Shelbyville Daily Union

Ask the Pastor

September 9, 2011

Ask the Pastor

Chase Smith, pastor Fellowship Baptist Church, Shelbyville CNHI

SHELBYVILLE, IL. — Do I need to share my faith?

 

In order to answer this question properly, I would have you answer a few more questions before this one. First, do you call yourself a Christian? Second, do you believe that God wrote the Bible? Last, do you believe that the Bible is without errors and is perfect? If you answered yes to these questions, then the answer to the original question about sharing your own faith is yes. But if you do not call yourself a Christian or believe the Bible is God’s word, then no, you do not have to share a faith you do not have.

The reason that I asked those questions is simple, the Bible commands us in multiple places to share our faith, and the most notable is what we call the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. If the Bible says it, it must be done, because it is the Word of God. I have seen too many Christians use a vast multitude of excuses for not sharing their faith, and I have used them in my life as well. We can not take what the Bible says and use some parts and discard the parts we don’t want. We like when God says “do not murder” but when he says “go and make disciples” most start using verbal gymnastics to try to get out of doing what He commands. If Christ says in the Bible we should do something, like sharing your faith, we need to do it. He is God, not man, and it was not a suggestion for those who desire too, it was a command for ALL too.

Salvation is a gift from God and not something that we have earned. Most people who have faith in Christ heard it from another person. Think of the person that you heard the Gospel from when you accepted it, what if they did not share it with you at that time, where would your faith be today? The Gospel is not something that you keep hidden, it is not secret, and it is meant to be shared. Jesus even uses metaphors to equate the Gospel’s sharing with a city on a hill or a light in a dark room, both are not meant to be covered up, but are meant to be seen and used.

Next time you are in a place where you have an opportunity to share the Gospel; do it. It may be uncomfortable, but Christ didn’t die on an uncomfortable cross to keep his life from being known.



Chase Smith is the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Shelbyville. For more information from Chase or the church call 774-3636 or visit www.fellowshipinshelbyville.com.

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