The Great Commission

Did you know 160,000 people die every 24 hours? Sadly, only 2% of professing Christians share their faith regularly. If we as Christians truly believe what the Bible says, that if someone dies in their sins they will spend eternity in Hell, why do we not speak up and share the good news of the Gospel? Fear of rejection? Fear of coming off as some religious nut? Afraid of what they will think of us? Or is it, as Tony Miano puts it, "depraved indifference"?
I see it all the time in the church. People will say "Well, I don't have the gift of evangelism", or "I don't want to force my beliefs on someone". Ever heard this one? "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words." This quote is often attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, but if you do some research you will find he did not in fact utter these words and furthermore, simply put, its a cop out.

Ray Comfort once said "Its easier to talk to God about men, than to talk to men about God." There is a lot of truth in that statement. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said "Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that." How can a Christian be apathetic about the salvation of their friends, family, and even a stranger? The love of God in him or her should motivate them to seek and save that which is lost.

Don't get me wrong I think to be a evangelist is a gift and not for every Christian, however every Christian is commanded to witness. It is not an option, the great commission is a command from Jesus for every believer.

Matthew 28:18-20

Luke 24:46-47

Matthew 28:19

Mark 16:15

If the Great Commission started and ended with the 11 remaining disciples, Christianity would be dead. Thanks be to God the disciples didn't stay in the upper room! And neither should we. We must get out of the pews, outside the four walls and share the Gospel of eternal salvation with this lost and dying world.

Maybe you are thinking, yes I agree we should witness and evangelize, but I don't know how or I don't feel properly equipped. Trust me, I have been there. However you can not just stop at that statement. You must, most importantly, read the Word of God daily. You must read, research and study effective ways to share and defend your faith. That is our duty as a follower of Christ. I like what Oswald J. Smith said, “Oh, my friends we are loaded down with countless church activities, while the real work of the church, that of evangelizing and winning the lost is almost entirely neglected.” So where do you start?

That is what I hope to help and encourage you with this blog. I am not original, but I have read and attempted to apply just about every "method" of evangelism out there. So I have done the leg work for you. Let me save you some time. Unfortunately, while I was busy trying these man made methods to share my faith, I was overlooking the greatest source for how to share, which is found in the Holy Bible by Jesus himself.
The great folks at Living Waters breaks it down for you very simply. My first recommendation would be to watch or listen to two very important foundational messages by Ray Comfort. The first one is called "Hells Best Kept Secret", which you can listen here or watch here. The second one is "True and False Conversion", which you can listen here or watch here. The latter one is especially important to me, because it is the message that made me realize that even when I was a professing Christian, I was not truly saved. Just watch it and you will understand. Thirdly, get a copy of the book by Ray Comfort called The Way of the Master. This will teach you how to share your faith simply, effectively, and most importantly biblically....the way Jesus did!

Please check back often for more posts and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. In the mean time please take about 20 minutes to watch this very recent video of my friend Tony Miano witnessing to Brianna on a college campus in California. It is a stellar example of how to share your faith biblically.


Grace, Peace, and Love
Steven