Counting the Cost
A friend asked me for my thoughts about evangelism - sharing our faith. This is what I came up with; thought I'd share it with you all...
I have thought a lot about how to communicate the importance of sharing our faith. I think the best place to start is with Jesus' message to the disciples He commissioned when He was on earth. I am currently working on a lesson for one of my classes out of Matthew 10, where Jesus commissioned the 12 to go out and minister among the Jews. A parallel to that is Luke 14, where He asks them to count the cost of following Him. Before we can evangelize others, we must count the cost - what is it going to cost us to truly communicate the Gospel to others?
And what is that cost? Being misunderstood...being persecuted...being rejected...being ostracized from friend and family circles. Jesus' words are very pointed in the above referenced passages, especially in Luke 14...the love and allegiance we have for Christ must make all other allegiances look like "hatred". In other words, anything or anyone that causes us to choose to be untrue to our Lord must be subordinated to Him - or cut out of our lives if need be. We must be willing to let go of that which hinders our devotion to the Lord. This is a hard word. But we are called of the Lord to count this cost...this is the cost of discipleship.
Please understand He is not saying that are to seek out to sever these relationships. However, if we are faced with the decision to renounce the Lord in order to maintain a relationship, we must let go of that relationship in order to be faithful to our Lord.
Sharing the faith is not merely a matter of words - we evangelize with our lives just as much, if not more, than we do with our words. Especially now, and especially with my generation and younger (I am 33), people are looking for authenticity...does what you say match up with how you live? The proof is in the pudding, so to speak - I recall someone saying to me "If Christians really believe this, why do they live like everyone else?" This is convicting to say the least.
So, I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about my life, and what my life is communicating to others. Asking the question: Do I really believe what Jesus taught? Do I believe He is God incarnate...that He came to save us from sin...that we need saving to begin with...that sin is as grave as God says it is...that it is an affront to His holiness...that God is sovereign and holy, and alone we cannot approach Him...that we need the gift of grace through the Lord Jesus to be in communion with God forever...that the fate of those who refuse this gift is Hell...that Hell is real...that my loved ones and friends that don't believe will be going there...
These are the questions I ask...do I really believe this? If I do, then my life will reflect it, and I will want to share the truth of the Gospel with others...I will want to show the love of Christ to anyone and everyone I can...I will want to be faithful to Him and live a life that pleases Him and reflects His character...it will be a burning in my bones.
Matthew 10, Luke 10, 12, 14 are very good chapters to meditate on. Gives you a glimpse into the heart of Jesus in regards to what it means to follow Him. This is what we are called to do...if we do this, our lives will be a witness, and the words we use to explain why we live that way will merely be reinforcement of that life...
Grace and peace,
mish
I have thought a lot about how to communicate the importance of sharing our faith. I think the best place to start is with Jesus' message to the disciples He commissioned when He was on earth. I am currently working on a lesson for one of my classes out of Matthew 10, where Jesus commissioned the 12 to go out and minister among the Jews. A parallel to that is Luke 14, where He asks them to count the cost of following Him. Before we can evangelize others, we must count the cost - what is it going to cost us to truly communicate the Gospel to others?
And what is that cost? Being misunderstood...being persecuted...being rejected...being ostracized from friend and family circles. Jesus' words are very pointed in the above referenced passages, especially in Luke 14...the love and allegiance we have for Christ must make all other allegiances look like "hatred". In other words, anything or anyone that causes us to choose to be untrue to our Lord must be subordinated to Him - or cut out of our lives if need be. We must be willing to let go of that which hinders our devotion to the Lord. This is a hard word. But we are called of the Lord to count this cost...this is the cost of discipleship.
Please understand He is not saying that are to seek out to sever these relationships. However, if we are faced with the decision to renounce the Lord in order to maintain a relationship, we must let go of that relationship in order to be faithful to our Lord.
Sharing the faith is not merely a matter of words - we evangelize with our lives just as much, if not more, than we do with our words. Especially now, and especially with my generation and younger (I am 33), people are looking for authenticity...does what you say match up with how you live? The proof is in the pudding, so to speak - I recall someone saying to me "If Christians really believe this, why do they live like everyone else?" This is convicting to say the least.
So, I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about my life, and what my life is communicating to others. Asking the question: Do I really believe what Jesus taught? Do I believe He is God incarnate...that He came to save us from sin...that we need saving to begin with...that sin is as grave as God says it is...that it is an affront to His holiness...that God is sovereign and holy, and alone we cannot approach Him...that we need the gift of grace through the Lord Jesus to be in communion with God forever...that the fate of those who refuse this gift is Hell...that Hell is real...that my loved ones and friends that don't believe will be going there...
These are the questions I ask...do I really believe this? If I do, then my life will reflect it, and I will want to share the truth of the Gospel with others...I will want to show the love of Christ to anyone and everyone I can...I will want to be faithful to Him and live a life that pleases Him and reflects His character...it will be a burning in my bones.
Matthew 10, Luke 10, 12, 14 are very good chapters to meditate on. Gives you a glimpse into the heart of Jesus in regards to what it means to follow Him. This is what we are called to do...if we do this, our lives will be a witness, and the words we use to explain why we live that way will merely be reinforcement of that life...
Grace and peace,
mish
posted by Michelle Lewis at 3:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home