Evangelism Is Not Optional, Part 2

Tom Shrader continues his series on evangelism by examining what the gospel message actually is, grounding it in 1 Corinthians 2 and 15 and the Great Commission of Matthew 28. He explains that the core message Christians must carry is that all humanity is separated from God by sin, and that Christ died, was buried, and rose again as the only remedy. Shrader then challenges the congregation honestly by naming seven common reasons believers fail to share their faith, from fear of rejection to simply having no unbelievers in their lives, and calls them to move past excuses into obedient witness.

“Every other faith is about man's attempt to reach a holy God. Christianity alone is about God reaching a sinful man.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: Evangelism Is Not Optional

Recorded: 2004 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 44 min

Themes: evangelism, sharing your faith, the gospel, fear of rejection, obedience, great commission, witnessing, excuses, afraid to share faith, new believer, socially isolated christian, feeling unqualified to witness, struggling with obedience, church member, young adult, believer with no unbelieving friends

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Acts 10, John 16:33, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 1:26, 1 Corinthians 1:31, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:15, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Timothy 2:5

Theological Themes: soteriology, gospel message, sin and separation from god, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, great commission, missiology, biblical obedience

Full Transcript

What Christ Commands

Open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28. We are continuing our study in the life of Christ, and we have a little three-week parenthetical insert here, spending some time in a series titled "Evangelism Is Not Optional."

When we talk about evangelism, I want to put it all together — we are talking about word and deed. We cannot separate these two things. You cannot separate who you are and how you live from what you say. There may be a desire on some people's part to say, "I'm just going to live the gospel. I'm going to live in a way that the world can see there's a distinctiveness, a difference. I'm going to live a life that creates thirst in those around me, and that's enough. I'm not a talker, not a speaker. I'm just going to let my actions speak for me." I want to remind you that no one has ever been won to Christ through a wordless sermon alone — you need to preach that gospel, you need to declare that truth, and this is not optional behavior.

Last week I introduced you to the roadmap we will use for these three weeks: a series of four questions and then some marching orders. What does Christ command, and what is our message? Are we delivering that message, answering the call? How should we be prepared? And then, what are our marching orders as we head out? Last week we looked at the first question. Today we will look at the second and third questions, and next week we will hopefully pull this all together.

Let me take just a minute, because I am operating on the assumption that some of you were not here last week. In terms of average weekly attendance, May is our lowest attended month of the year — which is interesting, because you would assume it would be summer, but May is actually lower than June, July, or August. There are so many things going on: graduations, trips, all of that. So I think we can, in four or five minutes, get everybody on the same page.

We asked the question last week: what does Christ command, specifically as it relates to evangelism and discipleship? Here is what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 28. He told His disciples — and it was His supreme command for them, and now for us — to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I command you."

The Main Verb Is "Make Disciples"

As you look at that passage, you may need to rethink some things you have either assumed or been taught over the years. The main verb in those two verses is not "go," though that is how we typically read it — go, make disciples, baptize, teach. The main verb is "make disciples." The idea is this: as you are going, as you are living your life, working your way through your day — whether at school or at home, with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, people you are golfing with, people you are working out with, someone you are sitting with over a cup of coffee — as you are moving along through life, you are making disciples.

Baptizing and teaching were both emphasized last week. This baptism is not optional either. Here is what we read from John MacArthur: "The person who is unwilling to be baptized is at best a disobedient believer, and if he persists in his unwillingness, there is some reason to doubt the genuineness of his faith. If he is unwilling to comply with the simple act of obedience in the presence of fellow believers, he will hardly be willing to stand for Christ in an unbelieving world." You need to be baptized. This is a process. And then you are teaching them.

The Cost of Being a Witness

You are to be His witness. The word "witness" and the word "martyr" were almost interchangeable in the first century, because the assumption was this: if you are a witness for Christ, you are going to suffer and likely die for Him. Here is what Jesus said — they persecuted Me, they are going to persecute you. John chapter 16, verse 33: "In this world you will have tribulation." You will have hardship as it relates to your faith.

As Jesus speaks these words — "go and make disciples" — He speaks them to a group of men who are pretty intimidated as they look around at the world they live in. They understand they will experience hostility. But He reminds them. Here is what He says at the end: "I am with you always." Acts chapter 1, verse 8: "You will receive power. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and then you will be My witnesses." He is saying, do not be afraid. I am not going to leave you. I am not going to forsake you.

He never says there will be no opposition. He simply reminds them that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. As you face this opposition, you do not have to back down, because He will provide you the power and the strength. You may be sitting here right now saying you do not know if you could do that. We do not need to worry about it until it is time, and when it is time, He says He will give you that power and that strength. So go and make disciples, and baptize, and teach.

What Should We Teach?

What should we teach them? We looked at a list last week from James Boyce — teaching them all that Christ commanded.

The Message We Are Commanded to Preach

By way of introduction, Boyce wrote this: Today's church needs to recapture the entire counsel of God. To many, this seems the most foolish of pursuits. If we were to ask many so-called Christians what should be done in our day to win the world for Christ, it is likely they would talk about literature campaigns, the use of radio and television, the founding of seeker-sensitive churches, recruitment of workers, and how to raise funds. In other words, most of the discussion would center on method rather than content. By contrast, Jesus spoke about teaching His commandments.

What should our teaching include? Clearly, any short list of doctrines is inadequate. We must teach the entire Bible. Nevertheless, faithfulness to the Great Commission must involve at least the following — and Boyce shares that list. That is not an all-inclusive list, and there are many subsets of it, but there are certain points he identifies that, especially in light of the culture we are in, we need to come back to again and again.

That is what we looked at last week — that you and I are commanded to go into the world and preach. So let me ask this question: what is the message we are to take to our world? We know what we are commanded to do. What is the message? How would you answer that?

I think for most who have been around East Valley Bible Church for any length of time, they would answer with what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2. Paul writes: "When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." If asked what our message to the world is, most of you would say it is the gospel — Christ and Christ crucified. And I say to you, that is exactly right.

What Large Christian Organizations Actually Teach

But that is probably not the answer we would get in most places. I tried to do a little research, going into some denominational websites to see what they believe. I ended up looking at what the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches — these ecumenical endeavors that incorporate dozens of denominations, churches, and thousands of people — actually say about themselves. In both instances, I went to the website and looked at who they are and what they believe. In both instances, I saw that they call themselves Christian organizations, yet not once on either site did I see the name Jesus Christ. I never saw the word sin. I never saw the resurrection. I never heard anything about the gospel. What I saw was essentially a geopolitical philosophy.

Here are these great ecumenical organizations, and if you ask them what they teach to the world, they would say the gospel — yet it does not find its way onto their websites. Even within Christendom, we have almost a tendency to flip this around. If I could paraphrase it a little, we would almost write: we came to you with superiority of speech and superiority of wisdom, we preached a lot of things, and Christ may or may not have been part of it.

We have not really progressed a great distance from David's time, when God had to remind His people that we have a tendency to look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. We live in a time that exalts outward things. I was talking with a man a couple of months ago whose ministry had been given a television station — given one outright. He said they gave it away because they could not afford to take it for free. His contention was that television ministry almost becomes the antithesis of the gospel, that it gets in the way. It creates an expectation that you need to be tall, dark, and handsome, and brilliant — that your intellect needs to be on display. You do not have to possess any of those things, and I find that to be good news. In fact, Paul is saying those things can sometimes get in the way.

Paul's Own Example in 1 Corinthians 2

Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and look at this section. I will give you a homework assignment: read and reread chapters 1 and 2, and chapter 15, and you will see as we go through today why you want to look back at those. We taught through 1 Corinthians some years ago, and notes from that series should be available on the website.

Here is what Paul writes in chapter 2, beginning at verse 1: "When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."

The Demographics of the Church

Paul said your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. He said he did not try to sidetrack his hearers with how smart or brilliant he was. He said he was shaken, he was trembling, and that trust should be placed not in the wisdom of man but in the truth of God. Look right before that, in verse 31 of chapter 1: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord." Paul says, "I'm going to boast about my weakness. I'm weak, and when I'm weak, He's strong."

Look at his analysis of the demographics of the church. Still in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 26, Paul looks around the church and says: "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, and not many mighty, and not many noble." He is saying, in effect, that looking at the church is a little discouraging. There are not a lot of PhDs, not a lot of rich men, not a lot of the elite.

It is the same today. Take any elite group in a city, and you will not find those people in positions of leadership in the local church. Pull up the list of tenured PhDs at a university, and the vast majority are not in church on Sunday. Politicians are nowhere to be seen until election season rolls around, and then they disappear again once the votes are counted.

The world would say that if you are going to make something work, you need to get the right demographic involved. You need the best, the brightest, the most intelligent, the wealthy — someone has to pay for all of it. Yet Paul says he used none of that. He used common, ordinary vessels — broken pots, pots used for common household activities. That is what God uses. That is us.

Christ and Christ Crucified

The message we take to this world is Christ and Christ crucified. Whatever issue you bring, the answer is Christ and Christ crucified. Let's expand on that a little so we can begin to apply it and figure out how to use it in our own lives.

Here is the gospel in a nutshell: 1 Corinthians 15. That is why it is worth doing a little review — read 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 2, and then 1 Corinthians 15, which is the resurrection chapter. At the beginning of that chapter, Paul says, "When I came to you, here is what I talked about first and foremost: that Christ died for our sins, according to the scripture, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day, according to the scripture."

There is the gospel. Mel Gibson did us a great favor, and we no longer have to sit around and argue about whether Jesus lived and died — most people now accept that He did. What the scripture tells us is *why* He died. Jesus died for our sins. He died for a purpose, for a reason. Then they did with Him what is done with dead people — they buried Him. And on the third day, the scripture tells us He rose from the dead.

There is the good news. There is the sweet sound to the ears of those who are dead in their sins and trespasses. It is a simple, clear, concise gospel that a five-year-old can understand, and yet it somehow remains a stumbling block for a PhD.

The Condition of Man

Even within the gospel, there are things we need to understand clearly. The gospel tells us about the condition of man. Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That phrase "fall short" is in the present tense in the Greek, best understood as a continuing action — all have sinned and *continue* to fall short of the glory of God. Romans 5:12 tells us that through one man, sin entered into the world, and all have sinned. No exceptions.

Every single person, apart from Christ, has sinned and continues to fall short of God's mark. The fundamental problem of man is sin. When we go into the world, that problem may mask itself and present itself in many different situations, but the root issue is always the same: sin.

W. Robert Godfrey writes this: "One of the tragedies of so much contemporary church life is that the truth about the holiness of God and His wrath against sin has all but disappeared from view. In an effort to connect with contemporary non-Christians, the church has given much of its energy to teaching adjustment and self-acceptance. The implication of this teaching is that the great human need is to have peace with yourself, but such a view is far from the biblical revelation and far from true Christianity."

We look at the world around us and see it trying to find itself — searching for meaning, purpose, identity, self-discovery. And the Bible comes along and says you do not need to find peace with yourself; you need to have peace with God. Naturally, as fallen human beings, we are not in conflict with ourselves but with God and who He really is. That is the message we need to take to the world.

The Message We Cannot Relinquish

We can talk about method and how to connect with the culture, but we can never relinquish the message. If somebody is sitting and saying to you, "Here's my thing — I just don't know, I lack self-esteem, I lack self-confidence," the answer is: do you know who Jesus is? When I understand who Christ is, I understand who I am. All of a sudden, I see myself differently, I see my world differently, and I connect and interact with it differently.

The condition of man is that he sinned, and the result of that sin — the wage of that sin — that word "wage" in the original text was used to speak primarily of a soldier's pay. In other words, that is what you have earned. At the end of the day you say, "All I want is what I've earned." Well, here is what you have earned from your sin: death. Physical death, but also death even in the midst of life.

It sounds contradictory, doesn't it? Even though you are here and physically alive, you can be spiritually dead. The wage of sin is death. That is all death means — to be separated from God. You and I are separated from God by our sin.

What God's Love Actually Looks Like

You want to talk about God as love? Then let's talk about His love. God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Peter writes: "He himself bore our sins in the body of the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds you were healed." Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."

That is an extraordinary truth. While we were sinners, while we hated God, while we despised Him, while we sinned against Him, while we said we wanted nothing to do with Him — while all of that was going on — God loved His people so much that He sent His Son to come and to die so that we would have eternal life. He sent Jesus to the cross, and when Jesus was on the cross, God treated Him as though He were guilty of the sin of every believer that would ever live through all of history, and He punished Him at that moment.

There is the message. There is your message to the world — the message to share when you are sitting having a cup of coffee, or when someone wants to talk to you about something serious. The serious reality is that my sin has separated me from God, and Christ died.

Faith Is More Than Intellectual Belief

The next step is to say there is an appropriate response to this. John tells us he wrote his entire gospel so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing in Him you would have life. When we talk about believing here, we are talking about something more than intellectual knowledge.

Something interesting happened in the last couple of weeks. Not just one or two, but four or five people said to me that they have friends, relatives, and people they share the gospel with who are clearly not engaged in the things of God — who want nothing to do with the Bible, the church, fellowship, or the things of God. And yet when these people say, "You must believe," those individuals respond, "I believe. I believe Jesus died. I believe Jesus rose again." But this word is more than intellectual belief. It is the idea of trusting that belief — putting my faith and trust in those promises.

I am reading a book called *An Unexpected Journey*, in which the author traces religion through history, discussing the church fathers, the reformers, and beyond. He writes: "I saw that for the reformers, faith was understood as trusting the promises of Jesus." That definition of faith makes real sense — to trust and obey. We talk about that all the time: to believe Jesus is who He said He was, that we are who He said we are, and that He will do what He said He would do. That is what faith is — to put my faith and trust in Him and Him alone.

If somebody asks, "Are you going to heaven?" you say, "Yes." And when they ask why, the answer is: based on what Christ did. Then there is evidence in my life that that is true. In other words, if I really believe it, it will affect the way I live.

One Mediator, One Message

Peter, delivering a sermon in Acts chapter 10, says this of Jesus: "All the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." Paul writes to Timothy: "There is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." A mediator is the one who intervenes between two conflicting parties. There is only one way between God and man. There is only one connection.

Here is what separates Christianity from every other faith. Every other faith is about man's attempt to reach a holy God. Christianity alone is about God reaching a sinful man. It is all about Christ. It is all about the Father. It is all about the Spirit.

Are You Answering the Call?

So what does Christ command? He commands that we go and preach the gospel — that we are separated from God by our sins, and that Christ died, and that in Him and Him alone we find eternal life. The question is: are you answering that call? How are you responding to it? Is your life committed to sharing that truth?

Are you obediently following what Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:15 — "Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence"? Apparently people look at you and see something, and they ask, "What is the reason for the hope that is in you?" And you are there to say: it is Jesus Christ.

Are You Answering the Call?

With gentleness and reverence — are you answering the call? Let me give you some statistics. George Barna, I think, serves us well by examining the Christian faith and giving us some helpful statistics. Nearly three out of five — 57% of Christians, born-again Christians — feel a sense of responsibility to tell others about their faith. Their behavior appears to match up: 55% say that so far this year they have shared their faith, compared to 58% who said the same in 1999.

If we ask the question, "Are you answering the call?" four out of ten would say they don't even feel a call. Four out of ten would say they have no responsibility to do this. Of the 57 to 60% who remain, many are saying "well, once in a while, periodically" — not necessarily as a lifestyle. So when you look honestly at the numbers, the answer seems to trend toward no.

There are some interesting demographic subsets here. Married adults, at 39%, are more likely than singles, at 30%, to believe it is their responsibility to tell others about their religious beliefs. Looking at generations — busters, boomers, builders, and seniors — 30% of busters, 38% of boomers, 40% of builders, and 45% of seniors strongly agree that they have a responsibility to tell others.

Geography also plays a role. Southerners lead the way, with 47% feeling a sense of responsibility to share their faith, followed by 32% in the Midwest, 29% in the West, and 28% in the Northeast. Race enters the picture as well: 42% of Black Christians strongly agree that they personally have a responsibility to tell others about their faith, compared with 34% of white Christians. There were a great many more demographic breakdowns, but this gives you a sense of the overall picture.

What the statistics seem to suggest is what I instinctively feel: four out of ten — 40% — don't even feel a responsibility to evangelize. Among those who do, the practice appears largely haphazard.

Reaching Others Is Innate to the Redeemed Life

I was reading the other day and came across this sentence from MacArthur: *reaching others for Christ is innate to the redeemed life.* Think about that for a moment. To make sure we're all using the same definition, here is Webster's: *existing naturally rather than acquired; seeming to have been in one from birth; describing that which belongs to something as part of its nature or constitution.* What MacArthur is saying, then, is that reaching others for Christ is within us at the very moment we are born again.

That doesn't seem to match the statistics, does it? Or perhaps what he means is that it *should* be in us. Either way, it is a serious, serious issue.

Seven Reasons We Don't Share Our Faith

I want to take five minutes and ask this question directly: why don't you share your faith? Operating on the assumption that it largely isn't happening, I have made a list of seven reasons. I know you could expand on this list.

**Number one: you are worried you can't answer every question.** You think the moment you begin talking about Jesus, someone is going to ask you what Nehemiah 2:5 means and you won't even know where to find Nehemiah. Let me bring you back to square one. If you know enough to believe the gospel, you know enough to share the gospel. That is not an excuse to remain in ignorance — I am supposed to keep learning, and my assumption is that after five, six, seven, ten, or twenty years I know more and can answer more than I did at the beginning. But the depth of your knowledge is no excuse for silence. It is the responsibility and privilege of every believer to share the gospel.

**Number two: fear of rejection, intimidation, or anything else that falls under the category of fear.** You are afraid people are going to push you away. Let me take all the pressure off: I guarantee you will be rejected. I guarantee that just as they persecuted Him, they will persecute you. I guarantee you will face tribulation. It is absolutely going to happen.

Strangely — and yet perhaps not so strangely — this fear seems especially acute with family members. We are often more comfortable sharing the gospel with complete strangers than with those we know and love so well. In my own life, the first time I shared the gospel with my brother, he simply laughed at me. He recalled something I had done one night in a state of inebriation — an occasion when I had passed out and the pizza delivery man brought me home. He said, "Do you remember that?" I said, "Not really. I remember waking up smelling like pepperoni, but I don't remember the event." He laughed and said, "So you found God, huh?" There it is — rejection, embarrassment.

Here is what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18: *"The word of the cross is to those who are perishing, foolishness."* Think carefully about what we actually teach. Imagine your natural, unchurched acquaintance asks you to explain what you believe without sparing any details. You might say: there is this book, written by human authors, but you have to understand that God really wrote it — so we begin with divine inspiration and the claim that it is infallible, that it never makes a mistake. Then there is God: one God, but three persons. Those three persons created man, and then woman, and then Eve was deceived and Adam sinned. And when Adam sinned, every person was plunged into sin — every person who has ever lived became a sinner. And so then...

The Extraordinary Story of the Gospel

This one part of God came to earth, but not like everybody else, because there was a problem: we have all sinned. So if He came like all of us, He would be a sinner too. He was therefore born of a virgin, because the Holy Spirit caused her to conceive. He then lived a perfect life, never making any mistakes, never committing any sin — no sin of commission or omission. That is a remarkable thing to consider.

He was nailed to a cross, and at that moment God the Father took all the sin of all those who ever believed and placed it upon Him. When He died, He paid the price for that sin. He then rose again, walked the earth for a time, ascended to heaven, and will come back to gather us all so that we will reign with Him forever. If I believe in Him now, I go to heaven.

Now set that answer against the world's answer, which says: just be as good as you can be and you will go to heaven. Humanly speaking, that second answer makes more sense, doesn't it? When you take the Christian story seriously, you realize it is an extraordinary story. The natural man cannot grasp it — it is foolishness to him.

I think that actually frees you up in the process of sharing your faith. I sometimes hear people say, almost in frustration, that someone they are witnessing to just does not get it. They cannot get it. Understanding that should make it easy to be gentle with them.

Reasons We Avoid Sharing Our Faith

One reason you may not share your faith is fear of rejection, or not wanting to hurt somebody's feelings. I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago who had just shared their faith with their grandmother. The grandmother was not receiving it at all, and she said, "Nana's going to hell? Is that what you're saying — your Nana that has loved you and baked for you and cooked for you is going to hell?" That is an awkward moment. What do you do?

Even a five or six-year-old child can work this out very quickly. Sam and Lorraine are teaching these kids, and they know the gospel. They know enough to reason: Grandma doesn't believe in Jesus, Grandma doesn't come to church — she's not going to be in heaven, is she? Have you had your children ask you that question yet?

It is a strange thing when you think about it clearly. You love this person so much that you will not share the gospel with them for fear it will damage the relationship. You love them enough, apparently, to spend this life with them, but not eternity.

Another reason people avoid sharing their faith is the belief that faith is a private matter. I hear this especially from older generations: "I don't wear my religion on my sleeve. I think it's a private matter." That thinking is wrong. It is a personal matter, to be sure, but it is not a private matter. Does it sound to you as though Jesus said this was a private matter, something just between you and Him and nobody else? All of the imagery He gives us points in the opposite direction — you are salt and light, your life is on display.

The Dangerous Idea That Everyone Will Be Okay

Perhaps the most common reason people fail to share their faith is that they have convinced themselves that everyone will be okay in the end. There seems to be a disconnect, in some instances, between people who call themselves Christians and how that belief actually plays out. They will say, "I believe Jesus is the only way," and then in the next breath say, "But I have friends who are honestly even better Christians than I am, even though they don't believe this, and you're telling me they're not going to heaven?" I am seeing that more and more.

Here are two examples from just the last three days. Yesterday at the World War II Memorial, General Kelly offered this prayer: "Please pray to your chosen God." I do not know General Kelly, and there is essentially no chance he will ever hear this. He appeared to be a great man — I have no doubt he is a fine military man and a good person. He may not have even understood the full implication of what he said, but it fit perfectly within the surrounding culture. The message, in effect, was: we have fifty thousand people here, hundreds of thousands more on the Mall, and millions listening around the country and the world — so each of you pick God as you understand Him to be, and pray to that God.

The other day I was watching Regis and Kelly — and yes, that is part of what I do for you. There is a new movie out featuring the young actor from Home Alone, and in this film — called Saved — it appears some kids attend a Christian school, and the portrayal of the faith is, from what I understand, fairly derogatory. Anyway, Regis asked the young actor whether he was religious, and he said, "No, I'm spiritual, I'm not religious." I still have no idea what that means, and Kelly couldn't —

The Danger of Indifference

It may be that you don't share your faith simply because you don't care. There are people going to hell, and some simply have no concern about it — or in some instances, may even be glad about it. But consider what genuine transformation looks like when the gospel takes hold. There is a situation unfolding right now involving a man and his wife whose past was marked by sin, divorce, and complicated relationships. They came to know the Lord, and through their persistent witness, the man's ex-wife has now been saved — and then her husband as well.

In my mind, I thought this could be problematic. But what you actually see are new creatures in Christ. There is a new love and respect among all of them, and the Lord is at the center of it. That is what the gospel does.

Living Outside the Christian Ghetto

It may also be that you don't share your faith because you simply have no unbelievers around you. A man told me just a couple of weeks ago that he doesn't share his faith. When I asked him why, he said he doesn't know a single unbeliever. Not one — his coworker is a Christian, his family is Christian, and by his account there is no unbeliever anywhere in his life.

We have to be careful that we don't retreat into a little Christian ghetto — surrounded by all Christians, Christian music, Christian everything. We need fellowship, to be sure. We need to train our children and one another, to be sure. But we are supposed to have constant contact with the lost world.

Jesus models this over and over again in His life. He has lost people all around Him. If you genuinely believe in the Great Commission and that there is a message to be delivered, how are you going to take it to a world you don't even know? You need a steady flow of unbelievers through your life. They need to be present around you.

The Command and the Call Forward

Here is the message today: God has commanded us to go and make disciples — to preach. To preach what? The gospel, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. That is the message we carry.

I received more response to last week's message than almost any message in recent memory. I had three conversations at the gym alone this week, with people coming up and saying that message changed things for them — that they are simply not doing this, and they know they need to be. I made a mental note, and in another week or two I will be asking: how are we doing? It is not enough to sit here and acknowledge this is something you need to do. That acknowledgment alone is not enough. We must confess our past failure as sin and press on.

Next week we will look at how you prepare yourself as the messenger, and we will give you some practical marching orders as we head out.

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*Father, thank you for this truth. Thank you that You saved us and You left us here for a reason. You have given us a command. It is clear that we are to go, to preach — to preach this gospel to all that You bring into our lives. Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, for His life, for His death, and for His resurrection. Father, we pray to You in His name. Amen.*