How to Witness to a Catholic

Witnessing to an individual of another faith can be challenging because they may believe that they have already found truth. Your goal is to share truth with them and give them the opportunity to choose it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• A Bible is helpful

1. Culture: Whenever you bear witness to someone who is not of your same understanding, you first should put yourself in their shoes. Why do they believe what they believe?
   
   First, don’t assume that a Catholic is not saved. They believe and practice many things that are not consistent with sound doctrine however, they do believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." If they’re heart is right then regardless of their traditions, they can still find salvation. If you find that this is the case with someone you are witnessing to, then rather than trying to make them become protestant, treat them as you would your brothers and sisters in Christ since that is, after all, who they are. Encourage them and teach them and let the spirit convict them where they are wrong.
   
   So where did the Catholic Church go wrong? The Catholic Church went wrong when they designated a Holy Father, the Pope. The idea of the Pope was based off of Christ's command to Peter to "Feed his sheep", just prior to the ascension. Catholics believe this to be a command to Peter directly not to all Christians. When Peter died, the Roman Catholic church replaced him with a new 'Pope' or father. From this point, the Catholic church put it's faith more in man than in God which is sin. No matter how strong a mans convictions are, only Christ can be the head of the church. 1st Corinthians 5:6 says, “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” This means that a little sin will cause an increasing amount of corruption. Needless to say, the Church has become very corrupt but, to this day they exist because they proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and many still can find salvation within. It’s those that cannot see him through the corruption that we must be a witness to. So many of them do not even read their bibles and simply rely on the wisdom of other men so, they will not find the truth on their own.
2. Sound Doctrine: I can’t emphasize the importance of sound doctrine enough. 2nd Timothy commands us to accurately handle the Word of God. Make sure you understand this or you may lead someone astray. If you are not sure that you completely understand the gospel, consult your church leadership for help. Here is a link to the doctrine of the church I attend which I can attest to as being accurate to the inspired work of God.
   
   http://www.cornerstonelittlerock.org/whatwebelieve.htm
3. Love: Approach with Love. We are commanded to love. John 13:34 says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” If you don’t approach someone with Love, how can you expect them to see the Love of God through you. That’s really what you are trying to show them. God loved us so much that he sent his son to suffer and die to pay the penalty for our sins if we will only choose to follow him.
4. Techniques: We have reviewed how to approach a Catholic with knowledge, understanding and love. But, what do you say to them? Prepare with prayer. God will speak through you if your intentions are pure. One of the greatest gifts we have is the Word of God. Here is an article on the Roman Road that can help you to easily share truth with anyone.
   
   http://www.ehow.com/how_2098037_lead-someone-christ.html

Tips & Warnings

• Share experiences from your life that made you realize that you needed Christ.
• Trust in God.