Sharing Your Faith with Non-Believers

Do you find it difficult to talk about your faith with others – at work, in school or even in your community? Let me tell you a story…

Hannah and Joy have been roommates for about two years and Hannah had always tried to invite Joy to church countless times. However, Joy wasn’t interested in anything church and over the years, it seemed like her interest just diminished further. One fateful Sunday morning, as Hannah’s alarm went off; she quickly jumped out of bed, said a short prayer and dashed into the bathroom to get ready for church. When she came back into the room, she saw Joy ironing her clothes and it seemed as if she was getting ready to go somewhere. Out of excitement, Hannah asked her a question she had always asked her for so long.

Hannah: Is today the day you finally follow me to church?

Joy: I don’t see what going to church has done in your life (in the most sarcastic but revealing response and she left the room)

Hannah was hurt but what Joy said to her was the truth. Hannah was badly behaved; her words were hurtful and she didn’t have kindness in her heart but she played religion so well.

Sharing our faith with non-believers can be difficult and sometimes come off as offensive. When it comes to spreading the gospel, people think it’s all about going out into the street, sharing evangelical materials and asking people to accept Jesus. That is a good method of evangelism; however, you don’t necessarily need to go out into the street to spread the gospel. Sharing our faith with non-believers, goes beyond picking up the bible to preach Jesus, the gift of salvation. This Jesus we so much talk about has to show in our lives; our character should depict the lifestyle of Jesus. We should have love for others, display the fruit of the Holy Spirit and uphold God’s standards without compromising. Simply put, our lives have to mirror what we preach because Christianity is a lifestyle.

Ponder on this: How do people see you? How are you living your life? Are you shining your light and exhibiting the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)?

Have you ever heard someone speak or act in a particular way and your first thought was, ‘and this person claims to be a Christian?’ A lot of times, we cannot reconcile people’s words with their actions. How then do we prove that what we are saying is real? All these transcends beyond behaving right; it also includes the kind of faith we have in God and the display of God’s power in our lives. People need to see you and say there’s something different about you.

With that being said, here are some things that can help us with sharing our faith with others especially non-believers

• Be practical: share testimonies, examples of God’s love and the joy of His presence as you see in your life and the lives of others. Try as much as possible to be relatable because it makes non-believers see that you understand some of their struggles. This way, they find it easier to receive the good news you are sharing with them.
• Be patient: you will meet people that don’t want to have anything to do with the gospel of Christ. Don’t force it down their throat, simply show them love and pray that God softens their hearts to receive the good news.
• Pray with them: some people just need you to hold their hands in prayer. Since the Holy Spirit does the convincing, just invite Him in and allow Him do the rest.
• Ask for the direction of the Holy Spirit: You need the Holy Spirit to direct the way you talk to each person as you meet them, so the words can find a place in their heart and they can be convicted and converted into a new life in Christ.

Never think that you have to be good at convincing people to accept the gospel, there’s no skill or guideline to it because it is not by your eloquence or charisma; but by the power of God. You are only a vessel used to present the gospel to them; but God is the one that softens the heart of men.

Remember, winning souls for God is a command, don’t you think others should be liberated also? What are you doing about it? Think about it, there are benefits that come with winning souls, I bet you didn’t know – here are few of them

• Wisdom: Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
• Unusual Glow: That natural glow that nobody can explain as seen in Daniel 12:3 – Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. (the MSG version says …will glow like stars forever)

So, are you ready for that glow and wisdom?

Written by Tolulope Oyekan