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Why Should We Evangelize? - Answers for Church Members - June 19

9 Marks

Why should we evangelize?

Desire to be obedient. Jesus commands his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Peter says to all Christians, “Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). Peter says this to explain how we are to “set apart Christ as Lord,” that is, how we are to obey him. We should evangelize because God commands it.

Love for the lost. Love should compel us to have compassion on those in need, and everyone’s greatest need is eternal salvation. Consider how richly God has loved us (1 John 3:1, 1 John 4:10 . If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 7:12), we should love them as we have been loved, which at the very least means sharing the gospel with them.

Love for God. Our ultimate motivation in evangelism must be to see God glorified, and God is glorified when the truth about him is known and made known. Thus our desire should be to glorify God by proclaiming the truth about him as often as we can. This motivation will sustain us when our love for others may run dry. If we are to faithfully evangelize despite rejection, opposition, and even persecution, our deepest motivation must be to glorify God.

For more great resources from Mark Dever and 9Marks Ministries, visit www.9marks.org

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Christianity / Devotionals / Answers for Church Members / Why Should We Evangelize? - Answers for Church Members - June 19