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ABSTRACT
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay with Linda Evans Shepherd was written to inform the reader how important and how to share your faith with people. It is a book that tries to motivate and teach believers to be successful in sharing their faith (the gospel) in a simple but effective way. The author believes very strongly that “the success of sharing one’s faith is not about winning or bringing souls (people) to Christ it is all about obedience through faithfulness of the Christian (believer).”1
He reminds us that we cannot save people; the only thing we can do is share the gospel, our faith and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the author tells us that the only way to fail in evangelism, sharing one’s faith is if we fail to share – the sin of silence. In other words The author goes on to state that as few as 5 to 10 percent of the people in the average church have shared their faith in the past year and that means that 90% of us have chosen the sin of silence.2 The sin of silence means exactly what it says, “instead of sharing your faith you keep silent.”
He goes on to divide people into two groups: 1) those who talk about the lost and 2) those who talk to the lost.3 The author goes on to inform us of reasons why people don’t share their faith and then he removes all excuses by stating that one must drop the excuses and practice obedience to the Great Commission.4 The author then discusses the need to overcome fear when sharing one’s faith.
The author then gives five simple “Share Jesus” questions that aid in starting a conversation that can be directed to an opportunity to share the gospel.
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The author goes on to explain each of these questions. By asking these questions Fay states the conversation can be easily steered towards Jesus Christ because these questions allow people to give their opinions freely. Once the door is opened to share, Fay then gives selected passages of Scripture that are to be used during the second step of evangelism. Let the Bible speak for itself. Fay’s main concept in this step is to have the person read the scripture aloud for themselves then ask them what it means to them.
This gives them the Holy Spirit a chance to use their own voice to speak to their own hearts. If the person does not explain the scripture correctly, Fay asks them to read it again until they get the correct meaning. The author again reminds us that God will work through his word and that we do not have to try and do the work for him, God is God alone and will use the Holy Spirit to work in the person’s life. Finally, at the end of the book, Fay discusses the most common objections to accepting Christ, as well as giving suggestions how to overcome these objections when one is faced with them.
In conclusion, the book is about sharing Jesus without fear. Being in obedience. It is about how to overcome fear in evangelism. The author uses many personal experiences as examples, which I found to be supportive of his method of evangelizing. The author stresses the importance of sharing one’s faith and that every believer should be aware of committing the “sin of silence.”
CONCRETE RESPONSE
When the book spoke of fear of sharing one’s faith, it reminded me of one of my personal life experiences at the beginning of my walk with Christ. In the beginning, I had the thought that I was not good enough to share Jesus with anyone. After all, before being saved I was a drug addict, criminal and a prostitute. I always thought how I could even be worthy enough to represent Christ let alone speak about him. Part of the reason I felt this way is I could not forgive myself for prostitution. Thanks to my mentor, Lisa the woman who helped me come back to Christ knew I was having difficulty in sharing my faith with people because of this, ministered to me and through scripture (Romans 10:9-10 and Psalms 103:2) that Christ has saved me from every sin and remembers them no more. I learned that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus and am worthy to represent him. God showed me that I am more than good enough to share the gospel with others and because of what I have went through in life I can give a better testimony of what God can and will do because he did it for me. Praise God I overcame the spirit of not being good enough and now I share my faith with anyone who will listen.
REFLECTION
As it relates to the book, I found the book to be very encouraging in sharing one’s faith. Fay firmly believes that everyone should be sharing his or her faith. I agree with this that every believer should be sharing Jesus with someone. The book for all practical purposes does outline a simple way to share faith. It gives detail on how to initiate a conversation, how to overcome fear and objections, how to use scripture and how to let the Holy Spirit have control. The author reminds us that we are not the ones who is saving people only God can do that and that all we have to do is not keep silent about Christ. I liked the way Fay uses Scripture to back up his approach and how he used examples of his personal experiences. However, one thing that I believe could have made the book helpful especially for those who have had rejection in sharing their faith would have been the mention of more personal experiences where rejection was the result. This would have helped the reader relate to rejection, as they would have read actual experiences of rejection that would help encourage them in the same situations.
On the other hand, maybe Fay did not mention more rejection experiences because as he states throughout the book one cannot fail when sharing one’s faith. As long as one is willing to share and not keep, silent God can work with it. I have to say that until I read Fay’s book I did not think of not sharing one’s faith as the “sin of silence.” Now I can see that it is a sin to be silent because God does tell us to witness, and share the gospel and if we are in disobedience in this area then we are sinning – whether intentionally or not.
I also agree with the follow up advice Fay gives after someone receives Christ. Do not let them be on their own, find a church for them to be involved in so they can continue to grow in their relationship with Christ. Too many of us lead someone to Christ then we leave him or her to fend for himself or herself. Should not be! What I took from the book is the importance of evangelizing and sharing one’s faith. Not to be fearful and look for every opportunity to share Christ. I also learned that this is what all believers are called to do and if we do not then we are committing the “sin of silence.” We all need to be aware of people around us who need Jesus and take every opportunity to share Christ with them.
ACTION
This book has enlightened me in some areas that I need to improve in my life. I do evangelize whenever the opportunity arises but there are times that, I get so busy I do not notice those around me in everyday situations. In everyday situations, I do sometimes find it difficult to start conversations where they can be directed to sharing Christ. Therefore, I do like the approach Fay gives in his book. I also like the suggestion of a prayer list of actually writing down people’s names that we should be praying over. As a minister, I have people asking me to pray for them and sometimes I am guilty of forgetting their names when I am in prayer. A prayer list would help me remember not only those I should pray for but those who have asked for prayer. The book had many suggestions that I will start using.
In the future, I plan to be more aware of people around me especially in everyday situations. Start to use some of the Share Jesus Questions and Scriptures Fay uses to direct conversations toward sharing Christ. I am going to start writing a prayer list that will enable me to remember those that need prayer and to pray for them diligently. I also plan to get a small pocket Bible with the Share Jesus Questions and Scriptures and have it with me at all times that I can be prepared when opportunities arise to share Christ. I believe this is a necessary change for me. It makes sense that we need to be ready in any given situation to share Christ and many of us does not carry a big bible with us everywhere we go whereas a small pocket bible we can. I never thought of this until reading this book. This is what Fay does and it seems like a perfect solution to having scripture with you at all times.
In conclusion, I have a better understanding and I am more encouraged in the area of sharing my faith and evangelizing. I really enjoyed the book and found it helpful in teaching other methods of evangelism than I have done. It has been encouraging to me to continue evangelizing wherever and whenever the opportunity arises not only then but also to look for those opportunities because opportunities to share can be often missed if we are not looking for them. As believers we need to share our faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
Fay, William with Shepherd Linda Evans. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1999.
Book Review Share Jesus Without Fear. (2016, Aug 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/book-review-share-jesus-without-fear-essay
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