Handling Objections.
When sharing our faith, we often encounter objections from the people we’re talking with such as “What about those who’ve never heard the gospel?” or “How can a loving God send people to hell?” How can we respond to these questions?
“There are four easy ways to handle any objection,” according to Ken Silva, who serves with Evangelism Explosion as the U.S. Director for the Western States. He said the first method is the best.
Preclude an Objection.
This means answering an objection before it even comes up. For example, someone might say, “I don’t like people shoving religion down my throat.” To preclude this objection, we should always ask people’s permission before sharing our beliefs with them or asking them questions about their beliefs. Or they may say, “That’s too personal of a question.” To avoid this, we could share something personal about our own testimony so it will be more natural for them to share their personal thoughts.
Postpone the Objection.
If you are in the middle of making a crucial point and someone throws out an objection that is off-topic, then you can say, “That’s a great question, and I’ll answer it in just a moment. Is it alright if I come back to that?” Then continue making your point before addressing the objection.
Research and Return.
If someone raises an objection and you don’t know how to respond, simply say, “That’s a great question. I’d like to research that and get back to you. Could I write that down?“ Then continue to share the gospel.
Answer the Question Quickly.
If you are able to respond to the objection, then do so quickly and get back to sharing the gospel. With a little bit of study, many common objections can be answered quite easily. Ken has developed a two tape audio set that teaches simple resopnses to common objections, Reasonable Answers for Honest Skeptics.
© Biola University 2005