How hard should we push the gospel message in our evangelism?
The gospel is not an easy message. It confronts people as sinners facing the judgment of God. It calls them to repent of their sins and submit to Christ as Lord. It’s understandable that our hearers will put up some resistance. So how hard should we push?
With urgency. First, our evangelism should be urgent. We must warn people about God’s judgment. We must plead with people to turn from their sins and trust in Christ.
With joy. On the other hand, our evangelism should be joyful. God sent his Son to die for his enemies! Jesus rose from the grave to conquer death and give eternal life to all those who turn from their sin and trust in him! This is great news and we should preach it with joy.
With respect. Finally, none of this means that we are trying to impose our views on people. We can’t force anyone to believe and we shouldn’t try. All we can do is tell them the good news, always respecting their freedom to say “no thank you.”
(This material has been adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever, 55-60)
For more great resources from Mark Dever and 9Marks Ministries, visit www.9marks.org
