During the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, one of the leading candidates was asked about their religious beliefs. In part, the candidate replied they were a Christian, however, their faith was deeply personal and something they did not talk about. Needless to say, this particular candidate was ridiculed by many for offering an insincere and hollow response.
Personally, I believe the candidate in question was trying to pander to religious voters and non-religious voters alike; so the criticism was warranted. Frankly, the very idea that we would not share our faith in Christ runs counter to New Testament teaching. The good news of Christ demands that we share it with others. That is the purpose of this blog and hopefully at the heart of every believer’s life. But sadly, there are too many so-called Christians who typify the attitude expressed by a certain presidential candidate; they simply want reach out to others and share their faith.
In our last post, we began a four part series exploring different facets of the faith of the Old Testament character Rahab. You will recall that she was a Gentile prostitute living in the city of Jericho who, at great personal risk, saved two Israelite spies from her countrymen. Consequently, she was rewarded and memorialized for her working faith (cf. James 2:14-26). In this, our second installment, I want to direct our focus to Rahab’s Outreaching Faith. The way she reached out to others and shared her faith is a model for us today as we seek to do the same.
You can continue Rahab’s story with part 1 – Rahab’s Working Faith, and part 3 Rahab’s Persevering Faith
The daring story of ancient espionage involving Rahab and the two spies is recorded in Joshua 2:1-24. With their covers blown, the two spies took shelter in the home of “a prostitute whose name was Rahab” (2:1). With some quick thinking, she concealed the two men and sent their pursuers on a wild goose chase (2:3-7). Once the coast was clear, she brought the secret agents out from their hiding place and asked,
“Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” (2:12-13)
Just before the spies departed, they confirmed their agreement with Rahab. Under the two-fold condition that she identify her house with a scarlet cord and no one leave the home. Then all who were gathered under her roof would be spared (2:14-21). A little over a week later, on the day of the miraculous taking of the Jericho (we’ll have more to say about this in our next post), Joshua reminded the people,
“And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent” (Joshua 6:17).
As the city and its inhabitants laid in ruins, Joshua honored the promise of safety to the household of Rahab by ordering the two spies to, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, as you swore to her” (6:22). The record states,
“So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and mother and brothers all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. And they burned the city with fire, and everything kin it. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive.” (6:23-25a)
I do not know about you, but I think God is wanting us to see something here by repeating the fact that she saved her family. Four times we are reminded that because of Rahab her family was saved from certain death. She was not merely concerned with herself. Her concern included her family and household. Rahab did not keep her faith in God a secret, she shared it with others and consequently they escaped God’s judgment. This is God’s design for spreading the gospel; one person sharing with another person the good news of salvation. It is what every Christian should be doing.
I’m sure that you would agree that as Christian we should be sharing our faith with others, but frankly how many of us are doing it on a regular basis? I venture to say very few. So, why do we not purse this most fundamental Christian act? Well, I guess some folks still think STRANGER DANGER! Others think they do not know enough Bible. While with some there is the perception that evangelism is the preacher’s job. These reasons (and we could cite many others) help explain our inactivity. Nevertheless, it should not be this way. In the model of Rahab, we should possess an outreaching faith, one that we will not hold inside but must share with others. To help equip us for this task, I would like to use the commission of Mark 5:19 as a model for us to follow.
In the first half of Mark 5, we read of Jesus’ healing the demoniac of the Gerasenes (Mark 5:1-20). It indeed is a marvelous account of one of the Lord’s great miracles. Following the miracle, Mark notes that “the man who had been possessed with demons begged [Jesus] that he might be with Him” (5:18). However, Jesus had other plans for him, so He sent the man away commissioning him to:
“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
Let’s break this verse down into three parts: 1) Where to Go; 2) Who to See; 3) What to Say.
Where to Go:
Too often missionaries are portrayed as people who leave home and go off to live and work in some far away land. No doubt, the church needs men and women who will do this kind of work, but more importantly Christians need to have a missionary mindset here at “home.”
Our mission field is where we live, work and play. We need not go across the seas to share the gospel, rather we need to go across the yard, the street, across town, the room, the table, or wherever we might find ourselves in this life. An outreaching faith goes home and shares the gospel with others.
Who to See:
I admire people who can easily transition a polite “hello” into a conversation about God and salvation. I do not have that gift and because it is a rare talent, I suspect you do not either. For the most part, most of us are uncomfortable talking to strangers about the gospel. Thankfully, the commission of Mark 5:19 does not require that of us, instead, Jesus sent the Gadarene home to those he knew best; his “friends.”
It is only natural that we share our faith with those who are closest to us. When Andrew found Jesus, his brother Peter was the first person he went to (John 1:35-42). When Matthew answered the Lord’s call, he invited his tax collecting friends to sit at table with Jesus (Luke 5:27-32). When the Samaritan woman concluded Jesus was the Christ, she brought her whole village out to meet Him (John 4:1-45). Then there is Cornelius (Acts 10:24), Lydia (Acts 16:15) and the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:33) who made sure their family and friends heard the good news of Jesus. Tapping into our network of family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors is God’s number one plan for evangelism. If will open our eyes we will see that, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).
What to Say:
It is a common practice in advertising to rely heavily on testimonials. Companies can give you all the technical information for why you should buy their product. But rarely does that hold any weight compared to a trusted friend saying this product is worth having because it improved their life. What is true in advertising is also true with the gospel.
Sharing our faith need not be a theological exegesis of the scriptures. Remember, the Gadarene was told to go, “tell how much the Lord has done for [him], and how He has had mercy on [him]” (Mark 5:19). His sharing of Jesus’ mercy and love would not be in technical jargon, but instead in personal tones. He could say, “Here is the man I used to be, here is who I am now, and here is how Jesus changed me.” That would have been a powerful message.
We all have a story of how our faith has transformed our lives; we need to simply tell it to others. “Here is the man/woman I used to be, here is who I am now, here is how Jesus changed me and here is how Jesus will do the same for you.” Couched in a personal story, your faith will be easier to share and your transformed life becomes a living testimony of the gospel’s power. One note: If you do not think you have a story, then you really need to do a serious gut check about your relationship with Jesus.
Rahab’s outreaching faith resulted in the salvation of her family. Her faith was deeply personal yet, rather than keeping it in, her faith propelled her to reach out to others so they could experience salvation as well. The question then is how concerned are you about the salvation of your friends and family? Do you have an outreaching faith like Rahab? If not, then I would encourage you today to pray to God asking Him to light a fire in your heart to share your faith with others. If I can help you with any spiritual need drop me a line at clay@claygentry.com. May God’s blessing be upon us as we keep sharing the good news.
One last thought: There’s an old hymn I remember singing as a youth. Its words paint a haunting picture that I hope will encourage you to exercise an outreach faith. The song is entitled, “You Never Mentioned Him to Me” written by James Rowe (1949):
When in the better land, before the bar we stand
How deeply grieved our souls will be
If any lost one there, should cry in deep despair
You never mentioned him to me
O let us spread the word, where-ever it may be heard
Help groping souls the light to see
That yonder none may say, you showed me not the way
You never mentioned him to me
A few sweet words may guide, a lost one to his side
Or turn sad eyes on Calvary
So work as days go by, that yonder none may cry
You never mentioned him to me
Chorus
You never mentioned him to me
Nor help me the light to see
You met me day by day and knew I was a-stray
You never mentioned him to me
Sharing The Good News of The Lord 