The Great Commission

Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB)  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This is what’s known as the Great Commission. As believers, we have been commanded to evangelize and baptize. Let’s focus on evangelism for this blog post. There are some people naturally gifted to go out in the streets, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. The rest of us, however, oftentimes shy away from discussions that might lead to sharing our Christian beliefs. Some of us are just downright terrified to discuss the plan of salvation.

In my experience, people are afraid for different reasons. There isn’t one cure-all to this fear of offering Christ to people, but one of the easiest things to fix is lack of knowledge. Some people can’t share it simply because they don’t know it well enough to explain it. Plenty of resources are available to help you learn and share the plan of salvation. Do the best you can, and if there are questions you still can’t answer, offer to find out the answers and get back to them.

Ask God to help you overcome your fear (whatever the reasons may be), and boldly proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ! Your first proclamation should be the way you live. Make sure people can ask you why you’re different, why you don’t get upset at the same things they do, or why you always have a positive attitude. That’s the perfect opportunity to discuss salvation through Jesus Christ.

As Christian beliefs become less and less popular in this country, prepare to be mocked, ridiculed, hated, and dismissed as “old-fashioned” or even crazy. Jesus Christ warned us that the world would hate us just as it hated Him. We are not excused from preaching the Gospel in the face of opposition. We are not given a free pass from adversity or persecution, but He promised that He is with us ALWAYS, even to the end of the age.