The Importance of Evangelism

www.insidethebible.ca /the-importance-of-evangelism/
Micah Hackett
Did you hear about the millions of people who genuinely came to Christ recently? Probably not. Why? Simply
because the vast majority of Christians do not share their faith on a regular basis. Are you part of that majority? The
Great Commission of our Lord commands every disciple to go. Why do we take His command so lightly?
Biblical Incentive
Most of us are familiar with the words of the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the gospel And
we would also know that this is not just a request, but a command to every disciple; it is our God-given priority as
servants of Christ on earth. Do we respect the fact that our Lord and Saviour commanded us? Do we not care that
He is Lord? Why do we neglect this?
Along with His command, we see Biblical incentive. Matthew 10:8 We have freely received; so must we give. Luke
4:43 Jesus priority was to preach, as must ours be. Acts 5:42 They ceased not to preach. Acts 16:10 Luke
and Paul went immediately to preach in Macedonia, knowing God had called them. Has He not called us? 1
Corinthians 9:16 Woe is me if I preach not the gospel! Our priority is clear; let us fulfill it.
Another Biblical principle is found in Romans 10: Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
It is a fact: people need to be saved. How shall they then call on Him in Whom they have not believed? If people
dont believe on Him, they will not call on Him. And how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard?
The people need to hear the gospel to believe it. And how shall they hear without a preacher? It all comes down to
us. We preach, the people hear, the people believe, and then they call. Where there are no preachers, there is no
calling on the Lord. And where there is no calling on the Lord, there are eternal flames that await every unrepentant
sinner. How important it is to preach!
How selfish
Imagine for a moment the horrendous character of a firefighter (whose job is to fight fires and save lives) who
neglects to save a victim, merely because of fear. Or worse, what if he didnt save them, because He didnt care? To
what should our character be compared when we allow sinners to blindly walk into an endless eternity of flame
where the worm dies not and the fire is never ever quenched? If the Saviour had our attitude toward souls, would we
have hope? Again those words echo in our ears: Woe is me if I preach not the gospel!
Hell
Perhaps one of the greatest incentive to evangelize is this solemn statistic: nearly two people die every second. And
the sad truth is that most are entering or have entered Hell. In the past year, how many have heard the gospel from
your mouth or from a tract you had given out? Every year, over 57,000,000 people die; and a majority enter Hell.
Imagine how greatly this number could be reduced if every follower of Christ followed Him as He commanded.
Would you wish the following description on your friend? On yourself?
After what seemed like thousands of horrible and painful years in Hell, I suddenly appeared before what looked to
be a Great White Throne. I realized who sat on it. It was Jesus Christ. I knew I was doomed. He opened the Book of
Life, and He couldnt find my name, because it wasnt there. I said to Him I believed you were real, I was baptized,
and was good most of the time. I should be in that book. Then He said with a voice of divine authority, You never
repented of your sins and placed your faith in Me. It is not of works that you are saved, but by my grace. You chose
your future by rejecting Me. I realized He was right. Then He said these most devastating words: Depart from me,
you cursed into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Depart from Me; I never knew you! An angel took
me and literally threw me into the lake of fire. I took one last look behind me and saw the face of Saviour who could

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have been mine, but wasnt because I rejected Him. Suddenly, I was surrounded by a spiritual darkness,
unimaginable by humans. I heard the alarming, demonic screams of those who also were judged, and I felt this
sudden heat, a fire hotter than any scale could measure. I was in the lake of fire, and I would never ever ever ever
get out. I knew I would never see the face of a loving God in paradise, but instead be surrounded by darkness and
torment. My name is hopeless, and my eternity is without hope.
Again, how can they hear without a preacher? How will these blind and helpless people find the Lord when the ones
who are there to guide them are unwilling to do so? The fate above will be their future, because most who claim the
name of Christ simply dont care. If Christ was like me, where would I be today? If every Christian had my attitude,
would any be evangelized? We wonder at times why God hasnt made a solution for the problem of the world not
knowing Christ. We wonder why He has to send people to Hell despite the sufficient death of Christ. We are the
solution.

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