I sometimes hear Christians represent an Oprahian faith, in which they may say something like, “Jesus works for me, but that’s just my personal opinion.” They subscribe to this ‘true for you, but not for me,’ mentality; this view that all truth is relative (except for that truth, of course). As a consequence of that, they feel no need to evangelize or share their faith. They feel as though it is a redeemable quality, that they are Christians without telling others about their faith. After all, telling people about your faith is socially awkward. It is a taboo topic. But that is not what the Bible teaches. On the basis of the biblical teachings, there are at least 5 reasons Christians should share their faith.
1 – Jesus died.
Christians who say that they do not need to share their faith, or that truth is just relative anyway, devalue and smear the sacrifice that Christ made. Christ was the Son of God, worth so much more than any man. He is worth so much that God has “given him a name that is above every name, and at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee shall bow and tongue confess that he is Lord.” He is the Holy One of God, the Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the world. And he died. He allowed himself to be murdered. It took the slaughter of the Son of God to justify us.
How can we say then, that all truth is relative and that you do not really need Jesus? How offensive and abhorrent! Christ recognized how desperately men needed the grace of God, and how dire our situation was. He said (John 3:16), “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that all who believe in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” We rob God of his glory when we say that Christ did not really need to die.
2 – You love God.
Christ said this (John 14:15), “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” After he was raised from the dead, he commanded his disciples to go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). This is what is known as the Great Commission. What is interesting about this phrase is that the word commission is used also in the context of a military command or an order. Christ was literally ordering us, “Go, and make disciples.”
For us to say that we do not need to share our faith, or that we are more passive Christians who just keep it to ourselves, or are afraid of offending people, we truly disobey the command that Christ gave to us. How can we love God if we do not keep is commands? How can we truly have trust in God if we do not do what he tells us to do? Are we greater than God? Do we know something that he does not know, that prevents us from sharing our faith? This is outright disobedience. If you love God, you will keep this command.
3 – You love men.
When you encounter another person and you say of them that you just want them to be happy, you do not want to violate the social etiquette and you do not want to offend anyone, what are you really saying? If you tell someone that Christianity works for you, but it may not really work for them, what does that say about how you feel toward them? It says that they are headed toward eternal destruction, a place of God’s righteous judgment, and you do not care. You do not care about their salvation. So long as they are happy.
How can we do such a thing? How can we not be cut at the heart at how desperately these people need the love and salvation of God? These people are headed for eternal destruction, and we do nothing? The problem really comes down to selfishness. What if it were us, that were headed for Hell? Would you do something about it if you knew that you were headed for Hell? Then why do you not do something about it if somebody else is? Do you not “love your neighbor as yourself.”?
4 – This is the greatest news ever announced.
This raises the question of the most terrifying truth in all of Scripture. Everything that God has ever done, or commanded men to do come back to this. The most terrifying truth in Scripture is that God is good. This is terrifying because, if he is good, what does he do with guilty criminals? We stand before a judge, and if this judge is good, will he just pardon us, let us go? We are guilty, we deserve justice. Therefore, if God is good, he must give us justice.
The greatest news ever announced, then, is that God has provided a way for us to be reconciled with him. He became a human being, Jesus Christ, lived a sinless life, then suffered and died on the cross. When he was murdered, all of the wrath of God the Father went out upon him. The punishment that we deserve was taken out on Christ. Now, we can be “conformed to the image of the Son,” (Romans 8:29). That means standing before God as though we had never sinned. All we have to do is trust in Christ and repent of our sins.
5 – We are guided by the Holy Spirit.
Paul said, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives through me,” (Gal 2:20). This means that he was made a new creature by the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:17), and he has been born again (John 3:3), given a new life. The old has gone, it has passed away. The person that you once were is dead. Now you are a new creature, who lives in Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit. We desire to do the will of the Father and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).
Therefore, being new creatures, born again, we will want to share to our faith. We will deeply desire to do God’s will and we will feel compelled to do God’s will. When we begin to stray away from God, the Holy spirit will discipline us to keep us on the narrow way (Heb 12:8-10). So, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we share our faith because we want to share our faith as a manifestation of our love for God and for men.
Why do you share your faith? Leave a comment!
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