The Good Fight

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged about anything, but there are some things that have been stirring up inside recently and I feel the need to share. So, thanks for reading! Most of my friends and family know that I am studying at Liberty University in the Seminary right now, and I can honestly say that although I have been here for only a little over a month, being here has caused me to deeply evaluate the core principles of my faith.

I have been saved since I was ten years old and have been beyond blessed to be a part of an amazing community of brothers and sisters in Christ. When I was 13 years old, I made the decision that I wanted to give my life to the Lord serving in youth ministry. I have done all the things that a “good Christian” should do. I go to church (at least) once a week. I pray. I read my Bible. I hang out with my Christian friends. I participate in youth conferences and love serving local ministries. These are all great things and I have found them to be very beneficial in growing in my walk with the Lord. But since arriving here I have been haunted by one scripture, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matt. 28:19-20. The Great Commission. Notice that this is a command. It’s not optional. I have found myself questioning if I am really living up to the call.

This scripture has been used to support missions work overseas, but I wonder sometimes if we are missing the point. Do we realize that everyone that the Lord has placed within our sphere of influence is our mission field? Do we realize that our mission isn’t limited to Sundays and Wednesdays and that rather it begins each time we wake up in the morning with fresh air in our lungs?

I’m beginning to question...is my faith making an eternal difference for anyone other than myself? Or is it merely self-serving? Does my faith have any significance to the people outside of my Christian bubble? Outside of organized church events, or in other words, in my day to day interactions with those around me, how am I sharing my faith? It has been said before, ”preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.” Is this a cop out? After all, does it not say in the Bible, “How can they call on the one they have not believed in? How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15).

Jesus calls us to share the good news of his death, burial, and resurrection with everyone. We are not called to drop hints…”Yeah, I’m a Christian….I go to church.” We are called to drop life-preservers by telling people not only how God has changed our lives, but most importantly how they can come to know Him too! We cannot be afraid to confront people with the truth of the gospel. The gospel is confrontational. It cannot be watered down or else it loses its effectiveness.

My professor told a story about an unsaved person who asked a Christian if he really believed that without Jesus people are condemned to Hell, of course the Christian responded that the Bible does tell us that. The unsaved man then responded, “If that’s true, how much does a Christian have to hate someone to not share with them about Jesus?” Does that not speak volumes? He told another story about a family he knew, who prayed for many years that their father would accept Jesus’ gift of salvation. Eventually, he did and his son asked him, “Dad, what took so long?” To which the father responded, “Son, nobody ever told me how.”

Statistics show that only two percent of Christians regularly share their faith with others and only five percent of all Christians have ever led someone to Christ. If you’re reading this, I want you to ask yourself, “Am I regularly sharing my faith?” “Am I looking for opportunities to lead people to faith in Christ?” “Have I been blind to the spiritual condition of those around me?”

If anyone had an excuse to not share their faith, it was Paul. Paul was regularly imprisoned and tortured for his sharing of the gospel. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 11:23-27:

23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

So what is our excuse for not sharing the gospel with the lost and hurting around us? What fear or selfishness is holding us back? Paul never once mentioned that he was close to giving up; he only asked for more boldness. Paul was eventually killed for the sake of the gospel. He had his head sliced off at the command of Nero, a vicious persecutor of the early church. But at the end of his life, he was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” What about us? Are we fighting the good fight?