One day, I had a layover at an airport, so I went to the Red Carpet room to wait for my flight. While I was there, I saw Mohammed Ali, sitting at a table with a briefcase full of tracts about the Moslem faith.
I stopped to visit, and he gave me a couple of his pamphlets. Because of his illness, Parkinson's disease, it took a long time for him to sign his name at the bottom.
As I watched him, I thought, Here is a man, giving his all with what little physical and mental abilities he has left, to share a lie. Yet too many Christians sit back, too afraid to share the truth.
Is It Your Job?
God has called each of us to share our faith, in obedience. He has called each of us to evangelize. If one of your excuses for not sharing your faith is, “I don't have the gift of evangelism,” then you need to examine Scripture. You will find the command of the Great Commission: to evangelize, to encourage evangelism, and to urge evangelism.
I like to explain it this way: I don't have the overt gift of giving; it's not a supernatural gift God has given me. Yet I'm required to give. I don't have the supernatural gift of mercy. Yet I'm required to be merciful. In my role as a volunteer police chaplain, it is sometimes my job to hold a mother whose child has died of SIDS. Sometimes I find myself on a murder scene, where I try to comfort the survivors of a horrible tragedy. And even though I hate to visit hospitals, my work takes me to bedsides where I hold the hand of assault victims. And because I am not naturally merciful, I have to depend on God to supernaturally release his mercy through me.
We all must evangelize through the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). This means that God has given us the strength to share our faith, despite our lack of gifts, talents, and abilities. For Paul said in Ephesians 1:18–20, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead.”
This means we have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, living in us, so we lack nothing to get the job done.
The Bible makes it clear that there is the office of the evangelist, as well as the office of pastor and teacher as found in Ephesians 4:11–13: “It was he who gave some to…be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
From this Scripture, we can see God has called the pastor, the teacher, and the evangelist to prepare and to equip the body for works of service.
Because God has called the evangelist to equip the body of Christ, I can exercise my office by equipping you to share your faith. As an evangelist, I must tell you that just because evangelism might be difficult for you, you do not have an excuse to ignore it. When you are obedient in sharing your faith, you are giving God an opportunity to work through you, perhaps even despite you. Jesus told us, “Go!” This was not an option; it was a command!
So why do we struggle to share our faith? Why are we so afraid? Let's take a look at the top six fears that keep people from sharing their faith, and let's discover how to overcome them.
1. I'm afraid of being rejected.
There is no stronger pain than the pain of rejection. At least, that's how Bob saw it. His fear of rejection was so acute he cut himself off from all ties with his daughter. He hadn't seen Carry since he'd divorced her mother, over fifteen years earlier. He was afraid to contact Carry because he felt she would reject the very sight of him. So he stayed away, never giving her the chance to slam the door in his face.
How can a man like Bob conquer the fear of rejection? How can a man like Bob ever succeed with evangelism?
Just what is successful evangelism? For one thing, it is not a contest. As we've discussed, success is sharing your faith and living your life for Jesus Christ. It has nothing whatsoever to do with bringing anyone to the Lord.
We need to get away from the “win them” mentality. People do not put their faith in Christ because we force them to believe. They put their faith in Christ because God uses us to point out the truth. If we have “won” someone to Christ, then he or she is probably not saved. It is said that D. L. Moody, the evangelist, was riding on a train after a crusade. An old drunk came up to him and said, “You know, Mr. Moody, I'm one of your converts.”
Mr. Moody looked him right in the eye and said, “Son, I'm afraid you are one of mine, because you are obviously not a convert of Christ's.”1 Moody understood the difference.
When people reject your message, it is not you they reject; they are rejecting Jesus and God's Word. Therefore, you didn't fail in your obedience. Even if the way you share the message is tactless or unloving, God can use it. What he can't use is your sin of silence.
I've seen some strange ways people share their faith. For example, a youth director and his teens bought a casket. A teen in “dead guy” makeup climbed inside. The group took the casket with the dead guy down to Main Street. There they hauled the casket up and down the street while a tape player blared New Orleans revelry music. As a crowd gathered, the teens slipped the lid off the casket, revealing the “body,” his eyes closed and his hands folded across his chest. Then the pretend pastor began a eulogy. “This here is nice, old John. He liked to fish and he loved to read his books.”
Suddenly the dead guy's eyes popped open, and he jumped out of the casket. He pointed at the pastor, shouting, “You never told me I had to be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. You never shared your faith with me. You never gave me the chance to make a decision to follow Christ! Now I'm on my way to hell because of you.”
While the people who watched this drama unfold stared in shock, the teens began to pass out tracts and to witness. Several members of the audience made commitments to follow Christ.
Personally, I wouldn't be caught dead masquerading as a corpse. However, God used even this outrageous approach because these teens were faithful in sharing the good news.
Let's suppose you went out today and tried to share your faith with the first person you saw, and he or she told you to go away. Have you failed? No way. You've chosen obedience to the gospel. Let's imagine the next day, a friend of yours shared his faith with the first person he saw, and this person not only responded to the gospel but became a replacement for Billy Graham. Can your friend take credit for that? Absolutely not.
There is no success, no failure, in God's kingdom when people choose obedience. In fact, this is the one area of your Christian life you ultimately cannot botch. Even if you share stupidly, unlovingly, or with poor timing, our heavenly Father can use it. What he can't use is your silence.
The apostle Paul shared his faith “in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Yet Paul made a difference because he went, and God used him. And it couldn't have been a lot of fun to be beaten, pelted with stones, shipwrecked, snake-bitten, and lowered naked into a pit. But in spite of the personal cost Paul paid, he went. And every time he went, God enabled him with the Holy Spirit. Despite the difficulties, Paul was able to count his suffering as joy.
That's what we want for our Christian lives. Even as the stones are thrown, even when the stones hurt, somehow God turns our pain to joy.
How can we find that joy of sharing our faith when we are so afraid of rejection? Let's take another look at Bob, the father who had been estranged from his daughter for fifteen years. When Bob heard me preach on the sin of silence, he made a decision. He decided before he left the church that he would go to the church office and phone his daughter. Minutes after the service, he called Carry and asked her to forgive him. Then he began to tell her how God had changed his life.
The next evening, Bob and Carry met, and after years of being separated because of the fear of rejection, Bob again asked Carry for forgiveness and led his daughter to Christ. That is joy!
Not everyone who shares his faith sees a positive response. For example, an introverted young man made the decision to share his faith with a coworker. He relates, “I shared my faith with Sara, but she did not make a commitment to follow Christ. Yet I am thrilled because I was able to take her through the process of sharing my faith. I never realized it could be so easy.”
Another woman shared her faith with a family member who responded with an abrupt, “No way.”
Later, Lauren said, “That's OK. I'll chalk that share time up as number one. I'm not finished. If it takes an average 7.6 times for a person to hear the gospel before it changes his life, then I've just begun. I've got one down, and 6.6 more times to go!”
2. I'm afraid of what my friends will think.
Martha, a woman in her early sixties, approached me one evening after a seminar.
“My husband and children aren't saved,” Martha said with tears running down her cheeks. “I've never had the courage to explain the gospel to them. I was always worried about what they would think!”
Is that why you stay silent—because you are worried about what your friends will think? Well, let me ask, what do they think of you now?
Either you can share your faith, or you can say nothing and in your silence love your friends into hell.
Some people say, “I'm afraid my friends will persecute me if I share.”
Jesus promised us nothing less. He said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20).
Yet this is not all bad news. Matthew 5:10–12 promises a double blessing when we are persecuted: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
How many of your friends know you are a Christian but don't understand the gospel? The reason many of your friends have not received the gospel is because they are waiting for you to explain it to them.
Kristine was surprised to find this to be true. She had known Joel for twenty years. He knew she was a Christian, yet she had never explained the gospel to him. After hearing a presentation on how to share her faith, she decided she would contact Joel and present the gospel, even though she felt it would mean the end of their friendship.
A few days later, when he was sitting on her sofa, she said, “Joel, all these years, you have always known where I am spiritually. But how about you? Where are you?”
Because Kristine was finally able to ask, Joel opened up to her. Kristine presented the gospel to him, and he submitted his life to the Lord.
I am also happy to say that Martha, the older woman who had never shared her faith with her family, also caught the vision. Later that night, after the seminar, she told me, “Tonight I have found the courage and the freedom to tell my family about Jesus, and the first person I am going to share him with is going to be my husband!”
Although Martha and Albert had never discussed spiritual matters, she went home and asked the five opening questions. When she finished the questions, he gave her permission to show him the Scriptures. When he understood he needed to ask Jesus into his life to forgive his sins, he made the commitment joyfully. The following week, Martha and Albert went to each of their children and shared their faith with them. Their sons and daughter also accepted Christ as their Savior.
After that, Albert took time off work, and he and Martha visited in other states where they had the privilege of sharing their faith and leading their loved ones to Jesus.
3. I don't think I can share with my coworkers.
Ray, a pastor of a small church in Arizona and former boxing professional, also moonlighted in construction work. He had a reputation before he became a Christian for barroom brawls. In and out of the ring, he was always a winner. His coworkers not only teased and mocked Ray for his faith, they ridiculed God. Ray said, “It took every ounce of my being to not take care of these mockers the way I would have before I became a Christian.”
But instead of reacting, he simply prayed for his coworkers and cautioned them to show respect toward God.
One day, Ray and two coworkers were working on the top of a scaffold, painting. An explosion suddenly rocked the air, knocking everyone, except Ray, off the scaffold. His two coworkers plummeted into a wall of flames. Ray jumped down and wrapped one man in his own clothing, trying to stop the fire. As he held the man in his arms, the mocker said, “You warned me, didn't you?”
And Ray said, “Yes, I did.”
The man gave his life to the Lord on the spot. That night, Ray went to visit the other victim in the hospital. This man was so impressed by Ray's servant spirit he asked, “How can you possibly love me like this after the way I've treated you?”
A week later, the second burn victim released from the hospital invited Ray to his home and gave his life to Jesus Christ. Both men now attend Ray's church.
Is it important to share your faith with your coworkers? Yes. After all, God has put them in your path, perhaps for that very reason. One woman who attended my seminars said, “Now that I know how to share my faith, I have a new confidence. I am no longer ashamed of who I am at work. I realize when I am persecuted for my faith, I am doubly blessed. And God has given me the opportunity to be a living witness. I especially liked the quote you gave from Saint Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.’”
I do not believe you should take time to present the gospel at work. Yes, it is OK to qualify by asking the first five “Share Jesus Questions,” which I will present to you in chapter 4. These five questions will only take a matter of moments to ask. So feel free to test the waters to see if a coworker is open to the gospel. If he is, invite him to lunch, to your home, or to your church in order to present the gospel.
There can always be an exception to my “no-share” rule, especially when you are sharing with your boss. For example, Lois had worked as Randal's assistant for a number of years. She said, “He knew I was a Christian and used to tease me about my faith. In fact, one Monday, he asked, ‘Did you go and do that church stuff again?’
“And I asked, ‘What do you mean by church stuff?’
“He said, ‘Well, what is it that you guys do?’”
Lois said, “Let me show you what I learned Sunday night.”
She sat down and asked him the five “Share Jesus Questions” she had learned from my seminar, then took him through the verses of Scripture. Right there, Randal gave his life to the Lord. She said, “My husband now disciples Randal, and Randal and I pray together every day before we start work.”
4. I don't know enough.
Do you sometimes feel you don't know enough to share your faith? Imagine you had to share your faith with a man like Nate who tests in the upper one percentile in intelligence and reads 1,250 words a minute with total recall.
Imagine this man, so bright that he not only scored one of the highest scores on the Mensa test, a test for geniuses, but found an error in the test while he was taking it.
Nate was a hard case. He had been an atheist for twenty years, and his hobby was tearing apart religions. What kind of person do you think God sent into Nate's life? A fellow genius? A Nobel Prize winner? Josh McDowell?
No, God sent John, a Blackfoot Indian with a twelfth-grade education.
Nate was in the armed services and riding a bus with John. Other soldiers kept throwing John's Bible out of the window to tease him. John would patiently get off the bus and retrieve it, without complaining.
Nate asked him, “Why do you let those clowns do that to you?”
John replied, “Sir, I am a Christian.”
Up until this point, Nate had never attacked the Christian faith. He had successfully shredded every other religion. Yet Christianity had stumped him. So he decided he would challenge this simple man of faith.
Nate asked, “Do you mean to tell me you believe somebody got vomited out of the mouth of a whale?”
This simple man of faith said, “Yes, sir.”
Nate asked, “Why?”
John answered, “My Bible tells me so.”
No matter what question Nate threw at John, John replied with either a yes or no, followed by, “My Bible tells me so.”
Nate's great mind could not shake John's faith, and that shook him. That night, Nate went home and borrowed a Bible from a neighbor. He read it through over the weekend.
A verse in Job 5:9 struck Nate's heart: “‘He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.’”
Nate could not ignore this truth, and it transformed his life. Now Nate is one of the best defenders of the Christian faith I have ever known. How did this happen? Because John, a simple man of faith with a twelfth-grade education, believed a verse, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty’” (Zech. 4:6).
I find the excuse that “I don't know enough” usually comes from someone who has been a Christian for ten years or more. When I meet someone who tells me this, I like to tease him by saying, “The problem is you have been sitting around accumulating information for so long you're spiritually constipated. You need to get rid of some of this information!”
5. I'm afraid of losing my friends and relatives.
I was visiting a ranch when Philip, a businessman who owned a chain of hardware stores, asked me about God.
When I sat down to share the gospel with him, he pulled out a yellow pad and pen to take notes.
When I finished, Philip had written only two or three sentences. He looked up at me and stated, “It's too simple.”
I asked, “Why?”
Philip switched and asked, “What is God going to do with all my businesses?”
Since I did not know if God was going to bless Philip or bust him, I activated the “Why Principle,” and asked, “Philip, why? What about your businesses?”
He switched again and asked, “What about my mother?”
I knew we had hit the core issue. He went on to tell me that his mother was of a religious denomination that did not make faith in Christ personal. She had told him she would disown him if he ever accepted Christ as his Savior.
As I listened to his story, I turned my Bible to Matthew 10:37–38, handed it to him, and said, “Read this out loud.”
He read, “‘Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.’”
I asked, “What does it say to you?”
He looked up at me and said, “I will worry about my mother later,” and he bowed his head and accepted Christ as his personal Savior. He has been a deacon in his church for more than twelve years.
Are we guaranteed a happy ending when we share our faith with friends and family? According to Scripture, Jesus came to divide. He said, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12:51–53).
When you surrender your life to Christ, it may cost you every relationship you have. You truly have to die to yourself, follow Christ, and leave your loved ones behind.
Murray became a believer. He decided to go share his faith with his parents, even though they had told him if he ever brought his religion into their house, he'd never be allowed to come back.
On his way to his parents' home, he stopped to see me, and we prayed together. After our prayer, he looked up with misty eyes and asked, “I don't have a choice, do I, Bill?”
I shook my head.
He said, “I can either stay in the sin of silence and say nothing, watching my parents stay condemned because they never heard the gospel, or I can choose to risk being permanently rejected by them forever.”
I nodded.
He thought for a moment, then said, “The call's clear.”
I said, “Yup.”
So he went. He risked everything. He risked being separated from his family. Fortunately, Murray's story had a happy ending. He was overjoyed when both of his parents made a commitment to Christ. But things could have turned out very differently. And Murray was willing to take that chance, despite the personal cost.
6. I don't know how.
Sherry was determined to share her faith with her parents, George and Donna, so she wrote them a letter. Then she booked a plane for Texas for a visit. Later, when her parents took her to the airport to say good-bye, Sherry realized she had not shared her faith and broke into tears. Donna asked, “What's wrong, honey?”
Sherry said, “I came to tell you about the most important thing in my life, and we haven't talked about it.”
Donna asked, “You mean the letter you wrote us?”
Sherry nodded.
Donna turned to Sherry's dad and said, “George, let this poor gal share.”
But by that time, Sherry was so flustered that when she opened her Bible, she found it nothing but a blur of tears. When she tried to talk, she only rambled and sobbed.
Perhaps you were like Sherry, always wanting to share your faith but never knowing how.
Once you have studied the technique explained in this book, you will find that sharing your faith is so simple, your only frustration will be that you will wish you'd known how to do it sooner.
Six months later, Sherry heard the presentation “Share Jesus without Fear.” She was able to call her parents on the phone and use the approach to share the gospel with them.
Donna and George acknowledged they believed. Yet Sherry wasn't sure that their faith was rooted, because she found no evidence of it in their lives. But she said, “I was able to take my parents through the gospel, and I was able to at least get them to acknowledge the truth. This is a start.”
Recently, two young women, Karen and Sharon, came up to me after a service and said, “Bill, would you pray for us? We're on our way to the hospital to see our father, who is dying of cancer. We've tried to share our faith with him before, but we've never gotten to first base. But what you've taught us tonight seems so simple, we want to try again.”
A few days later, I got a call. Karen said, “Not only did we lead Dad to Christ, but his roommate overheard our conversation and asked, ‘What about me?’ He received Christ too! We are experiencing the joy of God in ways we have never known before because we realize we can no longer fail.”
Drop Those Excuses
If you wish to experience the level of joy so many others have found, you will have to drop those excuses for not sharing your faith. You will have to practice obedience to the Great Commission. Not only will this impact the lives of your loved ones, giving the Holy Spirit the opportunity to draw them to Christ, but you will also experience a new depth in your relationship with God that you never experienced before. After all, God promised, “I will be with you” (Exod. 3:12). Wait until you see what God will do with an ordinary person, like you, who is obedient in sharing his faith.