No-Excuse Evangelism

Most believers have reasons not to evangelize. Some of these reasons might even seem compelling or legitimate. “I don’t want to make the friendship weird or awkward.” “I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer people’s questions.” “I don’t want to become a person that other people avoid.”

The Old Testament prophet Jonah had some pretty compelling reasons not to evangelize. At least, he thought they were compelling. He’d been given an assignment that no prophet in his day would have been excited about. God had called him to preach His Word in Nineveh, which was one of the most wicked cities on earth. The Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. Other prophets had warned Israel that one day the Assyrians would overtake them, and Nineveh just happened to be the capital of Assyria.

Jonah likely reasoned, “Wait a second! If I go and preach to them, they might repent. And if they repent, then God will spare them, and they will conquer us. But if I don’t preach to them, they won’t repent, and God will judge them. That will be one less enemy we have to deal with.”

So, Jonah tried to go in the opposite direction. He went down to Joppa, boarded a ship, and set sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had remembered the words of David, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:7 NLT).

You probably know the rest of the story. God sent a great storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard the vessel. Jonah admitted that he was the cause of the storm and was tossed overboard: “The LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17 NLT). Jonah repented, and the great fish—likely a whale—vomited him up on shore.

“Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you’” (Jonah 3:1–2 NLT). This time, Jonah did what God had called him to do. God helped him recognize what all believers need to understand: The work of evangelism is far more important and pressing than any discomfort we may experience or any objections we may have.

We’ve been called to share the gospel, even with people we may not like. Nonbelievers aren’t the enemy; they’ve been taken captive by the god of this world to do what he wants them to do (see 2 Timothy 2:26). Until the end of our lives or until the Lord returns, our job is to reach them with the Good News of Christ.

Let’s embrace the work God’s given us so that others may experience His forgiveness, salvation, and love.

Reflection question: What seemingly compelling reasons might keep you from sharing the gospel?