#6) Do you ever share your faith with others or have an extreme desire to do so?

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ‘And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ‘they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hand on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mark 16:15-18

The progression of the Christian faith upon regeneration should, by the very definition of sanctification, cause the Spirit to continually supersede our selfish ambition and desires. If one has been changed by the Spirit to hate the things he used to love and love the things he used to hate, certainly there must birth a holy desire to share the infinite love and justice of the Creator by commanding sinners to repent. Mind you, not everyone will be a George Whitefield or Jonathan Edwards; but, upon the new birth, the unceasing compassion and discernment for a lost soul to become converted for the glory of Christ becomes an ever-present conviction.

Focus your minds and hearts on the calling of the forerunner.
“John answered them, saying, ‘I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ‘It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.’” John 1:26-27.
The one who baptized with water was to make the way known for the Savior to come and was incredibly blessed from birth [Luke 1:42]. Consider what Zacharias prophesied of his son,

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the
Lord to prepare His ways,
To give knowledge of salvation to His
People
By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on
High has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in
Darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of
peace.”

Luke 1: 76-79

The very purpose of the birth of John the Baptist is to proclaim the coming of the Messiah to the world. Although he baptized everyday, he did not proclaim to have the power to forgive sins. In fact, he confessed, “I am not the Christ” [John 1:20]. How can one man draw so much attention by baptizing for the forgiveness of sins and yet not be the one to personally forgive them? So that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, Sovereignty was expressed in that the Pharisees did not understand and were looking to accuse him of blasphemy by asking, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, or the Prophet [v.25]?” Although John was the prophesied one that Zacharias was speaking of, his defense consistently pointed not to himself, but to that of Jesus Christ and His complete sufficiency for the forgiveness of sins. This purpose was so that the very life of John the Baptist, as the one to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’, could decrease and the glory of Christ could increase [John 3:30].



Charles Spurgeon stated, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.” Although no born-again Christians today are an official forerunner for the coming Messiah, the passionate zeal and truth proclaimed about the state of man from John is no less the responsibility of all those whom God has saved for His good pleasure and glory. We are not saved unto lies, but unto truth. We are saved from lies, the devils cunnings and the ultimate wrath of God Almighty. Our souls are given few options to oppose the very nature we are given upon the new birth. E.g., we are saved unto holiness and not wickedness [1 Peter 1:15-16]. We are no longer condemned before God but justified by His glorious Grace. How does one respond who knew well the unregenerate and natural state of man and then suddenly converted? What about the one who was dead in trespasses and suddenly brought to life? Is there no thankfulness, no proclamation, no zeal to speak life of to others of the Messiah and the forgiveness of sins through Him? John spoke,
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ‘This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” John 1:29-30

We need not consider with hubris this Gospel that is able to convert a sinner’s soul in an instant, but with the utmost humility. The Baptist said, ‘of whose sandal strap I am not worth to loose’ [v. 27]. Therefore, in considering the current fallen and wretched state of man, we neither are worthy to loose the strap of the Messiah’s sandal or necessarily worthy to speak a word of this good news. But it makes it all the more necessary when God decrees it worthy as He chooses such vessels of honor according to His infinite wisdom to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all nations [1 Tim. 2:21]. According to His wisdom, it causes the sinner to boast in nothing other than the cross of Christ that shames all worldly wisdom and living.

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption- that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’”

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

As we are individually effectually drawn and called to the Messiah empty-handed, so it maintains throughout that Christian life as the Spirit of God imparts the wisdom of God to those who may be despised and unimportant according to worldly standards and wisdom. As the spirit continually reminds the sinners soul to ‘glory only in the Lord,’ so it should speak and proclaim through us this eternal decree [The Gospel] that brings the shameful wickedness of men and all of their ways to naught and ashes.

Oh, to be only blessed enough to have a sinner ask like the Philippian jailer, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”! Acts 16:30. But, this is not typically likely as the world continually stands in rebellion shaking her fist at the God, seeking a way that seems right to man, but ending in destruction. May we also respond accordingly to these types and all others by telling them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they will be saved, them and their household [Acts 16:31]. Evangelism is not [just] a spiritual gift or a calling to some followers of Christ, but it is a commandment to all believers to preach the good news. We are not to wait until someone approaches us as the jailer, but to seek those who are lost where they stand, as our Savior did. As our Sovereign and good Lord places His sheep amongst the wolves in various daily scenarios, we are to act and speak the light of Christ, proclaiming our unworthiness and His worthiness.

As believers demonstrate the particular mandate of sharing the good news of Christ with those who have not yet been converted, we must be reminded of the very cause of our own conversion. Namely, God has illuminated our hearts of the wretched condition of our own souls in that we are a fallen people and in desperate need of a Savior. We have committed sin against the Lord God Almighty. We know this by the Law presented to us in our own conscience that we sin against Him.
“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
Romans 2:12-16


I do not remember Jesus saying in the Scriptures to make His Gospel known with cowardice and nonchalance. It is as foreign to the Scriptures as a believer not preaching at all [sharing the Gospel with unbelievers]. If we are unsure of the truth of what we proclaim about Our Savior spilling His blood for our atonement, then why should we have assurance of salvation? If we speak with such weakness, and lax knowledge, we make the crucifixion and resurrection of the Messiah of no value to anyone. If your own life has not been transformed and made new enough for other people to know this has taken place, then you do not preach the Gospel to yourself enough [you must start there!], or regeneration has not taken place. Take heed our calling Christians and do not worry about an offense. The Holy Spirit of God does not take into consideration a sinner being offended or reminded of what he really is in the eyes of God. When do we realize that it is truly only God who is offended because we infinitely break His Law [Romans 3:23]? Do we not see the very reason Jesus was scourged and crucified? He was an offense to the Roman government [accused of blasphemy]! Martyrdom does not happen by agreeing with the world and what it stands for. Because it hated our Savior first, so it will hate any of His followers. This world is passing away and needs only to be reminded of the ultimate wrath and destruction pending [1 John 2:17]. Be as bold as a lion. May you decrease and the glory of Christ increase. Proclaim the Christ, “who takes away the sin of the world!”

“Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’”
Luke 3:7