12 Suggestions for Sharing Your Faith without Being a Jerk

Christianity by its very nature is a faith to be shared. God has shared his grace with us that we might be saved. Jesus gave His life so that we might receive that grace. Believers share the hope that we have in Christ so others can know what God has done on our behalf. It is the natural order of things in Christianity.

So why do we sometimes come off like insensitive jerks when telling others about Jesus? I think it comes down to the too-often “forced” nature of our presentations of the gospel. No one needs the way we present the gospel to be a sharp stick that is poked in their eye. The Bible is clear that the message of the gospel will confront them and will seem as foolishness to many. For some, it will be a stumbling block because they choose not to believe. So, believers should not intentionally or unintentionally put more hurdles to jump over or hoops to jump through for people to get the gospel.

Here are twelve suggestions about how to share your faith without being a jerk about it.

1. Make your faith a part of your normal conversations.

2. Speak well of others who do not agree with you.

3. Do not misrepresent the positions of those who disagree with our beliefs.

4. Your life should be an example of the power of gospel transformation.

5. Be transparent in how Jesus has changed your own rebellious attitudes.

6. Don’t use people for evangelistic target practice but truly invite them to be your friend.

7. Answer the questions that are actually being asked by those who disagree with us.

8. Learn multiple ways to explain the gospel from scripture and know how to make them mesh together.

9. Share your faith in person and do not hide behind Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, and a long string of emails.

10. In discussing sin, talk its destructive nature in your own life and why you don’t want the same effects to happen in your friend’s life.

11. Use the language of our beliefs where it is natural in conversations and always explain your terms.

12. Tell the compelling story of God’s initiative to connect us to Him.

Philip Nation is the adult ministry publishing director for LifeWay Christian Resources. Find out more on his blog.