Evangelism and Why We Struggle

Most people struggle, not with being a good person, but with sharing our faith in Christ which has now allowed us to live a life of righteousness that is acceptable to God.  Most would say that our goal is to point people to Jesus Christ but yet they often never verbally share the Gospel message (that we all have a sin problem that only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus can cure).  Jesus Christ came to save sinners and bring them into a relationship with Him.  Romans 10:17 tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Our responsibility is to share what Christ did for the sake of sinful man.  God's Word and His Spirit can work mightily through our faithfulness and willingness to share the Gospel.

We can often hit roadblocks and  fail to live and share the Gospel.  I'm not saying that we fail in going to church but that we fail in sharing our faith with a lost and dying world.  The church (you and I) can be very busy with nice and wonderful things that serve the saints but the urgency is still taking the Gospel to our dying community without Christ.  What will we do personally about this?

Thom Rainer wrote about various roadblocks that we encounter as a church and I believe it is worth considering:

1.    Christians have no sense of urgency to reach lost people.

2.     Many Christians and church members do not befriend and spend time with lost persons.

3.     Many Christians and church members are lazy and apathetic.

4.     We are more known for what we are against than what we are for.

5.     Our churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go.”

6.     Many church members think that evangelism is the role of the pastor and paid staff.

7.     Church membership today is more about getting my needs met rather than reaching the lost.

8.     Church members are in a retreat mode as culture becomes more worldly and unbiblical.

9.     Many church members don’t really believe that Christ is the only way of salvation.

10. Our churches are no longer houses of prayer equipped to reach the lost.

11. Churches have lost their focus on making disciples who will thus be equipped and motivated to reach the lost.

12. Christians do not want to share the truth of the gospel for fear they will offend others. Political correctness is too commonplace even among Christians.

13. Most churches have unregenerate members who have not received Christ themselves.

14. Our churches have too many activities; they are too busy to do the things that really matter.

       Please pray for someone today who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior that you would have the opportunity to share Christ with that person.