I really want to... But!
Jesus told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned (Mark 16:15-16 NLT)
As Christians, we know we are supposed to share our faith. Almost every person who follows Christ, and almost every church, says the same thing: “We want to reach the world for Christ.”
Yet most don’t.
The command to follow Christ as a disciple, as an ambassador, and as a proclaimer of the good news is a command. Yet most of the time we treat our mission in this world as something optional.
We look at the calling of a Christian, to die to ourselves, to take up the cross, as something we should do, if we have time.
We don’t take our mission seriously or we think this mission was given to select specialists, like the pastor or the missionary. We can be so preoccupied with our own well-being, our own survival or success, that we ignore the mission of God.
So what is the problem?
Why don’t we share the good news of the Gospel?
It’s not our strategy.
It’s not our theology.
It’s not our leadership.
So what is the problem? Jesus knew.
When challenged about His own emphasis toward those people outside of faith, He responded, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what the Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders’” (Matthew 9:12-13, The Message).
The problem seems to be us, those already on the “inside” because reaching the lost requires sacrifice or inconvenience - “Of course I want to reach lost people. But...”
But... I don’t want to use my spare time to reach others...
But... I don’t want to tithe regularly...
But... I don’t want to park far away...
But... I don’t want to change the time or location of the service...
But... I don’t want to change the format of the service...
But... I don’t want to be part of a large church...
But... I don’t want to give up my favourite seat...
But... I don’t want to __________ (fill in the blank!)
Building a relationship with someone, engaging in spiritual conversations, inviting others to come and see, come and hear, come and experience, is resisted by the very people who say they want unsaved people to find Jesus.
Perhaps the refusal to evangelise is linked to a desire to be liked by the people who may not like Jesus.
We don’t want to lose friendships or alienate people. So we stay silent.
It’s a question of what we value.
Do we value the limitless grace of the Gospel that brought us from the enslavement of sin to the arms of the Father, or do we value the approval of others?
The way to be motivated to share the good news is not by guilt or manipulation, but by returning to the heart of the very Gospel itself.
