Why is it so hard to
tell others about Jesus?
Condensed Edition
Condensed Edition
Why is it so hard to tell others about Jesus?
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any of our churches are noisy, busy, bustling places. Sunday mornings are alive with songs, sermons and Christians greeting one another. During the week we even meet again in smaller groups to hold Bible studies and prayer meetings. Yet, all too often, those of us in the church who have so much to say to one another, have little to say to those who desperately need to hear about the hope we have. Why do we find it difficult to break the silence about the best news and most important Person the world has ever known? And how can we become people who actively involve and invite others to see God at work in our lives?
Why is it so hard?
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hether because of awkwardness, a lack of confidence or a whole list of possible excuses, we struggle to speak about Jesus to those in our communities and families who don’t yet know Him. The pressure: Others seem to find it so easy. It’s like they can’t help telling people about their faith in Jesus. We can easily feel the pressure to explain the entire gospel to everyone we meet and then to walk them through to an instant conversion! We’ve probably all had the ‘sweaty palm’ experience of sitting next to someone on a long train journey, for example, and feeling the weight of expectation that we should talk to them about Jesus, but not having the foggiest how to start or even the desire to give it a go. With every potential opportunity that passes, we get more stressed out about sharing our faith, rather than feeling ready, willing and prepared. Surface relationships: One reason we struggle to tell others about Jesus is often the lack of a real relationship with them. If we only talk meaningfully with other Christians, our relationships outside of the church will be superficial, offering no real opportunity for them to get to know us and our faith. This can also lead to non-believers feeling like they are simply [2] WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS?
‘conversion projects’ to us, rather than friends, if we just try to tell them about Jesus without forming a real understanding and relationship with them. Feeling inadequate: Another reason for our silence is our fear of failure. We’re afraid we will encounter questions we won’t be able to answer and objections we won’t be able to handle. This fear is understandable. Few of us are so well-versed in the Bible, history or science that we can effectively answer all the questions or objections that nonbelievers may throw at us. Distraction: It might be that the world around us (with its pleasures, opportunities and trinkets) has robbed us of the spiritual awareness we had when we first became Christians. The reality that we are no longer condemned to receive God’s terrible judgement, and now know the joy of being called His children instead, has simply dulled into the mundanity of everyday life. As the gospel loses its impact on us, it loses its urgency for those around us. The expected response: We quickly size people up as to how we imagine they would respond to our faith. We assume we will be rejected, mocked and ridiculed. And no one really wants to charge into that kind of negativity. As we look at the people around us, it seems like most are totally unaware of their need for Jesus. The world we live in presents different ways to gain happiness and fulfilment, all of which are there to drown out the voice of the church. Such opposition can be overwhelming.
WHY IS IT SO HARD? [3]
The world’s view: Linked to the negative response we expect is the general attitude the world displays towards the church. Talking to others about Jesus is like trying to sell a lifesaving medicine that the world’s governing bodies have branded as dangerous and fraudulent. The people in our communities have heard rumours about Jesus, they’ve possibly even discussed and rejected Him amongst themselves and they don’t think they need Him. We will very rarely tell a ‘neutral’ person about Jesus; many have already formed an opinion of Him (but this is rarely based on what the Bible actually says). Despite these overwhelming barriers, the command from Jesus still stands: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:18-19). We are joined to the One with “all authority”, who can change the lives of the people in our communities. And we have the Holy Spirit, who will emphasise our words and actions, showing others the truth of the gospel (John 16:8-11). We cannot let circumstances, other people or anything else keep us silent. We are called to present the clear choice the world needs to make about Jesus. But how do we do it?
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How did the early church grow?
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n the book of Acts we see the story of the early church’s initial growth. So what did it look like for them to share the gospel? And is there anything we can learn from that time in the church’s history? Love: Jesus told His disciples, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). There is no definite statement in the book of Acts that says, “Lots of people turned to Christ because they were amazed by the love Christians had for one another.” But love was so obvious among these first-century believers that we can be sure the non-Christians saw it. This love wasn’t just within cliques or about showing kindness to certain types of Christians. This servant-heartedness was evident throughout the whole body of believers. Those of different backgrounds, age, ethnicity and wealth shared all that they had with each other (Acts 4:32-37). How different would our lives look if we employed this kind of love? What would our neighbours think if we invited not just our friends round for meals and fellowship, but also those who are totally unlike us? What would our work colleagues think if our recounting of the weekend’s activities involved time spent with the lonely, hurting and marginalised? We would stand out
HOW DID THE EARLY CHURCH GROW? [5]
and, at the very least, intrigue those around us. This kind of selfless love is something the world knows little of. A God-focused attitude: God was the very heartbeat of the first Christians’ lives. And it showed. Acts 16:25-34 recounts the impact Paul and Silas had in prison. Did they preach to the other prisoners or reason and plead with the jailer? No. Even though their backs were lacerated from being beaten and their feet were chained, Paul and Silas prayed and sang songs of praise to God (v. 25). No wonder the inmates remained in their cells when the prison doors burst open! No wonder the jailer and his household were saved that night! They must have sensed that in being near Paul and Silas they were in the very presence of God. What is our reaction to the hard times? Are we downcast like the world expects? Or do we stand out as people of joy and hope? If God is truly the centre of our lives, then His presence and impact on us will be evident, especially when we praise Him during hard times. Audience-focused speaking: There is one gospel. But the way it may be expressed can change depending on the need and the understanding of the people we meet. The first believers understood this. In Acts we see examples of remarkably different gospel explanations (such as Peter’s first sermon to gentile hearers in 10:34-43, Paul’s address to the people of Athens in 17:22-31 and Philip’s one-to-one exposition of Scripture with an Ethiopian in 8:26-39). The church has created several ‘formulas’ and guides to explaining the gospel in recent years. And these can [6] WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS?
be very helpful and beneficial, but they do not replace the need to have a real relationship with the people we speak to. As we understand their experiences, hurts, questions and burdens, we can express the gospel in words that resonate and help them as individuals. A reliance on the Holy Spirit: Several times in Acts we read of how the believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit”. We see it twice in chapter 4, for example, when Peter addressed the religious leaders after being arrested (v. 8) and also later when the believers gathered together to pray for boldness in the face of the persecution they were suffering (v. 31). Being “filled” with the Spirit is not about ‘running out’ of God and needing to top up, like a car needing fuel. The Holy Spirit is the Person of God in us. But how much time do we spend in His presence only? How often are we reignited with the confidence and truth of who God is? That is something of what it means to be “filled” with God and, indeed, overflowing with Him. Peter knew what to say to his accusers because he knew his God. The pressure wasn’t on him to weasel out of a hard confrontation, but simply to tell a truth he knew intimately: the Person and work of Jesus. He could do so confidently because he lived close to God and was “filled” with Him. As with the early church, relying on the Holy Spirit is the most important thing we can do. Only He can change the hearts and minds of the people we share the gospel with. Only He can convict them of their need for Jesus and bring them to repentance (John 16:8-11).
HOW DID THE EARLY CHURCH GROW? [7]
How can we effectively proclaim the gospel today?
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hat lessons can we learn from the early church in our own evangelism? And how can we overcome the obstacles discussed at the beginning of this booklet? Pray: Like the early church did, it’s essential that we spend time with God praying for boldness, opportunity, the right words and for Him to convict the people we speak to of their need for Jesus. All our efforts are in vain if they are not done in God’s strength and power. And for this reason, we do not need to pressure ourselves or set targets of how many people we need to speak to over certain time frames. The most important thing we can do for our non-Christian friends and family is pray for them. We’ll find, as we pray regularly for them and for opportunities, that we will naturally become more aware of openings to speak of our faith and our hope in Jesus. Be real: If God is the centre of our lives, then it will simply be impossible to talk about ourselves without talking about Him to some extent. This means, whilst inviting non-believers to Christian events, sending them online sermons or handing [8] WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS?
out evangelistic resources may be beneficial, the best way to share our faith with someone is simply to be ourselves with them. It doesn’t matter how introverted or extroverted we are, we are called to open our lives up to the people around us. We have the message of hope this world needs! Sharing that message doesn’t often start with a sermon or Bible study—led by someone else. It starts with us building real relationships with the people God has placed around us; both by letting them get to know us and by doing our best to find out more about them. Whilst we cannot force anyone to be our friends, we can offer the invitation and make ourselves available. Be expectant: Because we see how much the world ridicules our faith, we lower our expectation that any meaningful conversations about Jesus will ever happen outside of the church. However, all the people around us have burdens, hurts, questions and unmet desires. They are all looking for something and find different, temporary satisfaction here and there. But while they don’t know Jesus, they will never be truly fulfilled. Therefore there will always be opportunities to talk about Him with them. Whether this means being prepared to offer godly advice to a friend who just wants you to take their side, supporting an irritating work colleague in a project or making time to visit a bitter and cut-off family member. At any time we could be asked why we do what we do, what we think of a certain subject or to join in an
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ungodly activity. If we are prepared and expecting such events, we will be ready to answer them with our hope in Jesus, rather than just freezing like rabbits in headlights. Know the gospel: It might be surprising how often Christians simply struggle to explain their faith in Jesus. If a friend rang you now and asked, “So why should I trust Jesus?” would you know what to say? Not everyone is a public speaker or will feel eloquent in their speech, but all Christians are called to witness about who Jesus is. So we need to know and be assured of exactly what it is Jesus has done, what He has saved us from and what He has saved us for. If we don’t know why we trust Jesus, how can we expect others to? That being said, we cannot all suddenly become experts in theology, science and the Bible’s historicity. There are always going to be questions that we cannot answer. We shouldn’t be afraid of this, but neither should we pretend to know all the answers. If we find ourselves in conversations about our faith, we need to focus on what we do know and not try to blag what we don’t. The Holy Spirit can convict others using our words, no matter how stuttered they are. We just need to speak about what we know of God!
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A gospel outline
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ospel outlines can be helpful, but they can also just present our faith as a formula or theory. And people don’t get transformed by theories. However, we’re sharing this popular outline as an aid to thinking through the key points of the gospel message. It might be that this is more helpful to know, rather than to directly share. That being said, there may also be opportunities to take others The most through a guide like this. Often the most powerful powerful witness witness to non-believers is to non-believers simply retelling the story of how Jesus has transformed is simply retelling you and given you hope. This the story of is deeply personal, relevant how Jesus has and definitely not a theory. Hopefully this gospel outline transformed can provide some assistance, you and given but it is much better to be familiar and confident in your you hope. own story with Jesus.
A GOSPEL OUTLINE [11]
Two Ways to Live1
The Choice We All Face 1. God, the loving ruler of the world, made us rulers of the world under Him (Rev. 4:11).
2. We all reject God’s rule by trying to run life our own way without Him. But we fail to rule ourselves or society in a way that pleases Him (Rom. 3:10-12). 3. God won’t let us rebel forever. His punishment for our rebellion is death and judgement (Heb. 9:27). 4. Because of His love, God sent His perfect Son, Jesus, into the world to die in our place to take our punishment and bring us God’s forgiveness (1 Pet. 3:18). 5. God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. He has conquered death and now gives new life to those who trust Him. He will return to judge the world (1 Pet. 1:3). 6. There are two ways to live (John 3:36): our way (rejecting God and facing His rightful anger and judgement) or God’s new way (submitting to Jesus, relying on His death and resurrection for God’s forgiveness and heading towards eternal life with Him in heaven).
1 Gospel outline adapted from matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl [12] WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS?