1 Corinthians 2:1-5 The fear of Evangelising

As Christians we should have a desire to save those who are lost. We should have a natural desire in our hearts to save those who are perishing. If you do not then there is something wrong with you. 

Ecclesiastes 12:14 tells us “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing; whether good or evil.” When we die we must all stand before the Holy God to be judged according to our hearts. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Psalm 14:3 / Romans 3:12 tells us “…there is none that are good, no not one.”  2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteous of God in Him.”

By putting our faith in Jesus we are justly pardoned in law from the wrath of God and are able to enter heaven. As we stand before God to be judged, Jesus is our representative. He is better than any lawyer that money can buy, for not only does He represent for us but He has taken the punishment that was intended for us and taken it upon His own shoulders, meaning that we are free to go. But for those who do not have Christ in their life they must take the punishment themselves. They must stand before God alone and they will receive their punishment and be sent to hell.

By putting our faith in Christ we are pardoned from the wrath of God. What a wonderful thing. As Christians who know the truth we should be grieving the lost and telling them as much as we can about the Lord Jesus. 150,000 people die every day. The majority of those are going to suffer in hell for eternity because of the wrongs they have done on the earth. But they needn't have to, for Christ has already taken their punishment upon Him! All they need to do is trust in Christ.

Why are not more Christians desperate to pull those who are lost out of the long queue that is waiting outside of hell’s gate?

Usually the reasons are three-fold: First, they are scared. Scared of being shot down; scared of not knowing what to say; or scared of being humiliated. Second, they do not feel they have adequate knowledge or are adequately equipped to go out and tell people about Christ. They fear that they will not know the answer to certain questions that are asked of them. Third, they do not think they have the ability to speak out for Christ. They would stumble and confuse themselves. Maybe they are not gracious with speech. If you fit into any or all of these categories then you would not be alone.

Turning to the Bible, the apostle Paul, who penned half of the New Testament is the ultimate evangelist, responsible for saving thousands of souls. Now, reading 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 we can see the thoughts and fears of Paul when it came to evangelising. See if you can see any familiarities with yourself:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Sound familiar? Here the apostle Paul, is telling us that when He came to give the gospel to Corinth he did not come as a slick talking debater who presented the Lord to the people through complicated studies of Old Testament Scripture or who had a depth of knowledge on theology or philosophy so that he could argue and reason with those who did not believe. No. Paul came in the same manner as we all would come: ‘in fear’ – so much so that he ‘trembled’! His speech did not roll off his tongue in a way that enticed people to come to know Christ. No, He tells us in verse 4 that he did not use persuasive words. In fact, in the book of Acts we are told of a story were a young boy even fell out of a window because He fell asleep during one of Paul’s sermons. Now Paul used to be a religious leader before he was saved, so he would of known a lot about theology and religion and the Old Testament and this knowledge is important. The Word is a lamp to our feet and we should all seek to learn it (Psalm 119). But, Paul did not come to debate these things. In verse 2 Paul tells us that He only came to preach one thing and that was Christ Jesus. If you speak to a Scientist, you are speaking on Christ. If you are speaking to an Atheist, you are speaking on Christ. If you are speaking to an astronomer who claims to know evidence that proves there is no God, you are speaking on Christ. Do not do battle on their ground. Seek to save the lost on your ground.

A fear of evangelism is a real and expected thing but it is certainly not an excuse to not do it. On the contrary it is through this fear that we should go out and trust in God and preach the gospel as we ought to (Ephesians 6:11-20).

Be encouraged in the fact that God is with you. It is through this fear of evangelism that you will be an effective tool for God. For God uses the weak things of this world. He uses those who are scared, humble and reliant upon Him. He does not care for those who are fast talkers and confident in themselves. 1 Corinthians 13:1 states, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” No God wishes to use those who are humble and contrite and rely fully upon Him. As we are told in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” It is through this fear of evangelism and the fear of being out of our comfort zone that we will become effective tools of God. We are weak in ourselves meaning that we have no choice but to cling to Christ. In doing that we become strong in the Lord.

Evangelising is no easy task. We should be scared. But do not allow this fear to become an excuse to not speak out for Christ. Get out of your comfort zone and seek to save those who are currently perishing.  

-BACChristian