Now that I am restarting this ministry, I think it would be helpful to ask the question, why? Why am I spending my time writing these articles? Why do I make an attempt to share the gospel with people? Why don’t I just keep what I believe to myself?
It isn’t uncommon as a Christian to hear that you should leave everyone else alone. What other people believe is none of your business, and you shouldn’t try to push your beliefs on others. Many these days would even call it hateful to evangelize.
Expressive individualism has invaded the culture; people believe that what they feel—how they identify—is fundamentally who they are. Expressive individualism has flowed out of postmodernism, which rejects objective truth and authority. With these ideas, people can be and believe whatever they want, and you have no business contradicting that. Denying someone’s identity can even be considered violence.
This is one of the main reasons the culture is becoming so hostile to Christianity. Denying your identity is fundamental to the gospel. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells his disciples “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The gospel requires that we deny ourselves and our desires, and align ourselves with God’s standards. For a world that loves their sin and wants to define good and evil for itself, that isn’t a welcome message.
If the culture hates the gospel so much, why bother evangelizing when we could just sit on the sidelines and watch disapprovingly as the world does whatever it wants? That would certainly save us a lot of ridicule.
We Love the World
Throughout scripture we see repeated warnings about the day when God will judge all unrighteousness and pour out His wrath upon those who have not found salvation in His son. Hebrews 9:27 tells us “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Paul writes in Romans 14:12 that “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” The writer of Ecclesiastes concludes the book by stating that “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” One of the most descriptive scriptures about judgement day, however, is Revelation 20:11-15:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
These scriptures paint a terrifying picture. Once this life ends, we will have to stand before God Almighty, the righteous creator of the universe. We will have to give an account of our lives and we will be judged based on our deeds. Those whose name is not found in the book of life will face eternal damnation—something that every man who ever walked the earth deserves. Paul states in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.”
The good news, however, comes in the second half of that verse: “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but but His wrath was poured out on Christ in our stead, meaning when we stand before God, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees the righteousness of Christ.
I don’t want to see people get what they deserve on judgement day. God has washed away my sin with the blood of Christ, and I want everyone else to receive that grace. That requires them to hear the gospel and put their faith in Christ. “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14).
How could I say that I love the people of this world if I didn’t attempt to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them? The world says that Christians are hateful for evangelizing, but reality is very much the opposite. When someone you love is in danger, do you not warn them? How hateful would it be for me to let people continue storing up wrath for themselves without telling them of the eternal life that can be found in Christ?
We Love our God
Though I have been saved and am on the path of sanctification, I remain a horrible sinner. I rebel against God as naturally as I breathe. But by the grace of God, I can stand before Him on judgement day and be declared innocent.
This salvation isn’t due to anything I have done. Before I was saved, I was completely controlled by my sinful nature. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). Nothing I could ever do would save me, but God chose to draw me out of my sin. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
When writing the Westminster Shorter Catechism in 1646 and 1647, the Westminster divines wrote that “man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” This echoes what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The very reason we exist is to bring the most glory to God.
I owe my entire life to my savior. He showed me great love—something I could never deserve. He, however, is worthy of all praise and honor. I want to see the king of the universe given the glory He deserves. I want my life to be lived in pursuit of fulfilling my chief end.
The gospel puts God’s glory on full display. It shows His love for those who hate Him. He gave us life, and we spit in His face. He has authority over all things, but we still decided that we want to define good and evil for ourselves. Despite that, He gave up His life for us.
Not only that, the Gospel shows the righteousness of God. It shows that He hates evil with a passion and that He will not let sin go unpunished. By His mercy, He allows us to continue to live and He gives us time to repent, but one day His righteous wrath will be poured out on the wicked.
As Christians, we want the world to bow the knee to God and delight in Him, so we share His message and eagerly await the day when He returns to make that vision a reality.
We are Obedient to God
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:16-28
This is the last command we have from Jesus before He ascended into heaven: go make disciples. It isn’t a suggestion, which means sharing the gospel is a matter of obedience.
This point is an extension of the previous; if we truly love God and wish to glorify Him, we will also have a desire to obey His commands. Since God commands us to share the gospel with all people, we Christians should make an effort to do just that.
The Gospel is the Cure to the World’s Problems
The modern world provides great evidence for the depravity of man. Sexual immorality is rampant, and even celebrated. The culture has an extremely low view of marriage, which has resulted in divorce rates skyrocketing, leaving children in broken homes. Major cities are plagued with “smash and grab” car robberies, lootings, shootings, and more. These are problems that hurt everyone, Christian or not.
When it comes to these cultural problems, people look to many solutions. Some believe social justice or “criminal justice reform” (which is just a nice way of saying “not punishing crime”) are the solution; in reality, they just make the problem worse. Others think that changing the law or voting for different people will fix things; depending on how these solutions are executed, they may help slightly, but they can never truly solve the problem. No politician, no law, no policy, nor any effort from man can solve the world’s problems.
Only the saving power of the Gospel can redeem our broken culture.
If people are going to repent of their sexual immorality and stop celebrating that which God despises, they need to have their hearts changed. If marriages are going to succeed, they need to be built on a Biblical foundation. If we want to make our cities safer, there needs to be widespread repentance.
We Christians don’t want to live in a world filled with debauchery. We want to live in a world that honors God. Current times are a testament to how necessary that is. If we want to make a positive impact in the world, the best way we can do that is by bringing the gospel to people. America was built as a Christian nation—let’s return to that foundation.