Why You Should Share the Gospel (Motivation for Evangelism pt. 2/2)

Elliott Martin, Cross-Cultural Service Major at BJU

 “When a man is filled with the Word of God you cannot keep him still, If a man has got the Word, he must speak or die.” - Dwight L. Moody

 “We can only go so deep with Jesus until we start yearning to reach out.” - David Mathis
 
“If he have faith, the believer cannot be restrained. He betrays himself. He breaks out. He confesses and teaches this gospel to the people at the risk of life itself.” - Martin Luther
 
“To call a man evangelical who is not evangelistic is an utter contradiction.” - G. Campbell Morgan
 
“To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in this world.” - Charles Spurgeon
 
"Someone asked, ʻWill the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved?' It is more a question with me whether we—who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not—can be saved." - Charles Spurgeon 
 
“If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world." - Charles Spurgeon
 
“The earth's families will be blessed only if we go to them with the Gospel. That is God's plain purpose." - John Stott
 
"It's not a real love if you aren't giving people what they need the most and that's the gospel of Jesus Christ!" - Steve Pettit
 
"A person that is convinced that God loves them lays down their life so that the gospel can be advanced." - Will Galkin

“But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” - Exodus 9:16 

You’ve heard quotes like these. You’ve heard sermons on why you should share the Gospel. If you’re reading your Bible, you’ve undoubtedly run into verses about why you should share the Gospel. So, the question is, why don’t we?
 
Let me give you one more quote:
 
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” - Jesus (Mark 16:15)
 
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Jesus tells us to go, so we go. So, if we aren’t going, we aren’t obeying Jesus. The problem is, we still aren’t going. We have an excuse for every possible Gospel-sharing opportunity. If you are an excuse-giver, read the last CGO blog post by Moses Kim or ask Dr. Kevin Oberlin to explain what he means when he says, “The extent of your sin is congruent with your ability to rationalize.”
 
Instead of trying to debunk all the common excuses for not evangelizing, I want to present one truth that, if you let it sink in, I think will change the way we think about sharing the Gospel.

Here it is: God wants to use you. God has this crazy plan to ransom people from every tribe, language, people, and nation (Rev. 5:9) by opening their hearts to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus through the Gospel (2 Corinthians. 4:6). But what is even crazier is that God takes that perfect Gospel, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and He gives it to us (2 Corinthians 4:7) with the promise that it will be effective (Isaiah 55:11)! We are to share the Gospel! That’s worth skipping a little studying time. That’s worth pausing the video game. That’s worth giving our lives for.
 
People are dying and going to Hell. They are living in rebellion to God. They need to repent and believe the Gospel for the sake of their good and God’s glory. And out of every way in which God could choose to bring people to Himself, He says, “I choose you” (John 15:16, 27).
 
I already don’t deserve to be saved. I definitely don’t deserve to be the means by which God saves others. It is a privilege and a joy anytime to see Christ proclaimed (Philippians 1:18), and God offers to use me to proclaim Christ. Who am I to say no to that? As I see God as worth glorifying, Christ as worth sharing, the Spirit as worth obeying, and my joy as worth pursuing, shouldn’t I want to share the Gospel more?
 
In case you didn’t figure it out, the answer is yes. There is nothing more joy-bringing than being used by God to bring other people into loving relationships with His amazing Son Jesus. That’s what I want to spend my life on. That’s what Jesus tells us to spend our lives on. Let’s share the Gospel. Let’s hear the voice of our Savior saying, “Go,” and arm ourselves with the promises of God, then go! For the sake of the Savior we love, for the sake of the Father we follow, for the sake of the Spirit we trust, for the sake of our great God’s glory, for the sake of the lost world’s need, for the sake of our joy, let’s go.