Some people cringe at even the thought of evangelism because they feel guilty for not sharing the gospel as often as they know they should. For others, the idea of soul winning is a great joy. Instead of feeling guilty about the past, what can help Christians do to ensure that they will fulfill this aspect of God's purpose for their life?

Whether one lived in the first century or lives in our new millennium, we face the same barriers to evangelism. One of the biggest barriers is and has always been a whole suitcase of fears: fear of rejection, fear of what others will think of me, fear of being inadequate, fear of failure, etc.

An evangelistic person must overcome his fears

It would be simplistic to believe that everybody in the first century overcame his own fears and was telling others about Christ. What we read about are those individuals who in spite of being threatened with ostracization and persecution overcame their fears to teach others about Jesus. Is this something merely to be admired in them, or can we also be like them and overcome our fears?

Peter and John's Secrets in Sharing Jesus

1. When Peter and John said, "we must obey God rather than men," they exemplified several principles including the realization that their foundations of "being secure" and "being somebody" were anchored in belonging to God and pleasing Him instead of being dependent upon "what others might think of me." If someone believes that his importance and security depends upon how others treat me or what they might think of me, then it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to tell anyone the message of the cross which the world considers foolish and scandalous. Through both positive and negative means, Jesus taught that his disciple must depend upon God, not people, in order to obtain what is truly important in life. Matthew 10:28-42; 6:25-34; Mark 8:35-38
2. Standing before an intimidating conference, Peter and John explained why they would overcome all obstacles in order to preach Jesus, "we cannot help but speak about what we have seen and heard." As eyewitnesses, they were absolutely convinced about the truthfulness of the message. They knew that despite whatever those men might might do them, Jesus was Lord and they were responsible to their Lord to announce his message. They were not alone in that meeting. God was there with them to help them, but if they would have chosen to take another path, He would have seen that also.
3. Although Peter and John had been warned by the rulers of Jerusalem to not preach in Jesus' name, they met together with the saints and collectively prayed for the ability to speak with boldness. Acts 4:23-30 God answered their prayer. Acts 4:31.

These principles can also be helpful to our evangelistic efforts . Those who announce fearlessly God's message have no reason to fear anything; who they are is safe with God. What can man do to them of any true consequence? Furthermore, we can know and speak the gospel confidently as we consider both fulfilled prophecy (e.g. Daniel 7:13-14; Isaiah 53) as well as listen to the confident (2 Corinthians 4:13-14) testimony of those eyewitnesses (1 John 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16). Finally, God has promised to answer our prayers which are according to His will. Matthew 7:7-11; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15. We should not be so foolish as to enter into the battle under our own strength, rather we need to be constantly in prayer. Ephesians 6:18-20

Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998 - 2000

Other Articles Which May Be of Interest:

Jesus is Good News

Using A Napkin to Tell The Gospel

A World of Technicians ("Evangelism is Not My Gift")

Reading Room

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