How Do I Share the Gospel When I Have Social Anxiety?

How do I share the gospel when I have social anxiety? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2670. If you get a voicemail, feel free to leave your message and we try to go through our voicemails once a day. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account. And you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, let's go to Robert calling in from Memphis, Tennessee. Robert, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, my question is concerning tattoos and, you know, if there's anything against them or anything like that.

Hey Robert, thank you for that question. Sometimes people will point to Leviticus chapter 19 as a prohibition on tattoos. In verse 26, it says, You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. And you shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves.

I am the Lord. If that would be taking that verse or those verses out of context, the prohibitions there really pertain to, you know, pagan worship and some of the practices of the people around Israel at that time. That's what's being forbidden. So I would say that there isn't a, you know, a prohibition in the Bible against tattoos per se. I think this would be more of an issue of Christian liberty. An individual would have to think, you know, just in terms of, you know, is this wisdom?

What am I communicating? I mean, I think, you know, what is the goal? What's the purpose behind whatever it is you're doing in terms of how you dress or tattooing your body, that kind of a thing. But I wouldn't say that they're inherently sinful. It could be that there are certain kinds of tattoos that you certainly shouldn't get or maybe should have removed, that kind of a thing. But not in and of themselves, I would say. They're not prohibited in the Bible. In fact, Bill, I know you have several from back when you were in the biker gang, right? Is that accurate? Yes, it was a Christian biker gang.

Oh, crosses and things like that. That's right. Just joking. Bill does not know.

You can look them up online. They will. They're just those temporary ones.

Trust me. Hey, let's tell you about something we have that's really cool. And it's a new Bible study by that actually, Adriel has written himself. It's on the book of Galatians, such an important book in the New Testament. And Adriel really digs into Paul's intent for that particular book and how to apply it to our lives today.

Yes. If you're looking for a Bible study to go through by yourself or maybe with a group of friends from church, consider this one. It's on Paul's letter to the Galatians.

It's a 10-week study. I think there's a lot of practical stuff in here and just some important insights into the ministry that Paul had there in Galatia and particular stuff pertaining to the gospel, the law. And so check this out over at corechristianity.com. It's yours for a donation of $20 or more. We also have those available for small group studies or Sunday School.

If you'd like to get several of them, we'll offer you a discount. You can find out more about that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash studies and look for the Bible study on Galatians. Well, we do receive emails here at Core Christianity, and here's one from one of our listeners, and she says, I know that Jesus calls us to share the gospel in the Great Commission, but how can I do this while struggling with terrible social anxiety? A lot of people feel really, I mean, I think we all have at one point or another as Christians, we feel just sort of guilty with the fact that we don't evangelize as much as we'd like to or that we feel afraid, ashamed even.

And of course there's a lot there. I mean, I think about what the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter one, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I know it's the power of God for salvation, for everybody who believes. And so there's, I think, one, we need to grow as Christians in our understanding of the power of the gospel, of the importance of the gospel in our own lives and in the lives of those around us, the need of the gospel.

I think that's part of overcoming the fear. We need to have a greater fear of disobeying the Lord and not being faithful to his word than we do a fear of maybe losing friends or people looking at us like we're silly or we're religious nuts because we talk about Jesus and the gospel. No, this really should be the thing that we're passionate about as Christians.

But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. I mean, I think of the disciples themselves in the book of Acts. You think about these guys, these men who had just preached a mighty sermon in Acts chapter two, I'm thinking specifically of Peter, boldly before thousands of people and many come to faith and yet still needing to pray for continued boldness to proclaim the gospel.

Acts chapter four, verse 27, this is in the middle of a prayer, for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. And so I think, one, it's recovering a high view of the gospel, of the importance of the gospel in our lives, of the need of the gospel in the people around us. But it's also praying and saying, Lord, it's only by your spirit that I have that boldness that I need.

So give me that boldness, give me those opportunities to be able to share about you and to boldly speak forth the truth of what you've done for the redemption of people, the power of God, the gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And so I pray for, this is an anonymous email, but I know that so many of us can relate with that fear and even that anxiety that you speak of. And so may the Lord be with you, granting you peace. And I think for all of us, maybe it just starts with the prayer to the Lord saying, God, you open up the doors.

I think part of the problem is we're always trying to force something, feeling like I gotta sort of steer the conversation here, sort of like changing the gears in your car, not smoothly, just sort of trying to ram it through, that sort of a thing. But praying that the Lord would give you wisdom and opportunities to share your faith, to talk about Jesus, I think is key. And so to begin praying for that and that the Lord would guide you and give you insight, wisdom as to when those are presenting themselves so that you might share what the Lord has done in your life. God bless.

We also have a great core question on this topic available at our website. It's called How Can I Share My Faith? If you want to learn more about how to effectively share your faith in Jesus Christ, just go to corechristianity.com forward slash downloads.

That's corechristianity.com forward slash downloads and look for How Can I Share My Faith? Let's go back to the phones. Linda is on the phone from Missouri. Linda, what's your question for Pastor Adriel?

Yes, okay. My question is, when Peter, James, and John was with Jesus, when he was transfigured on the mountain, and Moses and Elijah appeared and was talking with Jesus, and they were in the body, so does that mean that they were in the resurrected body or a temporary body? And does that mean when we go to heaven, we get a temporary body first and then we get a resurrected body?

Very thoughtful question, Linda. Yeah, you're talking about Matthew chapter 17, the transfiguration of Jesus. He goes up on the mountain with some of his closest disciples, and while he's there, verse 2 of Matthew 17 says he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And he was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him. And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise and have no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

So a couple of things. I don't believe that this was a bodily apparition, if you will, of Moses and Elijah. Somehow, I think the disciples were still able to identify them or see them, but I don't think that they were in bodily form. This is prior to the resurrection, the final resurrection. And I don't believe that we get some sort of like temporary physical bodies when we die. When we die, our spirits are perfected in holiness. We go into the presence of the Lord. Hebrews 12 refers to the spirits of the righteous made perfect there in heaven, in the kingdom of God, in the presence of the Lord. And so in some sense, we're going to have existence, joy, worshipping the Lord around his throne, but we're not going to have our bodies yet. We're still looking forward to, and I think Moses and Elijah are looking forward to this as well, the final day, the resurrection of the body contemporaneous with the final judgment, the judgment of all.

And so the text doesn't specify here that they had bodies. It just says that somehow they were able to be identified by the disciples. And really, I think more specifically, the focus with regard to Moses and Elijah is you have this picture of the law and the prophets. Moses, the great law giver, Elijah, the prophet there meeting with Jesus, Jesus speaking about his departure, his exodus, his suffering on the cross, ultimately his resurrection as well.

That's the focus. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the scriptures point to and speak about. And so I think that's the best way to take this text. And again, Linda, thank you for that thoughtful question and may the Lord bless you. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We love to get your questions and you can call us with a voicemail 24 hours a day. We try to go through our voicemails once a day and we'd love to answer your questions.

So if you've got something that you've been wondering about, about the Bible or the Christian life or maybe even some doubts about Christianity, maybe you consider yourself an atheist or agnostic and you have a question, feel free to call us anytime. Here's the number. It's 833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to a voicemail from one of our callers.

This is from Viola. Pastor Sanchez, referencing Genesis 50, 16 through 17, I used to think Joseph's brothers were not speaking truthfully about their father telling them to tell Joseph to forgive them for what they had done. Because I thought they never repented and fully confessed to their father all they did to Joseph. Now, I'm not so sure. What are your thoughts?

Thank you. What an amazing section of scripture, the end of the book of Genesis, and especially that scene back in Genesis 45 where Joseph is reconciled to his brothers. These brothers who had left him for dead, these brothers who had sold him into slavery when he was 17 years old and for a period of 13 years. He was first serving as a slave, essentially, in Potiphar's house and then sent to prison because of the situation with Potiphar's wife where she lied about him. So really the best years of Joseph's life have been stolen from him and somehow providentially God is at work through all of it and brings him to Egypt where he is going to be exalted eventually.

Right after that period of 13 years when he's 30 years old, he enters into Pharaoh's court and begins to serve there as sort of the number two in Egypt. As Genesis progresses there in chapter 45, he has his brothers essentially on the hook. He could do anything he wants to them, to pay them back for all that they did to him, and yet instead in chapter 45 when Joseph is revealed, he said to his brothers, he said to his brothers, come near to me please, and they came near and he said, I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt and now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life. Talk about having a divine perspective right and then as the story continues, the text that you're referencing in Genesis chapter 50, when Joseph's father Jacob dies, the brothers are once again concerned, oh man, now that our father is dead, is Joseph going to give us what we deserve for how we treated him?

I think that essentially they hatched this plan to say, hey, dad said you got to make sure that you're nice to us after he goes, he just wanted to make sure you knew. The text doesn't specifically say, they sent this message to Joseph saying, your father gave this command before he died, say to Joseph, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when he spoke to them. And then he goes on to say in verse 20, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. Joseph in this story is really a type of Christ and we really are like the brothers. We've betrayed Jesus by our lives, by our disobedience to the law of God.

We don't deserve life, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and justly, God could just judge us. But again here Joseph is this beautiful picture of Jesus our Messiah and we come to him guilty saying, I've sinned, I've betrayed you. He gives us his grace, his mercy, his forgiveness. What I find so interesting about this scene in Genesis 50 is the brothers, I mean they know how wicked their sin was, they have a hard time believing that Joseph would really forgive them. And that's why I think they bring all this up after Jacob, their father, dies is because they just want to make sure, did he really forgive us? Is he going to hurt us now that our father is gone?

And Joseph just weeps. He looks at them and he says, do not fear, for am I in the place of God? You meant it for evil, but God was at work through all of these things. And isn't that just like also again Jesus, we come to him oftentimes questioning, wondering, do you really forgive me? After how many times I've sinned against you, after how many times I've failed, we're sort of again, they're like Joseph's brothers, just unbelieving, not really believing that he's as good as he says he is. And he speaks peace to us when we come to him broken and in need.

And so those are some of the things that I pull from this story. And I do think that there was this genuine repentance and reconciliation, healing that the Lord was able to work, that only God could work. So Viola, thank you for giving us a call and God bless. Powerful story from the Old Testament. And I love the fact, Adriel, that you often point us to the types and shadows, the things that point us ahead to Jesus Christ and his ministry on earth and his death and resurrection. And then, of course, as you said, our repentance and our forgiveness, just so, so beautiful. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We want to say thank you to a very special group of people. They are our inner core. These are folks that actually believe in this ministry so much that they support us on a monthly basis.

Yeah. You know, we love doing what we do and what a blessing it is to get to serve you in this way, answering questions every day about the Christian faith. If you've been blessed by this ministry, by the work that we do, if you've had your questions answered or been encouraged in your walk with the Lord, would you consider joining the inner core? It's a monthly donation of $25 or more.

I mean, it's not that much, but it's a huge blessing for us. It helps us to continue to get the word out so that the gospel might be advanced and so that others might come into a deeper understanding of what the Bible teaches. And so head over to corechristianity.com to learn more about joining the inner core. And when you join, we will send you a copy of the book, Core Christianity, by Dr. Michael Horton as our gift to you. And, of course, there's some special resources that go along with becoming a member of the inner core. So check that out, corechristianity.com forward slash inner core. Well, let's go to an email we received.

Adriel, this is from Cody, and Cody asks this. Is expository preaching the most biblical way to preach God's word? Are there scriptures to support expository preaching? Is expository preaching the most biblical way to preach God's word? When you think about expositing the Bible, using the skill of what we sometimes call exegesis, pulling out the meaning from the text of scripture as opposed to reading something into the text of scripture that isn't there. That's eisegesis, reading into the text of scripture. It's the job of the pastor, the minister of the gospel, to explain the word of God, to exposit it, to bring it to bear on the people to whom he's preaching, ultimately to preach Jesus Christ into their hearts through the text of scripture. In all scripture, Bill, you just mentioned looking at the story of Joseph and getting to Christ from there, seeing Jesus and this type of Christ there.

You see this everywhere in the Bible, and it's our job. That's a part of properly expositing the scriptures is understanding them in their context and being able to explain that and then getting from there to where we are in the history of redemption and leading people by the hand to what this all means for you in particular as it relates to the gospel and the forgiveness of your sins. I would say, yes, expository preaching is just the right approach.

You think about the other approaches that are out there. I've been to churches, I've seen churches where they don't even open the word of God. It's more of a commentary on issues of the day, what's going on in the news, social issues, that kind of a thing, but that's not the job of the pastor. Remember what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. We have to bring God's word to bear on the people before whom we're ministering. I think the way to do that is through the exposition of scripture, explaining the text and applying it to the people in front of us.

I'd go to that text and say, look at that solemn charge. If that's not what we're doing as pastors, then we need to find a different occupation. Amen. You're listening to CORE Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. You can leave us a voicemail 24 hours a day at 833-THE-CORE. Here's a voicemail that came in earlier this week. Hello, Pastor Adriel.

Thank you for what you do with this show. It's a huge blessing. My question is, I once heard a pastor recommend that rather than trying to read the myriad of authors and classic works on Christian theology and the Christian faith, to focus instead on one particular author. Do you think there is wisdom in that? And if so, who are one or two authors from church history that you'd recommend a person immerse themselves in? Thank you.

Yeah. Boy, there is just so much treasure, I think, in the history of the church that we can glean from. I mean, of course, we're discerning.

I'm always testing everything on the basis of scripture. We want to be Berean, like the book of Acts describes. And so I think it can be helpful to maybe pick one person and spend some time reading and studying that one person, maybe for a season. But I would still always recommend, we do want to have multiple sources. We want to read broadly if we can because there's just so much out there. And I think that also helps to balance us in terms of, if we just go to one person, I'm sure there are weaknesses there.

And if we just depend on one individual to give us everything we need in terms of our theological understanding, education, diet, we're probably going to be malnourished, at least to a certain extent, because nobody's perfect. But in the history of the church, some of the guys that I've really benefited from and enjoyed reading, I remember the first time when I was in college taking a class on Christian classics, picking up St. Augustine's Confessions. And just being so struck by the fact that here's a guy who is writing, or was writing 1,500 years ago or whatnot, who loves Jesus, just like me, and has a relationship with Jesus, and is actually brilliant and has written so much on theology. And so he's one individual that I encourage people to read St. Augustine. More recently, I think somebody who's wonderful to read is C.S. Lewis, just in terms of being an excellent writer, but also an apologist of the Christian faith. And we definitely need more of that today, an ability to converse with others who don't embrace what we believe in, to understand how to apply the truths of Scripture in a way that will be compelling.

So check out those two guys, I would say. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar, or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.