You don't have to share the Gospel
Where does Jesus say this?
Just live your life according to Christ, growing daily in HIM.
It will show the people who know you what God can do in us over time - and that's it's own witness.
That is correct. Our actions become our witness, and we can be either a good witness or bad witness. If we do bad things, our word becomes compromised, and people will be less likely to believe what we say. The opposite of this is when we act in love, this will give our word credibility. For example, in a court of law, if you have 2 people with conflicting testimonies, one is a prostitute, and the other is a doctor. The doctor is the one most people would believe as his word is not compromised like the prostitute. He is a good witness.
So, your actions validate what you believe, and then when you do say the Gospel, people will be more likely to believe what you say.
We need to be careful that we do share the Gospel. Our good deeds are not the power of God unto salvation. They only give our words credibility. Staying silent is wrong.
In life, if you have the opportunity to stop someone from being killed or injured but you choose not to warn them, then in man's court, you are guilty of a crime called "Depraved Indifference". This shows that you have a blatant disregard for life. It is like if you see a person drowning and you have a life jacket right beside you that you could easily throw to the person. But because you cannot be bothered, you choose not to throw the life jacket and the person then drowns. This is depraved indifference.
If man's court recognises this injustice, how much more would a holy, and just God recognise the injustice of us not warning of eternal death?
We know that we should share the Gospel with as many people as possible. It is the right thing to do.
"So, for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin." James 4:17
The command to spread the Gospel is for the church at large, and we are all gifted differently. We all have different roles in pursuit of the end goal.
Use whatever your own gifts are towards the spreading of the Gospel. You don't have to be a preacher yourself - but you do need to understand the material so you can live it out.
Many have used the different giftings as an excuse not to say the Gospel. They say, "I have not been given the gift of evangelism". But if we have a look at the gift of evangelism, it is not a special gift where a person can go out preaching and everyone will be saved. The gift of evangelism is an
inward gift for the church so that the believers can be trained to go out and share the Gospel.
Ephesians 4:11-12 says, "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up".
So, the person with the gift of evangelism will go out and share the Gospel with the lost, just like every other believer should, but they will also have the ability to teach others in the church how to do it as well.
Also, God did make us all different. Some he made to be ears, some he made to be hands, some he made to be a mouth and some he made to be feet.
If you are an ear, listen to people's problems and then tell them the Gospel.
If you are a hand, mow someone's lawn and weed their garden and then tell them the Gospel.
If you are a mouth, teach people and then tell them the Gospel.
If you are feet, walk to the parks or down the street and then tell people the Gospel.
We do have different giftings and abilities and with these, we should bring Glory to God. We should not use our gifts as an excuse not to give God glory.
I am a foot. I often choose to go to the parks and give God glory. Sometimes I am a hand and I share the Gospel. Sometimes I listen to people and then I tell the Gospel.
Ignore the street preachers and their condemnation of you. They aren't into discipleship. They believe "1-2-3 pray after me" if sufficient for them to rack up their crown-count in heaven.
People who love God enough to obey Him and share the Gospel do believe in discipleship. But they are also careful not to fill the church with unbelievers who are weeds amongst the wheat.
Many street preachers do not do, "Pray after me 1-2-3." Instead, they tell the unbeliever to talk to God as soon as they can and tell Him about the sorrow within their heart regarding their sin. Then the preachers also recommend a church. This way, if the person is genuine, they will then want to know more about God and they will find a church. If God starts a work in someone, then He will complete it.
I tell hundreds of people the Gospel and I cannot disciple all of them. Jesus did not disciple all the 5000 people He broke bread with either. And neither did Phillip stay and disciple the Ethiopian eunuch.
Love is sharing the Gospel. Our actions reflect Him through us. Not a single word has to be uttered.
Be blessed.
That sounds similar to "Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words". This saying is equivalent to saying, "Feed the hungry and if necessary, use food". Of course, you need to use food when feeding the hungry. And of course, we need to use words when telling the Good News. How will they hear without a preacher? We need to open our mouths.
If a house is on fire and the person inside does not know that it is on fire, and could die any moment, do you yell and warn them, or do you say to yourself, "Because I love this person, I am going to mow his lawn so that I can show love and then I will tell him his house is on fire"?
There is an urgency to tell everyone. Yes, love them. But love them enough to tell them of the condemnation that they are under. Staying silent is unloving and should not be an option.
In saying all this, I do believe that we are not all street preachers. But if we love the lost, we should be looking for every opportunity to tell the Gospel to them. Even if we are not good at speech, God can still use us. We need to be careful that we are not passing on responsibility when we have been given the capability to do it. God blessed has blessed all of us with the gift of a mouth. And those who cannot speak can share the Gospel on the net or hand out tracts.
