I am terrified of evangelism. I suppose that I always have been. I cannot recall a time in my life when teaching the Bible one on one to a non-believer has not scared me. It scares me for a lot of reasons. I am scared of rejection. I do want to not be liked by someone, and that is a problem of my own pride. I do not want to be thought by others to be a rough person with little tack, which again has its roots in my own pride. I am scared because when I talk to someone about Christ I am conscious of the fact that their soul, and mine, is at stake. Evangelism is a Heaven or Hell matter. I could possibly mislead them in the way, and that is a frightening matter indeed. But I have just realized that the only way I could mislead them is if I try and teach that which I do not know, which leads to another reason I and many others I know are scared of evangelism. We are scared that the persons with whom we are talking with ask questions to which we do not know the answers. Listen closely, this realization has helped me and I believe that it will also help you. God does not expect us to teach what we do not know, indeed, how could He? He expects us to tell others what we do know, to take what we do have and put it to His service. On one occasion a woman anointed Jesus’ head with a very costly ointment. Some of His disciples were angered by this because they thought that the ointment should have been sold and given to the poor. Jesus’ response is very enlightening. He simply said, “She hath done what she could” (Mark 14:8), and for that reason Christ says, “Wheresoever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her” (Mark 14:9). God expects you to do you what you can, no more, but certainly no less.
Let’s now turn to another text for a lengthened illustration. As recorded in John 9, there lived a man who was born blind. Upon seeing this blind man, Jesus made clay and anointed his eyes with the clay. Afterward, the man was commanded to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which means “Sent” (John 9:6, 7). He did so and received his sight. The narrative does not tell exactly how much time passed between receiving his sight and being questioned by his friends and neighbors, but I get the impression that it was very soon after. What would you do if someone you knew, who had been blind from birth, received his sight instantly? I’d ask questions too! And immediately! That is what we find in John 9, and that is the very thing that we all fear as Christians. After Christ works in our lives we are terrified to be questioned about it, but notice how the formerly blind man responds. They asked him, “How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received my sight. Then they said unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not” (John 9:10-12). When he was asked a question to which he knew the answer, he answered simply and confidently, and when they asked him a question to which he did not know the answer, he admitted his ignorance. Why should we think that God expects any more from us? If someone were to ask you how you became a Christian, your job is just as easy as this man’s was. We need only respond, “I was sent by a man named Jesus to wash in the water. I obeyed His command, and now I am whole.”
Afterward, this man is brought to the Pharisees, and he responds the same way. “The Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see” (John 9:15). This man did not begin a discourse about how it was that Jesus was able to use clay to grant him sight. He stuck with the simple facts, which was all he knew. When we feel the need to explain the how of God’s working we are stepping into a place left reserved for God only. We should, like this man, stick to the facts. God is mighty to save. He has given commands in order to receive His grace. That is what I know. That is what I will obey. That is what I will teach. “But what if people aren’t satisfied with that?” one may ask. The truth is, they may not be. The Pharisees certainly weren’t. They disputed with the man and then continued to question.
“Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them” (John 9:16). The message this man brought was as simple as one can get. “Jesus put clay on my eyes. He told me to wash. I obeyed, and I received my sight.” Plain, simple, and concise. And yet it still caused division, and people still rejected the message. Why should we expect our message to yield different results on occasion?
They questioned further, dissatisfied with the man’s allegiance to Christ. The Pharisees had taken their stand and now they insisted on knowing where the man who was formerly blind would take his stand. “They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet” (John 9:17). Upon this, they decide to confer with the man’s parents, and found themselves just as dissatisfied with their answers as they had been with the man. Once again, they turn to him. “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner” (John 9:24). The Pharisees were relentless in their efforts in trying to dissuade this man from clinging to Christ. We should expect no less. When we speak to others about Christ we should expect resistance and persistence. But just like the man, we also should persist in our faith. And just like the man, we need only stick with what we know. “He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). If you or I are asked difficult questions our required response is found right here. “Whether that be the case or not, I do not know. But one thing I do know, He made me whole, and that is enough.” Just stick with what you know.
Now matter how many times we may say a thing, and no matter how many times we explain a thing as thoroughly and clearly as we know how, people will often insist on hearing it over and over again. “Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes?” (John 9:26). No matter how hard you are pressed by others, do not deviate from the plan. Do not try to make an educated guess in response to their questions, or try to “come up” with something (which in cases like these means that we “make up” something, and that is a foolish and dangerous tactic indeed). We are not required to try and tell any more than we already have, and how can we when we have already told all that we know? “He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be His disciples?” This conversation soon ends like so many of ours will. They say, in essence, “Well we know what the Bible says! And what you are saying isn’t there!” Listen to their response: “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake to Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28, 29). When the man who was blind defended his faith again, the simply cast an insult at him and ended the conversation. “They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out” (John 9:34).
Not only do I find this discourse enlightening, I find the following events fascinating as well. I can only imagine how this man must have felt. He had obviously experienced something amazing. His entire life had been changed. He was moved by the experience. He knew it to be real. He stood for his faith . . . and he was ridiculed for it. If we share any part of the human condition, I imagine that to some degree, he felt a little down-trodden. But God did not leave Him comfortless. Immediately, Jesus came to him. “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” Jesus asks (John 9:35). “He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him” (John 9:36-38). The man’s faith in Christ was not only vindicated, but it grew. Whenever you and I stick with what we know and courageously defend our faith, we should remember that we are not alone. Just as this man was visited by Jesus we also shall be visited by our God. Upon whatever rejection we might meet we fly to our God and bow down, as this man did, to worship Him! Therein we find our faith, not only established, but rewarded, and growing. Praise be to God for His comfort and grace!
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