Have you ever asked yourself what it means to share your faith?
Get ready...I might be about to challenge your perspective a bit. Let me ask you this...Is it inviting people to come to a church service in the park? Is it passing along a flyer to someone welcoming them to come to a discussion group on campus? Is it asking someone to join you at a retreat? I believe strongly that NO, these things are not sharing your faith. Sharing your faith is more than just stating you believe in God and providing an invitation. Where's the honor to God in that? The focus is on you. As always, looking to the bible is where we can really see true examples come to life.
Get ready...I might be about to challenge your perspective a bit. Let me ask you this...Is it inviting people to come to a church service in the park? Is it passing along a flyer to someone welcoming them to come to a discussion group on campus? Is it asking someone to join you at a retreat? I believe strongly that NO, these things are not sharing your faith. Sharing your faith is more than just stating you believe in God and providing an invitation. Where's the honor to God in that? The focus is on you. As always, looking to the bible is where we can really see true examples come to life.
Philemon 1:6 says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
Some examples in the bible are below of people sharing their faith. I thought it might encourage you to see how the disciples shared:
Peter – Acts 2:14-41
Peter – Acts 2:14-41
Paul – Acts 13: 13-52, Acts 16: 16-33, Acts 17:16-34, Acts 19:4-8, Acts 22:1-22
Philip – Acts 8:26-40
Apostles – Acts 5:41-42
Sharing your faith, from my study of the word, means that you share with someone about Jesus as the Christ and maybe even how God has made a dramatic change in your life because of Jesus. Why did I start studying this out? After seeing many people reach out to others inviting them to church, I saw someone do it different and I was moved in my heart. A guy from my church that I co-lead a group with and I were at a car rental place grabbing a van to transport teens to an event. At the end of our conversation with the car representative, this guy stated, "Hey listen, God has done some amazing things in my life...if you are open to it, I'd love to share them with you." The man looked up from his paperwork, smiled and said, "Sure." Hey, not everyone turns cartwheels but the point was that as he shared about Jesus and his testimony the power and love of Jesus came to life!
I never said that starting a conversation like this to share your faith is easy. We look for easy...which is why we've tended to swap "sharing our faith" for "inviting someone to church." Sometimes I ask others how they share just so i can grow more. When was the last time you really shared your faith? It doesn't have to be with someone you just met...is there someone that knows you but doesn't know how God has powerfully worked in your life through Christ? My friends, I'm challenged by this too, no doubt, and I pray that we both can be truly active in sharing our faith.
I never said that starting a conversation like this to share your faith is easy. We look for easy...which is why we've tended to swap "sharing our faith" for "inviting someone to church." Sometimes I ask others how they share just so i can grow more. When was the last time you really shared your faith? It doesn't have to be with someone you just met...is there someone that knows you but doesn't know how God has powerfully worked in your life through Christ? My friends, I'm challenged by this too, no doubt, and I pray that we both can be truly active in sharing our faith.