Sept. 18 | Five Excuses Not to Publicly Preach the Gospel
2 Timothy 4:5, “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
Here are the top five excuses people make to not be obedient to Jesus’ command to street witness. Below the excuses are biblical responses.
- Being a public witness isn’t effective like it was in Jesus’ time. There are better ways with social media, church plays and friendship evangelism.
Biblical Answer: In John 14:23-24 Jesus taught that if you love Him you will obey His commands. Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-20 to go into the entire world and preach the gospel and make disciples. Therefore, we must preach like the prophets of ole’- whether people listen or not. God told Ezekiel, “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious” (Ezekiel 2:7) and as watchmen the people will know “that a prophet has been among them”(Ezekiel 33:33).
- I don’t need to be a public witness as long as I witness somewhere.
Biblical Answer: In Mark 1:38 Jesus said, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Notice Jesus preached in the villages publicly and in the synagogues (Mark 1:39 & Luke 13:26). Jesus did both indoor and outdoor preaching, however, He never neglected preaching in public.
- I know “good” churches and pastors that don’t street witness, so I don’t have to either.
Biblical Answer: It reads in Luke 10:1-3, “1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.’” Now imagine if you were with Jesus that day when He sent out the seventy-two into the streets to prepare the way for Him, would you say, “Jesus, the rabbi down the road says I don’t have to do this.” God forbid! It’s really that simple- obey Jesus over man.
- I’m too scared to talk to people I don’t know, I want to wait until I’m ready.
Biblical Answer: Luke records in Acts 1:8 that Jesus promised to give us power for the specific reason of being His witness. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Receive the power of the Holy Spirit to be a public witness for Jesus!
- It’s not my calling.
Biblical Answer: Paul commanded Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5 to, “Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” It doesn’t matter what your specific calling is; everyone is called to do the work of an evangelist.
Now is the time to stop making excuses and be obedient to Christ’s commands to street witness and preach the gospel publicly to strangers!
Reflection
Are you willing to be a public witness for Jesus?
Action
- Repent of any excuses you may have not to be a public witness.
- Pray and ask God to set your life on fire for the lost. Elton Trueblood said, “Evangelism is not a professional job for a few trained men, but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus.”
- Ask God to give you a heart for the lost like Jesus had in Matthew 9:36-37.