Being bold for Christ

blazerfan
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Being bold for Christ

Post by blazerfan » Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:01 pm

I'm looking for tips on how to be a more bold witness for Christ? I've
been a Christian for years but haven't been the best at sharing my faith.
I've got some great booklets and tracts. I admire a guy like Ray Comfort
and his boldness. For many people sharing their faith is very natural. I
would like that. Thanks folks! Mike

blazerfan
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by blazerfan » Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:28 pm

Hmmm? 26 views and not one relpy? ouch.

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mattrose
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by mattrose » Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:44 pm

I will share some thoughts that came to my mind, but they might be the opposite of what you are actually looking for!

I think what happens a lot of times is that a gifted evangelist is given a pulpit to preach, and he preaches a message about the importance of being an evangelist and personally winning people to Jesus Christ. And everyone agrees that they should be more like him, feels bad that they aren't, and wants to change. But when the rubber meets the road they find that they are still themselves and end up getting somewhat depressed about it.

I think, though this might sound bad, too much has been made of 'personal evangelism' if by that we envision every Christian going around boldly declaring the Gospel verbally to people. I've often heard preachers & teachers and read authors writing about being 'fishers of men' in the sense that each one of us, individually needs to figure out issues like bait, a hook, a line, etc. Actually, though, the fishers of men passage is talking about fishing with nets as a group. Evangelism is teamwork. If one wanted to press the metaphor, one could say we not only need the fishermen, but also people to mend the nets, build the boats, cook for the fishermen, etc etc etc.

All that to say this. There are people specifically called and gifted as Evangelists. And, I'd add, all of us are called and gifted to be evangelical in the sense that we should have a love for lost people and a desire for them to come into the Kingdom of God. But not all of us are capital E Evangelists. Truth be told, some non-Christians are pretty turned-off by boldness. They are much more likely to come into the Kingdom through the influence of a quiet & Christ-like friend.

My tentative advice would be this. Admire Evangelists, but don't insist that God turn you into one. He gives out the gifts as He sees fit. Instead, be ready to share the Gospel within the context of your own personality. Don't be ashamed of who you are in Christ. Find a role that you can play as a team member in the corporate work of evangelism.

Just my 2 cents

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TK
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by TK » Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:13 pm

Blazerfan--

dont take lack of response personally. some people, like me, dont have a quick answer or try to formulate one before responding. or we wait for someone else to go first.

In this case, I am glad Matt went first because I agree 100% with what he said.

I would never have been converted by someone backing me into a corner and pushing a Bible in my face. especially because I was 8 when I was converted.

I am definitely not an evangelist. I know a lot of doctrine and a lot of facts but when it comes to sharing my faith I honestly dont know where to begin. My wife, on the other hand, who knows a lot less facts, etc than I do about the Bible can very easily share her faith. I can teach, and I could certainly explain the way of salvation, but my problem would be getting sidetracked onto non-important issues. I am also a people-pleaser so I might find it difficult to say hard words to someone, even if they need to be said.

I think testimony goes a long way in evangelism. My testimony isn't very striking, so I always thought that put me at a disadvantage when sharing my faith. That sounds kind of bad but it is true.

I agree that we should and must be ready, as opportunity arises, to share Jesus Christ, even if we just say "There is a King of kings, and like it or not you are His subject."

TK

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Homer
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by Homer » Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:54 pm

Very good and thoughtful answer, Matt.

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darinhouston
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by darinhouston » Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:15 pm

Yes, very nice, Matt.

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Ian
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by Ian » Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:51 am

I would never have been converted by someone backing me into a corner and pushing a Bible in my face. especially because I was 8 when I was converted.
You made me chuckle with that sentence, TK!

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Paidion
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by Paidion » Wed Aug 24, 2011 2:51 pm

When I was a young man and a fundamentalist evangelical, my problem was that I wasn't sure exactly what a person had to do in order to be "saved". The tracts I read had several different formulae for praying for "salvation":

1. "Lord, I realize that I am a sinner, and that Christ died for me. I hereby accept Christ as my personal Saviour."

2. "Lord, I realize that I am a sinner and that Christ paid the price for me. I hereby accept the finished work of Christ on my behalf."

3. "Lord, I realize that I am a sinner and that only Christ can save me. You have said, 'Whoever believes in Jesus Christ will be saved'. I believe in Him."

4. "Lord, I give myself to Christ, trusting Him to save me."

5. "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, and save me by thy grace."

And many, many more. Though I had experienced Christ at the age of seven, when,as a teenager I began to read these "gospel tracts", I thought I had to pray these prayers in order to escape hell. So I prayed every one of them, but didn't feel any different. Then I read that feelings don't count; I only had to believe that I had been saved, and accept the fact by faith. So that is what I did.

But after that, what would I tell the unsaved? Which of these many "salvation prayers" would do the trick to get them saved so that they might escape hell? That was my problem, and so I did very little "evangelism", not knowing exactly what to tell the unsaved person, even though I was very concerned that they would spend an eternity in hell.
Paidion

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RICHinCHRIST
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by RICHinCHRIST » Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:58 pm

Hi Blazerfan,

I also agree with Matt. I used to be very interested in one-on-one evangelism and Ray Comfort was one of my biggest influences. I even decided to skip lunch 3 out of 5 days a week during my senior year of college and I went around campus during that hour and told people my testimony and the gospel. I think God has gifted me with the ability to share my faith. I used to be very anti-social before being a Christian and I would never have thought I would start a conversation with a stranger. However, after getting saved, I couldn't help but tell everyone I could about this Jesus who saved me and delivered me from sin. It has always been a very supernatural kind of thing for me. God has always lead me in what to say and has always given me timely answers to difficult questions. I have only lead a handful of people to the Lord, but I trust that the seeds I've planted will bring forth fruit. Also, I did most of my evangelism in Boston, and it is a very close-minded and dark place... so perhaps that is why more people didn't turn to Christ. Anyway, my point is that you shouldn't feel discouraged if you aren't necessarily gifted in that area. I'm not sure if I'm an actual "Evangelist", but I do greatly enjoy conversing with people and God has blessed it more often than not.

In time, however, I actually have come to a distaste of Ray Comfort's evangelism style because I don't think it's as biblical as he claims. In fact, I think many people interpret his method as coming off very "holier-than-thou". If I were you I would persistently ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and give you words to say to people. But I like what Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the gospel everywhere you go. If necessary, use words." Your lifestyle will be the greatest evangelism. I have family members who started to go to church just because they knew of my concern for the poor. After my conversion, my immediate family (all those who intimately knew me before I was saved) started to follow Christ as a result. I didn't say anything to them except my testimony and they saw it being lived out before their eyes. I don't think anything is as strong as a life lived for Jesus.

I especially agree with Matt that people will more likely come to Christ as a result of a humble, quiet-spirited Christian who loves them. The days of John Wesley, George Whitefield, and even Billy Graham doing open-air evangelism are over. Most people are immediately turned off by that style. In the same way, many people are turned off when we come to them with this fire in our eyes and plead with them to repent. I've found that developing relationships with people is a much better method, and eventually open-minded people will come to us and ask us questions in difficult times in their lives. Just because we don't convert someone the first time we talk with them doesn't mean that we've failed. It often takes many conversations and a relationship that has been built and when they see we have a gentle and humble attitude that they will begin to seek God.

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Conde
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Re: Being bold for Christ

Post by Conde » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:45 am

A friend of mine and I were out at Burnside & 122nd street today, 2-3pm near Portland Oregon. 9 people turned to Jesus Christ as Lord. How did they know Jesus is Lord? We told them what He has done, that they can turn to Him for forgiveness of sins and to follow Him as Lord. Many people reject Jesus as Lord but many are ready to turn to Him.
On being bold. Many times I don’t feel bold at all. Who cares. I ask God for boldness and step out. Have faith in God. He will give you what you ask for. Remember the righteous are as bold as a lion. Also a year after I turned to Jesus as Lord I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you haven’t had that, ask for it and you will see a big difference also.
How will people turn to Jesus as Lord if you don’t go out and speak. I use to go out and was wide with the approach of speaking of Jesus. Just bring it to the point. You don’t have to condemn people. Speak the truth in love. If they don’t want to hear it, move on. Many are ready to hear the truth. Mormons and Jw’s are going out to spread a false doctrine. You can go out in the power of the Holy Spirit and share the truth.
You do not need a gift of evangelism to preach the gospel. You do need to put the flesh under. God did not give you a spirit of fear but a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. To preach the gospel should be foundational for those who believe Jesus is Lord. Sometimes a church doesn't know how to raise believers up for the works of ministry in this area. It’s much easier sitting on a bench, or preaching about it, or doing what you are comfortable doing. Do what our Lord said to do. There is a huge harvest and the laborers are few.
Find a believer who actually can go out and is leading people to Jesus our Lord. Walk with them and observe. Sometimes people can’t be bold because they just don’t know what to do.
This doesn’t mean you are only an evangelist. Even if you are cleaning tables or horse stalls you can still preach the gospel so others can turn to Jesus as Lord.
This is a short answer for you. I can be more specific if you need. I am glad to hear you have a heart and desire to go out into the harvest field. Conde

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