Go into All the World

Recently,* I was talking with a 20-year-old Christian
college student. In the conversation, I asked him if he talked to unbelievers
about the gospel. He replied that he did know any unbelievers.

I live in the Northwest, which is probably the least
churched part of the country. But there are a lot of Christians here. I have
asked this question to many of them, and they come up with similar answers.
Generally, they do know some unbelievers, but they do not talk to them about
the gospel.

One of the reasons they give is that they don’t have the
gift of evangelism. Evangelism is not restricted to those who have a
gift. It is a command to believers—go into all the world and make disciples
of all nations. This has nothing to do with gifts. It has to do with
knowing the Father through the Son. It has to do with believing that the gospel
is true and that unbelievers are lost.

I ask these Christians if it is true that unbelievers are
lost. They say yes. The next question is, “Do you care?” Apparently, not
enough.

Do you find that hard? The truth is that Christians do not
love unbelievers enough to talk to them about the gospel.

It’s not that difficult to do. Just read the book of Acts to
them. Acts 9, 22, and 26 are three accounts of Paul’s conversion. Two of them
are his testimony.

Paul didn’t hesitate to tell the gospel. It didn’t make any
difference to him whether anyone wanted to know. In fact, the Jews sent people
from town to town to keep him from talking about the Lord Jesus. Paul did not
preach the gospel just because he had an open door. In fact, in Troas, he had
an open door, but he didn’t preach there because he wanted Titus to be with
him. That is understandable. Jesus sent His disciples out two by two. Paul and
Barnabas went together. Barnabas and Mark went together. You don’t have to do
it alone. You can get a companion to go with you.

Please go through the book of Acts. See what is happening
there with the Christians and imitate them.

*Written April 2019.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading
plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with
us.