One Reason We Should Share the Gospel with Nonbelievers

The book of Revelation tells us that unbelievers have a bad fate waiting for them when Jesus comes back.

Since they rejected Jesus and didn’t repent of their sins, they will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur. They will spend eternity in Hell--eternity apart from Jesus, the source of life.

I’m sure you know many unbelievers. Maybe you even love some of them--I do. And I don’t want my unbelieving friends to spend eternity apart from Jesus. I don’t want them to spend forever being punished for their sin--sin that I am guilty of, too.

But those friends will spend eternity in punishment if they don’t put their faith in Jesus and repent of their sin. And to turn to Jesus and repent of their sin, they need to understand the severity of their sin and the greatness of Jesus’ sacrifice. Someone needs to tell them how wonderful Jesus is, and how He has paid the price for their mistakes.

That's a big reason why we need to share the Gospel with unbelievers. We shouldn’t want them to go to Hell, but more than that, we should want them to receive the good gifts God has to offer. We should want them to come to love the same person we love so much--Jesus.

Sharing the Gospel is motivated by love. The Bible commands us to share the good news, but why would we obey this commandment unless we love and want to please Jesus? And why would we share the Gospel with someone unless we loved them enough to want them to be saved?

Imagine this: your good friend Billy comes over to your house for lunch. Whenever you eat with him you always end up spitting something out because you’re laughing so hard--it’s disgusting, really. But it’s wonderful.

And you can have serious conversations with him, too. He’s a wealth of wisdom--his advice has never led you astray.

Hanging out with Billy gives you joy and energizes you. You want people to meet him so that they can see how great he is and how lucky you are to have a friend like him.

Now, you also have another friend named Julia. You love Julia almost as much as Billy (sorry, Julia), so you want Julia to meet Billy. You think they would love each other and benefit each other.

But more than that, Billy is exactly who Julia needs. He’s the best handyman in town and Julia’s garage broke, so she’s in dire need of a handyman.

Naturally, you would introduce Julia and Billy to each other because Billy is awesome and you love Julia. Plus, Julia needs Billy.

It’s a similar situation when we share the Gospel. Jesus is perfect. He’s the most wonderful person you’ll ever meet, and the only one who will never let you down. Who wouldn’t love to know someone like that?

You’ll have the best experiences of your life with Jesus. Though following Him is serious and hard, it will give you more joy than you could ever have otherwise.

Jesus is also the cure to every problem that exists. All problems come from sin, and Jesus paid the price for the sins of those who believe in Him. Every human needs Him desperately. We cannot atone for our sin on our own. We cannot be holy before God on our own.

So if Jesus is a wonderful person and exactly who everyone needs, why don’t we share Him with everyone?

It’s easy to back out of sharing the Gospel because it’s uncomfortable. But our discomfort is not nearly as important as people’s souls.

There are so many people headed to Hell who need atoning for their sins. People who are weary, discouraged and need the source of life and freedom.

People need Jesus.

Often, we have to step out of our comfort zones to talk about Jesus. Conversations about religion don’t always come up naturally--we have to seek them out.

When we feel the Holy Spirit calling us to talk to someone, or put down our book or phone and look around us, we should obey.

I admit that all too often, I have been guilty of not doing the very thing I’m encouraging you to do. I have not shared the Gospel as I should. I have not invested in other people nearly as much as God wants me to. But I don’t want it to be that way anymore!

My desire for people’s souls to be saved should outweigh my fear of discomfort in sharing the Gospel. Thirty seconds of awkwardness is worth it if it could lead to an eternity of salvation.

Do you share the Gospel?