficulty in sitting upright. However, he consoles himself with the fact he was told that the parachute would improve his flight. So he decides to give it a little time.

As he waits he notices that some of the other passengers are laughing at him for wearing a parachute on a plane. He begins to feel somewhat humiliated. As they continue to point and laugh at him, he can stand it no longer. He slinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because as far as he was concerned he was told an outright lie.

The second man is given a parachute, but listen to what he is told. He’s told to put it on because at any moment he’ll be jumping 25,000 feet out of the plane. He gratefully puts the parachute on. He doesn’t notice the weight of it upon his shoulders, nor that he can’t sit upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without the parachute.

We have a brand-new flight attendant. It’s her first day. She’s carrying a tray of boiling hot coffee. She wants to leave an impression on the passengers, and she certainly does! As she’s walking down the aisle, she trips over someone’s foot and slops the hot coffee all over the lap of our second passenger.

What’s his reaction as that boiling liquid hits his tender flesh? Does he say, “Man, that hurt!”? Yes, he does. But then does he rip the parachute from his shoulders, throw it to the floor, and say, “The stupid parachute!”? No; why should he? He didn’t put the parachute on for a better flight. He put it on to save him from the jump to come. If anything, the hot coffee incident causes him to cling tighter to the parachute and even look forward to the jump.

This story is an illustration of how we present the gospel. The parachute is Jesus Christ. The other passengers refer to temptation, tribulation, and persecution. Let’s now analyse the motive and the result of each passenger’s experience. The first man’s motive for putting the parachute on was solely to improve his flight. The result of his experience was that he was humiliated by the passengers, disillusioned, and somewhat embittered against those who gave him the parachute. As far as he’s concerned, it will be a long time before anyone gets one of those things on his back again.

The second man put the parachute on solely to escape the jump to come. And because of his knowledge of what would happen to him if he jumped without it, he has a deep-rooted joy and peace in his heart knowing that he’s saved from sure death. This knowledge gives him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude toward those who gave him the parachute is one of heartfelt gratitude.

If we have put on the Lord Jesus Christ for the right motive—to flee from the wrath to come—then when tribulation strikes, when the flight gets bumpy, we won’t get angry at God, and we won’t lose our joy and peace. Why should we? We didn’t come to Christ for a better lifestyle, but to flee from the wrath to come. If anything, tribulation drives the true believer closer to the Saviour. Sadly, we have multitudes of professing Christians who lose their joy and peace when the flight gets bumpy. Why? They are the product of a man-centred gospel. They came lacking repentance, without which they cannot be saved.

Don’t open with Grace
It may be a relief to know that you shouldn’t walk up to someone and begin a conversation by talking about Jesus. Instead start in the natural realm (talking about everyday things) and then swing the conversation toward the spiritual realm (talking about spiritual things). That’s what Jesus did in John 4:27: he changed from the topic of a drink of water to “living water”.

There are different ways to start a spiritual conversation. For example, you can use a gospel tract and say, “Did you get one of these? It’s a gospel tract. Have you had a Christian background?” Another good question is: “What do you think happens after people die? Where do they go?” You haven’t mention God, sin, Judgement Day, or Hell. You are just asking what they think, so you won’t feel uncomfortable. Most people are pleased to give their opinion on anything.

WDJD: the four stepping stones in sharing our faith (see Mark 10:17-22)
If you can remember four stepping-stones, you can confidently lead any witnessing encounter, and you will be in control of every conversation you have about your faith. Imagine, you will know exactly where you are and you will know exactly where the conversation is going. The stepping-stones are represented by four letters: WDJD, which stand for "What Did Jesus Do?" Remember the question and the acronym to help you to help you to remember the four stepping stones.

W: Would you consider yourself to be a good person?

D: Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandment (Exodus 20:3-17)?
Start with the 9th, 8th, 7th and 3rd Commandment. If the person is still trying to defend himself/herself (I am not a bad person), go through a few more Commandments.

J: On the Day of Judgement, if God judges you by the Ten Commandments, will you be innocent or guilty?

D: Destiny – will you go to heaven or hell?
If the person doesn’t understand the concept of hell, you can share bible verses such as Mark 9:44, Luke 13:28, Matthew 25:46, Daniel 12:2, Jude 1:7,13.
Don’t feel pressured to share the good news with a proud self-righteous sinner who is not willing admit his guilt before God. Remember Jesus didn’t present the gospel to the rich young man, because he needed the Law to humble him first. If the person admits that the possibility of going to Hell does concern him, only at that point should you present the gospel.

Sharing the gospel
Begin the presentation of the gospel this way: “Do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell? He provided a way for you to be forgiven. The question, how do you obtain this forgiveness?” Share John 3:16.

Don’t rush people to pray the traditional sinner’s prayer if they are not repentant. It is ideal for people to pray to God in their own words because the words are from their heart. You can encourage them to think deeply about your conversation and get their heart right with God as soon as possible. You can also get them a Bible and encourage them to read daily and obey what they read. Also, encourage them to get into a Bible-believing, Christ-centred church.

Source: Ray Comfort 2006, The Way of the Master, chapter 17, Bridge-Logos, Alachua, Fl, USA.

Charlie Lam
Clayton Science/Arts life group, Hope Melbourne Waverley Centre