Paul Little's - How to give away your faith (Book Review)

Little, Paul E. How to Give Away Your Faith. Madison: InterVarsity Press.

“The Great Commission,” wrote Hudson Taylor, “is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.” Evangelism is the art and science of communicating the good news of Jesus Christ in a clear, cogent, and Christ-like manner. It is a science because Christians must first be knowledgeable about what they believe, why they believe, and who they believe. It is an art because the more they actively engage with people in evangelism, the more conversant they will become.

Summary

In How to Give Away Your Faith, Paul Little offers practical principles and insights from Scripture and equips the reader to apply those principles in evangelism. In the first chapter, Little points out that Christians are not only responsible to share their faith with other people but they also need to be authentic in their commitment. In Chapter 2, he offers seven principles from Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman. In the third chapter, the author argues that Christians should be in the world but not of the world. He further states that we must be conversant with the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. The fundamental doctrines that are clearly taught in Scripture should be the content of evangelism. It is not enough to know what (content) we believe but also why (intent) we believe it. The sixth chapter deals with the solution, namely Christ, who is the answer to the dilapidated human condition of emptiness, purposelessness, and alienation. Those who engage with others in evangelism should be mindful of not being judgmental, or self righteous, but God-centered. The essence and extent of saving faith is the message of the eighth chapter and the last chapter deals with developing our character through the spiritual discipline of prayer and Bible study.

Critical Evaluation

In Chapter 1, Little states that those who are intentional about evangelism should be realistic in their approach. Our society is marked by improved communication, technological innovation, and rapid transportation. Political, economic, and social revolutions are commonplace in every major continent but the essential human condition is the same. The trend today is geared more towards science and scientism (10). It would have been helpful if the author explained the difference between scientism and science. First, scientism is self refuting because it is a statement of philosophy about science and it is not a statement of science itself. As a philosophical statement, it claims that there are no true or rational philosophical statements because they are not scientifically tested. So if scientism is true, no non-scientific statements can be true or rational including the propositions of scientism. Second, science relies on the necessary assumptions that must be made if science itself is going to be practiced. Some of these philosophical assumptions include the rationality of the universe, the reliability of sense perception, and the laws of logic. Third, scientism fails to account for the numerous examples of rational debate and truth in disciplines outside of the hard sciences like ethics, political science, history, etc. Therefore, Christians who engage the culture should realize that scientism is not the same as science.

In Chapter 2, Little delves into the topic of witnessing. The question is not will we witness but rather how do we witness? How do we get Christians to share their faith when they are not particularly passionate about evangelism? How do we speak with unbelievers who are turned off by religion? When unbelievers see no evidence of the redemptive power of the gospel, it may seem like that it is less real. The challenge for those who witness is that we constantly hear the promises and claims of Christ but never observe any change in the life of those who profess to be saved (24). The high calling of the Christian life is that (1) a genuine personal relationship with Jesus Christ is a prerequisite to being a Christian witness; (2) the Christian witness involves the whole life and; (3) evangelism is an essential element for a growing experience with the Lord (25). The best example of evangelism is found in our Lord’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at a well near Sychar (John 4:1-26). We learn from Jesus that he was exquisitely tender in dealing with people who had failed on some level. The Samaritan woman had been divorced five times and was living with yet another man and Jesus was able to engage her in a conversation that had eternal ramifications. Jesus brilliantly connected her physical thirst – parched-throat thirst and also the thirst for intimacy – with a thirst for transcendence that only He could satisfy. “Everyone who drinks this water,” said Jesus, “will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4: 13-14).

In Chapter 3, the author deals with hurdling social barriers. Christians should be winsome and approachable in their interaction with the unregenerate world. Evangelism is irreducibly linked with orthopraxy – how we live out the Christian life. But we must never fail to realize that the human heart is ultimately changed by the Holy Spirit. As Little points out, we are privileged ambassadors of Jesus Christ who are called to communicate a verbal message and demonstrate through our personality and life what the grace of Jesus Christ can accomplish (53). This means that we should not go around chalking up scalps, taking credit for the Holy Spirit’s work and saying “I’ve got seven! You’ve only got three.” In all our evangelistic endeavors, God should always get the glory. No one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Christians should be conversant with the basic facts about their faith and where these facts are documented in the New Testament. Some of these facts are: (1) the deity and humanity of Christ (John 5:18; John 11:35); (2) Human beings are sinful and sin is the basic disease of rebellion against God, of going our way rather than His (Romans 3:10-18); (3) the fact and meaning of His Crucifixion (1 Peter 3:18); (4) the fact and meaning of His Resurrection (Luke 24: 36-48); (5) In becoming a Christian, there is something to be believed and Someone to be received (John 1:12). Saving faith is not mere intellectual assent to a set of facts but trusting Christ as Savior and Lord. As Little points out intellectual assent to a set of doctrines does not make a person Christian any more than mere intellectual assent to facts makes a person married (59). Knowing our message and communicating that message clearly is crucial to effective witnessing.

It is not only necessary to know what we believe but also why we believe what we believe. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15, 16). As John Stott put it, “We cannot pander to a man’s intellectual arrogance, but we must cater to his intellectual integrity” (65). Brian Auten states that there are four elements or principles of Christian witness found in 1 Peter 3: 15 and 16: the core, the content, the conduct, and the conscience. “Revering Jesus as Lord” can be understood as the core of our message. “Be prepared” and “give an answer” can be understood as the content of our message. “Gentleness and respect” has to do with our conduct. The conscience is the true character and integrity of the Christian. It is integrity that shames those who speak maliciously against our good behavior.

The author, then, carefully deals with questions and objections that are often posed by skeptics and unbelievers. What about the person who has never heard about Jesus Christ? He points out that these questions are more often than not intellectual smoke screens that skeptics hide behind to evade moral responsibility. Jesus asked the most important question: “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Another question often posed by the unbeliever is how can Christ be the only way to God? Why can’t the sincere Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu be saved? The author correctly explains neither sincerity nor intensity can create or determine truth. Faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed (70). We must realize that all religions claim exclusivity and it is incumbent on us to determine which worldview is correct. Moreover, truth by nature is exclusive. In the moral realm, as in the physical there are laws that are not based on social convention (71). The problem of evil and suffering is one of the most daunting dilemmas that humans face. Little responds to this question by stating that humans were created by God with the freedom to obey God or disobey (71). Evil came as a result of man’s disobedience and because of the pattern of the universe his actions are not limited to himself but also involves other people. God addressed the problem of evil when He sent His Son into the world. His death on the cross was the penalty for our sins and evil.

How can miracles be possible in an age of science and technology? As Little explains, the real issue is whether or not God exists. If God exists, then miracles are not only possible they pose no intellectual contradictions (72). How do we know that God exists? One is the teleological argument: Every design points to designer. The universe is complex in its design. Therefore, the universe has a designer. Just as a wrist watch, which is relatively uncomplicated does not come into existence by chance, the universe which is infinitely far more complex than a wrist watch could not have come into existence by chance. Another argument is the cosmological argument: Everything that began to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause. The author explains that these arguments should not serve as conclusive proofs but rather as hints that point to a Creator (72). How does one reconcile one’s faith with the fact that the Bible is full of contradictions? This question is often posed by people who have little or no knowledge of the content of the Bible. But this should not lead Christians to ridicule their opponents. The author explains that the Bible does contain some “apparent” contradictions but they have been vindicated by the discoveries of modern archeology. As archeologist Nelson Glueck states, “No archeological discovery has ever [contradicted] a biblical reference” (76).

Some skeptics have facetiously stated that the Christian faith is a psychological crutch for the weak. They suggest that some people have faith only because they have been conditioned since early childhood to this way of thinking (77). The author quickly explains that Christianity differs from wish fulfillment and psychological phenomena because the Christian’s subjective experience is securely bound to an objective reality, namely the resurrection of Jesus Christ (78). If the resurrection is true, then it makes all the difference in the world. Another objection that is often posed by the unbeliever is, “Isn’t living a good moral life sufficient for a person to go to heaven?” According to the Bible, God demands perfection (Matthew 5:48). God’s nature and character blazes with purity and holiness and if we are to abide in His presence, we would be consumed because of the corruption in our lives (Hebrews 12:29). Christ’s perfect righteousness is the only basis by which we can come into fellowship with God. “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (1 Corinthians 5:21).

Is the message of the Gospel still relevant today? Does it have any relevance to the purposelessness, hopelessness, emptiness, and loneliness that humans face today? In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” When Jesus invades a person’s life, He fills the spiritual vacuum with eternal purpose and significance and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we can find ultimate fulfillment. In John 8:12, Jesus states, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” After a person becomes a child of God, the person no longer fumbles in the darkness of spiritual confusion and uncertainty because of the transforming power of Christ. In John 11:25, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus alone can address the fear of death because He conquered it be rising from the grave. He does not stand in a line of peers with Abraham, Buddha, or Confucius because He has the power to lay down his life, and to take it up again.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). As a shepherd looks after and cares for the sheep, Jesus cared so much that He laid down life his for the sheep. This means that He will never leave nor forsake His sheep. But what makes the Christian message so special? Why could it not be one of the many ways to God? In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” As Os Guinness explains, “Christianity is not true because it works (pragmatism); it is not true because it feels right (subjectivism); it is not true because it is my truth (relativism). It is true because it is anchored in the person of Christ.”

It is not true because it works; it works because it is true. It is not true because we experience it; we experience it – deeply and gloriously – because it is true. It is not simply ‘true for us’; it is true for any who seek in order to find, because truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity – it is simply true and that is the end of it.

The truth claims of the Christian faith rest on the person and work of Jesus Christ. In Chapter 7, the author tackles the subject of worldliness. What does it mean to be “spiritual” and “worldly?” Is it merely a checklist of do’s and don’ts? The author draws principles from Romans 14 to better understand the issue of worldliness. First, we should not pass judgment merely based on externals (Romans 14: 3-4). Second, a personal conviction and not social pressure should mold our behavior (Romans 14:5). Third, the totality of our life belongs to God. “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). As Abraham Kuyper once said, “…there is not square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

What is the essence of saving faith? How is it different from credulity? The author explains that faith is only as valid as the object (person or thing) in which it is placed (106). Believing is something or someone sincerely does not make it valid nor can faith’s validity be increased by intensity. Belief does not create truth any more than failure to believe destroys truth (107). Faith placed on something non-existent is mere superstition. The Christian faith is built on the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. So the Christian faith can be strengthened not by having faith in faith but resting and trusting on the Faithful One (112).

Does it matter how the Christian leads his or her life? Does character matter? The private and public life of the believer should be consistent. We see the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). It is through submitting every aspect of our lives to His Lordship and trusting in Him in our personal fellowship with God that we attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). How does a person ultimately grow in Christ? It is through the discipline of prayer and Bible study. It is through the diligent study of Scripture (SPECS Bible Study Method) that we learn: (1) Summary of the text; (2) Promises to claim; (3) Examples to follow; (4) Commands to Obey; (5) Stumbling Blocks or sins to avoid.

Conclusion

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10: 14-15). Preaching the gospel applies to all believers not just a select few. Paul Little’s How to Give Away Your Faith is an excellent resource for both new and seasoned believers on sharing Christ with others. He encourages, exhorts, instructs, and challenges the believer to be proactive and prudent in personal evangelism. Christians should seek to be authentic both in speech and conduct. As Little aptly states, “to witness effectively we must be realistic: genuine in our knowledge of people in today’s world and genuine in our total commitment to Jesus Christ” (20).