Its the Gospel We Need to Speak

"Just be friendly and they will like Jesus" is the new thinking of the modern church.

Lots of unsaved people are friendly. All they manage to do is validate whatever state their friends happen to be in. Sin is not very important and is actually defended for those who want to remain in it.

Being "friendly" without speaking the gospel is not biblical. In fact merely being friendly works against the gospel. Yes, we should always be kind but we must speak to people in order to obey Christ.

Romans 10:13-15 "…13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”…"

The devil loves it when believers shrink from speaking boldly the gospel, it confuses those who do not understand what Christlikeness is.

Mere friendliness without words causes the unbeliever to feel validated in whatever state they are in. When people treat us special while we are in sin it leaves us feeling happy that we can be accepted in that sin.

Unbelievers, no matter how sinful they are, believe they are good people.

Romans 3:9-20
9 What then? [a]Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

There are many people who will think they are going to heaven just because they think they are good people. Sadly these people will hear these words from God, what I believe are the most frightening words anyone can ever here:

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"

God commands us to speak the gospel. We are most believable when we are living what we preach of course, but the living of it should not be only what we do.

Those who would rather not speak are living in fear of rejection of man. We cannot be in obedience to God while we fear man.

Hebrews 13:6
"So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Lifestyle evangelism is an excuse to remain silent while garnering the acceptance of those who hate God. Never do we read in the Word of God that we should say things in a way that the hearer will accept it. We are to tell the truth as led by the Holy Spirit as well as through knowledge of the Bible.

Did the apostles do their evangelism wrong? After all they were martyred for their boldness and truth telling. God clearly said that we would be hated by ALL or most.

Matthew 10:21-23 "…21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.…"

When we speak the truth and are not accepted we are to leave those who rejected us and move on to others. We are not to remain in the lives of rejecters and continue to hope they will hear us.

When we are rejected we can know that the results are God's business not ours. If He chooses to send others to those who reject us thats up to Him, we are to obey and remove ourselves.

When we stop speaking truth boldly, evil grows. This is what we have been seeing in our world over the past 40 years. Most people have been intimidated to believe they should remain silent and accept everything no matter how evil. This is an endorsement and support of evil and it has caused the world to become even worse.