We need to use the verses of the Scriptures when dealing with the above kinds of people. Here I will point out only a few; you must spend time to find the best verses.
Someone may say that the best verse to use to touch the feeling of an atheist is Psalm 14:1, which says, “The fool has said in his heart, / There is no God.” However this offends people; this is to call them a fool. Rather, we may use Romans 1:19-20, which says, “Because that which is known of God is manifest within them, for God manifested it to them. For the invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine characteristics, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being perceived by the things made, so that they would be without excuse.” If we use this verse, the feeling of an atheist will be touched.
For people who live in sins without the consciousness of sin, the best word is Romans 6:23, which says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We should read this verse to this kind of person. There are many verses from the Scriptures that tell us the pain, damage, and loss caused by a life in sin. For those who live in sins with the consciousness of sin but without the strength to save themselves, we should show them verses that tell us that Christ died for our sins, such as 1 Peter 2:24 and 2 Corinthians 5:21. This kind of verses mostly deals with redemption. Then after this, we can give them some verses that confirm the deliverance of the living Lord, such as John 8:34 and 36, which tell us that the Lord as the Son of God is able to set us free from the bondage of sin.
For a person who senses the vanity of life, we can use Ephesians 2:12, which says, “Having no hope and without God in the world.” If one does not have God, he has no hope. We may also use John 4:13 and 14, which say, “Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water gushing up into eternal life.” In principle, we need to find the proper passages for each kind of person.
We especially need the Scriptures to deal with professing Christians. In principle, we should always use 1 John 5:13, which says, “I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God.” God has written “these things.” By His written word we have the proof, the testimony, that we have eternal life, forgiveness of sins, redemption, justification, and the Lord’s salvation. We need to find the proper passages to convince people, not by our reasonings or arguments, but by the written word.
We need to learn passages such as the foregoing ones. Then when we contact people, we will know how to handle them. If we practice this, we will pave the way for the work of the Holy Spirit. A farmer knows how to till the ground, sow the seed, and water it. This paves the way for the life within the seed to grow. The life is in the seed, but there is the need for the cooperation of the farmer; that is, there is the need for a technique. If the technique is realized, the life within the seed will have a way to spring up and express itself. If we know the principle of how to handle different situations, a seed will be sown into people’s hearts, and the Holy Spirit will work in them.
We should not wait ten years to put these principles into practice. We need to practice them right away. From now on we all must go to the Lord, pray, and seek His guidance as to whom we should care for. The best way to help people is to open our homes and invite them in. It is especially easy to help students in this way. We should invite one or two, not too many. If we feel the need, we can invite another one or two brothers to help us. We should practice this over the long run, weekly or biweekly, and not expect a fast success.