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There is something about preaching the gospel that causes my insides to tense up and my whole body to go into a state of panic. I consider myself to be a social, approachable person that can strike a conversation with anyone. I have absolutely no problem speaking in front of large groups of people. However, when it comes to speaking forth Christ, that instantly changes.
I believe we have all experienced that at some point. As soon as there is an opportunity to speak to someone about Jesus that frightening feeling claws at us, discouraging us from saying a word. I used to think that was just a flaw in my character that I needed to work on but I have realized that it is just Satan trying to divert me from spreading the gospel of Jesus.
Satan is a sly thing. Of course he does not want for us to spread the gospel! When we speak to people about Jesus we are in direct combat with the enemy. Our speaking could lead to that person receiving Jesus Christ as their life. He wants to discourage us from speaking the name of Jesus and he will put certain thoughts in our minds regarding this matter. There were two main thoughts that often had the leverage to prevent me from speaking to others:
“I don’t know the Bible well enough.”
This was my initial and prominent excuse for not speaking the good news to others. I had this concept that I had to know the Bible inside and out before speaking to people so that I could have all the verses to answer all of the possible questions that could ensue. This concept is wrong! All we have to do is witness and speak what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). As Christians we have experienced something of the Lord and it is those experiences that we share with others.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible over this subject is in John 1:45-46 when Philip preaches to Nathanael. Within that conversation, Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the son of Joseph (this is incorrect because He’s actually the son of Mary) and that He is from Nazareth (also incorrect because He’s from Bethlehem). Although his facts were not straight, he still spoke about Jesus Christ and said “come and see.” His preaching, incorrect though it was, brought Nathanael to Jesus.
I like this story because it goes to show that you don’t need to be a Bible expert. What people are receiving is Christ and if they are truly seeking, they will sense the Christ in you and be drawn to that, not so much your facts.
“What if the person rejects me?”
Rejection is a common fear that almost everyone has. Not everyone is going to openly receive the gospel and that is okay. I used to get really upset when I would muster up the courage to approach a person and after a couple of minutes they would turn me away. There will be that possibility for rejection of the gospel however, they are not rejecting you but rather they are rejecting Christ (Luke 10:16)
Going with someone makes this easier. When rejection happens, you have your companion to lift you up and encourage you. The worst thing that can happen is that they won’t accept the gospel. But our speaking forth Christ to others may cause them to move from one point in their journey towards salvation to another.
Someone once explained it to me like this: The person may be standing at point B when you first speak to him or her. After you have spoken to them, they may not have made it all the way to point Z and received Christ as their life but you may have moved them from point B to point E. It just was not their time and the Lord may open and soften their heart later down the road. Any speaking of the truth that people hear can be used by the Lord to save them.
The Importance
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord instructs us to “disciple all the nations”. He desires for all men to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth, which is Himself (1 Timothy 2:4). He sacrificed His Son on our behalf for the forgiveness of our sins so that we could return to our original purpose to contain and express God. This really is the good news!
The most important thing I have learned about preaching the gospel is to do it with another believer. There is a reason why Jesus sent out His disciples two by two. If you blank out or forget a verse’s reference you have someone to come in and support what you are saying. Most importantly, you have someone to pray with as you go. We must be bold to speak the name of Jesus and spread the good news.
By: J. Zambrano
- Dear College Student - May 7, 2015
- Praise the Lord - March 5, 2015
- The Good News - January 29, 2015
“All we have to do is witness and speak what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). ” Agreed. Our experience will touch people’s hearts. If they still have questions, we can set another time to get with them and get with a companion to use the interval to prepare.
“But our speaking forth Christ to others may cause them to move from one point in their journey towards salvation to another.” I agree to this. I also have experienced preaching the gospel and the person did not accept it. I was also discouraged by it but when I checked my journey towards salvation, I realized that I was once a person who rejected the gospel preached to me by others. Though I rejected it many times the Lord already set the day that I will accept the gospel. The labor of those persons who preached the gospel to me before I was saved was not wasted.