Can I Get A Witness?
"If you can't explain something to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." Albert Einstein
What do you think about when you come across the word "evangelism"? According to the first definition Google showed me, evangelism is "the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal testimony". Webster's Dictionary defines it as "the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ".
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28-19:20
Sharing our faith is something Christians know we should exercise. It is a command of Jesus yet is often a practice that can make many people uncomfortable because of the vulnerability it requires to reach out to others, whether stranger or kin, in order to share the deepest corners of our soul. It requires that we should speak boldly into what is unpopular in the world, even our own comfortable little corner of it.
Some shy away from evangelism due to feeling intimidated by the questions a nonbeliever may ask. Obviously, no human being can know everything and having to respond with an honest "I don't know" answer can feel disheartening.
Others may be slow to witness because of the feeling of intellectual inadequacy. Perhaps they feel that because they don't know as much information that can be perfectly quoted from scripture or from famous apologists, their testimony will not amount to nearly as much as someone else's.
Perhaps there is guilt over past sins that would leave you feeling hypocritical. If those sins were exposed would your testimony stand today?
I have felt all of this before. Nobody wants to feel less than or not enough, especially when it comes to explaining Jesus Christ to someone. He is a big deal! These fears leave us feeling so heavy and pressured. I never want to be responsible for misrepresenting the Lord to someone in how I witness. My pride doesn't like being less than all-knowing either if I'm being really honest. It's also my pride that would leave me believing that the ability of the Lord to move hearts depended on me.
Here's the thing. Not a single one of those hesitations that plague you are from God. God says over and over in scripture, "Do not fear." He also would not silence you from carrying out the Great Commission quoted above from the book of Matthew.
"Do not fear, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
We have somehow taken on the notion that we are the lawyer rather than the witness. It just isn't so. There is great power in our testimony because God is who He says He is, always. We can rest knowing we don't need to sell people, just go tell people! This is our JOY and PEACE! We can be confident that anything that we get wrong, God can make right. Welcome questions and opportunities for evangelism simply as a means of telling your story and what you are learning in scripture. Don't fear debates. Don't complicate it. God is perfectly capable of proving Himself. We get to celebrate the fact that when the Lord changed your life, HE CHANGED YOUR LIFE. If you know the Lord, you know Him and you talk about Him as so because He is familiar and close. Others who see how Jesus has been working in you will affirm this in their own testimony. Truth carries. This is worth sharing!
"The worship of a changed heart is the best evidence of the gospel." A.B. Williams