Five Simple Steps for Sharing Your Faith
1) Understand that your own life is a great part of your witness. If my relationship with Christ isnt vital, then I really dont have a lot to share. People not only listen to your words, they look at your life. We still fail and arent always a good example, so our only hope is to come to God and surrender to Him. Its nothing that we can do. Its Gods work.
2) Realize that we earn the right to be heard by sincerely listening to others. Everyone has a story. You cant just blunder into a situation and callously share without listening. The Bible says that Jesus was a friend of sinners. Thats our exampleto be a friend, to listen to people, see where they are, and then take them where they need to go.
3) Recognize that people are looking for a cure. When you go to the doctor, you dont say, I have cancer. Instead, you describe your symptoms. Thats where most people live. They only see symptoms: Im lonely. Im suffering from a broken relationship. Im stressed. Theres darkness within me that I dont know what to do with. How do we share Christ with someone who is overwhelmed with their symptoms? We know the ultimate cure. Its Jesus Christ. Jesus didnt die for their symptoms. He died for their sins. Yet, people dont wake up in the morning and think, You know, I need to accept Jesus. They wake up with the symptoms, and so as people who are attempting to rescue those who are lost, we need to start with their symptoms, show them the diseasesin, and take them to the ultimate cureJesus.
4) Keep it simple. The Gospel is already simple. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. We need to turn away--repent--from the things that are wrong in our life, and accept what Jesus did on the cross for us and receive Him as Lord. Dont complicate it. So many times, we throw in things like our denomination or other doctrines, or we use religious terms that a lot of people dont understand. We end up confusing them and creating barriers. Explain the Gospel in a way that people can understand.
5) Stress the love of God. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (NKJV) It starts with love, and thats where we need to start. Ultimately, we have to explain that were all sinners and have violated Gods standards, and because of that, there is a judgment. Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)
People know theyve done a lot of wrong things, but they first need to hear that God is still open to forgiving them.
Decision Magazine-February 2012
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (bgea.org)
1) Understand that your own life is a great part of your witness. If my relationship with Christ isnt vital, then I really dont have a lot to share. People not only listen to your words, they look at your life. We still fail and arent always a good example, so our only hope is to come to God and surrender to Him. Its nothing that we can do. Its Gods work.
2) Realize that we earn the right to be heard by sincerely listening to others. Everyone has a story. You cant just blunder into a situation and callously share without listening. The Bible says that Jesus was a friend of sinners. Thats our exampleto be a friend, to listen to people, see where they are, and then take them where they need to go.
3) Recognize that people are looking for a cure. When you go to the doctor, you dont say, I have cancer. Instead, you describe your symptoms. Thats where most people live. They only see symptoms: Im lonely. Im suffering from a broken relationship. Im stressed. Theres darkness within me that I dont know what to do with. How do we share Christ with someone who is overwhelmed with their symptoms? We know the ultimate cure. Its Jesus Christ. Jesus didnt die for their symptoms. He died for their sins. Yet, people dont wake up in the morning and think, You know, I need to accept Jesus. They wake up with the symptoms, and so as people who are attempting to rescue those who are lost, we need to start with their symptoms, show them the diseasesin, and take them to the ultimate cureJesus.
4) Keep it simple. The Gospel is already simple. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. We need to turn away--repent--from the things that are wrong in our life, and accept what Jesus did on the cross for us and receive Him as Lord. Dont complicate it. So many times, we throw in things like our denomination or other doctrines, or we use religious terms that a lot of people dont understand. We end up confusing them and creating barriers. Explain the Gospel in a way that people can understand.
5) Stress the love of God. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (NKJV) It starts with love, and thats where we need to start. Ultimately, we have to explain that were all sinners and have violated Gods standards, and because of that, there is a judgment. Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)
People know theyve done a lot of wrong things, but they first need to hear that God is still open to forgiving them.
Decision Magazine-February 2012
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (bgea.org)
