Maybe you’re afraid to share your faith because you don’t know what to say. Or maybe you’re sharing the Gospel but nothing is happening; people aren’t committing their lives to Christ. Are you doing something wrong?
You can’t open someone’s heart to the truth of the Gospel—but God can, by His Spirit. The Apostle Paul wasn’t eloquent, but God used him because he depended on the Holy Spirit to guide him (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). God guided many others in the Bible as well—like Moses, who at first asked God to get someone else to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, or Jonah, who didn’t think the wicked Ninevites deserved God’s mercy and tried to run the other way.
Remember that God does not call the equipped; He equips the called—and as Christians, we are all called to share what Christ has done. Some of Christ’s last words on earth were, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Sharing our faith isn’t just a suggestion, it’s a command. And God is with us when we obey Him.
What do I do?
One of the best ways to share your faith is to live a godly life. Non-Christians often look at Christians as hypocritical because we say one thing but do another. Show those close to you that you care—spend time with them, help meet their needs and offer to listen when they have problems. You might not be able to answer all of their questions, but they can’t deny the reality of what Christ has done in your life. If you find this is hard to do, perhaps God is speaking to you about your own need to walk more closely with Him every day.
Another important part of sharing your faith is to pray for those you interact with. If you can’t think of anyone who isn’t a Christian, pray for God to place someone in your life who needs Him.
Also make a habit of reading the Bible, praying and going to church. (Read more about diving into your walk with God through prayer, Scripture and relationships.) These things shouldn’t be done for attention or for the sake of doing them, but to help you grow in your own faith. Being passionate about Christ will help others see that there’s something different about you, and they will want to know what it is. You can also reflect Christ through kind words, patience, a gentle temperament, choosing to love even difficult people, carefully monitoring what you watch or listen to, and treating others with respect.
At the same time, we must do more than live godly lives. People need to hear the Gospel—to hear that God loves them, Christ died for them and that they can have eternal life. Romans 10:13-14 says, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
4 Simple Steps:
To share the Gospel, you can follow these 4 simple steps:
1. Tell them about God’s plan—peace and life. God loves you and wants you to experience the peace and life He offers. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He has a plan for you.
2. Share our problem—separation from God. Being at peace with God is not automatic. By nature, we are all separated from Him. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God is holy, but we are human and don’t measure up to His perfect standard. We are sinful, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
3. Talk about God’s remedy—the cross. God’s love bridges the gap of separation between you and Him. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave, He paid the penalty for your sins. The Bible says, “‘He Himself bore our sins’ in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed’” (1 Peter 2:24).
4. Our response—receive Christ. You cross the bridge into God’s family when you accept Christ’s free gift of salvation. The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
To receive Christ, a person needs to do 4 things:
- Admit you’re a sinner.
- Ask forgiveness and be willing to turn away from your sins.
- Believe that Christ died for you on the cross.
- Receive Christ into your heart and life.
Romans 10:13 says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Here’s a prayer you can pray to receive Christ:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In your name, amen.”
More resources to help you share your faith:
- Share PeaceWithGod.net, an interactive website that presents the Gospel in a simple way.
- Read more about the Gospel—what it is and what it does.
- Find resources for sharing the Gospel, including videos, printable tracts, advice on sharing your testimony and articles about sharing your faith.
5 things to remember:
Gary Cobb, a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association staff member who helps train others to share their faith, shares five things to remember.
1. Understand that your own life is a great part of your witness. If my relationship with Christ isn’t vital, then I really don’t have a lot to share. People not only listen to your words, they look at your life. We still fail and aren’t always a good example, so our only hope is to come to God and surrender to Him. It’s nothing that we can do. It’s God’s work.
2. Realize that we earn the right to be heard by sincerely listening to others. Everyone has a story. You can’t just blunder into a situation and callously share without listening. The Bible says that Jesus was a friend of sinners. That’s our example—to be a friend, to listen to people, see where they are, and then take them where they need to go.
3. Recognize that people are looking for a cure. When you go to the doctor, you don’t say, “I have cancer.” Instead, you describe your symptoms. That’s where most people live. They only see symptoms. “I’m lonely. I’m suffering from a broken relationship. I’m stressed. There’s darkness within me that I don’t know what to do with.” How do we share Christ with someone who is overwhelmed with their symptoms? We know the ultimate cure. It’s Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t die for their symptoms. He died for their sins. Yet, people don’t wake up in the morning and think, “You know, I need to accept Jesus.” They wake up with the symptoms, and so as people who are attempting to rescue those who are lost, we need to start with their symptoms, show them the disease (sin), and take them to the ultimate cure (Jesus).
4. Keep it simple. The Gospel is already simple. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. We need to turn away from the things that are wrong in our lives, and accept what Jesus did on the cross for us and receive Him as Lord. Don’t complicate it. So many times we throw in things like our denomination or other doctrines or we use religious terms that a lot of people don’t understand. We end up confusing them and creating barriers. Explain the Gospel in a way that people can understand.
5. Stress the love of God. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV). It starts with love, and that’s where we need to start. Ultimately, we have to explain that we’re all sinners and have violated God’s standards, and, because of that, there is a judgment. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, NIV). But don’t start with that. People know they’ve done a lot of wrong things, but they first need to hear that God is still open to forgiving them.
The Words Of Our Faith:
Some churches today avoid using biblical language to describe what it means to be saved, because the terms can be confusing. However, since God chose these words to convey the greatness of our salvation, we should not overlook them. In order to understand grace, it is essential that we grasp the following concepts:
• Redemption refers to Christ’s payment for sin—in other words, His death purchased us for God.
• Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, in which He gives us divine life and makes us into new creatures.
• Justification is God’s declaration that through our faith in Christ, we are righteous and acquitted of guilt for sin.
• Forgiveness is the removal of our guilt; to accomplish this, Jesus went to the cross in our place and bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24).
• Reconciliation is the restoration of a right relationship with God. No longer His enemies, we’re now His beloved children.
• Sanctification means to be set apart for God. It’s the process by which we grow in holiness and obedience.
The more you understand the depths of your salvation, the greater your awe, gratitude, and love for Jesus will be. So meditate on these truths and the fullness of your salvation, and let them fill your mind and heart today.
The Gospel
When learning more about God or telling others about Him, you might wonder what exactly the word “Gospel” means. And how can you understand it? Here are 10 things you should know about the Gospel.
1. The definition
What is the Gospel? In 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas,and then to the Twelve [disciples].” Christ also appeared to others, but the main point is that He died for our sins and rose again so we could have eternal life.
2. It’s simple
You will be quick to notice that the Gospel is composed of two parts: First, Christ died for our sins; second, Christ rose from the dead.
3. It’s not a religion
Religion is mankind’s quest for God. The Gospel is the God seeking lost men and women through the Savior Jesus Christ. Religion can only produce an outward reformation; the Gospel creates an inward transformation.
4. It’s free
No one can buy salvation. It comes as a free gift—by God’s grace through our faith in Christ.
5. It’s for anyone and everyone
It is called the “Gospel of our salvation” because it is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
6. It will free you
It is called the “Gospel of peace” because, through Christ, it makes peace between the sinner and God. Christ is the bridge to bring us to God.
7. It happened once for all time
Christ died once for our sins. It was a one-time event and provides a way to everlasting life today and forever.
8. It’s unique
The key difference between our supernatural faith and other religions of the world is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
9. Its work has been done
A young pastor asked an aged and dying woman if she had made her peace with God. “No, I have not made peace with God, and I am not afraid to die,” she said. “You see, I do not need to make peace with God. Jesus Christ made peace with God 2,000 years ago, through the blood of His cross, and I am simply resting in the peace that He made.”
10. You can receive it
If you will receive Christ, He will receive you, and you will find that this Gospel, which tells of His death, burial, and resurrection, is the power of God for eternal salvation. “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).