There are valid reasons why many Christians do not witness for Christ consciously and consistently although it is our calling. We all know that the problem with evangelism is not the message but the messenger. Michael Tan helps us identify some common hindrances to being effective witnesses and what we can do about them.
A rock climber has almost reached the top of the cliff, when suddenly he loses his footing and begins to fall. He quickly grabs a little branch sticking out of the cliff, holds on for dear life and yells, "Help! Help!"
That is a picture of the insecurity of the modern (or as it is more current to say, postmodern) human being - holding on to beliefs, values, idols, perceptions, interpretations, spiritualities, gods, etc., that are too small and feeling himself or herself slipping into the abyss of vanity, purposelessness, boredom, alienation, meaninglessness, and existential angst (sometimes called hell on earth).
Now suppose we walk by and see the person hanging precariously over the precipice. What do we say?
"I notice you are struggling and losing your grip. Please think of all the possibilities in your situation and try to hold on more firmly."
"Is there a dark secret you would like to confess before it is too late?"
"If you try to hold on with one hand, I'll give you a copy of the Ten Commandments of Rock Climbing in the other so you won't stumble again."
"When you get tired of hanging there, would you like to attend our church worship service?"
"Would you consider donating your possessions and wealth to charity?"
Which of these options would really be "good news" for the climber in his or her predicament?
I think the answer is obvious - none of the above. The "good news" for the climber would be for someone to reach down, grab his or her wrist, and yank him or her up.
As Christians, we have both the responsibility and privilege of passing on the Good News that through faith in Jesus Christ, eternal and abundant life is offered to all people.
But we are so often reluctant sharers of this tremendously Good News, aren't we? Too often, we are "deaf" to the call of the Savior to go out to the "fields white unto harvest" and to the cries of the human heart. And as a result, we are also "dumb" i.e., unable to share with others the greatest message they need to hear.
What is your greatest hindrance in witnessing? Here are some responses to this question from participants of the Eagles' Lifestyle Evangelism Seminars we have conducted with numerous churches:
"I have been too busy to remember to do it."
"I don't know what to say and how to start."
"Every person is entitled to his or her own beliefs. I am afraid to impose my religion on others and in doing so, offend them."
"I don't think I can answer their objections or difficult questions about Christianity."
"I don't feel any compulsion to witness to anyone."
"I am not adequate. I am not good enough as a Christian to witness for Christ."
Perhaps we can all identify with some of these sentiments. All of them can be categorized under two common reasons why we do not witness for Christ consciously and consistently. By the way, these reasons are real and should be addressed.
Fear of Rejection
The first reason is Fear of Rejection. Perhaps we would like to share the Gospel as often as we can but we are immobilized by our fears. Rejection of the Gospel by our friends and loved ones is a real possibility when we share our faith with them. After all, people are not lining up to surrender their lives to Christ. In fact, this possibility is implied in the Greek word for witness. In the English language, a witness refers to someone giving a true testimony in a court of law. However, the Greek word for witness is marturia from which we get the English word martyr. An authentic witness faces the possibility of being a martyr for his message or cause. Church tradition tells us that all the apostles, with the exception of the apostle John, were martyred for their faith.
We should not then be surprised or shocked at hostile reactions to our message or even to us the messengers. Rejection is always hard to take, especially when we take it personally.
What is the best antidote for fear? Is it courage? Well, the opposite of courage is cowardice, not fear. The best antidote for fear is love. The apostle John tells us that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 Jn 4:18). If we love our friends and family, no matter how antagonistic they may be towards the Gospel, we do not let fear hinder us from loving them and sharing with them the love of Christ at opportune moments. Love will help us to focus on their needs and transform our witnessing from compulsion to compassion.
Lack of Motivation
The second reason is Lack of Motivation. After all, we do not honestly always have that enthusiasm every morning to seize the first available opportunity to witness and share Christ with anyone that comes along our way! Motivation is lacking and the big brother to the problem of motivation is Apathy. We become indifferent to the fact that people need the Lord.
Nowadays, our attention seems to be directed to global issues like the environment, economics, and entertainment that we forget that the human soul is lost without Christ. The biblical word for that destiny is hell. While we seek to build our utopias on earth (for some it is cyberspace where one can embrace a second life), we are still groping in darkness and heading towards that destiny. Hell is the eternal loss of being a real person created in the image of God. In hell, the guitar virtuoso who worships himself through his music has no audience. The man who indulges in relentless sexual pursuits will burn in eternal lust with no physical body to exploit. The woman who lives for fame and fashion may possess a thousand new dresses but no mirror!
Can we be indifferent if the "lostness" or "hell-boundness" of humanity is the reason why Jesus left the glory of heaven to come to earth?
The problem with evangelism is not the message. The apostle Paul declares in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." The problem is not with the audience or the big bad world out there. In a survey done with some 3,000 residents in a neighborhood in Singapore, 80% of the people interviewed said that they just did not understand Christianity enough to make up their minds.
The biggest problem lies with those of us who belong to the Church. The late Rev David C K Watson in his book I Believe in Evangelism articulated a profound truth: evangelistic opportunities only come as often as we desire them. It seems that many Christians want to enter heaven incognito!
Overcoming Fear and Apathy
How then do we overcome fear and apathy? Perhaps the words of 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 offer some encouragement: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God."
In verse 18, Paul tells us something about evangelism. If there was any definition for evangelism, it is the word "reconciliation." Evangelism is the ministry of reconciliation. When we get involved in evangelism, we get involved in the ministry of reconciliation. And reconciliation has to do with relationships. Reconciliation involves restoring broken relationships. This takes place at three levels:
Reconciling man to God
Pascal wrote, "There is a god shaped vacuum in every man's heart." Saint Augustine said, "Man can never find rest until he finds God." God is the initiator of relationship. He is a relating God and He has created us to relate to Him. If this basic relationship is missing, then we are lost, bringing us to the second level.
Reconciling man to himself
This is the "lostness" of humanity - we are searching for identity and purpose. We need to be at peace with ourselves. We need to realize who we are - created for fellowship with our Creator. In her song "Woodstock" singer Joni Mitchell writes, "We are starlight, we are golden, we've got to get ourselves back to the garden." There, in almost biblical words, is the significance and "lostness" of man.
Reconciling man to fellow man
Forgiving, loving our enemies, repaying good for evil - these are not possible until one has experienced reconciliation himself. Everywhere in society and in the world and even in church, we find broken relationships because we cannot accept other people.
No wonder the Bible has a lot to say about relationships. The Christian community is the model for the world. The Church must be a place of restored relationships.
To overcome our fear and apathy, the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 gives us five principles involved in the ministry of reconciliation.
1. Learning To Identify
"God was in Christ." That was what God did in the process of reconciliation. He came to identify with us in Christ. The most profound truth in history - that which marks Christianity above all other religions. God came in a particular culture, at a particular time in history, to a particular place. He was born like any one of us. The birth was not miraculous. It was a thoroughly human birth and only the conception was miraculous. He was one of us. Jesus knew poverty. Jesus knew the fickleness of human friendship. He was betrayed. Jesus knew loneliness. He was deserted by his own friends. Jesus knew pain and suffering. He went through a most horrifying death, made even more excruciating because He was innocent. He came to where we were. The principle of identification is this: Go to where the people are. We cannot go with an "I'm holier than you" attitude. Evangelism is not "I've got all the answers." Paul Tillich, an American theologian, said, "The first duty of love is to listen." Identification is first learning to understand our friends.
2. Learning To Reconcile
"... reconciling the world to Himself." The Latin word for priest is pontifex which means "bridge maker." By dying, Jesus, the bridge builder, opened the way for us to come to God's presence. Now He sends us to be bridge builders as He was. What are we reconciling to Him? The World.
Firstly, the world suggests to us the crowd. In other words, the whole world needs the Gospel, not just any select group. Secondly, the world also suggests the individuals. Evangelism must embrace both a big enough vision and also a person-size ministry. That's why the Gospel is relevant. It is not just the solution for a cosmic problem, it also reaches down to the individual.
Do I have a person-size ministry? Am I reaching out to the individual? Is there a person-to-person element in my Christian sharing? Do I show that I really care? As the maxim goes, "People don't really care about what you know until they know that you care!"
3. Learning To Be Positive
"... not imputing their trespasses to them." That was the positive attitude of Jesus. He did not come to condemn the world. That's the good news of the Gospel. That is the approach we should take in evangelism. Very often, I tend to write people off. "Ah, he's not likely to be a Christian!" "Look at him, he's really sinful, immoral." "These people need a good old fashioned hellfire and brimstone sermon." A positive attitude of acceptance does not mean we condone everything someone else does. It means that instead of condemning, we seek to communicate a positive attitude.
The tax collector Zacchaeus was in a profession despised by his fellow man. Did Jesus condemn him? Jesus communicated acceptance by saying "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Confronted with Jesus' love, Zacchaeus found restoration and salvation. Jesus offered friendship. How do I see my friends? Do I give up on them easily?
4. Learning To Share The Word
"... has committed to us the word of reconciliation." The Word seems to be the heart of what the early Christians communicated in the Book of Acts. Wherever they went these early Christians spread the Word (Acts 8:4). When Luke wanted us to understand that the Church expanded he simply wrote that the Word grew.
Professor of Evangelism Michael Green writes, "If we believe that the Gospel is God's word to man then we will bring people face to face with it at every turn." Do we know the Gospel ourselves? Are we convinced that it is God's message? The Gospel is true not because it works... it works because it is true.
5. Learning To Live The Life
"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ," An ambassador has a certain lifestyle to maintain. He is primarily not just doing as he pleases. He has an important responsibility of representing the person of his sovereign. The US ambassador to Singapore represents the person of the US President. He represents the power of his nation. He represents the presence of that power. Likewise, the Ambassador for Christ represents the person of Christ, the power of Christ, and the presence of Christ.
How we live our lives count if we are to be involved in evangelism. Are we credible? The world may be looking for better methods, but in God's service, He's looking for good men and women to be His ambassadors.
With these five principles, we will be able to attune our ears to the struggles as well as aspirations of the lost, and relevantly open our mouths to bring the Word of reconciliation to them.
Michael Tan is the Senior Vice President of Eagles Communications. He likes to preach, write, play the guitar and manage his staff!
Read "Talking To Your Neighbor" to learn how you can approach people with different worldviews and beliefs.