Day 3 - Are All Christians Called To Evangelize?

The phrase "Evangelism is not my calling" has been uttered out of the mouths of Christians across the world for decades. In many cases we’ve made our communication about marketing and have left the Gospel message to our pastors to share. Situations like this have become more and more common as believers have made sharing the gospel “someone else's job”. Evangelism has become a weekend event that happens time-to-time when the Outreach Pastor is entrusted with growing the church's membership; so, a small group of regular church members head out to the park, hand out water and snacks, and invite everyone to join their services that upcoming Sunday. While these events may be a form of showing love, this by no means can be the sole method of bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

To be clear, the question of this chapter is not, "How does evangelizing make you feel?" , or, "Do you enjoy evangelizing?" Sadly, we have found Christians in Western culture actually believe that because they don't feel comfortable with evangelizing, they must not be called to it. To those Christians, we must pose two questions. First, does God only call people to what they feel comfortable doing? And if the answer is “Yes”, can they support that perspective with scripture?

In both the Old Testament and the New, we see characters of the Bible being called to do greater things than they are capable of. Many of them even admit their inability to accomplish their God-given tasks. From Genesis to Revelation, we read about God commanding His people to push past fear and doubt and to trust Him as they enter a deeper place of dependency and reliance. Many of us are living in cultures that prioritize our personal comforts (if it does not make me comfortable, it must not be from God), this should not cause us to paint over or ignore the words given to us by the God of all creation. As Romans 12:2 commands us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Giving our desires precedence over God’s Word has given room for a lie to take root in our lives. It has polluted the hearts and minds of many believers around the world - convincing the Body of Christ that only a select few are called to evangelize. This is a lie from the enemy, and must stop with us.

First, when we read the Bible, we see that evangelism is a central part of the Christian life. We see Jesus Himself engaging in evangelism, and we see the early church spreading the Gospel to the ends of the known world at that time. You and I know from studying history that many parts of the world had yet to be discovered, including North America. That should tell us that if Jesus’ command was to “go into all the world”, we are the continuation of that exceedingly Great Commission.

Second, we need to understand that evangelism is not just a spiritual gift that few possess; it is a command given to us by Christ Himself. Every believer is called to share the Gospel with the world around them. We are all called to be witnesses to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Lastly, we need to realize that evangelism is not exclusively meant to be carried out by certain personality types. We may have different styles and approaches, but the message will always remain the same. Introverts and extroverts alike are called to share the Gospel. The idea of being a Christian who does not evangelize is an invention created in the ideals of culture and established for comfort. We must not view the Word of God through the lens of culture, feelings, or personality types. "So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me His prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God."- 2 Timothy 1:8

Challenge: Devote yourself to His Word, studying it tirelessly, giving it access to alter your feelings to conform to Christ, rather than allowing your feelings to alter your theology.