Paul E. Little’s book How to Give Away Your Faith
How to Give Away Your Faith
A Summary
Little begins his book by challenging his readers to take a good look at the world in which we live. One may wonder why a book on evangelism begins with a brief analysis of Western culture. Little gives the answer to that question by insisting that Christians should know both their Bibles and the people around them (24). We should be attentive not only to the big-picture problems in our world, but also to the issues being faced by the person next door.
Little believes there are two essential ingredients for faith: initial commitment (conversion) and love and obedience to Jesus (33-4). Obedience is a sign that we have true faith in Jesus Christ, and this obedience includes our evangelistic efforts.
In the second chapter, Little describes the effective ambassador of Jesus Christ. He dispels some of the myths surrounding evangelism, including the attempts of some to express an artificial enthusiasm or the doubts of others as to whether or not they can engage in evangelism if they have moral imperfections (42-49).
Little challenges us to use our personalities and talents in order to be “diplomats,” and this diplomatic role implies that we must have non-Christian friends. “If we are serious about representing Christ, we need to think through how we can be the best friends possible to non-Christians,” he writes (49).
Little offers us a number of suggestions in how to cultivate these friendships:
- sharing mealtimes,
- participating in new activities,
- and getting to know the people in our neighborhoods (49-52).
Next, Little shows us how to go about witnessing by pointing to Jesus as our primary example. He analyzes Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, and puts forth some basic, practical principles for evangelism.
“These… are our eight principles: meet and know non-Christians personally; establish a mutual interest in conversation; arouse a person’s interest by life and word; gear explanations to people’s receptiveness and readiness for more; accept and even compliment rather than condemn; stay on the track; and persevere to the destination” (75).
How to Give Away Your Faith is filled with the practical insight from an experienced personal evangelist. One chapter seeks to help Christians overcome some of the social barriers that sometimes put them in awkward positions.
- How should Christians respond to those who use profanity?
- How can Christians give thanks before meals when sharing them with non-Christians?
According to Little, the “guideline for a right attitude in hurdling social barriers should be the ambassador’s goal: to get close enough to gain a hearing for the message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ.” (80) Little shows how this single-mindedness can help us overcome some of the more difficult social situations.
The central section of How to Give Away Your Faith focuses primarily upon the message that Christians are to proclaim as well as the reasons why Christians believe that message to be objectively true. Little writes:
“Ambassadors communicate a message. Many Christians are ineffective ambassadors because they’re not sure of the content of their message and are unable to communicate it clearly to others” (92).
In defining the gospel, Little turns the spotlight onto Jesus.
“The gospel… is Jesus Christ himself – who he is, what he has done, and how he can be known in personal experience” (94).
From there, he sketches some of the basic facts that give a framework for our thinking. These facts include the identity of Jesus Christ, his diagnosis of human nature, the fact and meaning of his crucifixion and resurrection, and how one becomes a Christian (95-101). These basic facts can be incorporated into a variety of gospel presentations.
The rest of the book focuses on training in apologetics, the relevance of Jesus Christ for a number of societal issues, the effect of worldliness upon evangelism, and how Christians can continually cultivate a passion for personal evangelism.
Little recognizes that evangelism is connected to other vital aspects of the Christian faith, including discipleship and personal holiness. Therefore, he deals with these other subjects, since they affect evangelistic practice.
Tomorrow, I’ll offer some strengths and weaknesses of this book.
