Apicontent

If there was a law against sharing your faith, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Here are several reasons we should witness for Christ.

Our Mandate

Jesus commanded believers to proclaim the gospel. This command is found in all four Gospels and in the book of Acts. Prior to His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20). The Great Commission assumes evangelism.

Let’s not forget that the Creator of the universe, the One who has infinite authority, has given us a direct command. Pastor Charles Swindoll once said, “Whatever we do, we must not treat the Great Commission like it’s the Great Suggestion.” Hudson Taylor, British missionary to China, stated, “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”

During the Vietnam War and ten days after I graduated from college, I was caught off guard when I received my induction notice into the U.S. Army. The notice read, “From the President of the United States: Greeting: You are hereby ordered for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States.” Our first child was a beautiful daughter of five months old at the time, but I had no choice but to obey the President’s command to go into the military and follow his orders, even if it meant dying on the battlefield. I learned how to use an M-16 rifle and machine guns. I learned how to throw grenades and fight hand-to-hand combat.

We are engaged in a cosmic battle, and our Commanding Officer has commissioned us to communicate His good news to as many people as possible. Unfortunately, a lot of Christians go AWOL (absent without leave) or missing in action (MIA) when it comes to the Great Commission.

Evangelist Luis Palau recalled that when he was a new believer, his mother encouraged him to preach the gospel in nearby towns. She said to Luis, “Go, go, go. Get out and reach people with the gospel.” Luis told his mother, “Mom, I’m waiting for the call.” She got upset with Luis and said, “Luis, the call? The call? The call went out two thousand years ago, Luis! The Lord’s waiting for your answer!”

Jesus was the supreme evangelist who set the example for us. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Practice Makes Perfect

Most Christians fail to witness because they have not been trained to share their faith, they don’t think it is their spiritual gift, or they are simply too busy. Evangelism is a spiritual discipline. The more you do evangelism, the more natural it becomes. The Apostle Paul told young Timothy, “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). Evangelist Bill Fay says, “Even if you share stupidly, unlovingly, or with poor timing, our heavenly Father can use it. What He can’t use is your silence.”

A Guaranteed Harvest

Jesus said, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35 NIV). “Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mat- thew 9:38 ESV). God is responsible for the harvest; the laborers are to faithfully labor in the harvest.

Jesus told His disciples, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 ESV). If we are truly following Christ, we should share the gospel.

Unfortunately, few Christians fail to take the Great Commission seriously. Thom S. Rainer in his book Sharing the Gospel with Ease writes, “Based on surveys we’ve taken . . . fewer than one in twenty Christians have ever had a gospel conversation with someone.”

The gospel changes people’s lives. I read about Little Richard who bragged about being omnisexual with a diverse lifestyle of sexual promiscuity and drugs, but in 1957, he gave his life to Christ, and Jesus radically changed his life. It’s easy to write people off when we think they will never give their life to Christ, but the Lord is in the business of changing people’s lives.

In the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, the Lord told Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites, but instead, Jonah headed in the exact opposite direction.

Jonah decided to flee God’s presence because he detested the Ninevites and did not want to see them turn from their sinful lifestyles. Who would have thought that a wicked city like Nineveh would repent and turn from their evil ways (Jonah 3:10)? It took Jonah being swallowed by a great fish and spending three days inside its belly to get Jonah’s attention. In Jonah’s outrage, God reminded Jonah, “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand . . . ?” By God’s grace, we are not swallowed by a great fish every time we choose not to share our faith. But as the Lord has compassion on us, we must ask ourselves, “Shouldn’t we have compassion on those who don’t know Christ who without Him are hopeless and are faced with a Christless eternity?”

Motivated by Love

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
—2 Corinthians 5:14–15 ESV

Ask yourself two questions: What’s the greatest thing that has happened to you? What’s the greatest thing you can do for someone else?

“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (2 Corinthians 5:11 ESV). Paul’s reverential awe for Christ motivated him to keep sharing the gospel of salvation to people in order to receive Christ’s commendation at the bema seat of Christ.

In October 2008, the story was reported of the sudden sinking of the cod fishing vessel Katmai in the Bering Sea. Something in the stern of the ship went wrong, and experts believe the ship sank in a matter of minutes, giving little opportunity for the crew to prepare to abandon ship. Four men found in a life raft were lifted into a U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter. In reasonably good health, the four men insisted that they not return to land but become part of the rescue operation for the others who were still lost at sea. Saved and safe, they insisted that they go after the others. What a clear picture that we who are safe and secure in the grip of God’s grace have the urgent call to go after others who are still lost.

We’re Ambassadors for Christ

The Britannica Dictionary defines an ambassador as “the highest-ranking person who represents his or her own government while living in another country.” As Christians, we are citizens of heaven who represent the King of kings and Lord of lords as official representatives to carry the good news of the King—the gospel—to those on earth. As ambassadors for Christ, we are given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18–20). It’s not so much if you are a witness but rather what type of witness you are.

People Are Lost Without Christ

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 ESV).

When I have shared Christ with people and asked them if they have ever heard the gospel before, 90 percent or more of them have said no.

Pastor and author David Jeremiah said, “If we understand what lies ahead for those who do not know Christ, there will be a sense of urgency in our witness.”

While in seminary, I was an intern for a period of time at the USC Medical Hospital under Chaplain Phil Manly. One day, a young man was brought into the burn ward with severe third-degree burns over 95 percent of his body after his apartment caught on fire. He was in excruciating pain. I visited him several times and tried to share the gospel, but he was barely conscious. After a month of agony, his body finally gave out. I don’t know if he ever asked the Lord for forgiveness, but I trust that in his dying, agonizing moments, he responded in faith. In Luke 16:19–31, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus who was poor. Both died, and the rich man who ended up in hell said, “‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me . . . for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24).

In the movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe as the Roman General Maximus addresses his troops before battle. He tells them, “What we do in life . . . echoes in eternity.”

Second Peter 3:9 says that God is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Second Corinthians 2:15–16 says, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma of death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”

Atheist Penn Jillette of the magician duo Penn & Teller said, “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.” Tragically, he is still an atheist who is basically saying if the gospel is true, we should go all out to tell others about the truth.

Suppose you discovered a cure for cancer and didn’t tell anyone. You would be considered totally self-centered if you did not share that great discovery with others. Billy Graham said, “If we really believe that men are lost apart from Jesus Christ, it should become a burning incentive to evangelize with zeal and passion.” Dwight L. Moody said, “I cannot preach on hell unless I preach with tears.”

Here are the two great motivators for sharing Christ: (1) the amazing offer and glorious promise of heaven for those who trust Jesus for their salvation and (2) the dire warnings of hell for those who ignore God and for whatever reason reject God’s offer of love and forgiveness.

We Will be Rewarded for Our Witness for Christ

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
—Daniel 12:3 ESV

For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.
—1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 ESV

God’s plan for enlarging His kingdom is . . . one person telling another about the Savior. The joy you’ll have when you meet that person in heaven will far exceed any discomfort you felt in sharing the gospel.
—Charles Stanley

I never regret sharing Christ with others. I only regret it when I don’t share Christ with someone I should have. Chuck Swindoll said, “Your courage to acknowledge Jesus publicly will be rewarded.” Your willingness to accept rejection even from family members (Matthew 10:32–36) will be rewarded.

Recently, I hiked up a famous trail in Washington state called Mount Si. At the top of the climb, I shared Christ with three hikers in their early 30s. After I shared the gospel with them, one of the young hikers said in the presence of his other buddies, “I did that.” He meant he had previously received Christ and was a citizen of heaven. His other two hiking buddies were listening to what he said. I thought to myself, Thank you, Lord, for letting me finally get to the top with this weighed pack and share Christ with these three hikers.

Hopefully, his other two friends were impacted by his testimony.

The Lord can use you right where you are. My brother Larry at 16 years of age was led to Christ by an anesthesiologist we called Doc. He was the high school football team’s doctor. Several years later, my brother, as a layman, had reached millions of people for Christ through his ministry called Jesusonlineministries.com. Little did Doc know that this 16-year-old high school kid would impact millions for the gospel.

Time Is Short

Evangelist Mark Cahill wrote a book called One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven—and that one thing is that there will be no witnessing since the lost won’t be there. Jesus said in John 9:4 (ESV) that “night is coming when no one can work.”

The Lord’s coming is getting closer every day. Think of all the people you work with, your neighbors, and those you see on the street, at the park, at the gym, and in the supermarket. The old saying holds true: “As death finds you, eternity keeps you.” We should have a sense of urgency as we witness for Christ because life is short.

Dennis was a guy from church I would occasionally go witnessing with until one day he fell 100 feet to his death on a solo hike. Dennis can no longer witness because he is now in heaven. None of us knows how many hours, days, minutes, or seconds we have left on earth.

A friend of mine, Gerry Autry who worked for Youth for Christ, told me a story of a girl named Dawn who went to a junior high retreat, got motivated to share her faith, and went back home and shared Christ with a friend who received Christ. Six hours later, that friend was raped and killed. She is now in heaven forever.

Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” If you had one week to live, what would you do? Would you be focused on reaching your unsaved loved ones, friends, and coworkers for Christ?

Chuck Swindoll in his commentary on the Gospel of Luke wrote, “This may be your last day to choose, because there is not only a heaven, and there is not only a hell; there is a hurry.”

John Harper’s Last Convert

John Harper was an evangelist who was invited to speak at The Moody Church in 1910. He had been invited to speak to The Moody Church for three months of meetings.

John  Harper,  his sister,  and his six-year-old daughter (his wife had died) found themselves on the great ship, the Titanic. Survivors later reported that as Titanic began to sink, Harper admonished people to be prepared to die. He made sure his sister and daughter were in a lifeboat even as he continued to share the Gospel with whoever would listen. And when he found himself in the icy water with a life jacket, floating near another man, Harper asked, “Are you saved?” “No, I’m not saved!” the desperate man replied. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” Harper shouted.

Harper knew that he could not survive in the icy water. He took off his life jacket and threw it to another person with the words, “You need this more than I do!” Moments later, Harper disappeared beneath the water. Four years later, when there was a reunion of the survivors of the Titanic, the man to whom Harper had witnessed told the story of his rescue and gave a testimony of his conversion recorded in a tract, I was John Harper’s Last Convert. The Gospel does not spare us from drowning in an ocean, but it does spare us from a far worse eternal destruction.

In Matthew 24:14 (NKJV), Jesus says, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

The Lord is delaying His return to give more people an opportunity to come to Christ before He returns to set up His kingdom.

Ask the Lord to give you an open door to share His good news with others. Ask yourself, “Who in my life needs Jesus?” List the names of five to seven people you know who don’t know Christ, and then pray about how to share the gospel with them. It starts with prayer and then a follow-up plan of some kind such as a letter, a phone call, an invitation to church, a book, or doing something together.

On January 2, 2023, in a Monday night football playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-year-old Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after being tackled by a Bengals wide receiver. Prayers around the globe went up as Damar hung in the balance between life and death. Ski Mydynski, a senior engineer whose team had developed the best automated external defibrillator (AED) at the time, commented.

In cases like this of sudden cardiac arrest when one’s heart goes into ventricular fibrillation, the only way to save a person’s life is to have an AED available and used within the first 10 minutes to save the person’s life. Damar was unconscious from no blood flow, and it was only through the efforts of others that knew he was in trouble that his life was saved. It’s similar to believers in Christ who reach out to their non-Christian friends and bring the good news of Jesus through the gospel to save individuals from eternal damnation even if they don’t even know it. The person who is about to meet their maker is like someone collapsing from sudden cardiac arrest, the person bringing the good news of the gospel is like a person bringing a life-saving AED to their side. The delivery of the shock is like the Holy Spirit entering someone’s life and cleansing them of all their sin once they have chosen to follow Him. The Lord has chosen to use individuals to bring the life-saving message of Jesus Christ to those who are lost.

What Is Evangelism?

Evangelism is believers telling people about God’s love for them in Jesus Christ. Luke 2:10 says, “Behold I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people.” The Greek word for “good news” is euangelion (eu=good; angelion=news). The gospel is literally good news. In ancient war times, a distance runner brought messages from a far-off battle to a city to let the residents know what was happening. The runners were called evangelists—“those who bring good news.”

Matthew 4:23 (NKJV) says, “Jesus went about all Galilee, . . . preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” The gospel encompasses the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Every Christian is called to be a witness for Christ. First John 1:1 (ESV) says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

Romans 1:16 (ESV) says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

The gospel contains both good news and bad news. We short-circuit the gospel when we tell only the good news or only the bad news. We must tell both.

What Is the Bad News?

A doctor tells a patient in the hospital, “We got your test results back, and I have bad news and very bad news.” The patient replies, “Oh no! Tell me, please.” The doctor replies, “The bad news is you have about 24 hours to live. The very bad news is that I was supposed to tell you yesterday.”

What is the “bad news” of the gospel? It’s that we’ve all fallen short of God’s moral standards. Romans 3:23 (ESV) says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The word for “sin” is this Greek word ἁμαρτία. It’s also an archery term for when someone doesn’t hit the target—or more simply, misses the mark. Sin means to fall short of the mark—God’s standard of perfection. Ephesians 2:1–3 says that everyone without Christ is dead in their transgressions and deserving of God’s wrath.

James 2:10 (ESV) says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

When I hike and talk to a hiker on the trail, I often turn the conversation to spiritual matters and ask, “Suppose you hiked up Mount Everest and used a chain instead of a rope. If each link represented a commandment of God, how many links would have to break in order for you to fall?” Their answer is always “one.” Just one sin in thought, word, or deed is enough to disqualify a person from heaven. The only person who has ever lived a perfect, sinless life is Jesus who died a perfect death on our behalf.

The Coffin Corner

In the early 1980s, National Football League (NFL) punters often kicked the ball to the end of the opponent’s end zone—called the “coffin corner”—to pin the opponent inside the one-yard line and make it very difficult for the opposing team to score a touch- down. In evangelism, kicking the ball to the “coffin corner” means getting people to see they have sinned before a holy God and that there are consequences for their sins. Here are some of the many verses in Scripture that show people have sinned before God.

Romans 3:10—“There is none righteous, not even one.”

Romans 3:23—“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

James 2:10—“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”

James 4:17– “Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

Matthew 5:48—“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Most people believe they are essentially good. A 2003 Barna survey showed that most Americans do not expect to experience hell first-hand, and just half of 1 percent expect to go to hell upon their death.

Jesus spoke a lot about heaven, but He also spoke a great deal about hell.

Greg Laurie of Harvest Ministries said, “To promise Heaven and not warn of Hell is to offer forgiveness without repentance.” If people reject our message, we need to warn them (Revelation 20:15).

Matthew 25:41 says that hell was made for the devil and his angels. In a real sense, God does not send people to hell. People choose to go to hell by ignoring or rejecting God and His amazing offer of forgiveness.

Repentance and Faith

People need to admit they have sinned and desire to turn from their sins to God. Acts 3:19 (ESV) says, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” Mark 1:15 (ESV) says, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and say- ing, ‘repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Repentance involves turning away from your sin and in faith turning to God for forgiveness with a sincere desire to follow the Lord.

The Amazing Good News

There’s the bad news of the gospel, but there’s also the incredibly good news. I sometimes ask people if they know what the most famous verse in the Bible is.

A few people say John 3:16, but only a few can quote it. I ask them if they know what it means. It’s the gospel in a nutshell. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). The infinite God-Man Jesus Christ loved us so much that He came to earth to die a horrible, painful death on the cross so we could have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him. The Apostle Paul summed it up well in Galatians 2:20 (ESV) where he said Jesus “loved me and gave Himself for me.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God offers us amazing grace! An acronym for grace is God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. We deserve judgment. We deserve hell. But Jesus in His infinite love and mercy paid our sins’ debt by dying on the cross in our place. We are able to leave the courtroom of God’s judgment and receive His offer of eternal life by faith.

John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, said the greatest verse in the Bible on the gospel is 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus bore the punishment we deserve. Our sin and guilt were charged to Christ, and through faith, Christ’s righteousness is credited to us. Now we can stand before God sinless, just as Jesus is sinless. Martin Luther called this the Great Exchange.

Christianity is based on the word DONE. Jesus paid the full price for our sins. When a person receives God’s grace, they are changing their default destination from hell to heaven. The thief, who was dying on a cross next to Jesus, asked Him, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). The thief repented of his sin, received the free gift of eternal life, and became a trophy of God’s grace.

Ask the Lord for divine opportunities to share the good news today. Author Lee Strobel in his book The Unexpected Adventure wrote, “God might take this seemingly routine day and surprise me with an opportunity to tell someone about the good news that has the power to turn their life inside out.   Our role is this: to be ready and willing—because God is always able.”

Second Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” The last breath a person takes may be the last breath God permits them to have.

When someone comes to Christ in God’s timing, we’re snatching people out of the fire. Jude 23 says, “Save others, snatching them out of the fire.”

Always Be Ready

Second Timothy 4:2 (ESV) says, “Preach the word; be ready in season, out of season.”

While I was the Pastor of Evangelism at a large church, a fellow pastor mentioned that while his wife was standing in line to get her driver’s license, she was talking to a woman who was a sales rep for a cosmetics company. The rep had a rule that every time she was within three feet of a person, she would talk about cosmetics. How much more do we as believers in Christ need to look for opportunities to talk about the good news.

Bill Bright, former president of Campus Crusade for Christ whose ministry has impacted hundreds of millions for Christ, made it a policy that when he was with someone for two to five minutes, he always shared the gospel. Jesus was on a mission to populate heaven. “For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10 (ESV). Acts 1:8 (ESV) says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” That includes our family, our coworkers, our neighbors, and everyone.

My Story

During my senior year in high school, I was dating the prettiest girl on campus. I thought the way to succeed in life and be happy was to marry a beautiful girl. When I met Bonnie, I thought she would fulfill my goal, but after dating her for a year and a half, I sensed there was still something missing in my life. My brother, twin sister, and older sister who had all become Christians were exhibiting a real sense of joy and peace in their lives. I surmised that it wasn’t necessarily church that changed their lives. It must have been the Bible because they were reading it often. So, I decided to start reading the Bible, think- ing it may have the answers to my search for purpose and contentment in life.

At the time, there was a worldwide threat of nuclear war due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Our country was on high alert, and most people feared a global nuclear exchange. Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union during the crisis, said, “We will bury you and the living would envy the dead,” if there was a nuclear exchange. I began to wonder what would happen to me if there was ever a nuclear war. Would I live, or would I die? If I lived, I would probably suffer a lot, but if I died, I would go to hell based on Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This verse greatly troubled me because I knew God would be my judge someday. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin (John 16:8), and shortly after, I got on my knees in the privacy of my room, and not really knowing how to pray, I asked the Lord to forgive me and make me part of His forever family.

When I got up from my knees, I was a changed person. God’s Word then became a living, dynamic book. By God’s grace, Bonnie became a Christian about a week later as she too was on a quest to understand the Bible at the same time I was. God is good!

A New Mission

I now had a new mission and zeal to reach the lost for Christ, but I did not know how to witness. As a new believer, I knew I would be a lot more effective in witnessing if I got trained in evangelism. I attended a LIFE (Lay Institute for Evangelism) training by Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) and was challenged to give my life and career to reach others for Christ.

My wife and I soon joined the Campus Crusade for Christ staff. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with hundreds of college students each year on campuses in the Northwest and at UCLA in Southern California. People at our church were investing in us financially, and it was my job and passion to share my faith and equip believers to share theirs. By nature, I am an introvert, but over time, I learned to be an extrovert. The more I shared the gospel, the easier it became. The best way to learn how to share Christ is simply by doing it.

What’s Your Passion?

Elon Musk, founder of Space X and Tesla, has a relentless passion to colonize Mars in order to save humankind in the event of a nuclear war. If you are a Christian, what is your passion? Is it to transform people’s lives by sharing the gospel and changing their lives for all eternity? We serve an awesome God who is able to do that through you.

We All Evangelize

We all share our passions about things such as our favorite restaurant, recipe, sports team, and more. But those things will all pass away. Why not share—evangelize—about our passion for Jesus Christ? He is the only way to eternal life. There is nothing more important for us to share. That’s why the Apostle Paul was so burdened to evangelize that he wrote, “How terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16 GNT).

It’s easy to think that evangelism is only for gifted people such as Greg Laurie, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Bill Bright, and Luis Palau. But I’ve learned that anyone with a personal testimony and a clear understanding of the gospel can share their faith. Regardless of your giftedness, personality, or shortcomings, God can use you to share Christ naturally and effectively.

Marching Orders

Sadly, most people have never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. Eighty percent of Christians do not consistently witness for Christ. But as Christians, we have been given marching orders by the Lord of the universe to proclaim the good news with others.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46–48 ESV).

Jesus’s final words to every believer are what we call His Great Commission: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15 ESV).

Remember, evangelism is for each of us, regardless of our talent, personality, giftedness, or occupation. Former author and theologian D. Elton Trueblood put it clearly. “Evangelism is not a professional job for a few trained men but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus.”

The purpose of this book is to show you how you can effectively share the gospel to one person at a time and potentially to many people even worldwide. To begin, ask God to help you reach others for Him. He is the One who has promised to help you by His indwelling Holy Spirit.

On the following pages, you’ll see how believers and churches are sharing the good news and how the Internet and social media are reaching our world today. But none of these are substitutes for personal evangelism.

There is no greater joy than to see God change a life. Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert, whether you have the gift of gab or not, God can use you. You don’t need to have a perfect gospel presentation for the Holy Spirit to reach someone through your testimony and by sharing the gospel. As you apply some of the principles in this book, may the Lord bless you mightily in this grand adventure of sharing the greatest news ever given to all people.