Good morning! Today, we are wrapping up our 7-part iDoubt series. You can find the sermon notes from the first 6 parts at www.veritaschurchpa.com. Today’s topic: How do we share our faith in a way that won’t push others away?
We will look at the Scripture for today, from I Peter 3, in just a moment. I would like to begin with the same disclaimer that Ryan has put on each installment of this series thus far. It is important for us as brothers & sisters in Christ to agree right now that it is okay to come at this question from different vantage points. We can also agree that we are allowed to express different points today, & that, if we do, we should do so with an attitude of love and grace. Let us explore this question, seeking God’s truth, & submitting ourselves as a community to Jesus. Through Christ, we can have love & grace for everyone - even those who we might strongly disagree with.
The key verse here is verse 15, but let’s look at some more of its context for a fuller picture. Let us read I Peter 3:13-18: I Peter 3:13-18 (NIV) 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
It is natural for those of us who have been - & are being – saved by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, His death & resurrection, His victory over sin & over death, to want to share about it. We have been invited into the larger story, to know our Creator, our Savior, & to live for a greater purpose. It only makes sense that this reality would be central to our lives as Jesus’ followers, & that we should unashamedly identify with Him & be happy to let others know it. The question is – what does that look like in day-to-day life? Are we to direct every conversation into a discussion about Jesus? Should we be willing to bully people into believing as we do?
Make no mistake, the truth that we desire to share when we speak of “sharing our faith” is not merely a mental assent. It is possible, on an intellectual level, to know quite a lot ABOUT Christ, without actually KNOWING Him. I have heard a saying about the importance of knowing Christ being not just in our mind, but in our heart – making that “18 inch move” from head to heart. What I think that phrase is trying to express is that knowing Christ is about relationship – about trusting, about conversation, about becoming more like Jesus because we have been around Him & know what He is really like.
I see sharing my faith as more about introducing a person to my best friend & less about winning a debate. And that fundamentally shapes how I would answer the question we are exploring this morning. You see, I don’t think it is ME that does the saving, but rather God working through the Holy Spirit in the lives of others that saves them. That does not mean that I have no responsibility in the matter – I am to be Christ’s hands & feet to others, to be a vessel of His grace & love, & that may take a variety of forms, depending on who it is that Jesus has put in front of me. A good question to ask ourselves is, “What is the Good News to this person right now”? If it is your birthday, & what you really would like is day trip to New York City, & I ignore any hints that you have been dropping to that extent, & just get you what I think you might like, & I end up getting you a bowling ball, you might get the sense that I don’t know you very well, or don’t care to. Maybe I just really like bowling, so I figured that a bowling ball would be a great gift, never mind that you have never shown the faintest interest in bowling. It is a somewhat silly example, but it says a lot about how important it is to earn the right to vulnerability with another person. To get to know Christ requires some vulnerability, some openness to the Truth of Christ, & I need to approach it with more than just a persuasive argument. And that is where the gentle, humble element of our faith-sharing comes in. Matthew Henry said, “The readiness of the Christian’s defence of himself and the Church from all moral aspersions is not to be marred by any self-exaltation or improper confidence.” We are vessels for sharing Jesus’ truth, not trumpeting what wonderful communicators we are, or what big hearts we must have for caring to share the Good News with other people.
The song “Hands & Feet” by The Brilliance illustrates a lot of what I have been talking about. I want to take a few moments & play the song for you – here it is.
Hands & Feet by The Brilliance Lyrics: For all the strides we’ve made For all our blessings We’ve fallen far away from truth Turning our face away From this hurting race We’ve turned our face away from You
We want to be Your hands, Your feet Without words we’ll let our actions speak
For every broken heart For every widow For those without shelter from the rain We lift our eyes to You Looking for answers When we have been called to ease the pain
We want to be Your hands, Your feet Without words we’ll let our actions speak
So here we are Words can only go so far Draw us closer Your heart Bring us back to You, bring us back to You
We want to be Your hands, Your feet Without words we’ll let our actions speak
We want to be Your hands, Your feet Without words we’ll let our actions speak
Here we are Words can only go so far Draw us closer to Your heart Bring us back to You, bring us back to You Bring us back to You, bring us back to You
Please understand, I do not mean to play down the usefulness of words when sharing our faith. We talked last week in our discussion about the “blessing strategy” & the “speaking strategy” for sharing our faith, though I grant that I may not have the wording of the terms we used exactly right. I think that a balance is possible. And, as much as the popular quote that St. Francis of Assisi may or may not have said – the “Preach the Gospel, & use words when necessary” quote – is used, words are extraordinarily valuable in sharing our faith, when they are backed up by our actions & shared in love as we have earned relationship with others. Interestingly, something that St. Francis of Assisi definitely DID write sheds some more light on how to share our faith. He said, “...love one another, as the Lord says: ‘This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.’ And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.’” He also said, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” & “…As for me, I desire this privilege from the Lord, that never may I have any privilege from man, except to do reverence to all, and to convert the world by obedience to the Holy Rule rather by example than by word.” Consider also, though, Romans 10:14, in which Paul says, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” I believe that the right approach comes from balancing both of these factors.
To quote the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, “To love another person is to help them love God. “ What does this mean to you? What does sharing your faith in Christ mean to you? Let’s discuss this.
Questions: 1. What thoughts/comments/pushback/encouragements do you have based on these Scriptures & this message?
2. What experiences have you had with sharing your faith in Christ with others, whether in word or deed? What words or actions by others do you feel helped point you to Christ?
3. So what - what does this mean for you individually, & for us as a church community?