Is Your Faith Big Enough To Share With Others?

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” – 1 Peter 3:15.

The phrase, “sharing your faith” can bring up all kinds of emotions. It might trigger excitement and gratitude or nervousness and anxiety. We sometime have it in our minds that sharing our faith requires public speaking and extensive Biblical knowledge. And people are concerned that if they couple public speaking with Biblical knowledge, inevitably awkward conversations are going to occur. Sharing your faith may require you to step out of your comfort zones and yes, it may end up being awkward. But let me remind you of a few things to keep in mind as you consider when or how to share your faith with others.

First, we need to remember it is only through the power of God that people are saved. It simply doesn’t happen through human effort or ability or knowledge. The bottom line is this: if people are not responding the way we want, we are not responsible, God is. That should help take some of the pressure off when we are concerned we are not saying the right things or when we don’t have enough Biblical knowledge.

Success in evangelism is measured not in the outcome, but in your obedience to the command of Christ. The story of Jesus and the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-30 is an example of this point. The young man approached Jesus, interested in hearing about how to get to heaven. You would think that any encounter with Jesus, the Son of God, would have been a sure-fire conversion. This was not the case. After Jesus told him the cost of discipleship, the Bible says, “when the young man heard this, he went away sad.” If Jesus was rejected, we can be as well. But that does not mean it was a waste of time. You could be planting the seeds that God could water and grow in the future.

God will be with you. After He gave the Great Commission to go and make disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus did not leave His disciples alone but said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (v. 20). Going out on your own can be a frightening thing, but that is never the experience of the Christian. Christ promises to always be with you.

Finally, trust God. The journey this person is on will have twists and turns you and I could never imagine. God will bring the right people at the right time. For now, we are privileged to be one person on that journey, telling our story and pointing our friend or relative or even acquaintance to the God who died for them.

Discussion Questions:

What are some of the obstacles to sharing our faith with others?
What are the risks as you see them? What are the benefits?
In this devotional I said it is not about the outcome, but about obeying God. Agree or disagree and why?
Is there someone this week we need to share our faith with?