By: Dale Weckbacher
This Saturday we begin a six-week series on empowered
evangelism. The studies are based upon
the Book Empowered Evangelism, which is available on my book page at https://sites.google.com/site/dalesrbooks/
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
NKJV
Fear is a powerful emotion.
Through fear, tyrannical leaders have been able to keep those they lead
under control. Advertisers use fear to
create a need for their product. Fear of
losing someone’s friendship may cause us to compromise our values and make bad
decisions that could harm us. Fear of
rejection can also prevent us from sharing our deeply held beliefs with others,
including our faith in Jesus Christ.
Fear acts like shackles imprisoning us and stopping us from
accomplishing what God has called us to do.
However, fear is not from God but is a powerful tool of Satan designed
to prevent us from doing God’s will in our lives. This is especially true when it comes to
sharing the Gospel with others. In order
to remove the shackles of fear we must begin by looking at the three types of
fear,
1)
Fear of physical harm – In Matthew 10:28-29
Jesus cautioned his disciples not to fear those that could bring harm to our
physical bodies but to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in
hell. This, however, does not mean we
are to fear God as we would fear someone threatening to kill us. Rather this is a reverent fear or worship of
the majesty and greatness of our God.
The only people that need fear God destroying their souls and bodies in
hell are those who have not yet entered into a personal relationship with God
through Jesus Christ. However, our flesh
does have a strong desire to survive and thus, fears anything or anyone that
threatens it. The recent beheading of 21
people simply for the fact they were Christians appalled both Christians and
non-Christians. (1) However, in countries like the United States
where religious freedom is constitutionally protected, people generally do not
need to fear physical harm for their beliefs and in fact if they are
threatened, they can go to authorities for protection. However, in most of the world professing
belief in Jesus Christ as savior comes with the threat of physical harm, loss
of property, and death. Interestingly
though, it is in this atmosphere of potential harm or loss that the church
seems to thrive. This is possibly because
for Christians living in this environment, faith in Jesus Christ is the most
important thing in their lives. We in
the United States and other nations of the free world should learn from their
commitment to their faith for I believe this commitment will help us overcome
many of the fears we have preventing us from sharing our faith.
2)
Fear of rejection – Even though in nations like
the United States we have little need to fear physical harm, we do have a fear
of rejection. The fact that the church
seems to thrive more in an atmosphere of the fear of physical harm provides
evidence that the fear of rejection is actually stronger than the fear of
physical harm. Perhaps this is because
we are dependent creatures. We are born
dependent on our parents. As we grow up,
we like to believe we are totally independent but the truth is we are still
dependent on others. This past Tuesday I
went to the store to buy groceries. Not
being a great farmer or hunter makes me dependent on others to harvest or kill
my food. We all have a group of friends
we hang around with and when we encounter tough times, we lean on these
individuals for support. We fear
rejection because we fear losing this support group. When we accept Jesus as our savior, we do risk
losing our secular support group but we also have an opportunity to form a new
and stronger support group of others who share our faith. This is why it is imperative we find a local
church and attend it regularly. (Hebrews
10:25).
3)
Fear we are inadequate – Sharing our faith with
others causes us to risk encountering a tough question from someone just as
committed to their atheism as we may be to our belief. We must be on guard not to let these people
derail us from our firm belief in Jesus Christ. To overcome this fear we must first have a
firm grounding in the Word of God and our faith. Regular daily Bible study accompanied with
regular church attendance at a church that teaches the Word of God equips us
for these situations. In addition, we
should familiarize ourselves with knowledge of secular philosophies that
permeate our society. In next Saturday’s
posting, we will look at some of these philosophies.
Fear can be a paralyzing and crippling emotion but since
fear is not of God, there is no need to let it stop us from sharing our faith
in God. We need not fear physical harm
or loss of property for Absence from the body is to be ushered into the
presence of God (2 Corinthians 5:8) and we can trust God to supply our needs
(Philippians 4:19). We also have no need
to fear rejection for Jesus Christ accepts us just as we are (Ephesians 1:6)
and as believers, we have a tremendous support team through our local
church. We also need not fear inadequacy
for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians
4:13).
Next Saturday we will look at how to overcome secular
philosophies and teaching permeating society.
1. Rousselle, Christine. 21 Coptic Christians
Beheaded by ISIS Recognized as Martyrs in Church. www.townhall.com. [Online]
TowhHall.com, February 23, 2015. [Cited: March 26, 2015.]
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/christinerousselle/2015/02/23/21-coptic-christians-beheaded-by-isis-recognized-as-martyrs-in-church-n1961238.
