The Fear of Sharing
Most of us are intimidated by the idea of sharing our faith. Really, we are. The very thought of witnessing to someone sends chills down our spines. We think, we think, and then talk ourselves out of it. We are afraid.
What are we afraid of? Being rejected. Not knowing our stuff. Not able to answer questions. Do not have a particularly amazing testimony. Have no idea how to lead someone to Christ if they wanted to. Social pressure is too great. There are a number of fears that reside in all of us.
I think there are other factors involved that we have slowly accepted. These factors come from two sources at least. One is the world, and sorry, but the other is from the church.
The world has slowly cooked us into believing that our faith is private. It is not to be shared because you might offend someone. Lies. You do not see the social activists being quiet for fear that they might offend you. They offend and then dare you to disagree and if you do disagree, they want to sue you for civil rights, defamation, and any number of things they can use to intimidate. Meanwhile, the saints sit back and buy into the lies of keeping quiet. Islam is not keeping quiet and are murdering people who might even say something about the Koran they do not like. Meanwhile, we allow the Bible to be tramped on, disregarded, defamed, lied about, and taken from us. So, the “let’s be quiet and everyone will get along” is one of the greatest deceptions perpetrated on the church.
Thanks to former President L.B. Johnson we have the 501 (c) (3), non-profit, IRS qualifications. He did that to silence a preacher who was adverse to his leadership. Now, we have threats that our tax exempt status will be removed. Is the gospel about exemption from taxes or is about the truth and eternal life? So, the world continues to back the saints into a tomb of silence out of fear. While I am not opposed to rendering unto to Caesar which is his, I am certainly not interested in compromise to appease and fail the Lord.
Philosophically the world has promoted doctrines of secularism, tolerance (their definition of it), pluralism, and relativism. This has caused believers to be labeled intolerant, bigoted, prejudiced, and fanatic because the word of God holds things to be absolute and defined by God. All of the current philosophical approaches defy the word of God.
However, the church has created fears that limit us as well. We have somehow developed doctrines, written or unwritten that define how you lead someone to Christ. There have been movements that have printed materials and propagated them through media. There have been campaigns where there has been city wide efforts to touch each home with some sort of witness, usually a tract of some sort. There have been revival meetings, tent meetings, stadium meetings. We have been guilted into actions that are entirely uncomfortable to most people. We have been shamed by those who are really good at meeting people. So, as a result, the good news languished in the hearts of people never to be shared. Then, we have become so overwhelmed with information that we do not know the heart of the gospel to share. Certainly the good news is not “the world is coming to an end.” The good news is not “turn or burn.”
So, there has to be a rebirth of good news that is shared with the world. The side stuff needs to be the side stuff; fun, interesting, important, but not critical to salvation for the individual. Let’s make first things first.
I am looking for a fresh, New Testament, “I am on fire,” kind of sharing of Jesus with others.
