One of the main reasons the good Christians of the world do not share scripture with the masses is that they are afraid to be challenged. No one wants to feel foolish, especially when it comes to defending or making a case for your faith. Some would also spout off the need for a degree or ordination to discuss theology accurately. How true is this? Do you need to be a Bible scholar to discuss the Bible?
The struggle is real when it comes to defending the faith. To be sure, if you want to share scripture with others, you need to study it. The one who studies the Word is the one who can easily argue theological points, even without a seminary degree.
There are those atheists out there who know enough scripture to make themselves think they are Bible scholars, but usually, they can only argue what they have memorized that they disagree with. I once had dinner with a bunch of friends. An atheist at the table informed me that the Bible was full of contradictions. I told her to give me one example. She quipped that if she had a Bible in front of her she could easily point one out. I informed her I had one in my car and I’d be happy to fetch it so she could make her point. She changed the subject. Still, blustering atheists can be very intimidating to Christians who like to defend their faith but do not feel confident in doing so without proper training. A Bible scholar can certainly be knowledgeable yet not very congenial, making for heated and unfruitful debate. How can one balance the two?
What You And A Bible Scholar Have In Common
It might shock you to know that you and a Bible scholar have some similarities in sharing scripture. Would you like to know what it is? The Holy Spirit. Here is the thing; you can memorize whatever you want. No matter what you know intellectually about the Bible, only the Holy Spirit knows what the hearer needs to hear. There is enough preparation to debate every scenario for sharing scripture that you can dream up. People struggle with their concept of God and what they think about Jesus. You don’t know what they are thinking, but the Holy Spirit does. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to share scripture. You need to pray and be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to share with the hearer.
Secondly, neither you nor a Bible scholar is ever going to want the hearer to receive the Word of God more than Jesus. He died for the hearer. He died for the atheist that is telling you that you are stupid for what you believe. He died for the person who questions His deity. Jesus wants them to receive salvation. Once you get that in your spirit, it gets easier to share scripture. It’s okay if you only know a few Bible verses off the top of your head. You can share what they mean to you. Trust that if you are in front of a person to share scripture, you were the right person for the job. You may never know the outcome of the conversation, but trust that it needed to happen, no matter what their reaction is. You can’t mess it up.
How To Evangelize The Lost If You Are Not A Bible Scholar
What is step one? Relax. If you understood what has already been said then you know that it isn’t you anyway. If you are not in charge of someone else receiving the Word then you don’t have to sweat it.
And step two? Pray. If you have an opportunity to share scripture, pray silently to yourself for the conversation is about to happen. Give is to God and trust that He will direct it in the right way.
Step three? Be nice. No matter what the reaction, no matter what they say, even if they never come around to your point of view, stay friendly. Jesus wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your testimony and good character. If the conversation dives, you can bid them a good day and walk away with a smile. Commit to praying for them. You are not trying to win an argument. You are trying to save a sinner.
Making It Easier To Share Scripture
Ichthus VerseWear makes it easy to have conversations about scripture because we design our t-shirts to spark conversation. We bring the conversation to you, rather than you going to look for it. Check out our designs and our new evangelism project app for small groups.