Why We Don’t Evangelize (Part 3)

Today, we complete our 3-part series on excuses that we have for NOT evangelizing. Thus far, we have explained the following reasons we accept that lead us to not evangelizing.

Biblical ignorance

Consequences for evangelizing (e.g., persecution)

Lack of urgency

“I don’t know any non-Christians.”

Global missions is more important.

The doctrine of election

“Evangelism is not my job.

Laziness and apathy

With that in mind, here are 2 more reasons we use for not sharing the Gospel.

Maybe we don’t pray enough. Some of the greatest evangelists were people of prayer: Paul, Jesus, Stephen. Consider Matthew 9:36-38. “³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;³⁸ THEREFORE PRAY EARNESTLY to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matt 9:36-38). Pray that God would send evangelists. Read through the Book of Acts and see how often prayer sparked boldness to preach the Gospel. Notice how often the apostles asked for prayer for boldness to preach the Gospel. If you lack the motivate to evangelize, pray for it. If you lack the words for the Gospel, pray for them. If you lack the clarity for how to share the Gospel, pray for it. If you don’t know who to share with, ask God.

Maybe we are not equipped. This can be a legitimate excuse. What should I say? What should I NOT say? What are the Gospel truths? What can I leave out? How can I transition from earthly conversation to Gospel conversation? A good book on sharing the Gospel (e.g., The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever or The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman).

What we know is that we must evangelize (Matt 18:18-20; Acts 1:8; II Cor 5:20). Evangelism has always been the life of the church and Jesus builds His church (Matt 16:18) through evangelists.