Background to passage: after the idea of immense suffering in our lives, Paul talks about heaven. Please make sure you define heaven in biblical ways. Same with Jesus. Since he was talking about heaven, he noted that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, therefore we persuade others to follow Christ, no longer living for themselves, but for the One who died for them.
2 Corinthians 5:16–21 ESV
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Opening illustration: different methods of warning others about police lying in wait
Main thought: We have a ministry of reconciliation, of persuasion, however we often struggle to do it. So, I can’t deal with them all, but from the answers I have received as I have asked believers in the recent weeks, I want to briefly deal with personal hurdles to sharing our faith.
1) Fears
Explanation: there are a multitude of fears that inhibit our ability to share the gospel. We can be afraid that we don’t know the answers to questions that may be asked of us. We can be afraid for the person and the relationship we have with them. We can be afraid of rejection. Afraid that we won’t do it right. Afraid about how to start.
Argumentation:
Illustration: It’s possible that every time somebody mentions personal evangelism, you feel a mixture of guilt and fear. You know that evangelizing is an essential part of obeying the Great Commission, but evangelism often feels unnatural and awkward. It’s like becoming one of those undesired sales representatives that call people to offer what they aren’t asking for. I wonder how they even got my phone number.
Is that how the Bible describes personal evangelism? Not at all. The gospel is good news, not a trinket! Evangelizing doesn’t have to be awkward or frightening. Look at Jesus. His encounters with unbelievers look like regular and rather engaging conversations. He doesn’t seem strange, nervous, or worried. True followers of Jesus came to him mostly through relationships, either with him or his disciples.
Application: We all have fears in our lives. Spiders, the dark, flying, heights, snakes, sharks, etc. My cat is even afraid of the thresholds of doors (ambulophobia or batophobia or kathisophobia, depending on who you ask). The cat’s motivation for overcoming his fear is food. Easier for him to face his fear if he is hungry, if he is coming in rather than going out.
So, we acknowledge that fear is real. We deal with it with the seriousness of people’s eternity and the real truth that the treasure is worth any potential discomfort we face. Like any fear, we spend time in prayer, relying on God to help us overcome. It is a trust issue, a gospel issue, knowing that we have been changed on the inside, we are dead to ourselves, and we live for him, whatever the fear is.
Start with Prayer. ...Be on the Lookout. ...Develop Authentic Relationships with Unbelievers. ...Partner with a Christian Friend in Your Church. ...Share Your Story and God's Story. ...Remember Your Role in Evangelism
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2) Lack of Concern
Explanation: one of the top answers I received was a lack of concern. Basically, this means that we don’t have a burden for people who are far from God. We are content to allow them to live their lives unaware of the truth of the gospel.
Argumentation:
Illustration: the dent on my truck vs a dent in someone else’s
Application: many people close to us have never had someone sit down with them and explain salvation. I have had people who have been in churches, raised in this town, and told me that no one had ever told them that they didn’t have to be good enough. That is the default position for us. We feel like we have to earn everything. The good news is that we can’t and don’t. Salvation is free for those who believe.
This is a heart issue for us. I don’t make this a point in order to berate you or manipulate with guilt. Believers have been honest, and I think we can identify. American tolerance has replaced freedom of religion. The bottom line is that we just don’t care enough, and for that we must repent. We must ask God for more compassion upon their brokenness. We must ask God to help us realize many have not heard. Ask God to remind us of the realities of heaven and hell.
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3) Failure to See Opportunities
Explanation: Our lives are busy. We go from one thing to the next. We have to have a calendar that goes out for months. Often if there are “in the moment” opportunities, we miss them. Then we feel the guilt of missing an opportunity. These mostly have to do with people we search for rather than those we know.
Argumentation:
Illustration: The president of our seminary used to pray that God would provide opportunities, give him the sight to see them, and the courage to take them. Someone said this week that your best evangelists are the people who have been most recently saved. They are the ones with the most relationships with unbelievers and the most willing to invite people.
Application: Let me remind you that it doesn’t always have to be the case that witnessing opportunities are passing, sudden, unplanned. Those may be the hardest, but like I said last week you may be number eight of ten. You can clearly make intentional efforts. These efforts can be planned. Just a reminder, unchurched people are not projects. People like to be treated as people, not check marks. You should build relationships with unbelievers. The longer that we are believers, the less and less relationships that we have with those who aren’t. One of the exercises we had to do during No Place Left was to diagram out people we know, and places that we go.
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4) Your Own Life
Explanation: Another answer I received was ourselves. They could have been making generic statements that they are their own worst enemy. However, I think that often, the way that we live our lives is a hindrance to sharing our faith. Just the word Pharisee automatically brings to mind hypocrisy. And we know that they seemed to be the “bad guys” of the gospels during Jesus’s ministry. Let me remind you that the Pharisees were the most religious people in Israel, and looked to as the interpreters and teachers of the law. For Jews in the first century, they couldn’t believe that Jesus called them out so harshly. They were evangelists, duplicating their practices in others.
Argumentation:
Illustration:
Application: Being religious is sometimes the main problem. The way that you practice your faith doesn’t look much like Jesus. You don’t minister to others, you point your finger at them. People are not loved by you. You don’t stand up for others. You don’t serve others, you just act very religious. The Jesus you have, people don’t want.
Or it might not be hyperreligiosity that holds you back. It’s the lack of transformation in your life. You look like the world. There is nothing distinctively Christian about your life. You gave your heart to Jesus, but it didn’t take. You do things in your personal life that you know would completely short-circuit your testimony if you shared it.
No easy fix for this. The bible warns us to examine our lives that make sure that we are in the faith. There are false professions. If you don’t live like Jesus, find some accountability and regular fellowship with someone who is, and can help show you the way.
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5) Discipline to Do It
Explanation: The final answer that popped up multiple times is that we are busy people, and the reality is that we just don’t make time for it. Think of all the things competing for our time. If we start naming them, most of them don’t have much eternal value, unless they are a means to the end.
Argumentation:
Illustration: There was a murder near some of our houses on Friday night. I know that our No Place Left group had been through the subdivision close to it. A church member and I were talking about it yesterday, and Ezekiel tells us that we must warn them, so that the blood is not on our hands. So we asked the question of whether or not we ever warned them.
Ezekiel 3:18–19 ESV
If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
Application: We make time for a lot of things. Dr Phillips and the time he and dad spent grouse hunting. Just look at one thing that we do: the food give away was yesterday. For those of us who regularly go, it’s about a three hour commitment, once a month. It’s not that way for Sam & Cindy and those who pack on Fridays, etc. What if we set a time, once a month, where you could come and go search for people whom God has prepared. Or during that time you who are intentionally building relationships with others can sit down and share with each other. Share some accountability. That is the way that things get done.
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Closing illustration: Dr. Alvin Reid was my evangelism professor in seminary. For the class during the semester, we had to write two reports a week about evangelistic encounters we had. We felt like that was a daunting task. I sometimes wonder if it was to our shame that it took a grade to make us obey Jesus. I’m not saying that two times a week is the standard for obedience to the Great Commission, but just that if we have no goal, we are probably going to hit it. Even if our goal is to build relationships, love people, and look for the opportunity to share the gospel, do we do it regularly, do we do it intentionally?
Recap
