When it comes to sharing our faith with others, sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. We are so afraid of saying the wrong thing that we say nothing at all. We sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves, we do not share our faith.Others of us, though more rare, do just the opposite. We may be afraid that our deficiencies in our reasoning or speaking ability may cause a person not to come to Christ. We study every method of persuasion we get our hands on. We sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves, we do too much and become pushy, or worse, we become Bible bullies.
Yes, we take ourselves too seriously. I say this because we have not power in ourselves. Take a look at these.
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Heb 4:12-13).”
“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth (1 Cor 3:5-7).”
“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 (Rom 1:16).”
It is obvious from these verses that more depends on God’s power than us. The power to convict is in the living and active word of God. When someone responds, it is not due to our magnificent speaking ability, but due to the God who causes the growth through his word. When one repents, confesses, and is baptized into Christ, it is not because of a gifted minister, but because of the power of the Gospel for salvation.
When you get down to it, people more often come to Christ in spite of us rather than because of us. We need to have faith in God and his word, and let the word do its job. The power of salvation is in the Gospel, not in us.
We shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously that we either are paralyzed in fear, or become pushy salesman. What we need to take seriously is the power of the Gospel.
The obvious implication is this. Since the power is in the Gospel, then it is the Gospel that we need to be sharing with people. Doctrinal issues wont save them. Your great abilities wont save them. The Gospel is what will save them.
Are you sharing the Gospel? See 1 Cor 15:1-4 if you need to be reminded what the Gospel is.