If a patient came to a doctor with the symptoms of a deadly sickness, and the patient didn’t know they were ill, what should the doctor do? Should he approach the patient with fear or indifference, not telling the patient they have a problem in order to spare the patient’s feelings, or be truthful and let the patient know they are sick so he/she could do something about it? In real life, the “doctors” are Christians who don’t tell non-believers of their eternal fate, and the “patients” are non-believers. Which answer should Christian “doctors” give the non-believer “patients”?
Many Christians don’t like telling non-believers the truth because of fear. Fear is a very big giant in many people’s lives and must be dealt with. For example: if the government were to threaten every doctor with long term imprisonment for not giving chemo therapy to cancer patients, would the doctor obey or disobey the law? He would most likely obey it. Why? Because he is being threatened to go to prison which is more severe than a cancer patient “suing” the doctor for going against the patient’s will. The same applies here. There is a Higher Authority that commands Christians to tell as many non-believers as they can about a treatment that will get rid of their deadly sickness, which is sin (Mark 16:15). Which is worse, the fear of disobeying the Most High God or the fear of a non-believer spitting in your face? Charles Haddon Spurgeon says:
To be laughed at is no great hardship to me. I can delight in scoffs and jeers. Caricatures, lampoons, and slanders are my glory. But that you should turn from your own mercy, this is my sorrow. Spit on me, but, oh, repent! Laugh at me, but, oh, believe in my Master! Make my body as the dirt of the streets, but damn not your own souls! (Cahill)
Mr. Spurgeon was very radical, but not everyone is. Is it worth the persecution of non-Christians to obey God? Another possible hindrance to the Christian is the feeling that Christian faith shouldn’t be pushed on non-believers. It is believed by 41% of born again Christians that Christians do not have a responsibility to inform Hindus, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Atheists and the like about Jesus Christ, but they should keep their religion to themselves leaving the others struggling to find a purpose in life while serving false gods (Barna). Is this right? The answer is found in Philemon 1:6, Paul says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith.” We must go back to our nursery rhyme years when children would sing “This Little Light of Mine”. Cheesy as it seems, this is exactly what Christians are supposed to do; not hide the light under a bushel, but let it shine so everyone can see it, (Matthew 5:14-16). Not only do some struggle with sharing their faith, but some don’t feel knowledgeable enough to tell someone about Jesus. To know a lot of statistics and be a Bible scholar is very helpful when sharing the Christian faith, but it is really not an absolute necessity. All you need is to be a born again believer, have God’s Word written on your heart (Psalm 119:11), and courage to tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone you meet. Don’t be ashamed to proclaim to the whole world that you are a child of God. In Romans 1:16 a-b, Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” Jesus reveals the importance of confessing Him before people in Matthew 10:32-33, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Non-Christians might shun Christianity if Christians tell non-believers about Jesus because most non-believers have the wrong picture of God. A lot of non-Christians hear that God is a mean ruler who gives Christians a ton of laws and severely punishes those who mess up. It is true that God is a ruler, but according to David Noebel and Chuck Edwards, He is also righteous, which means He won’t punish anyone unjustly; and as He is righteous, He is relational as well (Noebel and Edwards). He doesn’t just want to righteously rule His children, but He wants to have a relationship with each and every one of His children. God is the Christian’s father and their Creator; He loves His children very much – even the ones that have not yet decided to make Him Lord of their lives. And for those who have accepted Him, He wants to get close to them and have a deep, intimate relationship with the ones He created. When one of God’s children has a relationship with Him and truly loves Him, then they will obey Jesus’ commandments without thought and will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22, is love. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35. By bearing this fruit, non-believers will see there is something different about Christians, and will want Jesus Christ. Deep down inside every person is craving Jesus, whether the person realizes this or not. Witnessing by actions is one of the most powerful ways of spreading the gospel. Christians must be good witnesses, and examples. When non-believers see phony Christians who say they attend church and love God, but don’t go to church, or truly believe in God, then non-believers tend to shun Christianity. Non-Christians are unconsciously searching for something real and don’t want a religion full of rules and regulations; they want a passion to live for, a reason to go on. Christians must be a light in the darkness, showing non-believers that it is wonderful to serve the Lord, Jesus Christ. Tell the whole world your testimony of how good God is and how He changed your life (Culbertson). Don’t knock non-Christians over the head with a Bible by preaching doctrine to their faces and pushing non-believers into Christianity. Make the non-believer realize that Jesus is the one and only God, and accepting Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven! When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, and believe in Him, you will go to Heaven. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 a
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God loves man so much that He actually came to this earth as a human just to die for every single person that will or has walked the face of this earth. And when He died, He took every sin and every sickness upon His very own back, so humans have a choice to go to Heaven or Hell. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13. Christians believe in a Savior Who has done so much for all the inhabitants of the world -- and only “59% feel a sense of responsibility to tell others about their faith.” (Barna). Wouldn’t a patient who was dying want to know they were dying, especially if there were many doctors around who knew the cure for the patient? There are approximately 300 million people living in the United States; and only 101 million of those are born again Christians. That leaves about 200 million residents of the U.S. non-believers -- and that is only the United Sates! Just imagine how many are in the rest of the world who do not believe in Jesus. Christians do not have a whole lifetime to share the gospel. People do not live forever. According to Kirk Cameron, co-founder of The Way of the Master, “every 24 hours 150,000 people pass from time into eternity” (Cameron). In other words, they die. The sooner the lost and dying people are reached, the more eternal lives are saved. It is very clear in the Bible that the Christian’s job is to tell the non-believers of the wonderful Redeemer – Jesus Christ. Jesus says, in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” God will greatly reward those who obey His command. Just think of how wonderful it will feel when He says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:21, 23) and when you see the people who prayed with you to receive Him! If all God’s children truly love Him and have a relationship with Him, they will want to follow Christ and obey all His commandments; one of which is to preach the gospel. Not only will Christians get a reward in Heaven, but they will receive a reward on earth -- a reward of ‘Heaven on earth’. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon says, “To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here upon earth.” (Cahill) “Are you a contagious Christian? Is your faith infectious?” (Culbertson)
Jesus is coming back very soon and Christians need to get serious about sharing their faith, because there isn’t much time left. Before Jesus comes back to take His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:27), to heaven, “the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.” Mark 13:10. There are too many places in the world today where Christians are being persecuted. Here in the United States, Americans have a wonderful opportunity to not only choose what to believe, but Americans have the freedom to be outspoken about the religions they choose. It’s not that Christians have to share their faith, but that “we GET to!” Mark Cahill says, “change your mindset from one in which you have ‘got’ to share your faith, to realizing that you ‘GET’ to share your faith with all the lost people you can find until you get to Heaven.” (Cahill) Christians are responsible for every soul they meet. There is no valid reason for any Christian to not tell everyone they meet about Jesus. David S. MacMillan III says, in his article The Judgment,
Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched my friends and acquaintances condemned one by one. A man I sat next to on a plane. My girlfriend from college who had freely admitted that she was an atheist. I remembered that I had been more concerned about how "macho" she thought I was than I had been about this Day. She pulled away from the angel and burst out in tears as she bawled, “Why didn’t you say something, David? I would have listened!” Then she screamed as she was cast into Hell. Her screams echoed across my mind over and over again. (MacMillan)
This is not a game….this is eternity! It is not about us….it is about Salvation. Mark Cahill quotes Charles Haddon Spurgeon: “I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than to unravel all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the one thing we are to live for.” (Cahill)
