Book Critque of Share Jesus Without Fear

Liberty Theological Seminary

Share Jesus Without Fear

A Paper
Submitted to Dr. Harold D. Bryant In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Course
Contemporary Evangelism
EVAN 565

By

31 January 2010

Biographical Entry

Fay, William. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 1999.

Author Information

The author of the book is Bill Fay. He was present and CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation, held ties to the mob, and owned one of the largest houses of prostitution. As he faced jail time, Bill began searching for peace and later found it in Jesus Christ on March, 4, 1981. He graduated from Denver Seminary in 1987, and has shared his faith with more than twenty-five thousand people on a one-to-one basis. Mr. Fay’s series Share Jesus Without Fear has over 3.5 million copies in print, and includes a Share Jesus Without Fear New Testament.

Content Summary The purpose of this book is to provide Christians encouragement and freedom to share their faith, and to equip them with the tools needed to do so. The book consists of three major sections: What are the fears/objections associated to sharing our faith? How do we share and bring to decision? and What do we do with a person once they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Mr. Fay begins his book by addressing six of the most common fears that keeps a person from sharing their faith. The first and most common is “I’m afraid of being rejected.” He claims, “when they reject the message, they are not rejecting us, they are rejecting Jesus and God’s word.” (p.17) The five other reasons are: 2. I’m afraid what my friends will think. 3. I can’t share with my co-workers. 4. I’m afraid that I will loose my friends and relatives. 5. I don’t know enough. 6. I don’t know how. He addresses each of these individually, and contends that is important to “share our faith with both friends and co-workers because God has put them in our path for that very reason.” (p.25) He also states, “When you surrender your life to Christ, it may cost you every relationship you have.” (p.25) He quotes Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” The Lord will give a person the words to say when the time comes, but a Christian’s job is to be obedient and not be a slave to silence. In chapter 8, he addresses the thirty-six most common objections and provides the reader with ready responses. According to Fay, “once we discover our friend’s objection, we should never fall into the temptation to argue.” (p.82) He encourages the reader not to be motivated by the desire to prove him wrong, but be motivated to share Jesus in love. (p.82) Once we overcome our fear, Bill gives us the “Five Share Jesus Questions.” He provides conversation joggers that are used to begin a conversation and then he suggests moving into the five questions. They are: 1. Do you have any spiritual beliefs?
2. To you, who is Jesus Christ? 3. Do you think there is a heaven and a hell? 4. If you died today where would you go? 5. If what you are believing is not true, would you want to know? These questions are effective for two reasons. First everyone has an opinion and loves to share. Second, because they put the questioner in control without putting our friends on the defensive. (p.33) Depending on what type of response we get to these questions the person may be ready for the next step. The next step is to share Scripture. He gives us seven share Scriptures. They are: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 3:3, John 14:6, Romans 10:9-11, 2 Corinthians 5:15, and Revelation 3:20. The next step is to give the person. Fay states, “Yet we would be remiss if we did not give people a choice…” (p.59) He provides five questions to ask the unbeliever. If the unbeliever responds to these questions, the next step is to lead them in the sinner’s prayer. If the person accepts Christ, Bill gives ten follow up questions and encourages Christians to get the new believer involved in a local church. He states, “to abandon a new believer would be like leaving a baby in the blizzard.” (p.72) Jesus commands his followers to “make disciples.” Being a disciple means growing in Christ, and Christians are responsible for providing everything the believer needs to grow. Fay closes the book encouraging the reader to pray for the lost, and develop relationships with unbelievers.

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