Live It and Share It

When it comes to evangelism, some Christians say, “I’ll just be a good example. I’ll be a model of what it means to be a Christian, and that will be my form of evangelism.”

By all means, be a model. Be a good example because that, in effect, earns you the right to articulate your faith. (And if you can’t be a good example, then I would prefer that you don’t preach the gospel.)

However, the primary way God brings people into the kingdom is through others verbally sharing the gospel with them. Paul wrote, “Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT).

God’s primary way of reaching people is through people, and the primary way we do that is through the verbal articulation of the gospel. The Bible tells us, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV).

I remember a time when God called me to share the gospel at a very unusual moment. I was in a department store restroom when someone in the next stall thought I was his drug dealer. It turns out that at one time he had accepted Christ and attended Harvest Christian Fellowship.

“God must really love you,” I told him. “He sent your pastor into the bathroom where you were trying to make a drug buy.” Then I asked him to meet me in the department store so we could continue our conversation. I prayed with him, and he recommitted his life to Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15 NKJV). Go into all your world and preach the gospel. Go into your sphere of influence with the message of Jesus Christ.