Fear, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

One of the common reasons that people give for not sharing their faith verbally is fear. Fear manifests itself in a variety of ways. There is fear of rejection, fear of "messing it up", fear of condemnation, and we could go on. How should we respond to fear when we face it?

When facing the fear of "messing it up" we need to go to God's word and claim the promises that exist there. When we do we will realize that we don't save ANYONE! Jesus reminds us in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him..." God is the one who draws men to Himself. God is the one who gives man a new heart. God is the one who saves! Our responsibility is to faithfully share the Gospel message by challenging others to repent and transfer their trust to Jesus Christ.

J. I. Packer in his book "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God" wrote,
"First, we must admit that we were silly to ever think that any evangelistic technique, however skillful, could of itself guarantee conversions; second, we must recognize that, because man's heart is impervious to the word of God, it is no cause for surprise if at any time in our evangelism fails to result in conversions; third, we must remember that the terms of our calling are that we should be faithful, not that we should be successful; fourth, we must learn to rest all our hopes of fruit in evangelism upon the omnipotent grace of God.

For God does what man cannot do. God works by His Spirit through His Word in the hearts of sinful men to bring them to repentance and faith."

Let's be confident that God will bring men to salvation as we faithfully and passionately share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Who are you praying for? Who has God brought into your life to share the Gospel with?

WT