How to share your faith without starting an argument
Ever tried to share your faith and had someone argue with you about it?
Scared to share Jesus because you may not be accepted by your friends or family if you do?
Maybe you’ve shared your faith and they just don’t get it. Or they just keep arguing with you about it.
The number one thing you have to remember is that it’s not your job to change their mind. It’s your job to point people to Jesus and let Him change their heart.
It's not your job to change someone's mind. It's your job to point them to Jesus.
5 Ways to Talk About Faith Without Getting Into an Argument
1. Tell your story.
No one can argue with your personal story. Tell them what your life was like before you met Jesus, how you met Jesus, and what your life has been like since you met Jesus. It doesn’t usually make people defensive when you are talking about yourself and what Jesus has done for you.
2. Be consistent.
It’s hard to hit a moving target. It is hard for someone to understand what Jesus has done in your life when one week you are strong in your convictions, but the next week you live how you want to live.
This doesn’t mean you can no longer make mistakes because you will. We all do. Sometimes people learn more by how we respond to our own mistakes than anything we could say. This just means that you are consistently seeking direction from God and doing your best to follow His lead.
3. Love them.
A meaningful way we can show love to people, especially those who live differently than we do, is to show them grace. We don’t want to stand before them and be their judge of the things we believe they are doing wrong. We want to love them for who they are regardless of the choices they are making.
When Jesus said “Love your neighbor as yourself” was the next greatest commandment to loving God (Matthew 22:37-39), He didn’t put any conditions on it. He simply said to love them.
4. Serve them.
There is no better way to get someone’s attention than to serve them and meet their needs.
When you are trying to tell someone about Jesus, but they have a significant need not being met, your words are meaningless. However, when you put them above yourself and meet their needs, they are much more open to listening to you.
Jesus says He “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). How can you go out of your way to serve someone today?
5. Pray for them.
One of our greatest sources of power is prayer. Prayer is how we talk to God and ask for His help. When we ask Jesus into our lives, we become God's children. So when we pray, it is like asking our dad to help us out. What father doesn’t want to bless his kids? Especially when what we are asking for brings Him more glory!
Jesus says that when we ask in His name (John 16:24), with the right motives (James 4:3), that we will receive. Pray for Jesus to reveal Himself to them. Pray that Jesus would use you in the process. Pray for God to show you how you can better love and serve them.
Pray for boldness to tell your story.