HOW TO SHARE THE GOSPEL
STEP 1 PREPARATION - CHAPTER 2 - WHY SHARE THE GOSPEL?
WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD SHARE THE GOSPEL?
THE GREAT NEED!
The Bible tells us that all those who have not received Christ as their Savior will spend endless time in hell separated from God, in torment. (Revelation 20:15). God is real. Heaven is real. Hell is real. Knowing the horrifying destiny of the lost should persuade anyone with any compassion at all to explain the Gospel message.
I cannot understand how anyone who knows they will go to heaven when they die could be so self-centered as to keep the Good News from the lost who so desperately need Christ as their Savior. If your neighbor's home is on fire, you would wake them up and warn them of the great danger. You would never stand by and watch as the house burned down with people still in the home.
GOD'S COMMAND
God has given every Christian a responsibility and a command. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." (Mark 16:15). You have a choice to obey God's command, or you can disobey it. Your choice!
If a parent tells one of their children to mow the lawn, and the child replies, "I don't feel like doing it... I'd rather watch the television... but glorify your name, dad; what is your will for me?" If my child said this to me, I would again tell him, "Go mow the yard!" If my child still didn't cut the grass, I assure you, it wouldn't be much longer until he would be in the "mowing the lawn business."
It is the same with God's command to share the Gospel when you feel like it and when you don't. We are in a battle and a fight for the souls of individuals. Anyone in the military cannot stop fighting on the battleground because they don't feel like battling. God has selected us to be soldiers for Him. There are enough "diligent objectors." God is searching for faithful, dedicated, front-line soldiers who will give themselves entirely to the endeavor at hand, telling many others the good news of salvation.
No Christian can declare the lack of ability to witness and criticize God for it because the very last words of Christ upon earth were. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8).
As Christians, we have the power, but often we don't seem to want to use the power. This is God's precise command to every follower to be a soul-winner. If someone does not even try to win souls for Christ, they are guilty of the sin of disobedience.
OUR PRIVILEGE - LOVE IS CONSTRAINING US
Since God loved me more than enough to pay for my iniquities and give me everlasting life, I will not be ashamed of the Gospel. It is when men and women hear the Gospel that they are saved. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." (Romans 1:16).
Any person who has been saved has the indwelling Spirit who is engaging every follower to look out for lost souls. The indwelling Spirit works through us. The working of the Holy Spirit was so great in the Apostle Paul that he stated in Acts 20:31 that this constraining force was so great that he said, "...I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears."
We can observe from the New Testament that when individuals discovered Christ, the Holy Spirit placed a strong desire in their hearts to reach others: Philip (Acts 8:4-8,) Andrew (John 1:40-42,) and the Samaritan woman (John 4:4-42,) are examples of this. Not to be winning souls is to be guilty of the sin of quenching the Spirit who is desiring us to pursue the lost.
UNEQUALLY YOKED WITH UNBELIEVERS
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14).
The dullness may be residing within you because you are engaging in worldly things. Are you involved in things that are impure or things not considered holy? Are you letting impure thoughts take a foothold in your mind and then acting them out instead of dismissing them? Are you being unloving to others? These things separate you from God and from others.
You might be listening to the wrong type of music or viewing unwholesome shows on TV or online. And what about individuals you fellowship with? Are they challenging and pushing you to be more like Jesus, or are they worldly, pleasure-seeking friends, who lead you far from God? "Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord." (2 Corinthians 6:17).
Do you ever wonder why we are not excited about the things of God? Sometimes we can let too much of the world residue and work within us. Fellowshipping with things that are not pure and holy bring about unclean and impure thoughts and separation from our Lord and others. It affects our faith, prayer life, and our love of our Savior and others.
DESIRING THE RENEWAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
As we invest time in prayer and reading God's Word, we find the Holy Spirit convicting us of wrong thoughts, actions, and attitudes. By God's Grace, we ask forgiveness and ask for the Holy Spirit's help to be separate for the things that so easily beset us. Our Father loves and delights in us, living, a glorious wonder-filled life.
JOY OF LEADING A PERSON TO CHRIST
We can have peace of mind when we live out God's command to share the Gospel with the world. God also promises us rewards later on for living out this command. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives." (Proverbs 11:30).
No book or study guide can provide you with the desire and passion for witnessing. Just the wondrous love of God could constrain you to do so. (2 Corinthians 5:14). Salvation is VOLUNTARY. You have to DECIDE to accept Christ as your Savior. Service is also OPTIONAL. It would be best to DECIDE that disciplining yourself to spread the Gospel is worth it to save souls.
We pray that these study guides will give you concrete, practical suggestions on HOW to witness effectively. "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8). If we understand that Christ died for sinners and have experienced Him in our own life, we are accountable to witness this truth to others.
This is the part of what the Apostle Paul was saying in Galatians 5:22, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," The end result of allowing the Spirit to control your life, obeying and following God's leading and guiding, really brings LOVE INTO YOUR LIFE - LOVE FOR THE LORD - LOVE FOR THE LOST AND LOVE FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS.
We are duty-bound for the lost around us. Not to be winning souls out of our responsibility of sharing the Gospel is to be guilty of our duties. Numerous lives would be spared from hell if we would speak out and, most importantly, win them to Christ. In James 5:20, "Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
THE FIELD IS CALLING US (John 4:35)
Yes, the vineyard is calling us to share the Good News because so many are lost. There are 7.8 billion people on the earth today, and very few of them know the Savior. According to the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association report, there are 360,000 births every 24 hours and 170,000 deaths every 24 hours. This means an 83 million increase every year. Every day another 74,000 people across the globe come to faith in Christ. That is 3,083 new fellow believers every hour of every day. (Status of World Evangelization 2018 - Joshua Project)
10% - .76 Billion - Christ Followers
22% - 1.67 Billion - Nominal Christian Adherents
39% - 2.97 Billion - Heard, Not Responded
29% - 2.20 Billion - Virtually No Exposure
More than half the individuals in the world do not understand the Way of Salvation. God's Word is calling us to win souls. For that reason, not to win souls is to be guilty of indifference and not caring in our Christian walk. "Then he said to His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (Matthew 9:37).
JESUS HAS CHOSEN US (John 15:16)
Jesus is counting on us to be productive. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." (John 15:16).
Notice that Jesus is not just worried about Quality, however, but also Quantity. In John 15:2, He speaks of being more fruitful, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
In John 15:5, He mentions bringing forth more fruit, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Not winning souls is to be guilty of the sin of the absence of love for Jesus, who has picked us to bear fruit.
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE FOR US (Luke 4:18)
Jesus, our ideal example, blazed a trail in soul winning. Soul winning was the heart of Jesus and must be our heart's desire too. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10). In Matthew 9:36, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
THE APOSTLE PAUL DEMONSTRATED IT FOR US (Romans 9:2-3)
Paul, our human example, demonstrated how Christians should go after the lost. He had a passion for souls. He was going from house to house day and night warning them. The Apostle Paul demonstrated that soul winning is done personally and from home to home in Acts 20:20-21. Apostle Paul talked to everybody he met. He believed that men, women, and children were lost, and he loved them, and tried to win them.
"To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22).
THE EARLY NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS ADOPTED IT
Yes, this was the goal of the early church, preaching the Gospel and witnessing to everyone. "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah." (Acts 5:42). Every circumstance became an opportunity to tell the Gospel. Persecution was added fuel to their way of life shown in Acts 8:4, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." They were in a continual revival, with souls being added to the church daily.
MAY GOD HELP US TO ADOPT SOUL-WINNING AS THE THEME OF OUR CHURCH ACTIVITIES.
OUR SALVATION IS COMPELLING US (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Our salvation experience is compelling us. A light on a hill cannot be hidden, and neither can a soul be silent that has experienced the saving grace of God. One cannot sit on a pin quietly, nor can we be quiet once having had an encounter with the Son of God.
Andrew had to find Peter and tell him. (John 1:41).
Philip had to go tell his brother Nathaniel. (John 1:45).
The Samaritan woman had to tell the whole city. (John 4:40-42).
Paul could not keep quiet about it. (Acts 4:20).
Dear friend, if you really have met Jesus, you will have to tell someone about it. Not to do so is to deny the Lord that bought you.
WHAT A CARING, COMPASSIONATE GOD WE SERVE
Jesus always has a special place in his heart for the weak, brokenhearted, and rejected among His people. Compassion and concern for the downtrodden and oppressed are rooted in the very nature of our God. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27).
God still wants and desires to do amazing things for his followers, who follow Him in loving and compassionate giving. This is a far-reaching and significant truth that we would do well to utilize in our day-to-day living.
"For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in." (Matthew 25:35).
STOP AND PONDER!
God saved you by His Grace; God always keeps you saved by His Grace; God directs and guides you by His Grace; God makes it possible for you to work for Him by His Grace.
God takes care of you with love, joy, and peace in this present life for serving and working for Him by His Grace; God rewards you in heaven for having served others for Him on the earth. SUCH GRACE!
Absolutely, God is good, and with the Psalmist, we must say, "What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?" (Psalms 116:12).
I love the Lord, don't you? Share the Gospel Message!
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