Help!

[Cassie93]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

 

[Genipher]

It's sin if you're being led by Yahweh to speak up and refuse.

What is He telling you to do? Not everyone is told by Him to do the same things. We have different gifts and use them accordingly.

Some people are led to be missionaries and travel across the world, some write books to spread the Word, some sing, some dedicate their lives to raising godly kids, some live quiet lives and are ready to give an answer when asked why they're different.

 

[Subhumanoidal]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

Well its the responsibility of all Christians to spread the gospel. But some are more suited to it than others, thus they may have a greater impact than others.
But the bible also says that Christians are like a body made of different parts. And each part is meant to do different things.
As an introvert myself I've never been great speaking to random people. I, instead, put my focus on helping people one on one. Kind of a counselor vibe.
Find your niche, something you enjoy and are good at, and put your efforts into that. But also don't hide from the chance to be a witness.
Witnessing isn't always about seeing people saved. 90% of it is planting or watering seeds that already exist. Being mocked is part of it, as the Bible predicts.
I mean they may mock and ignore you, but they beat, tortured murdered Jesus, so I think you still come out ahead.

 

[Journeyman]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

In the day we're living, you've probably never heard the gospel our dear Lord Jesus taught, so say nothing.

 

[Deuteronomy]

Hello @Cassie93, this book helps Christians take a new, far more effective approach to witnessing and evangelism, and I believe that you will find it helpful as well

Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions: Koukl, Gregory, Lee Strobel: Amazon.com: Books

In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority. In Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition, Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to artfully regain control of conversations, keeping them moving forward in constructive ways through thoughtful diplomacy. You'll learn how to stop challengers in their tracks and how to turn the tables on questions or provocative statements. Most important, you'll learn how to get people thinking about Jesus. Tactics provides the game plan for communicating the compelling truth about Christianity with confidence and grace.

Drawing on extensive experience defending Christianity in the public square, Koukl shows readers how to:

• Initiate conversations effortlessly
• Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively
• Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking
• Skillfully manage the details of dialogue
• Maintain an engaging, disarming style even under attack

Book Review: Tactics by Greg Koukl | Apologetics315

Also, if you go to YouTube and search "Koukl Tactics", you will find a LOT of useful information about witnessing/evangelism. For instance, here's the author giving a quick review of Tactics.

God bless you!

~Deut

1 Peter 3​

15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.​

​

 

[Gideon300]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

I was the same as you as I was very self conscious. I was easily discouraged too. I was the only Christian on a warship with 250 other guys. Somehow they all knew that I was a Christian. I shared with anyone who showed interest - not many!

The Lord delivered me from my inhibitions. I don't walk the streets shouting out that the end is near, but I'm happy to witness to people. Sometimes we go out together and witness. It's not wise to go alone. One person will pray while others do the talking.

Denying Jesus is when you deliberately say you do not know Him, as Peter did. You can ask God to set you free from being self conscious and ask for opportunities to witness. It's great joy to lead someone to Christ and it encourages us in our faith. Remember that the devil hates the name of Jesus and he will try to shut you down. Pray against the enemy and put on the armour of God.

I've had people come to me and say that I was different. That is awesome. That gave me an opportunity to witness and tell them that it was Jesus who made me different. And yes, there are mockers, including members of my own family. Often they are the most difficult to deal with.

 

[mar09]

Hello @Cassie93, this book helps Christians take a new, far more effective approach to witnessing and evangelism, and I believe that you will find it helpful as well

Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions: Koukl, Gregory, Lee Strobel: Amazon.com: Books

In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority. In Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition, Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to artfully regain control of conversations, keeping them moving forward in constructive ways through thoughtful diplomacy. You'll learn how to stop challengers in their tracks and how to turn the tables on questions or provocative statements. Most important, you'll learn how to get people thinking about Jesus. Tactics provides the game plan for communicating the compelling truth about Christianity with confidence and grace.

Drawing on extensive experience defending Christianity in the public square, Koukl shows readers how to:

• Initiate conversations effortlessly
• Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively
• Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking
• Skillfully manage the details of dialogue
• Maintain an engaging, disarming style even under attack

Book Review: Tactics by Greg Koukl | Apologetics315

Also, if you go to YouTube and search "Koukl Tactics", you will find a LOT of useful information about witnessing/evangelism. For instance, here's the author giving a quick review of Tactics.

God bless you!

~Deut

1 Peter 3​

15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.​

​

Thanks for sharing...

 

[mar09]

Learning to share Christ is a process. We also share by our testimony, even if we do not speak much. These days, it has helped me to be more bold in giving away Christ thru forums like this, our family/school/ grp group chats, others. People like to talk (and often abt themselves), but occasionally sending word of God, that should make others not only wonder, curious, convicted, or corrected, whatever God's word was meant to accomplish when He sent It out.

Opportunities may be limited if we do not go out much these days, but giving away tracts and praying for others is also a big help in softening and opening hearts of people who need Christ.

 

[SteveEpperson]

I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.

Wow, I was hoping I could find another person on this forum just like me!

One of the reasons I am a writer is because every time I open my mouth, I sound foolish. So, the written word is the way God prefers that I communicate.

Case in point, I had a friend of a neighbor who once asked me, "You're a Christian, right?"

"Why yes. Yes, I am," I replied.

And I left it at that, without any explanation or a word about why it was that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and that I am in desperate need of Him every day.

So, don't feel bad. Whatever medium you feel comfortable in is where God will lead you— no bull horn needed.

One thing that will make it easier is to assume that everyone is saved. That's because the majority of people in the world consider themselves good, spiritual, and on their way to heaven.

So, you could say to a friend or co-worker, "I've known you for a while now and I sense that you are a good, spiritual person. I'm trying to get closer to God and am wondering if you have any advice on that?"

And just see what they say. It should take less than about thirty seconds to know where they stand. And just brace yourself for some really odd replies.

When you hear those crazy answers, you may say something like, "But what about John 3:16?" And at that point, you open the Bible app on your phone and share what you've learned about the Gospel.

I've never led anyone in the "sinner's prayer" doing that. But at least most people now know that I'm a follower of Christ. And yes, I am a bit more isolated because of it.

The good news is, I think God may finally promote me to the position of janitor when I get to heaven.

 

[SteveEpperson]

In the day we're living, you've probably never heard the gospel our dear Lord Jesus taught, so say nothing.

Yikes

 

[mustaphadrink]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

You will notice that there are various gifts listed in the scripture. One of them is that of an evangelist. We have a friend who is an evengelist. We were on a train with her one day and withiin 10 minutes she was sharing the gospel with a young man sat across from us. She can do that because she has been gifted.

Did you know that washing the dishes is a gift? It comes under the ministry of helps.

We need everyone functioning in the ministry they are given by God. Not the ministry given to them by the church. You will know what your ministry is because you will enjoy doing it. if you don't enjoy doing something that is not your ministry.

 

[Journeyman]

Yikes

It is a huge yikes. Check out the thread "The Express Image Of His Person" (post #3).

 

[tourist]

I have a question!
I am quite a shy person and tend to keep to myself and my faith to myself.
Am I denying Jesus by not speaking about him to others?
I've tried but always seem to get mocked at or ignored and so I've kinda given up.

I want to do right by God.
I just wanna know of this is a sin or not.

Someone help.

@Subhumanoidal offered succinct counsel that merits consideration.

 

[Cassie93]

It's sin if you're being led by Yahweh to speak up and refuse.

What is He telling you to do? Not everyone is told by Him to do the same things. We have different gifts and use them accordingly.

Some people are led to be missionaries and travel across the world, some write books to spread the Word, some sing, some dedicate their lives to raising godly kids, some live quiet lives and are ready to give an answer when asked why they're different.

I don't believe i have the calling to do missionary work or to be a preacher ! I've always wanted to be a mother and I love being a stay at home mum. So maybe I'm meant to raise Godly kids.
I guess it scares me cause so many people I know don't believe, so I hope to plant a little seed or awaken them some day.
Thank you for your advise

 

[Cassie93]

Well its the responsibility of all Christians to spread the gospel. But some are more suited to it than others, thus they may have a greater impact than others.
But the bible also says that Christians are like a body made of different parts. And each part is meant to do different things.
As an introvert myself I've never been great speaking to random people. I, instead, put my focus on helping people one on one. Kind of a counselor vibe.
Find your niche, something you enjoy and are good at, and put your efforts into that. But also don't hide from the chance to be a witness.
Witnessing isn't always about seeing people saved. 90% of it is planting or watering seeds that already exist. Being mocked is part of it, as the Bible predicts.
I mean they may mock and ignore you, but they beat, tortured murdered Jesus, so I think you still come out ahead.

This is amazing advise and you are right. I am becoming more open with talking about my faith one on one with people and a couple of friends have kinda shown interest, 1 said they she is gonna start reading the bible and the other allowed me to pray for her, my partner was also atheist when we first got together and now he believes. Which is awesome.
And you are right! I think Christianity as been watered down so much. It's all about love these days and Jesus apparently only "preached love" people seen to forget that as much as God is about love he is the same about just and Jesus taught this too.
I'll have to keep praying for strength and wisdom as I journey on with my faith and hopefully just by my actions and the way I remodel and the way I speak about God that will plant little seeds in people's lives.
Thank you for your amazing advise.
May God bless you

 

[Cassie93]

In the day we're living, you've probably never heard the gospel our dear Lord Jesus taught, so say nothing.

I don't really know what you mean by this but I am learning. I just wanna make sure that when I do talk about the gospel that I don't lean on my own understanding on what the bible actually meant by it.

 

[Cassie93]

Hello @Cassie93, this book helps Christians take a new, far more effective approach to witnessing and evangelism, and I believe that you will find it helpful as well

Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions: Koukl, Gregory, Lee Strobel: Amazon.com: Books

In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority. In Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition, Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to artfully regain control of conversations, keeping them moving forward in constructive ways through thoughtful diplomacy. You'll learn how to stop challengers in their tracks and how to turn the tables on questions or provocative statements. Most important, you'll learn how to get people thinking about Jesus. Tactics provides the game plan for communicating the compelling truth about Christianity with confidence and grace.

Drawing on extensive experience defending Christianity in the public square, Koukl shows readers how to:

• Initiate conversations effortlessly
• Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively
• Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking
• Skillfully manage the details of dialogue
• Maintain an engaging, disarming style even under attack

Book Review: Tactics by Greg Koukl | Apologetics315

Also, if you go to YouTube and search "Koukl Tactics", you will find a LOT of useful information about witnessing/evangelism. For instance, here's the author giving a quick review of Tactics.

God bless you!

~Deut

1 Peter 3​

15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.​

​

Thank you for this! I will def look into it when I get a chance. It looks interesting and I hope that it helps with what God wants me to do.

Thank you for this information and God Bless

 

[Cassie93]

I was the same as you as I was very self conscious. I was easily discouraged too. I was the only Christian on a warship with 250 other guys. Somehow they all knew that I was a Christian. I shared with anyone who showed interest - not many!

The Lord delivered me from my inhibitions. I don't walk the streets shouting out that the end is near, but I'm happy to witness to people. Sometimes we go out together and witness. It's not wise to go alone. One person will pray while others do the talking.

Denying Jesus is when you deliberately say you do not know Him, as Peter did. You can ask God to set you free from being self conscious and ask for opportunities to witness. It's great joy to lead someone to Christ and it encourages us in our faith. Remember that the devil hates the name of Jesus and he will try to shut you down. Pray against the enemy and put on the armour of God.

I've had people come to me and say that I was different. That is awesome. That gave me an opportunity to witness and tell them that it was Jesus who made me different. And yes, there are mockers, including members of my own family. Often they are the most difficult to deal with.

That must have been rough! It can be quite lonely when no one else shares that belief but at the same time you're never alone when you have Jesus in your life and thought it was only a few that you were witness too, it could have changed their lives, could have opened something up.

Yeah! I don't want to be one of those people that scare people into believing in God that won't bring anyone to God. If you know who ray comfort is, I love the way he evangelize. He does it in a loving way but in a very honest way.

But thank you. That makes sense. I work in a child care where we aren't even allowed to talk about religion only if a kid brings it up and it's so hard cause then you have kids that are atheist, kids that are Muslim. They question so many things like if boys can marry boys one kid was fighting saying no my mum said so and then other kids were like yeah because my mum said so.
So I don't know what to do in that situation cause I would explain that I believe in God and Jesus but then I'd also have to explain other kids beliefs which I've never felt right about.

My family is the same. They thought I join an occult.

Thank you for your advise
And God bless

 

[Magenta]

In the day we're living, you've probably never heard the gospel our dear Lord Jesus taught, so say nothing.

Reminds me of the saying" "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."

 

[Cassie93]

Wow, I was hoping I could find another person on this forum just like me!

One of the reasons I am a writer is because every time I open my mouth, I sound foolish. So, the written word is the way God prefers that I communicate.

Case in point, I had a friend of a neighbor who once asked me, "You're a Christian, right?"

"Why yes. Yes, I am," I replied.

And I left it at that, without any explanation or a word about why it was that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and that I am in desperate need of Him every day.

So, don't feel bad. Whatever medium you feel comfortable in is where God will lead you— no bull horn needed.

One thing that will make it easier is to assume that everyone is saved. That's because the majority of people in the world consider themselves good, spiritual, and on their way to heaven.

So, you could say to a friend or co-worker, "I've known you for a while now and I sense that you are a good, spiritual person. I'm trying to get closer to God and am wondering if you have any advice on that?"

And just see what they say. It should take less than about thirty seconds to know where they stand. And just brace yourself for some really odd replies.

When you hear those crazy answers, you may say something like, "But what about John 3:16?" And at that point, you open the Bible app on your phone and share what you've learned about the Gospel.

I've never led anyone in the "sinner's prayer" doing that. But at least most people now know that I'm a follower of Christ. And yes, I am a bit more isolated because of it.

The good news is, I think God may finally promote me to the position of janitor when I get to heaven.

That's quite good advise! I've kinda been doing that with my friend but she it into that new age stuff. So I've been trying to share my beliefs with her. She is very strong in her spirituality but I pray that what I say will open something in her heart that she will eventually do her own research on Jesus.

You know what I too would gladly be a janitor for God. I think he'd be a pretty amazing boss. Haha

Thank you for your advise And God bless