Jesus on the Job

Sharing Your Faith in the Workplace

Randall Farrell

• Publisher: Randall Farrell
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9780578928180
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Have you ever felt the need to share your faith in the workplace but were afraid you may get into trouble? Maybe you were hesitant because you feared being asked questions you couldn't answer. Is your personality one that avoids conflict and doesn't want to "shove your religion down people's throats"? Do you think people will see you as a hypocrite or shun you? Perhaps you think sharing the Gospel is the responsibility of the clergy and church staff but your faith is a personal and private matter between you and God.

This book will explain why it is your responsibility as a Christian to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, even in the workplace. It will give tips on how to successfully share while overcoming the fear and the opposition that Satan wants you to experience so that your witness will be kept silent. If you are saved by grace, you have everything you need to talk about Jesus On The Job.

CHAPTER

1

HOW?

Let’s get started by making one thing very clear. The suggestions in this book are meant for those that are saved by the blood of Jesus. If you are not, you will not have the calling, the desire, nor the power of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel with others. Even if you claim to be Christian, you may not be. Christianity is not a label to be selected by individuals who want to identify with a church, denomination, or an ideology that does good things for people. Christian churches all over the world have people that have been attending for years but are not saved. I attended church for the first twenty-five years of my life and at times was very devout, but I was not saved.

So, what am I calling being “saved”? To be saved, you must confess to God that you are a sinner and that you cannot do anything to atone for your sins. You are in need of a Savior to atone for them. Jesus was and is that Savior, and His death on the cross is the atonement for all of our sins. You have to accept that sacrifice, His death on the cross, and resurrection, as the only way you can be forgiven of your sins and go to heaven. In giving your sins to Jesus and accepting His atonement, you are saved and have begun the process of making Him the Lord of your life.

So, how can I be so dogmatic about this?

You are a sinner and need a Savior. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Jesus is your Savior. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus is the only way that you can be saved. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

You must accept salvation as a free gift of God, not something you have earned or achieved for yourself. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, and not of works lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

You must accept this and only this for your salvation as a gift from God, that nothing else is needed. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12–13)

The Basis for Belief

Maybe you don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God without error. Some who call themselves Christians take the position that the Bible is good for general guidance but has contradictions and no longer fully applies to today’s society or is allegorical in nature. If you have this opinion of the Bible you will struggle with what I have to say in this book, but I encourage you to read on.

Let’s discuss the Bible for a moment, because it is the basis of all my arguments and this entire approach to sharing the gospel. If you don’t believe the Bible, there is no gospel to share.

You may be thinking,

But Randall, I’m not saying I don’t believe the Bible or the gospel of Christ, I’m saying I don’t believe all of the Bible is literal, and it is certainly not contemporary.

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1–2)

You see, Jesus is the Word of God, so if you don’t believe the Word, you don’t believe Jesus.

Well, of course I believe Jesus.

Then you must believe the Word, the Bible. For if you don’t believe all the Bible, you can’t trust any part of it as truth, except for the parts with which you happen to agree. If you are picking and choosing what you believe, then your beliefs are not based on any standard. In short, you’re just making it up.

We all strive to interpret scripture, thinking we have absolute truth and then later find reason to change our interpretation when we hear something different preached or the Holy Spirit reveals a different interpretation during our quiet time and/or Bible reading. This happens frequently, because God gives us all different amounts of faith depending on our desire to grow the faith that He has already given. We must exercise and grow our faith for the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Not only do some self-claimed Christians not believe the Bible, but they do not necessarily believe Jesus was/is real. I was on a Facebook string of responses to a theological question once, and someone I didn’t know gave the opinion, “Being Christian doesn’t mean you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is the way you live your life and help others.”

Really?

The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and the Greek word for Christian is Christianos, which means “follower of the anointed.” “The anointed” is Jesus. We must not allow society to redefine that which God has already defined in His Word.

As for the argument that the Bible no longer applies to modern-day society, I say…you’re right, and that’s the problem. The Bible should be applied to modern-day society, and we have numerous social issues because we don’t apply biblical teaching. As for being called “old fashioned,” I say “guilty as charged.” The very newest of my ideas are two thousand years old, and they get older from there. My question is who had the authority to change or negate anything in the Word of God? The question is rhetorical, obviously, no one has that authority.

I feel it important to establish my reference for all that I’m writing. It’s the Bible. Now we need to discuss the application of biblical principles to our lives, and specifically, sharing Jesus with others. If you are sharing the gospel, you will eventually need some familiarity with the scripture passages mentioned earlier. If you don’t think these verses apply, I would encourage you to ask God to show you the truth about these passages and give you clear understanding of them and how they may be used to lead someone to Christ.

Uh oh! Time for semantics! Most Christian leaders use that term “lead someone to Christ.” I understand what they mean, sharing with someone the gospel message and encouraging them to pray to receive Christ. Maybe even help them with the sinner’s prayer. Technically speaking, I believe we cannot lead someone to Christ. It is Christ who draws us, calls us, and saves us.

“and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)

“(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls).” (Romans 9:11)

“So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:16)

You see, God seeks us and provides the very faith that brings us to Him for salvation. Don’t get upset if you disagree; I only mention it because it will be important to remember as we discuss sharing your faith. Allow me to make peace by saying “saved is saved,” and it makes little difference whether it was your choice or God’s calling.

Lifestyle Evangelism

Since you are reading on, I am assuming you want to learn some different ways to share your faith in the workplace. Let’s get started.

You need to examine your life to see if you reflect Christ in it. There is no need to be perfect; in fact, you will have more credibility with people if they see that you are normal, with flaws. It is hard to witness to someone who is turned off because your light shines too brightly. So, be real with people, and they will not as likely resent whatever holiness they see in you. It is important to know that there is a delicate balance between standing for holiness and presenting an offputting “holier than thou” attitude. Be aware, however, that if you are going to share your faith in public, especially in the workplace, you will need to be above reproach in all you do. Again, this does not mean perfection, but rather being above reproach. People will understand someone who is “good” in their eyes being human and having quirks, moments of failure, and lapses of judgment, but, if they appraise you as someone with character that is open, honest, and fair, they will respect you enough to overlook your infrequent shortcomings.

A key ingredient is having a genuine care for people. You’ve heard the saying “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I have found this statement to ring true in my experience. There is no better way to show Christ in your life than to give care to someone without expectation of reciprocity. In a department of a thousand people, I know about five hundred by name and have a personal relationship with about one hundred. By personal relationship, I mean we talk frequently about things other than work, such as sports, family, our faith, and prayer needs.

We have a practice where I worked that when one of our employees has a death in the family, the department manager visits the employee at the funeral home. On average, I made one visit a week. I would go three or four weeks without a visit but sometimes have three or four in a week. I’ve even had three visits in a single night. It is out of these visits that many of these relationships are formed. People that I don’t even know are blessed by the manager showing up. They are even more blessed when I share Christ with them. I usually ask if the loved one was saved. If they say yes, I can remind them of the comfort they can have knowing their loved one is with the Lord. If they say no, I tell them I am sorry, and I ask if they are saved. This can lead to a discussion about salvation. At a time of mourning, it needs to be short, but I introduce the idea to them and offer them the peace that surpasses all understanding and tell them that I will make myself available to them if they need to talk about it. This way, they are not offended, and the next step is theirs. If they seek me out for help, it is their choice, and I am not forcing anything on them. I’ve never had anyone complain that I preached at them during the visit, but I have had people tell me, “I saw what you were made of when you came to see me at the funeral home.” I cannot count the number of people that, because of a visit, have stopped me in the factory and asked me to pray for a need that they have.

Showing Christ in your life by showing people you care about them is the best way to get them interested in why you care about someone you really don’t even know. They may at a later time ask, “Why do you do that? Why are you like that?” This is precisely what you want, for someone to see a positive difference in you and ask you why. Once they ask, you can answer without fear of harassment charges because they asked, and you are just answering their question. The important thing to remember here is that you need to start at a high level and let them show an interest for more. I recall an employee once asked me just as a way of greeting,

“Randall, what do you know good?”

This is a common greeting in the South. The Holy Spirit was with me because I answered before I even thought of a response.

“I know I’m going to heaven when I die. That’s good,” I replied.

Some people come back with, “Amen, brother,” when I give that response. This lady asked a deeper question.

“You mean you know that you are going to heaven?”

“Yes, I do,” I said.

“How can you know?” she asked.

I shared Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

I also gave her some of the verses listed earlier. I told her I knew I was going to heaven when I died. Hey, she asked, so I get to answer. She told me she used to go to church but has not attended in many years. I told her where I attended and invited her to church and to my Sunday School class. She appreciated the invitation and said she may show up. She has yet to come but I frequently told her, “Hey, I’m still saving you a seat in class.” She saw it as encouragement and not harassment. She now attends regularly at a different church of her choosing, which is fine, as long as she is attending.

God gives us the words when we are unable to come up with something profound at the needed moment. I call them “lightning strikes” because they happen without warning and without forethought. It’s like the words come out of my mouth before I even think of them. That’s how I know it was from God. I was in a meeting with about fifteen people once, and someone brought up the fact that our new vice president in our business group was only thirty-three years old and how amazing that was. Without thinking, I blurted out, “Well, Jesus was only thirty-three, and He saved the entire world.”

I was greeted by silence and stares for a few moments, followed by general around-the-room agreements. This was a lightning strike, because at that point in my walk, I was not nearly that bold in sharing my faith.

Preparation

But Randall, this never happens to me, you may be thinking.

You may be right. It takes preparation. You must be someone that God chooses to work through by sending His words through your heart and mouth to someone He wants to reach at a particular moment. How can you be that someone? Have a relationship with Him so He can trust you to deliver the words and follow up. The lightning strike will be His words, but you need to be faithful to follow it up with your words, your experience, and your faith. I don’t recall ever getting two lightning strikes immediately, back to back. This can be the scary part and why you need to be prepared, and the way you prepare is to be in fellowship with Him. This means a lifestyle of prayer and Bible reading and study. If you are going to share your faith, you need to know something about what you are sharing. This doesn’t mean everyone must attend seminary and become a Ph.D in theology, but if you don’t know that you are saved and why, and how, you are not ready to share. You get this information from listening to preaching, Sunday School discussions, group or independent Bible study, and through personal reading. When you get information from another person, remember that every person’s words must be compared to scripture and that no person has all the answers. Interpretation of scripture is something we all need help with, and there are many people that are more qualified to interpret because of their formal education. It is great to have these people to interpret for us, but we should take the responsibility of learning as we grow so we can discern speakers and teachers that do not interpret scripture correctly.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

I actually heard a cleric say that she didn’t believe that God condemns homosexuality in the Bible. She was not rightly dividing the word of truth even though she was a pastor prominent enough to be on a national TV show that had a panel of clerics from different faiths.

I will likely lose many readers at this point because you may think I am a “hater” and not rightly dividing the word of truth, myself. I will stop the homosexuality discussion here, because that is not what this book is about, but I will encourage you to prayerfully read your Bible.

M...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. How?
• 2. Let's Talk about the Job
• 3. Perspective
• 4. Always Be Ready to Give a Defense
• 5. Three-Stage People
• 6. Summary
• Bibliography