#130 Book Review: Share Jesus Without Fear
2. Summary
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay is a book about how to share Jesus. The book covers topics such as why share your faith, the power of Scripture, and having non-Christian friends. But The main part of the book is taken up by how a Christian ought to respond to objections to Christianity. There are thirty-six main objections that Fay covers. From the idea that God cannot forgive you, saying that you are a good person, and the idea that there are many ways to God. Throughout the book Fay backs up all of his claims using the Bible. In the back of the book Fay even offers a summary of his method of sharing Scripture so that you can add it to your Bible.
3. Strengths
This book provides a comprehensive and practical guide to evangelism, offering clear strategies for sharing the gospel effectively. One of its greatest strengths is its thorough approach. Covering thirty-six questions that might arise when engaging in spiritual conversations. Fay does an excellent job anticipating objections and uncertainties that people may have when sharing their faith, ensuring that you are well equipped. A particularly valuable aspect of the book is how naturally the conversations are structured. Fay presents evangelistic discussions in a way that feels organic rather than forced. By framing them as a series of questions and answers, he models an approach that is both engaging and non-confrontational. Moreover, the use of questions helps shift the focus from the evangelist to the listener, allowing for meaningful engagement and reflection. This makes the process feel less like a presentation and more like a genuine discussion. By following Fay’s model, you can learn to navigate evangelistic opportunities with confidence making it easier to share Jesus without fear.
4. Weaknesses
This book is very good for what it is. Its biggest weakness is that it could be longer. The questions could have been answered more thoroughly and it could have addressed more questions. But this book is meant to be more of an introduction to evangelism than a complete answer to every evangelistic question. Furthermore, the explanation of why to do evangelism seemed a bit thin. Fay argues that “when we seize opportunities it can cause chain reactions.” Fay goes on to tell stories of evangelizing people and how God saved them. This is an exciting introduction to the value of evangelism. But the examples are not necessarily applicable to all readers. Limiting their value to cause people to actually evangelise. Fay does not go in depth into what the Bible actually says about why to share your faith, or what others have said about evangelism in the past. His arguments would have been strengthened had he provided more types of evidence and reason than just personal experience. This same issue is carried through the book where Fay tells his own stories and uses the Bible as evidence. This is not necessarily an issue but with more evidence types and stories from others the book may have been more compelling.
5. Quotations
“If they walked away from me believing they had failed, they believed a lie.” (Chapter 1, 2)
When people evangelized Fay he tried to convince them that they had failed but he always remembered what they said and their names. It is interesting how this points us to God being the one who knows who and when people will hear. When we evangelize it is not up to us to convince them but for God to work on their hearts.
“They’ve forgotten to reach out to those who are still drowning.” (Chapter 2, 6)
Speaking of Christians in a dream that forgot that there are others all around them that are drowning. The dream makes believers look rather ridiculous if they do not share their faith. There is some truth to this idea but it is also somewhat misleading. In the sense that everyone can see the rock, but some are looking away, others are distracted, and others want to drown.
“Here is a man, giving his all with what little physical and mental abilities he has left, to share a lie. Yet too many Christians sit back, too afraid to share the truth.” (Chapter 3, 15)
Also true, yet even Fay was not out handing flyers at the airport. It only worked for Ali because he was famous. For an ordinary Christian to do the same thing might be somewhat more ridiculous.
“I simply present the questions and Scriptures to others.” (Chapter 4, 29)
Speaking of Fay’s method of sharing his faith. The method is straightforward and very doable. Since we are not the ones to convince others of our beliefs but rather God working through us. We are rather the facilitator of the conversation between God and another person. They talk to God by answering the questions and God responds to them through the Bible.
“One of the most difficult things for many people to believe is that they can be forgiven.” (Chapter 5, 49)
This is a very sad but true reality. But there are also some that believe they don’t need to be forgiven and more that don’t even care.
“Let’s do a spiritual check and see where you are stuck.” (Chapter 6, 57)
The spiritual check is a useful tool in understanding where a person is at in their faith journey.
“To abandon a new believer would be like leaving a baby in a blizzard” (Chapter 7, 72)
Very true, and reminds me of a story that a fellow missionary told me once about sharing Jesus. The guy the missionary spoke to saw a miracle and the missionary then shared Jesus with him. But he did not ask him to become a Christian. A month later that missionary saw that man and he had forgotten everything except the coincidence he had previously acknowledged as a miracle.
“The best way to conquer an objection is through a simple three-letter word, the question why?” (Chapter 8, 81)
My four year son is an expert at this, and I can testify to the validity of this statement.
“I believe their presence in my life is by no means a coincidence.” (Chapter 9, 115)
When an unbeliever is in the life of a Christian it is in many ways a God ordained opportunity.
“Evangelism is a sanctification process” (Chapter 10, 132)
When we share our faith we become better Christians.
“But I wonder do we expect God to make the first move?” (Chapter 11, 141)
Speaking of revival, when we want God to do something with us the pressure is on us to make the first move.
6. Lessons
How to share Jesus
The method of how to share Jesus as presented in this book is the best that I have encountered. I like it more than the ABC method, the John 3:16 method, or the Roman Road. By having the questions and those particular verses the conversation is no longer between two people but one between God and an unbeliever. To be able to facilitate a conversation like this sounds exciting rather than scary like a one on one conversation would be.
Why to share Jesus
The idea that God places people in your life so that He can reach them is profound and compelling.
Be where God can use you
If we want God to use us, we need to be in a place where He can use us. I am joining the Air Force as a chaplain later this year. The fact that this is a place where I have opportunities to be used by God is really exciting to me.
We can be prepared
We should be prepared to share our faith as the Bible says, but we also can be prepared. If nothing else, we can mark our Bibles and read the relevant pages of Share Jesus Without Fear.
Bibliography
Fay, William and Linda Shepherd. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group. 1999
