"...Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature"--Jesus

Christ gave us simple instructions on what He wanted us to do as His followers. Christians have one job concerning our work in this world, and that is to preach the message of Christ to the lost. We forget sometimes how important this aspect of our Christian lives is. How can we overlook this commandment given by the Lord?

Make no mistake about it. You don't have a "Christian life" if you don't deliver the message of freedom to the captives. Jesus gave us a direct commandment to do so. He didn't say "preach the gospel if you're in the mood for it." He didn't say "Preach the gospel if it's convenient." He said "Preach the gospel to every creature." Knowing this, we know that to disobey Christ is to show that we do not love Him, according to John 14:15. "If you love me, keep my commandments."

Who are we living for? Is it Christ, or ourselves? It better be the first choice. "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

If we are truly living for Christ, why is it we aren't doing what He commanded us to do?

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

These were the words of the apostle, Paul, which he wrote to the church of Rome (Romans 10:14). Paul knew what our mission as Christians is. He knew that this was our only job. In a world of poverty and destruction, we are the only "Jesus" that many people will ever see. And are they receiving the message of life through us? Or are we standing by and watching them perish? It's not enough to try. It's not enough to wear Christian t-shirts or have Christian bumper stickers. It's about us. It's about the believers accomplishing that which the Lord gave as a command. Don't forget that the reason you're now saved, is because someone spoke up. Someone else did their job.

Don't be fooled. The church is so worried about offending people that we have shut our mouths completely. One of the most common things Christians try not to do is make people think they're "Shoving their religion down their throat." The truth is, they gave it an ugly name to intimidate Christians, but "Shoving religion" is actually exactly what all the martyrs did! When Paul preached, the non-believers shouted "Shut up!" and when Paul refused to be quiet, they eventually killed him. This is the story with the rest of the apostles. So, don't think you're somebody evil if they say you're shoving your religion on them, because in actuality, that's exactly what you're suppose to be doing.

I'm convinced that the best way to win souls is to do it the exact same way the church of Acts did it. They just went out and preached to everyone and anyone, not caring if they were offending people. But because of the lack of boldness that most believers have, we think it is all right to win souls a different way.

On the other hand, why do you want others to be saved? Why should you preach the gospel? If your answer is only "Because Jesus told us to do it," then you'll never win a single person to Christ. It's not about Him telling us to do it. It's about us having the compassion of the Lord. It's about you wanting to see them saved. If you don't have enough compassion in you to care if someone is going to hell, I would question where you're going yourself.

It all leads back to one thing of course, and that's your relationship with Christ. Who would want to share Christ if they aren't happy with the Christian life? And who would brag about how great Jesus is if He's not working great things in their own life? So before trying to witness to other people about the God you serve, make sure the life you preach is the life that makes you personally happy. Why would anyone be tempted to live for Christ when the life you're living makes you unhappy? Why would they want to follow Christ when Christ obviously isn't doing anything for you? And what's the point in preaching about a salvation that has done nothing for you? It's no wonder the world thinks Christians are hypocrites. Because many of us are! But do you see that if you become closer with Him, and know Him more, He'll come closer to you. And when He's active in your life and doing great things in your life, the nature of God inside of you will be "I've gotta show other people this."

When witnessing, don't be just some Bible thumper with pat answers that is looking for converts. Like I said before, have a true love for the lost. Make them your friend. Just go places, do things and bring up the subject of Jesus. What will happen is they will either be extremely interested in the conversation, or not interested at all. But if you are their friend, they will be much more open-minded to a conversation about Christ with you, than they would be to a preacher they don't even know. Ultimately, God will show you what that specific person needs in order to be saved.

One thing believers often forget is the authority they have in this world. We become intimidated by numbers of people, or flows of conversations. It is amazing how easy we forget that the God of the universe lives inside of us. Don't lose grip of the fact that you, plus God, equals the majority. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Prayer is extremely important also. Never doubt what God can do. Never limit Him by what you think is "possible" or "impossible." Pray for the lost. Believe that God will save them--and saving souls can be as easy as a single prayer of faith.

The Word of God is also a powerful tool in witnessing. No tricks to it, just read off some verses out loud. You'll be empowered by them. And the people around you will be convicted by them. Some good verses are ones like "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16), or "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13).

 You can reach Scott at: scottn_1@yahoo.com