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Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd - Book Abstract


Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd

William Fay opens Share Jesus without Fear in a startling manner. He offers his audience a look into his life before he knew Jesus, including involvement with racketeering, mob ties, and owning “one of the larger houses of prostitution in the United States.”[1] After this startling introduction leading into a brief recount of his conversion, he gets on with providing insights into sharing the gospel with others. Fay relates to his audience his thoughts concerning those who say, “I live a good Christian life, but never share my faith.” Of these people, he says, “But the problem is, if you aren’t sharing your faith, you are not living a good Christian life.”[2]

Fay offers that many people do not share the gospel because they are afraid. Therefore, he offers not only a way to share the gospel, but advises readers that they cannot fail, and thus, have no reason to fear. Success or failure does not depend upon whether the person commits to Christ. Indeed, Fay insists we choose obedience and should not fear saying, “There is no success, no failure, in God’s kingdom when people choose obedience. In fact, this is the one area of your Christian life you ultimately cannot botch. Even if you share stupidly, unlovingly, or with poor timing, our heavenly Father can use it. What he can’t use is your silence.”[3] Readers are encouraged to drop their excuses so they might “experience the level of joy so many others have found” when they “practice obedience to the Great Commission.”[4]

Readers are not just encouraged by Fay to be obedient to the Great Commission, he gives them an outline as to how to share their faith with others. This is the way Fay has shared since become a follower of Jesus, and he offers it to help those who do not know how to share their faith so they might share confidently and with permission. Fay begins with five questions[5] to understand where a person’s beliefs are and to get permission to share Scripture with that person. Fay is adamant that permission is important, and that once permission is granted to share Scripture, it is vital that the person being witnessed to does the reading of Scripture “[b]ecause faith comes from hearing.” Fay continues, “When people read Scripture aloud, you will be surprised how quickly they become convinced of their need to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior.”[6]

In Share Jesus without Fear, Fay presents a no-nonsense outline to sharing the gospel with people. He offers advice on how to bring a person to a decision to live for Christ, and makes sure to be clear that God is the one working in peoples’ hearts and we are just being obedient to the call. Just sharing the gospel and bringing a person to a decision to follow Christ is not enough, readers are instructed to follow-up with those who commit to Christ and not just leave them because Fay says, “To abandon a new believer would be like leaving a baby in a blizzard.”[7]

There will be skeptics, cult members, and other general objections to the gospel. Fay offers help for this too. He tells readers of common objections he has encountered and offers ways to address them. With the help of five appendices, Sharing Jesus without Fear can be used as a tool for doing just that.

Bibliography

Fay, William and Linda Evans Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear. Nashville: B&H Publishing, 1999.



[1] William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd, Share Jesus without Fear (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 1999), 1, Kindle.
[2] Ibid., 8–9.
[3] Ibid., 18.
[4] Ibid., 26–27.
[5] Ibid., 33.
[6] Ibid., 45.
[7] Ibid., 72.

As a further resource, the following page lists the five questions to starting a conversation for sharing your faith, as well as recommended Scripture reading.

https://www.allaboutgod.com/share-jesus-without-fear.htm

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