How do you share your faith with others?

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Kristopher Williamson
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1 THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER, FRANKLIN, MA 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 How do you share your faith with others? October 16, 2011 How do you share your faith with other people? Open your bulletin and read with me our Parish Mission Statement on the inside front cover: To celebrate the Christian faith acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, uphold Scripture as the unchanging word of God, and lead others into a saving relationship with Him through Biblical teaching and fellowship. How do we do that? I know some of you are doing it, but I suspect that many of us are not certain how we can participate more fully in our mission; so this morning I d like to offer some practical suggestions about how you can help lead others into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. There s a story about a young priest who preached a series of sermons on some challenging biblical passages in the hope of encouraging one particular man of great intellect to make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Shortly after the series ended, he was delighted when the man announced that he was convinced that the Gospel was true and that he had committed his life to Christ. Feeling quite proud of himself the priest asked, And which of my sermons was the one that removed your doubts? The man looked at him, Your sermons? It wasn t any of your sermons. Quite disappointed the priest asked, Then what was it? The thing that set me thinking was when an elderly lady came out of the church and struggled to walk down the steps beside me. When I put out my hand to help her, she smiled and said, Thank you, and added, Do you love Jesus, my blessed Savior? He means everything to me. I ll tell you, I didn t then, but I ve thought a lot about what she said. I realized I was on the wrong road and that my life had little meaning I was empty inside. I still have a lot of questions, but now

2 2 Jesus means everything to me as well and I want to grow more mature in my relationship with Him. William Barclay tells a story about a missionary who went to share the Gospel with a primitive tribe. He used very simple methods to get the message across. At one point he drew a chart that showed the progress into heaven of a person who accepted Jesus and the descent into hell of a person who rejected Him. The message was very disturbing to the members of the tribe; they didn t want it to be true. So they grabbed the chart out of the missionary s hands and burned it; having done that, they thought all was well. Reflecting on the story, Barclay commented, A man may refuse to listen to the message of Jesus Christ but he cannot eliminate it from the structure of the universe. So how do you and I go about sharing our faith with other people by sharing what Jesus means to us or by suggesting that the other person is headed to hell? I suspect you know right away which approach will prove to be more effective. There are two questions in the baptismal promises that are at the center of the Christian life. Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior? Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord? When we make these promises we re acknowledging that Jesus is the way to the Father and that we want Him to be in charge of our life to be our boss, if you will, who has the final say over everything we do. The Message paraphrases Jesus words like this, Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You re not in the driver s seat; I am. [Matthew 16:24] As we move out of the driver s seat, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the mind or attitude of Jesus begins to become clearer in our life, both to ourselves and to others, and as that relationship grows, we want to share our faith. In The Baptismal Covenant we promise with God s help to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. This is referred to as

3 3 witnessing telling other people about your faith. Does the thought of doing that push you out of your comfort zone? It certainly does for many people, perhaps especially for us as Anglican Christians after all, isn t what I believe a personal thing? Should I really talk to other people about what I believe it might upset them, especially in the politically correct world in which we live? Do you believe that there are many ways to God? Scripture says no. Jesus is clear; He said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 ESV) Think about the elderly lady on the steps and the impact her words had on a man who was not yet a Christian. Do you love Jesus, my blessed Savior? He means everything to me. And the Holy Spirit used her words to help a man make a decision that changed his life. So what is witnessing? In its broadest sense, witnessing is simply telling people what you know. In this morning s reading from First Thessalonians Paul acknowledges the powerful impact that the believers in Thessalonica had had on the world around them. He wrote these words of encouragement: you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. Look at the reading from Thessalonians in your bulletin, beginning at verse 8 Paul wrote, For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything [then skipping down a little] how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. Think about what happens in a courtroom. Everyone there has a specific responsibility. If you were called as a witness to a crime, what would your responsibility be? Would your job be to convince the jury? That might happen,

4 4 but it s not your responsibility. Would you be expected to be the prosecutor, the defense attorney or the judge? No, all you need to do, as a witness, is to tell the court what you saw or heard. How the case is resolved is not up to you! A witness in court is charged to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the same is true in sharing your faith. It involves being honest and prepared to let your life be an open book to be read by anyone who s interested. That s why Paul could say to the Thessalonians, become imitators of us and of the Lord. If you re willing you can be an effective witness for the Good News of God in Christ just as the Thessalonians were and the people you witness to will have an opportunity to know the one true God as He has revealed Himself in His beloved Son, the One who delivers us from the wrath to come. So how do you begin a conversation that makes it possible to witness to another person? I ve often told parents during baptismal instruction that their child s baptism offers an excellent, non-threatening opportunity to explain their understanding of the Christian faith and why it s important to them to have their child baptized. You may have other events in your life perhaps the impact of prayer on you or on a loved one or your relationships with Christian friends which you can use to open the conversation. I don t think it s appropriate to make friends solely so you can witness to them. A much better approach is to make friends by expressing genuine concern and interest for a person and then, when the opportunity arises, your witness occurs naturally between friends who already share common interests. What is it that we are to share with other people? In other words what do we have as Christians that is so important and life changing that we re compelled to share it? Psalm 96, verse 2 says, Sing to the LORD and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. Our salvation being saved, being born again, being rescued from sin is only possible through the death and

5 5 resurrection of Jesus Christ, that s what the Gospel is all about. The word Gospel comes from a Greek word that means good news. Bishop Tom Wright describes the Gospel as an important shorthand for both the message of Jesus himself and the apostolic message about him. Paul saw this message as itself the vehicle of God s saving power. The Greek word also is the root for our word evangelism. Several years ago William Temple, an Archbishop of Canterbury, defined evangelism like this: The presentation of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such ways that persons may be led to him as Savior, and follow him as Lord within the fellowship of his Church. The late Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ wrote: Witnessing is taking the initiative to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. Each of us, as a Christian, is called to be a witness; but how the message is received is not our responsibility. Paul summarized the essence of the Gospel message in First Corinthians: I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (15:3-4 ESV). The simple telling of the Gospel message is evangelism. On the insert in your bulletin there s a summary of the Gospel: All [people] are guilty of sin before God. The penalty for sin is death eternal separation from God. But because of His great love for us, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty for our sin on Himself when He died on the cross. Three days later He was resurrected from the dead and is alive today and forever. If a person will repent (that is, change his [or her] mind and go back in God s direction) of his [or her] sinful way of life, and have faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and able to save him

6 6 [or her] from eternal death, [they] will be forgiven, placed in right standing with God, and gain eternal life. That s the same message that s in The Baptismal Covenant, in The Nicene Creed and in the Eucharistic prayers we pray each Sunday. In its simplest terms witnessing is meeting people where they are and sharing the Gospel with them in relevant ways. And we aren t called to do this in our own power. Jesus is clear that the Holy Spirit will come along side and help us if we re willing to let Him work through us and, in that process, we not only share our faith but we grow more mature in our own faith as well. When you hear the word evangelist you probably think of someone like Billy Graham. You also probably don t think of yourself as an evangelist many of us are not but all of us are called to witness to what the power of God has done and is doing in our life. Remember the question in the baptismal promise: Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? The response commits us in fact commands us to witness: I will, with God s help. Paul wrote to the Romans: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (1:16 ESV) On his night job at Taco Bell, 17-year-old Nicholas Zenns was taking orders at the drive-up window. He heard a woman scream, turned and saw very pregnant Devorah Anderson standing in front of him. The high-school student pulled off his headset, called the paramedics and tried to make the woman comfortable. But the baby wouldn t wait. The baby s head just popped out into my hands, Nicholas said. The paramedics finally arrived and took the baby and the new mother to the hospital. Nicholas cleaned up, sterilized my hands about a thousand times, and finished his shift. He said that this event changed his perspective. Things have been pretty bad in my life lately, and then I got to do this. I m really glad. In the

7 7 same way, nothing can make our life more meaningful than leading someone to new birth in Jesus Christ. How do you share your faith with other people? I hope I ve given you some suggestions so give it a try; encourage each another; help the people who are around you every day to turn from the ways of the world to the ways of God and to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. And you, like Nicholas Zenns, can help a person gain new life a life that will enable that person to proclaim with Paul, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. [Galatians 2:20 ESV] ************* Let us pray: Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Father Jack Potter+

8 8 What is the Gospel? A Summary of the Gospel: All [people] are guilty of sin before God. The penalty for sin is death eternal separation from God. But because of His great love for us, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty for our sin on Himself when He died on the cross. Three days later He was resurrected from the dead and is alive today and forever. If a person will repent (that is, change his [or her] mind and go back in God s direction) of his [or her] sinful way of life, and have faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and able to save him [or her] from eternal death, [they] will be forgiven, placed in right standing with God, and gain eternal life. Three Scriptural nutshells of the Gospel: Take a few minutes and find each of these nutshells in your Bible and write down the key elements of the Gospel mentioned in the passage. John 3:16-17 Luke 24: Corinthians 15:3-4 Adapted from Connecting with God, by Christopher B. Adsit, Disciple Makers International, a Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International

Joyous and Thankful (1 Thessalonians 1:1 10)

4 Easy Reading Edition July 21 27 Joyous and Thankful (1 Thessalonians 1:1 10) SABBATH JULY 21 READ FOR THIS WEEK S LESSON: 1 Thessalonians 1:1 10; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Timothy 1:15; Galatians 5:19 23;