A couple of months ago I was asked by my pastor to compile a seminar to teach people how to share their faith. In working with that…I thought it would be beneficial to you to “test drive” some areas I want to cover, and beneficial for me so I can get some feedback from my followers and other bloggers who suffer (as I do) in this area. All I ask is that you be honest with your comments, and don’t worry about hurting my feelings. Believe me I can take it. But also I should say that I may have to defend my “opinion” and may comment back. Just remember to do it in love and respect, as I will adhere to the same standards. So as you give me your feedback these blogs may change as I edit them, and therefore your comments “may “disappear. So, with that being said…let’s get to it.
What Is Fear?
When you ask why people don’t share their faith…it’s almost a given that they will say they are afraid to. Frankly, it’s probably the #1 reason, if not, within the top three. In order to conquer fear, we first need to examine what fear is, and where it comes from. According to Webster’s Dictionary, fear is…
- A painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. The force of this passion, beginning with the most moderate degree, may be thus expressed, fear, dread, terror, fright. Fear is accompanied with a desire to avoid or ward off the expected evil.
- Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us.
- Anxiety, solicitude.
- Reverence, due respect, and venerate.
For the basis of this blog, we are going to focus on the first and second. As for the third, I can sum it all up by this…
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Fear of the Lord is a good thing. If you are a Christian, you should already fear the Lord. It is a reverential, respecting fear. The kind of fear you would have with relation to electricity. Electricity is a good thing and we use it. We just wouldn’t stand in a puddle holding two 240Vac lines touching them to our tongue. Just hearing the buzz, standing under 500KV power lines is enough to make us awe with due respect. Just how much more should we stand in awe of God.
But in this lesson we are more concerned about the fear that goes along with being ashamed of Christ. The definition from Websters Dictionary of ashamed is:
- Affected by shame; abashed or confused by guilt or a conviction of some criminal action or indecorous conduct, or by the exposure of some gross errors or misconduct, which the person is conscious must be wrong, and which tends to impair his honor or reputation. It is followed by of.
- Confused by a consciousness of guilt or of inferiority; by the mortification of pride; by failure or disappointment.
Shame would be:
- A painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation; or by of that which nature or modesty prompts us to conceal. Shame is particularly excited by the disclosure of actions which, in the view of men, are mean and degrading. Hence it is often or always manifested by a downcast look or by blushes, called confusion of face.
- The cause or reason of shame; that which brings reproach, and degrades a person in the estimation of others. Thus an idol is called a shame.
- Reproach; ignominy; derision; contempt.
- The parts which modesty requires to be covered.
- Dishonor; disgrace.
Notice what the difference is between fear and shame. It’s embarrassment. Living in this country there is really nothing to fear. The laws are on our side (as of this writing). We are not being hunted and thrown into prisons as Christians are in other countries (Iraq). On a large scale, people are not losing their jobs, homes, and businesses because they are a Christian (India). There are no soldiers in the “State Run Churches” with cameras taking your picture and your name so that if you apply for a government job you will be denied because you are a follower of Jesus Christ (China). But we do in this country feel the fear of “what will my friends think if they find out I’m born again?” Or we think, “I can’t witness to my boss…my review is coming up and I’m due for a raise or promotion. I don’t want him to think I’m one of those people.” We do not fear for our lives, but our livelihood. We care more about what people will think of us, and if our selfish pride gets damaged. That in my opinion is gross and disgusting. How can we who are sinners be ashamed of Him who knew no sin? How much more should He be ashamed of us? So in this fear and being ashamed will be talked about because that’s what we fear here in America.
Where Fear Comes From
Being that fear is an emotion…we will never be entirely free from it. But where does this fear of impending danger or anxiety come from. I believe that we are born with only two fears that all newborns and infants have in common...the fear of falling, and the fear of loud noises. So all other fears we have are acquired, either by learning, experience, or belief. This is the heart of the issue right here.
In sharing our faith we have this misconception that fear comes from Satan. Is that true? If fear is an emotion, and comes from within, does he really cause fear? No. What Satan may do is give us situations or thoughts in our minds that would trigger emotions of fear. This is important in determining the solution to the problem and conquering fear.
Why Do We Fear?
Have you ever heard the term “ignorance is bliss”? There is some truth to that isn’t there. Don’t try this at home, but think about it in your mind. Give a child who’s learned to crawl or first learning to walk a steak knife. Would there be any fear in that child at all...probably not. Why…because the child has no idea what it is he or she is holding, and what can happen to them from holding it. What the child may do is take that knife and curiously stick it in several places (in the mouth, wall outlet, a couch, the family cat, etc…). Now what happens? The child takes the knife, looks at it. It’s shiny. He or she walks over to an outlet and sticks it in the outlet. Electricity passes through the knife to the child’s arm, and the vibration of current sends the child screaming. The child goes from ignorance to experience in a matter of seconds. He or she will think twice about touching the knife, or even going near a wall outlet? Not for a long time anyway.
As we get older anyway we start to have thoughts of our own. Our mind and the devil play tricks on us. By this point we have had so many bad experiences that we automatically think that whatever we do will turn out bad. This goes along with witnessing and sharing your faith…the crux of the issue at hand. Remember when you were first a believer…a newborn into Christ’s family? What was that like? Pretty exciting wasn’t it? Like a first-time pregnant woman, you had this new life inside of you and you just wanted to tell everyone right? You wanted everyone to know the joy you had, and to experience that for themselves. But then you quickly realized that a lot of people didn’t share the same feelings as you did. Maybe you were made fun of or ridiculed for believing Jesus your “imaginary friend”. Maybe some of you tried to witness for the first time and got tongue tied and couldn’t answer any hard questions because let’s face it…you just got saved yesterday and this is all new to you. Or maybe it caused tension in relationships that were strong before you knew Jesus and now had to “choose” between this new found friend and Lord, and your old pal. It could be quite discouraging, and the next person you witness to, your heart starts to pound, you start sweating, and then panic sets in.
I remember when I just got saved, and living in Iowa I had a chance to go back home to NJ through my work. I had to go through some training at the home office and decided to take some extra time off, and extra tracts and share the best Person that ever happened to me to my friends and family. I was bold let me tell you. It was zeal without knowledge that’s for sure. But I was bold enough until I started receiving some backlash. One night, one of my best friends and his wife sat me down like a scolded child to “talk some sense into me”. The more I resisted and trying to get out to my car and get my Bible so that I could show him what I wanted to say…the angrier he got. She kept laughing like it was some kind of joke (and I was the punch line). I also tried to talk to my cousin, and even my two sisters. My younger sister saying, “You’re not going to do this to Mom and Dad are you?” just made me sink in my seat. The older sister laughing at me didn’t help. But she passed away July 6, 2007, and guarantee she’s not laughing now (no matter where she is at this point).
When Do You Fear?
This goes along with “why” somewhat. Especially in witnessing, when do we get anxious and nervous? It’s when we are going to open our mouths and speak for Christ. We never seem to get nervous when we are singing songs to God, or reading our Bibles, or studying the Word. Even Christian service like feeding the poor, cleaning the church, or mowing the lawn we don’t feel a bit nervous. For even Jesus, when he began His Galilean ministry that the first time He spoke out and preached people wanted to kill Him (Luke 4:16-30). Let’s face it, the only reason we are persecuted is that Jesus is not present in the flesh or they would crucify Him all over again, so they persecute us instead.
So, Now What?
Whether we are fearful or being ashamed there is hope. If there was hope for those in the Bible who felt both, there is hope for us. So now that we tackled the “who, what, where, when, and why” of fear…how then do we conquer it. Let’s face it, we all fear something at sometime. For the remaining blogs, I want to concentrate on the fear that comes from sharing your faith. It’s a false fear. You can use this acronym to describe it.
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
Especially in the United States, we don’t hear about angry mobs killing Christians leaving pools of blood on the sidewalks were their heads were lopped off their bodies. Have people in the United States been martyred for their faith? You bet. Rachel Scott, and Cassie Bernall of Columbine High School would be two. We still as of today have religious freedoms this country was founded on. Our freedoms are ever changing, and soon one day will disappear. Christians all over this country have been persecuted for sharing (and even just believing) their faith. For some examples, I urge you to look at www.silencingchristians.com. The time to act and use the freedoms while we still have them is now. Fear will only get in the way.
It’s not the absence of fear that we strive for but the conquering of it. For the rest of the upcoming blogs, I will tackle the issues and show you that you have not to fear about anything. This in turn will be a lesson for me as well, as I do suffer from the same. So “buck up” little camper…we are all in this together.
