“The proof is in the pudding!” they always say. Facts are facts, and that’s just the fact of it!
Facts tell us a lot about what needs to be done. We introduced in our last article the idea of being soul focused and the importance of fulfilling our responsibility to tell others about Jesus. Diving into the facts will help us realize there is indeed a Demand, Delusion, and Devastation.
What are the facts as they relate to evangelism? Notice please:
The Demand (Matt. 9: 37-38)
There is a high demand for Christians to be actively involved in Gospel work! Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, “…The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
The truth is that more people will die today and go to Hell than those who will die and go to Heaven! That ought to move us to reach the harvest of a world lost in darkness. Look at these overwhelming statistics:
Approximately 166,000 people die every day (1)
41.6% of the world’s population is considered unreached (2)
Approximately 66,000 people die every day without a hope in Jesus
To be honest, we may look at those stats and say, “Why should I even try?”
But just because the task seems insurmountable, doesn’t mean we should give up trying! There are eternal souls at stake that need what we have and are desperate to hear the truth.
Jesus commissions us, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” (Matthew 28:18-20).
If you are saved, these verses are for you. Christ has given you the GO of the Gospel and purposefully equipped with everything you need to share your faith. But how often are we fulfilling this obligation of the Great Commission? Has the church truly gone Out of Commission? Let’s look at some more facts:
95% of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ
80% of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ
Less than 2% of Christians are involved in the ministry of evangelism
71% do not give toward the financing of the great Commission (3)
There is a great demand for Christians who will be soul focused and live a lifestyle of winning souls to Jesus
The Delusion
With every great work God seeks to do, man sees a way out. We often do this in our obligation of sharing our faith:
“I don’t have time.”
“I don’t know how. What if I get up there and freeze?”
“What if they reject me!”
“I don’t want to be confrontational or offend anyone!”
“Can’t I just live right in front of them and then they will come ask me?”
We are really good at excuses, aren’t we? The Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells us to give the lady at the gas station pump a Gospel tract, and we give every excuse in the book as to why we can’t.
The need is greater than our conveniences.
The Devastation
Like water off a duck’s back, we often glide right over the true devastation of souls that die without Christ. We want to train disciples for Jesus, and we even urge believers to engage others with the Gospel, yet we still avoid the confrontational aspects of giving the gospel.
May I add here that I am not happy that anyone goes to Hell, and I certainly don’t want to preach that way! I think some movements have been caught up in a fanatical expression against sinners and act as if they can’t wait for people to go to Hell. That has never been the mind of Jesus. Every time Christ preached on Hell, He pointed His hearers to hope. If you give teach/preach the punishment for sins but not the power of salvation you have missed the heart of our Lord.
“But isn’t God a God of love?”
Yes, He is. In fact he is a God of just love and He loves so much that he rewards righteousness and judges wrong.
Yes, Hell is a reality.
Romans 6:23 reminds us, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:49-50)
But what is the worst part about Hell? I believe the worst part about Hell is not the flames or the darkness, but it is the eternity of hopelessness without God. There is no light to pierce the darkness. There is no day to break the night. There is no afterthought of redemption or exceptions to the rule. Without Jesus Christ, man within himself is “condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” (John 3:18).
There is a demand for Christian soulwinners. There is a delusion we often believe about the Gospel ministry. There is a devastation that ought to motivate us to do the work of him that sent us.
Join us next week as we take a look at some practical ways we can live a lifestyle of Sou Focus.
Sources:
“Street Level Evangelism, Where is the Space for the Local Evangelist,” by Michael Parrott, Acts Evangelism, Spokane, WA, 1993, pp. 9-11.
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