Why Should You Share Your Faith?
When Jesus started his ministry, He immediately wanted us to join in his work.
As He walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother, Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Jesus said in Mark 1:17, “Come FOLLOW ME and I WILL make you fishers of men.”
Jesus still expects us to follow Him and to be fishers of men. Through evangelism, we make the choice to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in seeking out those who will hear God’s Word. Our mission as evangelists is to GO SPEAK the LIFE of Jesus – not to talk about doing it, but to do it.
As born-again Christians, we have the testimony of Jesus within ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our weakness is we do not verbalize the Gospel in our daily lives so that it is second nature that can be called upon on at moment’s notice.
We are to give the Gospel clearly for those who will hear, but this can only be done if we completely understand the work that was done within us through Jesus Christ and we have practiced communicating it to others. God is a God of order, and He expects us to deliver His Word in an order that can be understood. Clearly verbalizing the Gospel prepares us to join in His work to lead others to Christ. The Holy Spirit says we are commanded to GO SPEAK the LIFE of Jesus. What a privilege it is to be part of his plan for a lost brother or sister!
If you are unsure how to get started, contact us. We will teach you or your group how to share clearly share God’s Word. This training will help you prepare to share the Gospel with family, friends and any person you meet.
We want you to join us in our various mission trips and local outreach campaigns to give the Gospel clearly.
The Gospel is a message. It is referred to in Scripture as the “word,” a “doctrine,” a “seed,” the “good news” and “the truth.” Because God uses the message of the Gospel to reconcile men to Him, it must be taught, heard, understood, believed, confessed and defended.
The Message is that Jesus is the Christ; that He was Crucified and Rose Again!
1 Cor 15:1-4 (NIV) “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
The Message Must be Taught
Rom 10:14 (NIV) “How, then, can they call on one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
The Message Must be Heard
Rom 10:17 (NIV) “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
The Message Must be Understood
Mat 13:17-23 (NIV) For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
The Message Must be Believed
Heb 4:2 (NIV) For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
The Message Must be Confessed
Rom 10:8-9 (NIV) “But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The Message Is Foolishness to Some, Good News to Others
1 Cor 1:18, 21-23 (NIV) “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” 1 Cor 2:2 (NIV) “…For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
The Message is True and it Works
Col 1:5-6 (NIV)” …the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”
The Message was a Secret, but it is Now Fully Revealed
Col 1:25-26 (NIV) “…I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.”
2 Cor 4:2-4, 18 (NIV) “…Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
The Message is Valuable and Vulnerable; It Must be Guarded
Because the gospel is an invisible message, it is thus vulnerable to attack. Jesus labeled Satan the “father of lies” (John 8:44-45, 47). Satan’s agents are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Mat 7:15, 22-23). Satan’s efforts are to “infect” the gospel with lies (Act 13:9-10). Much of the New Testament is written to instruct and encourage us to protect the message (Eph 4:14-15).
Heb 2:1-3 (NIV) “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him..”
Mark 13:22-24 (NIV) “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.”
2 Tim 1:13-14 (NIV) “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
2 Cor 10:3-7 (NIV) “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ… You are looking only on the surface of things…”