The Christian connects witnessing with judging. Because judging is forbidden, we think witnessing should be undertaken only cautiously and in a non-judgmental fashion.

What's the source of this objection, “I don't want to judge anybody”? Matthew 7:1 says, “Judge not or you'll be judged.” And we fear that if we share our faith with someone we're essentially saying they are not Christian. To share our faith is not a statement about another person, someone else's spiritual condition, but a statement about our condition. We witness to what we have experienced. So when we share our faith, we're explaining how God became a part of our lives and how He continues to sustain us by His saving grace.

In the same passage where Jesus warns us about judging He says, “Don't cast your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). How does a person determine who is “swinish” without judging? So it appears Jesus contradicts Himself. But the problem is really one of defining the word ‘judge' which can mean to condemn, to decide or to discern. In Matthew 7:1 we're told not to condemn. In Matthew 7:6 we're urged to be discerning. Jesus seems to resolve the difficulty for us in Matthew 7:14 when He tells us to inspect the fruit of a person's life, to identify the tree as good or bad.

In witnessing we are free to discern a person's spiritual condition without condemning him or her. In many ways it is not necessary to determine a person's spiritual condition before witnessing. We're simply to give praises to a God who has wonderfully changed our lives and who wants to impact the lives of others.

Perhaps the old idea of witnessing to unbelievers should be replaced with the practice of perpetual praise. As we praise God our listeners will self-sort (under the Spirit's attentive care) into being encouraged by our testimony or drawn to a loving God whose forgiveness is desired.