“Questions About Life and God” Part 6
"Can I share my faith without being a religious fanatic?"

There was this pastor who decided one Sunday morning not to go to church and not to do the services. He was just kind of tired of working, and decided to call in sick (even though he wasn’t sick). Instead, he got up early, put his golf clubs in the car, and drove several hours to a golf course far enough away that nobody knew him.

He was paired with 3 other men for a round of golf. Of course, he didn’t tell them he was a pastor who had bagged his Sunday morning duties. As it turned out, he played the best round of golf he had ever played. His drives were long and straight. He was chipping right onto the green. His putts were spectacular. And to top it all, on the short 10th hole, he got a hole in one.

His golfing partners were ecstatic for him. At the end of the round, one of them chirped, “I’ll bet you’re so excited you can’t wait to get back home and tell everybody!” “Yes!” he said. But then he thought to himself: Whom can I tell?

When something good happens to us, the normal response is that we want to tell somebody! You get engaged. You take first place in a contest. You get a promotion at work. You want to tell somebody the good news!

When Jesus Christ comes into our life and begins to change us, when we know He has forgiven our sins and assured us of eternal life, that's Good News worth sharing!

In last week’s message we looked at how Jesus commanded His followers to share the message about Him with all people. We're to do that even though we live in a culture where many might think that's being intolerant of other people’s religion.

1 Peter 3:13-15a says, "Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord." Notice, "in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord." Christians believe Jesus is Lord! He is not just another religious leader, but the unique Son of God, sovereign Lord over everything!

Then it goes on to say, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (vs. 15b). The New Living Translation has it: “If someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” We should be prepared to give a rationale for why we are believers in Christ!

Let me ask you some questions. I hope we can take a moment for self-reflection. When is the last time you talked to someone outside of church about Jesus, or what you believe about Him? Have you ever led someone to faith in Christ?

So often in the church we hear sermons and have studies on witnessing for Christ or sharing our faith, but many Christians don’t get beyond just talking about it! In this message I want to talk more about sharing our faith, in hopes that the end result is that we will be motivated to share our faith with others!

The question we're asking today in this series of messages is: Can I share my faith without being a religious fanatic? Has anyone ever "witnessed" to you or talked about their religion to you in a way that offended you or turned you off? We asked some people to share their experiences. (Play tape recordings).

Once I was waiting for a plane at an airport. A stranger came up and struck a conversation with me. We chit chatted for a minute or so, then out of the blue this person I didn't know asked me, "Are you a Christian?" I smiled and said, "I'm a pastor." He responded in a tone that felt like I was being scolded by saying, "That's not what I asked you." I could feel myself getting angry, and I kind of stammered something like, "I don't think God's appointed you to stand in judgment of my life."

Last summer Nancy and I spent some vacation time with our daughter and her husband in South Carolina. We went over to Beaufort, and while we were walking along checking out some of the small shops, on one corner there was a man with several young children. The man wore a large sandwich board sign that said something like, “Repent, or go to hell.” Truthfully, I was embarrassed at this way of representing Christ and the gospel to the world. I thought of my daughter. I'm sure she believes in Christ, but currently she and her husband are not involved in any church. I asked her what she thought of this man's actions. Her answer basically was, “He’s crazy”. I thought, how many people are going to be won to Jesus by that kind of witness?

How can I share my faith without coming across as a religious fanatic? Is there a more winsome approach? I believe there is. Let's look at some pointers for sharing our faith in a more effective way.

First of all, it's good to recognize that there are various styles of personal evangelism.

What do you think of when you hear the word "evangelism"? Often the things we associate with that word are not very positive! We may think of some stranger knocking on our door and asking, "Are you saved?" Or someone handing out gospel tracks on a street corner. Or some televangelist shouting and sweating and doing all types of gyrations
and asking for people to send in money. But there are different ways to share the good news of Jesus. There is no one "right way" to communicate our faith to others.

I want to recommend Bill Hybels’ book, Becoming a Contagious Christian. It's been around a while. It's in our bookstore. We're encouraging small groups and Sunday School classes to study it together. On Saturday, March 17, we're going to be offering a satellite seminar based on this book. Bill Hybels lists some different methods or approaches for faith sharing. We won't look at all of them, but here are a few.

One of these styles he calls Peter’s confrontational approach. This is direct, bold, right to the point, much like the personality of Simon Peter in the gospel accounts. At times this approach can be aggressive and pushy. A lot of times we identify personal evangelism with this style. As we've already said, the bad thing about this type of faith-sharing is that it can turn people off. But on a positive note, it works with some people, who really need to be directly confronted with their need for Christ.

Hybels labels another type as Paul’s intellectual approach. The Apostle Paul was a scholar and deep thinker (if you don’t believe it, read the Book of Romans!). This is the
approach where you work with ideas and evidence in trying to convince people of the reality and authenticity of the Christian faith. This approach can work well in reaching people who are more geared to being logical or rational.

Yet another style of personal evangelism is the blind man’s testimonial approach. In John 9 it says Jesus healed a blind man, and when this poor guy was hounded and interrogated by the Jewish religious leaders as to who healed him, and how, he finally said, “One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25). This approach is where we simply share what Christ is doing in our life, how He’s changing us and helping us.

A fourth method of faith sharing Hybels identifies is Matthew’s interpersonal approach.
Matthew was a tax collector. In Jesus' time, tax collectors were often dishonest, and not very well liked. Yet when Jesus invited Matthew to follow Him, he did! Afterwards, he invited a whole group of his tax collecting buddies to meet Jesus. Luke 5:29 says, "Then (Matthew) gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them." Matthew’s relationship with people was a stepping stone to sharing Jesus with them.

In the interpersonal style of evangelism, we build relationships with people – and then look for opportunities to share the gospel with them. This is often called "relational evangelism." Most people come to faith in Christ through personal relationships with Christian people. It’s important to build friendships with non-Christians! How are we going to influence people for Christ unless we rub shoulders with irreligious people and take time to get to know them?

So, these are some of the different styles of personal evangelism, and each of us may be cut out to use a different style than someone else.

There are Christian leaders today who content that the most effective method of evangelism in our current culture is what might be called “servant evangelism.” This is where we simply give of ourselves in humble, loving service to others in Jesus’ name.

Why is this style of evangelism most fitting for our culture? Because so many people are skeptical and distrustful of Christians! And for good reason! The sexual misconduct and cover-ups in the Roman Catholic Church. Televangelists who come across as unsavory characters - and in some cases, are! Church people who in the eyes of the world only seem to want to judge people. Churches that are self-absorbed and unconcerned about community needs Along with all of this is the negative way Christians are portrayed in the media (films, TV). No wonder many people don’t trust Christians or their motives!

So, in a sense, Christians have to earn the right to be heard. And it's only when Christians are willing to get down and dirty and help people and serve people without asking anything in return, that many non-Christians will listen to what Christians and the church have to say.

Some of you in your small groups are reading either The Externally Focused Church or Conspiracy of Kindness. These books provide thrilling examples of churches getting out into the community and giving themselves in humble service. Sometimes these acts of love open up doors for people to be receptive to the gospel. Bill Hybels calls this Dorcas' Service Approach. Dorcas was a lady in the Bible who witnessed her faith "always doing good and helping the poor" (Acts 9:36).

Jesus talked about this kind of "good works" evangelism: He said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

I believe this kind of "service evangelism” is so necessary to reach people in our culture, where Christianity has lost a lot of credibility. However, deeds are often not enough. We need to be able to clearly communicate the Christian message. For instance, we can’t assume that just because Christians do good things in the community to help people that unbelievers are going to understand the message of the Bible or comprehend the claims of Jesus. Just looking at the life of a Christian, no matter how good or loving that Christian
may be, isn't going to help an unbeliever understand the significance of Christ's atonement, or what grace means, or how salvation is found. We need to be able to clearly communicate the content of our faith.

That's what Simon Peter is saying in our Scripture text. “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). What are some of the ways we can present the claims of Christ to people?
What are some Scriptures that can be used to lead a person to Christ? How can we begin a conversation about spiritual things with someone? I don't have time in this sermon to answer these questions. Again, I commend to you Bill Hybels book for individual or group study. I want to commit this church to providing more experiences where you can gain the tools and confidence to articulate your faith.

After Peter says we are to be prepared to give a reason for our faith, he goes on to say: “Do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:16). "With gentleness" - sensitivity to people's feelings and needs. With “reverence" - in a humble spirit before God.

With all of this verse in mind, I want to close with a few quick comments. First, in sharing our faith, it is important that we be authentic. Unbelievers can spot phoniness in Christians from 10 miles away! To be an effective faith-sharer to people today we have to be real, genuine. Can I be myself? Can I be honest about my struggles - the things I still
struggle with, even as a Christian? Can I be honest about my failures? Most non-Christians don't expect Christians to be perfect, and are turned off when they act like they are.

Second, it’s important that we be compassionate and caring. The people we witness to can easily sense whether we're doing it because we really care about them, or whether we're just doing it for what we can get out of it. People matter to God. And it's when people matter to us (regardless of how sinful or resistant they are), and when we take time to build relationships with people, that the context is set for an effective Christian witness.

Third, and something always to keep in mind: the Holy Spirit is here to help us to share our faith. I can’t win anyone to Christ, only the Holy Spirit does that, as He draws a person to the Lord, and opens up that person’s heart to the gospel. So pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, trust the Holy Spirit to help you, and He will!

Harry L. Kaufhold, Jr.
Preached at Lititz United Methodist Church
February 11, 2007.

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