State of Evangelism

Part I -- State of Examination

Part II -- State of Repentance

Part III - State of Evangelism

I was lost and now I’m found.

I was blind but now I see.



When I was in high school and college, I was pretty good about witnessing and sharing Christ with others. During high school, my parents owned a Christian book store so it was fairly easy to be a “witness”. I was always the goody-two-shoes and it didn’t bother me that I was. But, what they didn’t know is that I wasn’t a good person. Nobody is good (Psalm 53:1) except God alone (Luke 18:19). What perhaps they saw in me was a person they wanted to look up to but that’s as far as it went. No effort to change and be like me. Honestly, they probably didn’t want to and shouldn’t have tried to be like me. I wasn’t the person in whom someone’s life should be portrayed as an example. It may have seemed like it was on the surface but I’m pretty sure I was just as lost.

When I look back now, I realize that my heart was there and perhaps some did see a glimpse of the gospel that may have been silently portrayed by me. But I am pretty sure that it didn’t save anyone. Back then I was engulfed in the modern evangelical message that hoped someone saw the love of Christ in me. That they would just turn from their wicked ways because me, a Christian, just happened to live the “Christian life” or was praying for them. I would pray that the Lord would bring someone to me and just ask me what it was that made my life so great. Know what? I never had one person do that. Never. Even to this day no one has ever thought my life was so wonderful that they had to have whatever it was. Why? Because they don’t need it. They are happy with their own lives. Happy living with their own sin because it makes them feel better. And worst of all – they really don’t know what their sin is. They don’t know that our God is a just and righteous judge. And He will judge us for our sins. “God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11)

A.W. Tozer once said, “Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.”

If only I could turn back time.

If only I could do it all again.

I would tell them they must repent.

As a Christian, our purpose is to glorify God in every thought, word and deed. To love lost people enough to warn them that they are children of wrath who are waiting to be sentenced to eternity in hell for breaking God’s laws. We are to love lost people enough to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the only hope of avoiding the wrath of God is to repent and trust in the Lord Jesus. Our sole purpose is to proclaim the gospel – to fulfill the great commission.

The video above is alarming, but if it is offensive to you, then you might need to examine your heart and see if you are in the faith. I hope it has served it’s purpose in disclosing that hell is real. And people are going there. I am not on a high-horse. I am not judging and condemning. I am only professing what the Bible says. I have no way of knowing where you stand spiritually with the Lord – but He does.

However, if you are not actively engaged in sharing your faith with lost people or you can’t be bothered by it out of fear, doubt, unbelief, or if you have believed the modern lie that evangelism is only for ministers or those with the gift of speech, then you must look in the mirror and realize that you may be a false convert who has never fully repented and are living in disobedience to His Word as failure to share the gospel. Paul was fully aware that he was not an eloquent speaker and that he was weak and fearful (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) but he did not let that excuse stop him in being obedient.

I took a long hard look at myself as seen in the previous posts listed above. I was in disobedience in quite a few areas. This is why it is out of love and concern that I pour out my heart that bears the truth of the gospel, and his command for all men every where to repent because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:30-31), to you and to strangers on the street. I do it out of obedience. And, because I do not want anyone to spend eternity in hell.

I am reminded of what God said to the prophet Ezekiel when he commanded him to call the people of Israel to repentance. “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand” (Ezekiel 3:18).

I don’t need much more motivation than that!

Mark 16:15 (the Great Commission) states that we are to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” and that we are to do it all the time “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

In Isaiah 58:1 we are instructed to lift our voice loudly, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Notice in this verse it says “my people”. We also are to be reminding those who say they are in Christ to examine themselves and make sure they are repenting from sin and that they are in fact in the faith as they so claim.

With the Lord’s help and for His glory, I am now in obedience to Him and am being a witness to Him. From time to time, I hope to share some of the encounters that I have with people on the street. A lot of times I am just handing out tracts or leaving them everywhere. I am in continuous training through God’s Word in how to effectively preach the gospel of Christ.

I know that if I am correctly telling the lost and false converts about their sin, and that they must repent and turn away from their iniquities, that I will be hated, shunned and labeled as judgmental, harsh and unloving (Matt. 5:11-12, Matt. 10:22, Matt 24:9, John 7:7, Luke 6:22). The more I get out there and do it the more I see the hatred for me and for the truth. I have all ready had people who refused to associate with me because of my stand. Nobody is offended when we say that “God is love” or that we know “God will fill the empty hole in their heart.” When the correct method is used, they sometimes get angry, self-righteous and proud. Thus I know the Law is doing its job in revealing that sin is transgression of the Law.

How do you stack up against the Law of God's word (The Ten Commandments)? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen anything, regardless of the value or how long ago it was (time doesn't forgive sin)? Have you taken God's name in vain (said "Oh my G-d")? Have you looked at another person with lust, therefore commiting adultery? Then by your own admission you are a lying, thieving, blasphemer, and adulterer at heart and you are going to have to face God on Judgment Day. Because God is Holy, good, righteous and just He will sentence you to hell as the just punishment for your sins against Him (just like Josh).

Oh, but there is good news! Our righteous and just Creator provided a way out from that terrible wrath. He provided himself. God came to earth in the form of a man, the person of Jesus Christ. He suffered and died a horrible death on the cross, taking upon himself the puishment that we deserve for breaking his law.

What does God require of us? That we repent. It's not praying a prayer asking Jesus into our heart -- that does not save us. We must turn away from the sin and call upon the mercy and forgiveness of God. We must by grace alone, through faith alone, receive and trust in the Lord. Then, and only then, will our sins be forgiven and will we receive the free gift of eternal life.

Will you stand? Will you be in obedience to Him no matter what the cost? Will the Law and the Gospel of Christ proceed from your lips today?

The nets are not full...

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