Where does our lack of effort concerning evangelism stem from? You may be tempted to mention something about personality types, limited amounts of knowledge, or nervousness. But I would argue that it comes from a lack of boldness and confidence in Christ. We have not yet learned to trust Christ in this area of our lives.
When we share the gospel with others, we ourselves have to exercise trust in Christ. And yes, we may be shy, struggle with biblical understanding, and can perhaps feel our knees knocking together. But those are the types of things that require us to trust in Christ as we witness. We often use nervousness and weakness as an excuse to justify our avoidance of evangelism. Rather than use our weakness as an excuse, we should embrace it.
As we do—which requires us to trust in Christ—we will find power. This doesn’t mean we avoid learning and growing in how well we articulate the gospel. But our confidence in evangelism should not be in ourselves. We are called to offer our lives, our lips, and the gospel message. And our confidence should rest in the power of God. Our weaknesses will not prohibit the Lord from accomplishing his saving work.
Confidence Boosters
Here are some verses that should give us a confidence boost when it comes to sharing our faith. These truths need to remembered and trusted in before, during, and after we share the gospel. They can help us 'relocate' our confidence and rely on Christ.
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Jesus is with us as we share our faith. Your witnessing may not feel supernatural or even particularly effective, but you can be sure of this—Jesus is with you. And when Jesus is with you, you don’t have much to worry about.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
As we share the gospel, God is using our stumbling and bumbling presentations of the gospel to speak to another person. It doesn’t matter that we may feel nervous or inadequate—God is speaking through us. And, although we may make mistakes, God doesn’t.
“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11–12)
We may not have every answer to every question a person asks us. And it is okay to tell someone, “I don’t know.” But we can trust that—as we share—the Holy Spirit is significantly empowering, leading, and guiding us. Often it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly powerful to us, but we can be sure the Holy Spirit is helping us deliver what someone needs to hear.
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
“God works in mysterious ways.” This is a common phrase in our world. And I actually tend to agree with it. What is one of the most mysterious ways God works? He takes our gospel-centered words and uses them to transform lives. He uses us! And it is not our job to save anyone (nor can we). We cannot make someone believe or repent. But God promises that his Spirit will work, so let’s make sure we do our part.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
The simple message of the gospel is pure power. Volume cranked to eleven, sticks of dynamite blowing up, and thunder and lightning type of power. The message we have been called to share can (and is the only thing that will) change eternities. We may doubt our ability to share, but let’s make sure we never doubt the power of the gospel to save. And, at the end of the day, we are not trusting in our abilities but rather the power of the gospel.