Top Five Answers On The Board

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.