All Christians are told by Jesus to:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We are commanded to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all around us inviting them to repent and trust Jesus. We are called to teach those who are less mature in the faith to follow all that Jesus commanded us. Sadly, most of us are poor at following these commands. We feel so unqualified and are worried about saying the wrong thing. Of course Jesus promised, “I am with you always,” so nothing is impossible.

Even Moses, when called complained that he wasn’t qualified.

Then Moses said to the Lord , “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)

Moses did not feel qualified for the task that God called him to do. In one way, Moses was uniquely qualified. He had grown up in the palace of Pharaoh and knew how to approach Pharaoh in ways that none of his brethren could. In other ways, Moses wasn’t qualified. Without God, he would have failed miserably at winning over the Israelites and at getting Pharaoh to free them, but with God, Moses succeeded at all God called him to do.

When Moses complained that he wasn’t capable, God responded:

The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” (Exodus 4:10) {emphasis mine}

God will enable us to do all He has called us to do. We also may find that we have some talents that we never knew we had. God knows because He made each of us exactly as needed for His wonderful plan.

As Paul was spreading the gospel around the Mediterranean Sea, He asked for prayer. he knew that he could not complete the task without being empowered by God.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (Colossians 4:2-6)

You’ll notice that Paul doesn’t just head out into the world. He starts with prayer. He prays and he encourages those around him to pray for him and his calling. At the same time they are praying for help and opportunity, they are thanking God for what he has given them, for being with them, and for being able to join God in His great work.

Paul asks for opportunities and actively seeks opportunities to witness. He asks for wisdom about how he should speak. Sometimes we are called to speak boldly and in correction, while other times we are called to gently draw people to Jesus. Depending on the person and the circumstances, we should approach witnessing in different ways.

Paul especially considers how to share with outsiders (non-Jews or non-Christians). Part of this relates to caring enough to share Jesus with those who are unlike us or who actively hate us. Part of this is also knowing how to share the Gospel.

When we are sharing with someone who grew up in church or in a Synagogue, they understand who God is. They know what sin is. They know God is holy and expects perfection. Sharing Jesus may be as simple as sharing that they need to repent of their sins and submit to Jesus.

On the other hand, there are many people out there who know nothing about God or the Bible. If you tell them to repent of their sins and be saved, they may answer, “Who is God/Jesus? What does repent mean? What is sin? Why does God get to define sin? What do I need to be saved from?” If we don’t give them this background information, our Gospel is meaningless to them.

If we know a person well, we may have a good idea what their background is, but if we have just met a person, we have to ask questions to understand where they are coming from before we start sharing Jesus with them. We always need to pray that God would give us direction.

For most people, we need to be loving and understanding while we are explaining how they are sinners in need of a savior. For a few, especially those who are religious, but who have not submitted their lives to Jesus, it may be necessary to be more firm in our correction, but only God knows their heart and mind. Without prayer, we can’t know how to share Jesus with them.

Paul’s admonition to “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt” gives us good guidance. We need to be loving in the way we address people. The point is not to put them down, but to show them their need for Jesus and to draw them to Jesus. We also have to be careful that we aren’t so “loving” and “gracious” that we leave out their sin and need for a Savior. Our speech should be “seasoned with salt.” Salt hurts a wound, but also helps it heal. Salt makes flavors stronger and more interesting. Salt is the truth of the Bible. It clarifies what we need to understand and makes it matter to us.

Peter tells us:

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15)

How are we to be “ready to make a defense?” We need to pray for wisdom and guidance as we share with others. We also need to study God’s word. We need to know the Bible well. We can’t share the truth if we don’t know the truth.

We are to “make a defense,” not to make an offensive attack. We are to share with others with gentleness, but with reverence for God and His word, which means we need to not compromise God’s word. We need to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Withholding any truth is not loving. It may save them momentary pain, but leads to an eternity in Hell. Be careful not to “love” others straight to Hell.

May God encourage you in His work according to His wonderful plan. May He give you wisdom to share the gospel with everyone around you. May He give you boldness and grace.

Trust Jesus

All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.