Why and how should we tell others?
I can remember how I felt at the time. I was on a bus travelling through the centre of London, enjoying my book despite us all being crammed in like sardines. Suddenly, a man who had just got on the bus at the previous stop looked up, spread out his arms and started to preach at us. I didn’t know what to do. It was interesting, embarrassing and terrifying all at the same time. On the one hand I thought, ‘wow, he is a brave guy’. I admired him for being willing to stand out and look foolish in order to tell people the message he was preaching. On the other hand, as I looked at peoples expressions I thought ‘people aren’t actually listening to what he is saying (half of which I agree with, half of which I don’t) because they are embarrassed by him’. His approach seemed to have cancelled out the impact of his message.
So often the idea of telling someone else about our faith in Jesus brings to mind feelings like this. It leaves us terrified and paralysed into not saying anything.
It was a Sunday morning about 6 months later when I was a student in London. I had a phone call from my brother-in-law. My sister had had a baby – Naomi, and I was an Uncle for the first time.
I remember walking to church with what must have been the most preposterous grin on my face. I wanted to tell everyone I walked past the news – I was so excited. When I actually got to church I managed to twist every conversation so that either I could tell people, or they would ask me why I was so excited.
Why the difference between being terrified of telling people good news and dying to tell people the good news?
Well, telling other people the good news about my niece was a part of my enjoyment of that good news. I would have exploded if I had not been able to tell anyone. I’m sure you know the feeling.
When we come to thinking about telling people about Jesus, it should be more like the second story than the first. Just look at the way the person who wrote this Psalm put it -
“Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” Psalm 96:1-3
When we know the amazing things he has done, it becomes natural for us to want to tell others about it too. It is part of our enjoyment of him and who he is.
It is like that in every area of our lives. After winning the football , why is it that the next day people love to tell one another about it, their experience of is and pour over every last joyous detail?
When people get engaged, why is it that they want to tell others about it – it doesn’t matter who – everyone will do!
Because it is part of their enjoyment - it is what the Bible calls praise. And that is why, in Psalm 96, praise and telling others goes hand in hand!
When we know the amazing things God has done for us, not only will we be dying to tell others but we will want to do what he says.
When Jesus was resurrected from the dead he didn’t die again, he physically left the earth in an amazing way – just disappearing from his friends sight as they watched him. But before he went he gave his followers some important final instructions.
“All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
They were told to ‘go’ to all nations. The word go appears 1514 times in the Bible, 233 times in the NT and 54 in Matthew alone. Jesus agenda for changing the world was people like you and me ‘going’ to the rest of the world – both local and international!
And of course when we go, we go with good news about Jesus that is needed by those who hear it. People the world over living without God, living under the weight of their sin – and often not even knowing about it!
Jesus tells us to go – but he is not like a desk manager who directs people to do his bidding but doesn’t raise a finger. We are not alone in the process of going or telling. As we just read, Jesus said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
As we cooperate with God’s Spirit in the task of going and telling, God works to show others that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
It sounds easy doesn’t it. But we know that very often it is not like that. It can be hard. Sometimes we struggle to tell people sensitively, listening to them and loving them rather than wanting to dispense a message. People don’t want to be bible-bashed. How can we let them know the good news – and hear it properly?
Sometimes we don’t want to do it out of fear. But we mustn’t let fear stop us!
So how do we do it?
Well there are five ways.
Through our PRESENCE
A little earlier in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus tells his disciples that Christians are to be like salt and light.
“You are the salt of the earth” – what does he mean by that? Well, he is using a cooking analogy. When it comes to cooking, just the presence of salt makes a huge difference. In Jesus day it was the only means of preserving food from decay. No fridges or freezers - just packing in salt. And of course, a little salt adds real flavour to food.
“You are the light of the world” – He tells his disciples that that people don’t light a lamp and then put it under a bowl. That would be pointless. It is left out to shed it’s light so that people can see where they should be going. When they are lost, they can find the way.
Jesus is saying that Christians, by their presence in society will make a difference. They should play our part in stopping society decaying and going bad. Christians should challenge with their words when people are hurt, harmed or oppressed. They should make a difference and make peoples lives taste better. By their “good deeds” Christians should help people to see the light of Jesus and find that he is the way.
Our presence is the first way of telling people the good news.
Secondly,
By PERSUASION
If I really believe that something is beneficial, true and valuable then I will want to persuade others of its value. Take smoking for example; if a loved one of mine smoked heavily I would seek to persuade them not too. The risks are obvious.
So it is no surprise then that when Paul went to Thesselonica, in modern day Greece we find him doing just that about the gospel. “As was his custom Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.” Acts 17:2-4
Notice what Paul did. He reasoned with them, his objective being to explain and prove from the scriptures that the Christ had to suffer and die. Some were persuaded and their minds were changed as they listened to Paul reasoning. That is why a reason series of debates about the gospel hosted across the country were titled the “Reasonable Faith” tour.
The questions we might be asked can at first feel terrifying and complicated – but there are simple things that can be done to begin to get our heads around how to deal with the questions.
The first thing to do is identify the important questions.
- Don’t all religions lead to God (Is Jesus the only way to God)?
- Why isn’t a good life good enough?
- How can there be a God of love in a world of suffering?
- Is there any evidence for the Bible (Isn’t the Bible full of errors)?
- What about those who have never heard?
- Do miracles really happen?
- Has science disproved Christianity (Christianity is a self-made crutch)?
Then read around how to answer the questions. There are some great resources including books1 and websites2. As you read you discover that most of the other questions people ask are tackled by these questions too!
Whatever happens, don’t be intimidated by the task and end up not even starting. I don’t know is still a legitimate answer, so long as we are prepared to follow up on it.
Thirdly, by engaging in PROCLAMATION
Did you notice in the verses we read from Acts, Paul’s task of persuasion worked hand in hand with the task of proclamation.
What is proclamation – well, it is literally “broadcasting” or heralding. The first disciples did “go”, and as they went they told people what they had seen and heard (as we see recorded in the gospels in the New Testament. We do them same thing as we “go” by telling others what they saw and heard and how we have come to know him too.
To many of us, the idea of proclamation fills us with terror. We think of Billy Graham, or that guy on the bus and it fills us and we crumble under our fears and insecurities. But it doesn’t have to be like that.
Some of us are cut out to be up front and public in the way we proclaim, but others aren’t. When someone asks us about our faith over a cup of coffee, it is an opportunity for proclamation. The question is, when that happens, what are the really important things people need to know? What are we going to say?
I suggest we aim to communicate two things.
Firstly, our story. How has a relationship with Jesus changed our life? How did it come about? What were the stumbling blocks and hurdles we needed to cross?
Write it down in long hand, then try to condense it to 4 or 5 points that are meaningful and you can remember. Then learn them. The best spontaneity is planned spontaneity.
The second thing to communicate is the fundamentals of the message of Jesus. For more detail, look at Who is Jesus? and why did he die? One helpful place to refer too is 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 where Paul spells out the really important things. People need to hear the truth, told clearly and understandably. Practice.
Fourthly, POWER
God changes people’s lives and those stories can be very powerful. Stories of redemption and healing; people’s lives being changed for the better as they come to know him. Over recent years a number of social involvement and evangelism initiatives have taken place. After their garden has been tidied or graffiti removed from their wall, people often ask why people are giving up there time to doing it. This action leads to an opportunity for people to see God’s love at work.
Sometimes God steps into people’s live in major ways with significant healing. We should pray for this, and ask that when God does this, people would look to him as one who is powerful and can be trusted. Healing can be physical, emotional, relational or psychological, but either way, as we ask God to do it, lives can be changed.
Which leads us on to our fifth point - PRAYER
We mentioned when we considered how we resist evil that we are in a spiritual battle. The devil has blinded the eyes of unbelievers and the only way their eyes can be opened again is if God does it.
In Colossians Paul says this
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Colossians 4:2-4
Paul prays that the door would be open for the message – peoples eyes opened, opportunities created. This asking is integral to telling others the good news. And Paul also prays for clarity as he communicates the message. In a world of spin we need this clarity more than ever.
Conclusion
So, telling others can be terrifying, even embarrassing, but it is so much more than we might at first think. As we start out on the adventure of telling others let us, like Paul not be ashamed.
Romans 1:16 – “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile”
This talk is based on the outline in the Alpha Manual. For more information visit www.alpha.org
1 'Evidence that Demands a Verdict' by Josh McDowell, 'Searching Issues 'by Nicky Gumbell, 'Bridge building' by Alistair McGrath
2 Visit www.bethinking.org