Few things are more distressing to a Christian than the realization that, unless something happens, those who are part of their family on earth will not be part of their family in heaven. Out of concern and compassion and often discouragement and distress, individuals ask, “How do I reach my own relatives with the Gospel?” Several things must be kept in mind. First and foremost recognize that you, in and of yourself, cannot bring your relatives to Christ. Christians often take responsibility upon their shoulders in this area. This concern for their salvation is healthy, but the inner frustration is not. You must recognize that unless the Spirit of God dispels the darkness from their minds and eyes and causes them to see their need, they will never come to Christ.
Another thing to consider is that relatives who will not listen to what you have to say may instead look at the way you live. Live the kind of consistent Christian life that attracts non-Christian family members to the Savior. The God who brought you to Christ can save any non-Christian relative. God has never met a person His heart did not love or His arm could not reach. If you do your part, God will do His. Sooner than you may think, as they trust the Savior they may say, “Thanks for not giving up on me,” as you welcome them into the forever family.
Many children question their salvation because they doubt the validity of an “experience” they had when they were younger. It may have been walking down an aisle, talking to a counselor, or some other action. As the child grows, he looks back and begins to wonder if he understood what he was doing or whether he was sincere.
When he goes to his parents for help, they may compound the problem by reminding him of what he did and even assuring him that he was sincere. The problem is that what seems clear in their minds is still not clear in his. Children should not base their assurance on their parents’ memory.
To help children, parents would be wise to guide their child in finding biblical answers to two questions. The first is, “Do you now understand the gospel?” Discuss with the child whether he now understands that Christ took the punishment for his sins, died on the cross, and arose from the grave.
The second question is, “Right now, are you depending on Christ alone to get you into heaven?” Jesus says, “He that believes in me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). God is not concerned about the date that happened. If anyone is depending on Christ as his only way to heaven, he is a child of God regardless of the date that eternal transaction took place. A child’s trust should be in Christ alone, not in a date or action from their past.
If most of us were honest, we’d admit we enjoy evangelism the most when:
- The person we plan to talk to is not at home.
- God allows us to do the praying and someone else to do the talking.
- The individual we are approaching has laryngitis and therefore it would be impolite to ask him about his relationship with Christ.
- The waitress explains to our friend that she has a phone call just as we were preparing to approach spiritual things with her.
- We absolutely unintentionally oversleep the morning of our breakfast appointment with a non-Christian.
The reason can be reduced to one word—fear. Absolutely paralyzing at times, fear does more to hinder our witness than any other single item. How does one overcome such a devastating problem? Can it actually be overcome? Does a person ever get to the point when fear in evangelism is a thing of the past? All of these questions are answered for us in the Bible. Before looking for the answers, however, two things must be kept in mind.
First, fear in evangelism is normal. It assures you that you are a normal human being. After all, Paul the apostle was afraid to evangelize. How does he admit to entering Corinth? He determined to be true to the message of Christ and the cross, but he admits to being with them “in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). In a city filled with such godlessness, impurity, and vice, such fear is certainly understandable.
Paul is not alone. Peter and John had equal reason to be afraid. In Acts 4, we have the first recorded persecution experienced by the early church. Commanded not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus (v. 18), what do Peter and John do—hover in a corner, pray for the rapture, or plead with God to “send Joe”? Not for a minute! Instead, we are taught that they laid their fears before God. “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29).
If people with that kind of commitment to the Savior are afraid, why would we not be? After all, fear in evangelism has nothing to do with the presence or lack of spirituality. It has everything to do with being human. We dare not assume that because we are afraid, there is something wrong with our walk with the Lord. How we deal with our fear may be affected by our walk with the Lord, but the presence of fear itself is never attributed in Scripture to a lack of spiritual depth.
With that in mind, a second thing to remember is that the issue is overcoming fear, not removing fear. This side of heaven one will always have times of fear. Paul the apostle requested prayer that “utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). When Paul wrote these words he was writing them as a prisoner in Rome. When he was in prison he had time to think back on his evangelistic experiences. Paul had spent three years in Ephesus and God used him mightily. Not only had he established a strong Christian church in Ephesus, he also sent out messengers through whom the whole province of Asia was evangelized. Churches were established in each of its major population centers.
Do you mean Paul the apostle is actually requesting prayer for boldness in evangelism after his extensive experience? Most certainly. He knew full well that once fear raises its ugly head and is dealt with, it is not gone forever—never having to be dealt with again. Instead of thinking in terms of never being afraid, Paul had to think in terms of overcoming fear each time it became a major obstacle to sharing the Gospel.
Moments of fear will always be there. Anyone who says they are never afraid to share Christ is most likely not being honest with you. Fear in evangelism is normal and natural. This side of heaven it will occur and reoccur. To say, “I don’t witness because I’m afraid” is an explanation. It dare not become an excuse. The issue is what we do with our fear.
