I believe many Christians are reluctant to share their faith for two main reasons:
- They aren’t sure what a person needs to do to be saved.
- They think it at least includes their turning from their sins and deciding to follow Jesus, and they find it pushy to confront people about their sins and their need to follow Jesus.
The Lord Jesus did not bring up sin when He evangelized. He did not mention repentance when He shared the saving message. Nor did He call for people to follow Him when He evangelized. Those are sanctification issues in the Lord’s teachings.
We find it is much easier to share our faith when we do not seek to get people to turn from their sins, make a decision, pray a prayer, commit to follow Christ, etc.
We’re not selling anything. People have no price to pay. They don’t need to give God anything for eternal life. The life God gives isn’t cheap. It’s free. Absolutely free.
We don’t need an evangelistic close.
We just tell the three elements always found in the Lord Jesus’ evangelistic messages: 1) believe, 2) in Him, 3) for everlasting life. See, for example, John 3:16; 4:10-26; 5:24; 6:35, 47; 11:25-27. We share the simple message of life and leave the results to God.
But let’s say you are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or a Protestant who believes in Lordship Salvation.
You probably aren’t sure about what someone has to do to be saved. That means you can’t help anyone gain assurance. Why share your faith when you can’t help people know for certain where they are going when they die?
As I mentioned at the beginning, most Evangelicals believe that turning from sins and committing to follow Christ are necessary in order to be saved, even if they don’t know whether that is enough. But do they really want to challenge their parents to turn from their sins and commit their lives to Christ? Their siblings? Their boss? Coworkers? Fellow students?
I think many don’t do that because it seems intrusive to try to convince someone that they need to turn from their sins as one of the steps to salvation. If something seems intrusive, you’re less likely to do it.
Keep it simple, saint. WWJD? We know what He would do! He told people that whoever believes in Him has everlasting life. Three elements. He would share the three simple elements. Let’s not complicate things.
