We are to evangelize, not because it is easy, not because we may be successful, but because Christ has called us. He is our Lord. We have no other choice, but to obey him.
Quoted by Curtis C. Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors, Crossway Books, 2001, p. 176.
In the Bible we find no gap between the call to follow Jesus and the call to engage in mission.
Gaining by Losing, Zondervan, 2015, p. 150.
The Great Commission is not a calling for some; it is a mandate for all… When it comes to a calling, we don’t need a voice; we have a verse (Mt. 28:19). It is now our responsibility, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to evaluate how we are best suited to fulfill that call… We…see every member of our church as a potential missionary to be equipped and mobilized. Our goal is not to send some, or even our best, but to send all into the mission – to our city, across the country, or to the other side of the world.
Gaining by Losing, Zondervan, 2015, p. 80.|Gaining by Losing, Zondervan, 2015, p. 80.
No one can say: ‘Since I’m not called to be a missionary, I do not have to evangelize my friends and neighbors.’ There is no difference, in spiritual terms, between a missionary witnessing in his hometown and a missionary witnessing in Katmandu, Nepal. We are all called to go – even if it is only to the next room, or the next block (Thomas Hale).
On Being a Missionary
The saints are to bear a threefold testimony to, and for Christ and His truths: Breath-testimony, Life-testimony, and Blood-testimony.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 310.
The Bible says in I Corinthians 1:21 that “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” Often it is the message of the Cross lived and demonstrated that God uses to open a heart to the gospel, but it is the message of the Cross proclaimed (by word or page) through which the power of God saves those who believe its content. No matter how well we live the gospel (and we must live it well, else we hinder its reception), sooner or later we must communicate the content of the gospel before a person can become a disciple of Jesus.
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 111, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BibicalSpirituality.org. Get this book!
While it is true that God gifts some for ministry as evangelists, He calls all believers to be His witnesses and provides them with both the power to witness and a powerful message. Every evangelist is called to be a witness, but only a few witnesses are called to the vocational ministry of an evangelist. Just as each Christian, regardless of spiritual gift or ministry, is to love others, so each believer is to evangelize whether or not his or her gift is that of evangelist.
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 101, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BiblicalSpirituality.org. Get this book!
