Philip.

Does sharing your faith rank top on your list of desired activities? Don’t feel alone. Most Christians would rather do everything else than to tell people about Jesus Christ. Often the excuse would be “I am not good in doing it.” Or “I do not know the Bible much.” Or “I am too shy. No one will listen to me.” And the list of excuses goes on.

If you are interested in learning a few pointers on how you could share your faith, read on. If you do not bother to share Jesus, go to another more “interesting” blog.

Tucked away in the book of Acts chapter 8 is a man who shared the Gospel in such simplicity yet full of richness. This man was Philip.

There was a great persecution against the church in Acts 8 and we see that the believers were scattered to various places. However, they preached the Gospel where ever they went. This shows how passionate the early believers were. One of the believers that was scattered was Philip. Interestingly, Philip was the only one mentioned in the Bible among the many others. Let us see why.


Philip had Sensitivity

An angel commanded Philip to rise and go to a certain road leading to Gaza. Immediately he started out on that journey. There was no hesitancy and doubt. He was sensitive to the voice of God. He neither bargained with the angel nor complained about going to a deserted area.


Philip had Availability

Once he was at the road, there was a chariot carrying an eunuch who was reading the scripture of Isaiah. The Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot and stay near it. Philip was available. He did not say, “Wait, I will go later. I have something to do now.”


Philip had Initiative

As he approached the chariot he heard the eunuch reading from the scripture. Philip asked the eunuch, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
This was a simple yet thoughtful question. He took the initiative in the conversation, setting a tone that didn’t try to impress or insult. He just asked a question. A simple question is sometimes all that is needed to get someone into a topic on spirituality which will slowly lead you to share the Gospel.


Philip had Tactfulness

The Gospel of Jesus isn’t a box of chocolates. Not everyone who gets a taste will say, “That’s nice, could I have more?” The message will offend many because it simply makes a clear distinction between right and wrong.
The eunuch responded to Philip’s question asking, “Well, how could I understand, unless someone guides me?”
The eunuch invited Philip into the chariot and the eunuch asked him more questions.

Philip asked a question, waited for an answer. He listened, he was attentive, he waited for an answer and he waited to be invited into the chariot. He did not push the eunuch and he did not start forcing the Gospel unto the eunuch.


Philip had Precision

Philip began with the passage of Scripture and told him the very good news about Jesus. (verse 35)
He did not debate with the eunuch about religious issues. He did not bad-mouth the synagogues and he did not condemn the eunuch for serving a pagan government. All he did was simply sharing Christ, the foundation of the Gospel.
When engaged with such conversations, people might run away from the Gospel. This is because they may have bad experiences with Christians before. They may have been hurt before. They may be hardened towards the Gospel. However, we must keep it precise and simple, to share the death and resurrection of Christ.


Philip had Decisiveness

After sharing with the eunuch, the eunuch wanted to be baptized. Philip told the eunuch that he may be baptized if he believes in Jesus. The eunuch believed and was baptized.
Note that Philip did not persuade the eunuch to believe in Jesus. He did not pressure the eunuch to be baptized as well. He wanted the eunuch to make his own decision. Philip did not make it for him.
Like Philip we must not shove the Gospel down one’s throat and force someone to pray the Salvation Prayer right after we have shared with them. This is not the right thing to do. It is only our job to share our faith and then let the Holy Spirit do the work. Then we follow up on that person but never force someone to believe in Jesus.

The eunuch went on his way rejoicing (verse39)

These are just pointers to help and guide you. Above all else, if you claim to love God, you will ask for a passion for the lost. And once you get this passion, you will automatically know what you need to do.

Luke 10:2
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

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