Many people hesitate to share the gospel, believing they would lack the right words to respond to opposition encountered wherever they are at. Whether on the street, from a waitress, or even a neighbor on an airplane, they are fearful that somehow their lack of knowledge and wisdom in what to say will send them further down into the lake of fire than they already are.
But the problem isn’t that we will make hell hotter for someone if we attempt to share the good news and they reject it. The problem is that their default condition and the results of their sin will send them to hell in the first place. Hell is a horrible place no matter what “level” you’re in. We agree that it’s not about us. When we make it about us, that’s where we fail. When we put too much stock in ourselves and in our own abilities—we will fail. Therefore, we must look to another source for guidance, knowledge, and wisdom from whom Jesus gave us in the first place.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Jesus specifically promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would give them the words to speak in moments of trial and witness. In Luke 12:11–12 (ESV), Jesus said, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” This promise was particularly directed at His disciples as they faced persecution for their faith, assuring them that God’s Spirit would guide their speech under pressure. A similar assurance is found in Mark 13:11, where Jesus said, “Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”
This promise was uniquely fulfilled in the early church, as seen in the book of Acts. For example, Acts 4:8–13 describes Peter, once fearful and inarticulate, now filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly testifying before the Sanhedrin about Jesus Christ. This demonstrates that the Spirit empowers believers to speak truth with courage and clarity when the moment demands it. According to John 14:26, Jesus also said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” That verse means the Holy Spirit not only inspired the apostles to remember and record Jesus’ words in Scripture but also enables believers today to understand, live out, and apply those divine truths.
Therefore, while the specific promise in Luke 12 was directed to the apostles, its principle remains true today. The same Holy Spirit indwells every believer (Ephesians 1:13–14; Romans 8:9) and empowers us to bear witness for Christ with wisdom and conviction. We may not receive new revelation as the apostles did, but the Spirit brings God’s Word to our remembrance and gives us grace to speak appropriately when testifying of Christ. In short, the Holy Spirit continues to be our divine helper and teacher, ensuring that God’s truth is proclaimed through His people in every generation.
Here’s How It Looks
Now that we understand the Holy Spirit is not some distant entity but is actively working within every believer, empowering them with the precise words to articulate in our moments of desperation, what does that really mean for us today? How does this divine influence manifest in our lives, and are we even aware of the moments when it strikes?
As we have seen earlier in Scripture references, the Holy Spirit, for the most part, gives us rememberence of what we learned in His Word at the right time we need it. In every witnessing encounter, as I listen to the lost person speak, I am praying in my head, asking the Holy Spirit for the right words to say at the right moment to say them. He gives them freely, even when it doesn’t seem logical.
This very thing has happened to me personally many times. One particular instance is when my evangelism mentor, Tony Didlo, asked me to accompany him and visit Rick, a client of his who had Cerebral Palsy and confined to a wheelchair. He was Roman Catholic and questioned everything— skeptically that is. At this time he was unwilling to give over his control to the Lordship of Christ, even though he had no control over his own body and depended upon others for everything.
As I sat there listening to him and Tony talk, I just observed and prayed in my head for the Holy Spirit to give me the words. After twenty or so minutes, Rick had enough.
“Cat got your tongue?” Rick said as he looked directly at me. “You’ve been here almost a half hour and haven’t said a word.”
I pushed back saying, “I’m just sitting here. Listening and wanting to understand your situation more, that’s all.”
At that moment I felt courage and opened my mouth. It was as if the words were being downloaded to my mind and came out my mouth. I knew what I was saying, and could have stopped it at any moment, but I didn’t. I just let it flow. It was a parable about three prisoners on death row that were being pardoned by the Governor, and the Warden was delivering them. To be released, all they had to do was to repent of what they had done, read the pardon, believe what was written was true, and sign their name with the pen of faith.
The first prisoner was unrepentant of what he had done and was on his hands and knees scratching at the six-foot thick concrete wall with a plastic spoon trying to get out and thinking in his mind he was almost through. The room, covered in broken plastic spoons with new ones in a box on the bed, he ignored the Warden and was too busy trying to free himself.
The second prisoner, a Doctor, who was in the slammer for killing a man, blamed his nurse for why he’s in there. He sat upright at the edge of the bed, reading one of hundreds of books that lined the walls of his cell. He looked overtop of his reading glasses with disgust at the warden. After the warden told him of his pardon, the incarcerated doctor just showed contempt, that he would bother him with such a silly idea that there is a governor. “I’ve never seen the governor, talked with the governor, and he’s never been here to visit with me. As far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t exist!”
The third prisoner, well, he knew he had done wrong and was undeserving of forgiveness. He was a mess, and wouldn’t even acknowledge the warden as he stepped into his cell. He just laid down facing the wall, sobbing. But as the warden pressed, he sat up, read the pardon, amazed he agreed to the terms and signed it with the “pen of faith.” He was released, left everything behind, and moved into the governor’s mansion to be taken care of.
Though the actual parable in full detail was much longer, Rick’s eyes were as big as dinner plates by the end of it. He had a look of terror in his eyes, and knew that God had spoken directly to his heart. He was the first prisoner, and he’d been trying in his own strength to be good. His response—”What do I need to do to be saved?” We shared the gospel to him and as he hung on every word, he repented, put his trust in Christ, and was born again.
Final Thoughts
We have this assurance that the Holy Spirit is involved in every genuine encounter when believers share the gospel to those who are lost. Evangelism is not merely a human effort of persuasion or eloquence—it is a spiritual work empowered by the Spirit of God. He is the one who convicts the world of “sin, righteousness, and judgment to come” (John 16:8-11). This means that when believers present the truth of the gospel, it is the Spirit who opens hearts to understand and accept that truth. Without His work, no one could turn from sin or believe in Christ because, as Jesus stated, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). The Holy Spirit’s ministry, therefore, is essential in revealing the reality of sin, the need for repentance (which is also a gift of God), and the hope of salvation through Christ’s atoning work on the cross.
“I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 NKJV
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