Overcoming Fear in Witnessing
By Rev. Mike Foster
2Timothy 1:7 – “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Have you ever been afraid to tell others about Jesus? Well, you’re not the only one. It seems as though one of the biggest reasons, if not the biggest reason why Christians do not witness to others is because of fear. Given the title of the article, you are going to guess that I will be giving you ways to overcome fear when telling others about Christ.
Before I do, I would like to point out some interesting truths that can help us understand why fear keeps us from doing what we should. II Timothy 1:7 gives us a wonderful promise that God doesn’t give us fear but power, love and a sound mind. I want you to notice, though, that if you take the opposites of power, love, and a sound mind, you get three results of fear that are really three reactions that most of us have when we are afraid of witnessing.
The opposite of power is weakness. The word for power in this passage could be accurately translated as “ability” as in Acts 1:8 when it says, “But ye shall receive power…and ye shall be witnesses…” When we depend upon Him, God gives us the ability (power) to do what we need to do in witnessing to the lost around us. The opposite of that then is weakness and inability. Have you ever felt unable to witness, or, perhaps, intimidated to witness to lost people? That’s a result of fear.
The opposite of love here in this passage is not hate, it is selfishness. The love mentioned here is agape, that love that gives for others. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This type of love is a sacrificial type of love that eliminates all self. When we are willing to pass by those we know that need Christ, then we are being so selfish, which is a result of fear.
The opposite of a sound mind is a mind that is out of control, or another word we might use is “crazy.” When you were scared of something, has your mind ever played tricks on you? For instance, if you are afraid of heights, have you ever noticed how silly it is to be so? I remember standing in Seoul Tower overlooking Seoul, South Korea, and looking down over the city. I then stepped up to the window (that went from the ceiling to the floor) and looked down. I was immediately aware that I was very high up and looking down hundreds of feet. I got a sick feeling in my stomach and began to think of all the bad things that could happen and how hard it would hurt if I fell. Hundreds of people visit this building everyday and nobody has fallen yet. However, because of fear my mind went a little crazy and started telling me all the bad things that could happen if I did something that wasn’t going to happen. Have you ever had a similar experience when witnessing to someone? You could give them a gospel witness but, because of fear, you fail to do so and you pass up that opportunity. During the decision process you will find numerous excuses not to witness (none being legitimate) and just simply walk away. This is having an unsound mind as a result of fear.
Let’s look now at what we need to do in order to eliminate this fear from our hearts. First, we need to just speak out. 2Ti 1:8 – “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…” Speak out! Sometimes the best way to eliminate fear is just to start speaking with someone. Many times people are not all that bad to talk to and many times will listen if we do tell them about Christ. I have found that the best way to get over the fear of sharing the gospel is to just do it. You will find that the more you do it the easier it gets and the better you get at it. Another thing to take into consideration is that the more people you tell, the more people will get saved. Also, you do want to remember that you are trying to win people to Christ and snatch them from the pit of Hell. You are not just trying to sow seed but actually reap a harvest. So, share the gospel.
The second way to overcome our fear is to support our spiritual leaders. 2Ti 1:8 says, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner:” The Apostle Paul says to not be afraid and not be ashamed of him and his ministry. How many times have we not supported our spiritual leaders in their endeavor to get out the gospel and then end up not doing it ourselves? We are seeing major problems with authority in fundamental churches today. Christians do not want to place themselves under the authority of the pastor and as a result they don’t witness for Christ. God wants us to support our leaders and this will give us stability and help in winning souls for Christ. Think about it. How many churches that are in rebellion against their pastor are winning souls? When you take yourself out from under the umbrella of authority, you leave yourself vulnerable to attack and defeat. God cannot use people that are disobedient to authority, and so the lost suffer. The pastor that leads his flock to win souls is wise. Also, the flock that supports and follows their pastor in winning souls is wise. They go together.
Thirdly, if you want to overcome your fear of witnessing, expect persecution. Verse 8 says, “…But be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;” One way to handle persecution when it comes is to be ready for it. The Bible says that if we do right, we are to expect persecution, or opposition to the gospel. Don’t be surprised when it happens. The devil will try to discourage anyone who tries to witness by stirring someone’s heart to lash out in anger at the one sharing the good news. Jesus told us that if people hate Him, then they will most certainly hate us. However, we have to realize that this is not cause for quitting and not sharing the gospel. This is a way to overcome fear. In fact, it’s a good thing to be persecuted. Mat 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Don’t let the persecution stop you.
Several years ago I attended a conference where the Lord did some deep work in my heart. Not surprisingly, when I got right, I had a heart to reach the lost around me and desired to do so immediately. The last night of the conference, I stopped to get some gas at a gas station. I went inside to pay for the gas and felt stirred to hand a tract to the man behind the counter. I failed to do so and walked away having felt as though I quenched the Spirit. As I drove to the service I knew that I was going to be miserable if I did not give a gospel witness to that young man. I dropped my wife off and made my way back to the gas station where I went inside and handed a tract to the man behind the counter. He immediately got visibly angry and belligerent at me for telling him he was going to Hell. I was stunned and walked out confused and defeated. In looking back on it now, I believe that young man was under conviction of his sin because he knew he was on his way to Hell. He lashed out at me because he did not want to be confronted with the Truth. This situation bothered me and was a hindrance to my witness for Christ in the months to follow. The devil was persecuting me, and I was not prepared for it; this led to fear in witnessing. God wants us to not only expect persecution, but also be a partaker of it when it comes (I Peter 4:13).
Fourthly, to overcome your fear you need to know Christ in an intimate, personal way. 2Ti 1:12 says, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” I am convinced that we are full of fear because we don’t know Christ as we should. This word implies that it is not just a general knowledge, but also a personal relationship that puts him in that position of “knowing” Christ.
There is a big difference between just knowing about Christ and actually knowing Him personally. For instance, I know a lot about President George Bush. I have read a lot of things about him and his past. I believe he is a born again believer and has also had some problems in the past. However, this knowledge does not mean that I know him personally. In fact, I have never met the man before in my life. If we want to be successful in witnessing and overcome our fear, then we need to know Christ in a personal way.
We know Him by reading about Him and then spending time speaking with Him. We also then listen to His voice so that we recognize it when we are in His service and He tells us to do something. Prayer is not just a one-way discussion to Christ. Prayer is a personal conversation with the One that loves us. There is a big difference. I personally don’t like to sit and listen to someone talk my ear off for a long time. That can get boring very quickly, especially if the person is bragging on their accomplishments. Christ does listen to us when we speak, but He likes to speak to us as well. Some of my most wonderful times of prayer with the Lord have been where we talked together and I didn’t interrupt. This is getting to know Christ in an intimate, personal way. When we do, we can overcome our fear a little more easily.
Fifthly, we can overcome our fear by having faith in Christ. 2Ti 1:13 – “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” Christ is the One that gives us the power to do what He wants us to do. However, He doesn’t help us unless we depend upon Him to do it. The Bible says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” “The flesh profited nothing.” “But without faith it is impossible to please Him.” How many times have I tried to do things for the Lord in the flesh? How many people have I tried to witness to in the flesh? How many times have I gone out to win souls and come back empty because of flesh-dependence? These problems are common in many churches today. When we depend on ourselves to do the work, we will fall flat on our face. When I realized this concept, I began to change the way I prayed before going soul winning. I would take a little time before I went and get on my knees before God and ask Him to put me in the right place at the right time to talk to the right person. I then depended on the Lord to put me in the harvest and listened to His voice as I went out. This immediately increased the number of people who would listen to the presentation of the Gospel, as well as the number of those who would decided to be saved. God wants to save every person, and He knows who is ready and who is not. If I trust in Him, He will put me in the right place at the right time to talk to the right person. I then have nothing to fear.
Finally, I can overcome fear by loving Christ. 2Ti 1:13 says, “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” This type of love is not just affection for Christ; it is a sacrificial love that gives for Him. When I give myself for Christ as He gave Himself for me, then I can be successful. When it comes to witnessing, we are so self-focused that we back out because of our selfishness. God wants us to love Him; and when we do, we will surrender and give ourselves for Him to be used as He wishes.
So, overcoming fear really starts with a yielding of ourselves to Him and putting ourselves last. Like the Apostle Paul said in Phil. 3:7-10, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” When we look at all those things that we count more important than witnessing for Christ, we will find they are things that pale in comparison to the sufferings and joys of living for Christ. We have a job to do, and that is to win people to Jesus Christ. Let’s be busy about the task God has given us and put aside the sin of fear so we can be effective in winning people to Christ.