Faith-building Bible studies and articles

• 17 Feb

  The Life of Discipleship, Part 8: Sharing Our Faith

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  Jesus’ last instruction to those who believed in Him was to share the gospel everywhere to everyone and to teach others everything He had taught them. In the Gospel of Mark, some of His last words before He ascended to heaven were the mission statement for His disciples: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). And in the last verses of the Gospel of Matthew, He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).

  Jesus had died on the cross forty-three days earlier, and after three days He had risen from the dead and appeared to His disciples and over 500 of His followers, and imparted His final instructions to them (1 Corinthians 15:3–7). The purpose of His death and resurrection was so that humankind could have the opportunity to be forgiven for their sins, and enter into a relationship with God (John 3:3). Jesus fulfilled His mission on earth, and His death and resurrection made it possible for us to be reconciled to God and to receive His gift of eternal salvation.

  Jesus’ years of public ministry were spent preaching, teaching, and training His disciples to carry on His salvation mission. He proclaimed that His preaching of the gospel was one of the reasons He was on earth when He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God … for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). He was sent to preach the gospel, and He taught His disciples to do the same. “He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2) and to “proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 10:7 NIV).

  After His death and resurrection, Jesus said to them: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21–22). And before ascending into heaven, He declared: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Shortly thereafter, on the Day of Pentecost, the early disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to powerfully proclaim the gospel (Acts 2:4).

  It’s through sharing the gospel that Christianity spreads and the gift of salvation that Jesus died to bring is given to others. If the first disciples hadn’t proclaimed the good news and taught others to do the same, then the gospel would have ceased to be known. God has given us something so great, so eternally life changing, it’s our responsibility as disciples to share it with others so that they will have the opportunity to receive Jesus and to know the truth that will set them free (John 8:32).

  The gospel is proclaimed through the words disciples speak, through Christian literature they share with others, through the witness they share online, as well as through the lives they lead, and the manifestation of God’s Spirit within them. An important part of proclaiming the gospel is living your life in such a manner that people see God’s love manifested in you, through the love and concern you have for others, and your joy, integrity, peace, faith, and purpose.

  Disciples are called to be prepared to witness, pray for, and minister to whomever God brings across their path. Second Timothy 4:2 expresses this concept quite well with the words “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” The phrase “in season and out of season” is translated in some Bible versions as persisting in it whether convenient or not or whether the time is favorable or not, and continuing to do so in opportune times and in untimely situations. There’s no telling when we will cross paths with someone who needs God’s message, and when we do, as disciples, we are called to be prepared to share God’s love and truth with them.

  Jesus was faced with a multitude of different situations, and His response was to witness, to teach, to love, to heal, to forgive, and to comfort. He was willing to minister to those whom others rejected—the hated tax collectors, the sinners, those deemed unclean and unworthy. He was criticized when He reached out to those who were on the margins of society, but He expressed by His actions how important every soul is to the heart of God.

  God’s desire is that every person would receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and He rejoices when they do. God is no respecter of persons. Everyone—no matter what their status, their past or their current condition—is a sinner before Him and in need of His love and redemption. As Christians, we are called to be prepared to share the good news of the gospel with those whom He brings across our paths, regardless of their background, occupation, or any other distinguishing factors.

  Our salvation depended on others telling us or teaching us about Jesus, and those who told us were dependent on someone else giving them the message at some point in their lives. Christianity exists today because believers throughout history have done what Jesus taught the first disciples to do—to preach the gospel and make disciples.

  You may not be in a situation where you can proclaim the gospel to hundreds of people, but we can each reach out to the person before us and do our part to help one person learn about and take a step toward coming to faith in Christ. As parents, we can raise our children to know and love Jesus, so that they will have the opportunity to follow Him when they come of age.

  There is a God-ordained place for each one of us in God’s universal story of rescue, redemption, and reconciliation. There are so many needs in the world around us—so many broken lives, hurting hearts, and crushed spirits. The healing, help, and restoration that our broken world needs can only come from God’s hand. As His disciples, we are His messengers to the world—proclaiming His message of hope, love, and peace and bringing a saving knowledge of Jesus to people.

  God’s Plans for Reaching the World

  God not only has plans for this world, but He also has plans in this world. Every new day brings its outworking of the purposes of God. But how are they accomplished? The remarkable answer is that His purposes are primarily accomplished through people, and what is more, through very ordinary people…

  I do not know how you personally may have come to know Christ, except for one thing. There was some human agency involved. Perhaps you listened to someone preaching the gospel, and through such means the Holy Spirit convicted you of your need and of the sufficiency of Christ to meet that need. Perhaps you read a book that someone had written or you read the Bible, which was written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and as a result you came to know Christ. It could be that in your place of work or study or as you observed a neighbor, you saw a life that was so different that it created an appetite to seek for what he or she so obviously had, and you discovered it was Christ. Whatever the cause, somewhere along the line, God used people to speak to you about Himself… If God has worked through others to reach you, His plan is that He might now work through you to reach others.—Charles Price¹
  
  Evangelism: Love for God and Love for Others

  There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love for God and concern for his glory; the second is love for man and concern for his welfare.—J. I. Packer

  Don’t wait for a feeling of love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God.—John Piper

  Evangelism is every day, and in every way, helping your nonbelieving friends to take one step closer to Jesus Christ. This means in practice that every day we need to ask ourselves, “What do I need to do today to help my nonbelieving friends take one step closer to Jesus?”—Norman and David Geisler

  Everyday Evangelism

  All Christians are called to share the gospel and are commissioned by Jesus Himself to be communicators of God’s great plan of salvation to others. People do not usually come to faith unless we, as Christians, share the gospel with them. “How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14 NLT).

  Evangelism starts with the commitment to letting God use you to be His messenger to others in your everyday life. It can be a sacrifice to intentionally make time to share your faith with others, but the eternal results of witnessing are more than worth it. Giving someone a tract or other Christian literature, meeting a colleague for coffee, building a relationship with non-Christian friends, visiting your neighbors—these things often only happen if you plan for them, if you intentionally seek opportunities for sharing the gospel.

  We may not always be able to have long conversations with the people we encounter in a day, but we can still plant seeds of the gospel. We can give someone a tract. We can ask them if there is something we can pray for. We can show them kindness and tell them Jesus loves them. Even if the occasion doesn’t allow for in-depth witnessing, you can prepare the ground of people’s hearts through showing God’s love and concern for them. If you are praying for the Lord to help you witness and to show you what method will work in your circumstances, He can give you ideas and opportunities.

  In many cases, the furthest you will get in your witness will be to “till the ground” rather than actually “planting the seed.” This initial period is sometimes called “pre-evangelism.” This quote from Norman Geisler explains it well.

  If evangelism is planting seeds of the Gospel, then pre-evangelism is tilling the soil of people’s minds and hearts to help them be more willing to listen to the truth (1 Corinthians 3:6). … In the world we live in today, we may have to plant many spiritual seeds for a period of time before someone will seriously consider the person of Christ. We may have to till the ground before we have the opportunity to plant a seed. We are not called to bring all persons to Christ but simply to bring Christ to all persons.²

  Of course, there’s no single setting or way of sharing the gospel effectively. The manner in which the message can be delivered to each individual so that they will respond positively will vary. So while we, as disciples, are all commissioned to share the gospel and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so, who you reach and how you reach them will be different depending on the situation and how God leads you. But we know that God will use each of us to reach others in whatever circumstance we are in—if we are willing.

  Sharing the gospel with others is the call of Christ to every Christian. All around us are people who have yet to hear the great news that God loves them, that He sent His Son so that all who believe in Him will be saved and will enter into relationship with Him. They need someone to explain how to receive God’s free gift of salvation, to teach them how to study God’s Word and be spiritually transformed, and to guide them in their spiritual growth.

  In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we read that “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” That is an awesome statement. We represent Jesus and are tasked with giving His message to the world. And what is that message? The second half of the verse presents the message that we are to give: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

  There are millions, even billions, of people who do not know God personally, who have never heard of Jesus and who have no knowledge of the gift of salvation and the treasure of eternal life that awaits them at their acceptance of Jesus as their Savior. Our privilege is to share that good news, to introduce people to Jesus, and ultimately to help them to come to a saving knowledge of Him (1 Timothy 2:3–4).

  Sowing the Seed

  The work of a farmer is not easy. But good farmers work hard to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water them, and keep the fields free from weeds, all for a very good reason—they anticipate the time of the harvest! They look forward to hauling in bushel baskets of fresh fruit and filling their barns full of crops.

  As we engage in this amazing task of outreach, we can and should anticipate the harvest that will come. God is ready for our lives and our prayers to bear his kingdom fruit. Lives will be changed by the message of the gospel, and the hearts of men, women, and children will be transformed and healed for all of eternity when they place their faith in Jesus Christ. This is the vision Jesus painted for us when he spoke of the harvest, saying, “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown” (Luke 8:8).

  That’s why we prepare the soil diligently, scatter the seed liber­ally, and water the ground faithfully. God has invited us to be part of his harvest—and God loves fruit!—Kevin G. Harney³

  Thoughts to Ponder

  One of the reasons God saved you is so that you might bear fruit in this world. You are living in a hungry world where people are starving for spiritual reality.—Warren W. Wiersbe

  Evangelism is not a spectator sport. We are all called to get into the game. God invites every follower of Jesus to get off the sidelines and onto the field… In God’s plan for outreach, everyone plays. There are no spec­tators or bench warmers when it comes to evangelism. God wants everyone on the field, even those who feel like they can’t do it or have nothing to contribute. God wants you to get involved. The world needs you to get in the game.—Kevin G. Harney

  The church’s unfinished task is to keep going out into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all people. Yes, we are to help the poor, speak up for the oppressed, visit those in prison, defend the defenceless, but all that is at best only part of the task. We are also to declare to people, locally and globally, that God has come to us in Jesus to offer us the forgiveness of sins. Jesus sends us into the street corners, the slums, the sweatshops, the schools, the suburbs, to invite people to take the yoke of Jesus upon them, to discover that our master is good, and that his love endures forever.—N. T. Wright

  What the Bible Says

  “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matthew 9:36–38).

  “But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14–15 HCSB).

  “We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us” (2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT).

  Prayer

  Lord, I pray for a steadfast and unwavering commitment to obedience in fulfilling the Great Commission. Help me always remember the urgency and importance of proclaiming your truth to a world in need. Give me a heart that is willing to step out in faith, to overcome fear, and boldly share the Gospel with those around me… Equip me with the necessary gifts, skills, and resources to communicate your love and salvation message effectively. Open doors of opportunity and give me divine appointments to share the Good News with others…

  Renew my love for the lost, and burden me with deep compassion for those who do not yet know you. Help me to see people as you see them, with their unique needs, struggles, and searching hearts… Thank you, Lord, for entrusting me with the incredible task of participating in the Great Commission. I pray you will use me as an instrument of your love, grace, and truth. May my life be a living testimony of your transforming power, drawing others into a relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.⁴

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  ¹ Charles Price, Christ for Real: How to Grow into God’s Likeness (Kregel Publications, 2011).

  ² Norman and David Geisler, Conversational Evangelism (Harvest House Publishers, 2009), 22–23.

  ³ Kevin G. Harney, Organic Outreach for Ordinary People (Zondervan, 2009).

  ⁴ “7 Prayers To Boldly Share The Gospel Of Jesus,” Daily Prayers, May 26, 2025, https://dailyprayers.com/7-prayers-to-boldly-share-the-gospel-of-jesus/.

   

  
• Feb 3 1 Corinthians: Chapter 15 (verses 20–36)
• Jan 20 The Life of Discipleship, Part 7: Serving God by Serving Others
• Dec 16 1 Corinthians: Chapter 15 (verses 1–19)
• Dec 2 The Life of Discipleship, Part 6: Love for Others
• Nov 11 1 Corinthians: Chapter 14 (verses 26–40)
• Oct 28 The Life of Discipleship, Part 5: Seeking First His Kingdom
• Oct 14 1 Corinthians: Chapter 14 (verses 1–25)
• Sep 30 The Life of Discipleship, Part 4: Relationship with God
• Sep 16 The Life of Discipleship, Part 3: Abiding in Christ