Posts Tagged ‘fear’

How many times have you heard believers confess to one another, “My biggest problem in evangelism is fear. I am so afraid of being rejected”? The problem is that they often tell scores of believers their fear but too rarely confess it to Christ. The difference should be obvious. As helpful as telling others may be, there is no one on earth who can lend the aid He can. He ought to be the first we express the difficulty to, not the last.

As we do so, what we are specifically asking God for is courage or boldness. The courage that makes us go ahead despite our fears. The courage that makes us speak up, not clam up. The courage that produces the “I want to” evangelize not just the “I should.”

After all, as we observed, that is what the apostles did in Acts 4. That is what Paul does in Ephesians 6. In fact, what is striking about the Ephesians 6 passage is that when Paul discusses his fear in evangelism, he does it not to complain or make excuses but simply to ask them to pray for him. We must first and foremost talk to God about our fears, not just to people.

As we do so, we must pray in faith. Nowhere in Scripture does God promise to answer prayer. He only promises to answer the prayer of faith. As we ask God in faith to give boldness we can do so with excitement and expectation because the Person we are talking to is the One “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). If you ask God for boldness, He will provide.

Evangelism, at least in my circles of influence, seems to be a dreaded word. At its mention, some people feel queasy, the hairs stand on the back of their neck, people want to secretly leave the room. One participant in a class I taught said, “evangelism scares me”.

Why Some hate Evangelism

1. It violates the golden rule – most Christians would not want to be approached by a member of another religion the way Christians approach others in evangelistic attempts.
2. It calls the authenticity of relationships into question – are you my friend because you’re really my friend, or so you can convert me?
3. The moment of truth – we think we must identify a “no turning back” point where you pressure someone to make a decision, and if they don’t respond well, that jeopardizes the relationship.
4. Asking someone about the Gospel feels like making a pass at them.
5. If I like my friends, and want them to continue to be my friends, I have a major incentive NOT to try to evangelize them.

Jesus said, it is appointed for a man to live but once to die. That means every single person, 10 out of 10 people will die at some point! Point two, anyone can answer that so quit using it as an excuse not to have the conversation. Point three, it’s not you that gets the decision, that’s God’s Job! Just PLANT the seed with the conversation. Point four? Not even worth mentioning, and point five, on the day of judgment, if your friends eyes meet yours on that day when they are condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire, will they think of you as a friend???

Below is a list of some of the most common fears why we don’t share our faith.

• Fear of Rejection
• To mess up and somebody’s eternity destiny is your fault
• Interrupting somebody’s life
• Losing a friendship
• Fear of offending
• Fear of what others will think about you.
• Stuck with unanswerable questions
• Feeling inadequate
• Being seen as arrogant
• Fear of being kicked out of your family or breaking a family relationship
• Fear of your own weakness, hypocrisies, and inadequacies
• Doubt and not being certain about your own beliefs.
• Guilt
• Fear of being a hypocrite.

All of these fears are answered in a class I teach called “The Way Of The Master”, this class is coming to Warehouse 727 Church June 10th. Contact me here if you would like more information.