Asking someone outright if they are saved or born again. You might think it is good to be direct and get the question answered but in my experience, it immediately sets up an 'us' and 'them' situation if they don't happen to be Christians and can often make life much more difficult for you in future conversations. When i have wanted to know if someone is a Christian or not, i simply tell them something about my day that includes either church or some other activity with Christ and more often than not, the Christians will jump out and tell you they are also Christian. Most often too non believers will note what i've said and ask questions either then or later when they feel more confident.
Witnessing is not all about us and our ability to convince someone or get all the relevant points across. It is all about observing the activity of the Holy Spirit in the person with whom we are talking. So it is less about us talking and more about us listening. Oftentimes in the past, i have managed to get across all i wanted to in that moment, seizing the opportunity i had thought, when in truth all i had done was alienated the person from ever wanting to talk to me about God again. Had they heard the 'Good News' technically one could argue yes though i would say most definitely not. All they had heard was a lot of words as loud as a clanging gong. For their eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel, it is the Spirit that people need to hear, His gentle voice and tugging conviction is when people have truly heard. So now i have learned to follow the Spirit. Answer only what is asked of me and no more unless i sense that they want to know more then i tell them if they want me to tell them more, just let me know.
