All to Him I Owe

Some people falsely believe that only those who are called by God to be an evangelist have an obligation to evangelize the lost. But Matthew 28:29 gives a clear command to all Christians: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Each of us has an obligation to give the gospel to a lost and dying world; and when we don’t, we’re disobeying God.

Some of the most evangelistic people I know are people who came to a point in their life where they understood their need to just obey God in this area. Like all of us, they had used numerous excuses but realized that their excuses were not legitimate ones to use to disobey God.

Approximately two years ago, God really began to work on my heart regarding my responsibility to witness for Christ. I would give the gospel when the opportunity came to me, but my life was not marked by intentional attempts to make opportunities to witness. As I began to warm to the place of making a decision to be a witness for Christ, I found myself making a mental checklist of all the things I had to prepare or learn to do to be more intentional in witness. It was not long into that checklist that I realized I had completely overlooked the first thing I needed to do in regards to being an intentional witness—to first repent of my lack of obedience to the Great Commission. I have certainly not arrived to a place of perfection regarding witnessing for Christ, but there have been marked demonstrations of improvement over the last two years. The improvement began at that point of repentance.

Here is a thought for you to consider today. Have you considered your lack of fulfilling the command of the Great Commission to be an area of disobedience? If you have been disobeying God, then let’s start with repentance.