"Share Jesus without Fear" Book Review

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In Share Jesus without Fear, Fay makes a passionate appeal to believers to embrace evangelism. He gives earnest attention to why, when, where and how believers should direct unbelievers to Jesus Christ. He begins by laying emphasis on the basis of evangelism and explains that evangelism has much to do with obedience rather than saving souls. Fay exposes a worrying culture among the evangelicals and employs statistics to clearly express his concerns. He indicates that only 5% of believers have bothered to share their faith in the past year. Fay argues that the lack of urgency in Christianity with regard to evangelism is a testimony that does not resonate well with the claims of Christianity. Nevertheless, he notes that the present situation does not have to define the future and uses Share Jesus without Fear to plead for consistent Christianity among believers. He urges believers to be consistent in sharing their faith as this is a sure way of expressing their obedience. In order to validate his appeal, Fay offers the work he does in evangelism as an example worth emulating.

Most importantly, the arguments fronted by Fay are solely founded on the authority of Scripture. Fay outlines a number of scriptures that he considers key in reaching out to the lost. In addition, he suggests specific questions that would facilitate interaction between the believer and the lost during evangelism. Notably, Fay also teaches believers how to respond to objections to Christianity from unbelievers. Once a sinner accepts Christ, Fay notes that it is important that they be taught foundational beliefs in Christianity and be encouraged to join a local believing body of worshipers to ensure spiritual nourishment. Lastly, Fay finishes his work by emphasizing that believers ought to pray for the lost in order to claim their souls to Christianity.

Concrete Response

In Share Jesus without Fear, Fay takes his time to point out what evangelists experience on their mission to share Christ’s gospel. Notably, Fay gives much attention to sharing of the gospel of Christ with people on one to one. It contradicts some Christians’ belief that this work is a preserve of prominent men of God. I have witnessed God honor the little attempts that I have ever made in evangelism to turn the heart of men and women to Christ. I agree with Fay when he notes that God cannot use the silence of Christians to save anyone. Last year my local church organized an outreach program to the neighboring village on a Saturday.

During the outreach, I met a young man who admitted that although he knew Christ, he had not accepted Him in his heart. “What stands between you and Christ?” I asked. “Nothing,” he replied, “I’m at my youthful age and fear that I may fall away after receiving Christ and attract the wrath of God in my life.” I told him that if he could receive Christ, God would be faithful enough not to allow him to fall away (Phil 1:6). The individual then agreed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. “He only needed somebody to talk to him in order to yield his life to the Lord!” I wondered after the encounter. Nevertheless, reading this book has enabled me to understand that there are other evangelists or one who could have still shared the gospel with the young man sometimes back, and it was time for God to cause a change in his life by using me as a vessel.

Reflection

Generally, if the gospel presentation plan by Fay is implemented fearlessly, a believer would have the potential of winning many souls for Christ. However, some weaknesses arise if Fay’s model is to be entirely relied on. Throughout the book, Fay shies away from giving negative examples; rather, he indicates that almost every attempt he made to reach out ended with a sinner receiving Jesus Christ. This seems inconsistent with his main goal of encouraging believers to evangelize regardless of the response. A number of unbelievers will always reject the gospel regardless of the efforts we make. Furthermore, if Fay indicated that an average unbeliever will need to listen to the gospel 7.6 times before accepting Christ, it is only logical that a person will reject the gospel a number of times. Therefore, Fay should have given more examples of unbelievers who he reached to but rejected the gospel. A believer who puts the suggested plan into practice may feel discouraged when he or she begins to encounter lack of acceptance.

Another weakness of this book arises when an individual, more so a new believer, first uses the suggested plan. If the believer has not studied enough of God’s Word and largely depends on Fay’s book, he or she may realize in the course of sharing that the suggested scripts are not exhaustive. For instance, a believer may meet an individual who fails to respond to any of the five initial questions fronted by Fay or have objections that are different from those postulated in this book. It may prove detrimental to the believer as he or she may feel seriously inadequate, lost, discouraged and more fearful to share Jesus thereafter.

Action

Share Jesus without Fear by Fay has helped me to develop three action steps that I believe would substantially help me reach out to the Lost as I work out my obedience as a Christian. First, I feared sharing the gospel with my non-Christian friends in the past but found it easier sharing the gospel with people who are new to me, more so while attending church outreach programs. However, reading Fay’s Share Jesus without Fear has enabled me to understand evangelism from a more inclusive perspective. Consequently, I have resolved that I will share my faith with at least three non-Christian friends and family members every week. However, this number may vary given that I always have to be sensitive and ascertain whether or not the door is open for evangelism as suggested by Fay. Fay demonstrates how a believer can sensitively transition normal conversations with a friend to a spiritual topic that may end up with the latter accepting the gospel of Christ.

While I put into action the process of reaching out to my friends and relatives who are non believers, the book has also helped me to develop a plan for praying for the lost. The seven day prayer guide given by Fay has particularly proved to be worthwhile in this course. Fay has made me understand that evangelism is not all about reaching out to the lost. Rather, it also entails seeking the Lord to allow His Spirit to convict sinners and prompt them to accept Christ. I have developed a three week prayer plan to pray for at least thirty people who have not yet accepted Christ. Fay notes that some people have stayed in his prayer list for years while others have been in the list for a short time. This has made me understand that though I pray, it can still take a good period of time before some of the individuals I pray for are convicted by the Spirit of God. I will revise the names in my prayer list for the lost at the end of every three weeks as I evaluate my progress in evangelism. This would enable me to remove the names of those who shall accept Christ and incorporate the names of new individuals as the Lord lays the burden in my heart.

Lastly, reading Share Jesus without Fear has enabled me to develop a discipleship program for those who accept Jesus Christ. Although I used to evangelize, I was more concerned with unbelievers coming to Christ than how they live in Christ. Fay gives evangelists a clear guideline on how to handle new believers after they accept Christ in order to ensure that they keep the faith. He provides a number of questions that an evangelist can ask a new believer in order to evaluate whether or not the believer understands the new occurrences in their life. As an evangelist, I have decided to ensure that those I evangelize receive foundational teachings in Christianity. First, as noted by Fay, I will encourage new believers to testify about their faith in order to make them feel that they have received that which is precious. In addition, helping new converts understand the importance of prayer is an action also included within my discipleship program.

I have also resolved to help new believers find a church to worship. Whenever convenient, I will encourage them to attend our small local church so as to ease my evaluation on their progress. Notably, discipleship is a very comprehensive program and quite demanding. To ensure that every new believer is well attended to, I have teamed up with members of my Bible Study group at our local church to help new converts grow.

Conclusion

Despite the few weaknesses, believers across the world should read Share Jesus without Fear by Fay. It is easy to read the book since it is entirely based on scriptures and provides very practical applications. Fay gives his readers an avenue through which they can transform the church that has rather been suffering from lack of growth and teaches Christians the route to obedience.