Matthew 10:7
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.
To Go or Not To Go
I once shared the Gospel going door to door, and a man actually told me that you don’t need to tell people about Christ. I asked him why, and he said that in his church, they just pray for people to come to their church and be saved. I wondered what chapter and verse that was because I couldn’t find it, but I can find dozens of verses where we’re to go out to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost. Some have tried talking me out of this. Some believe that since God predestines people (Eph. 1), He doesn’t need our help, and really that is somewhat true because salvation is fully a work of God (John 6:44-45). But even though He could write it in the sky, He uses men and women to bring the Gospel to the lost (Matt. 28:19-20). God calls men and women to be saved, but we are part of the means to that end. Don’t let anyone discourage you from telling others about Christ because we are all called to do this, and we are all ministers of the Good News.
Helping the Least of These
When our church was offering a free invite for people to come and eat during a Thanksgiving meal, some people tried to say that if people are poor and can’t afford to eat, it’s because they probably don’t work. One man said, “They made their own bed. Now let them lie in it.” Some can work and choose not to, yes, but we cannot know exactly who they all are. Jesus teaches us that if we help those who society regards as “the least of these,” then we’re actually doing it for Jesus Himself (Matt. 25:40). This includes visiting the sick, those in prison, and those who are naked (poor), hunger, thirsty, and strangers (Matt. 25:35-36). However, He never qualified helping these people by saying “if they have a job,” “if they don’t deserve to be in prison,” or “if they made their own bed, let them lie in it.” No, Jesus just said doing it for the least of these is doing it to Him, so don’t let anyone talk you out of helping others for Christ because I believe we are all called to do these things for “these least.”
Convinced in Our Own Minds
There are some Christians out there who can tolerate compromising with sin more than others. A few times, I have been invited to a movie or a concert, but my conscience didn’t allow me to go because of the offensive content. What is clearly sin and is not sin I have no problem with, but sometimes the grey-area things trip a lot of us up. So here’s what I do to make the decision whether to participate in something or not. I let my conscience, hopefully persuaded by the Holy Spirit, guide me as to whether it is right for me to go or not. Paul wrote that each of us must be persuaded or convinced in our own minds whether something is sin or not (Rom. 14:5). Each of us must be convinced or feel conviction about something in our own minds, and we shouldn’t allow others to talk us into doing something that we’re not comfortable with because it could mean that Christ is not calling us to participate in these things. In this way, we can avoid having a seared conscience, which could lead to greater errors (1 Tim. 4:2).
A Closing Prayer
Heavenly, righteous Father, please help me to not be persuaded or talked out of doing what You have clearly called me to do but to be consistent in obeying Your call and for the glory of Your great Son, in whose name I pray.
Amen
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