"Fulfill Your Ministry"

“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5 ESV)

Fulfill your ministry. You do not have to have a formal “ministry” to evangelize. Christ called us all to evangelize in the Great Commission. Maybe we should start within our own churches.

So many surveys continually show a lack of knowledge of the gospel within Protestant and Evangelical churches. In your place of worship, do you speak with other people? This might sound like a silly question, but thousands of people show up for a service, listen to the pastor, and leave before the closing prayer. Is your entire church like that? Do you know any of the people around you? Do you know what the people around you believe? Do you know their understanding of the gospel and salvation?

If your church is like mine, your pastor delivers the gospel almost every Sunday. Afterward, ask someone a question about his message and the gospel. Maybe something in his message made you pause and think about your situation. Perhaps it was something you had never heard before and wanted clarification on. You can usually judge right away where someone is with Christ. You will see everything from frightened and nervous about you questioning them to those who are outright boastful in their “knowledge” of the Bible and everything in between.

How do we know when others know the Lord? We can never know for sure, and we should never judge, but if someone is not sure, they and we can take a “spiritual inventory.” Ephesians 4:17-20 helps us understand where we are with God:  “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—”

In our salvation, we have laid aside these things of the world, having been renewed in our minds. We have been made righteous and holy. Being made righteous and holy is not about decisions; it is about transformations, the circumcision of the heart. There must be a supernatural change that affects a change in character. You can see this in a person: They are in love with the Lord, heart, mind, and soul, and nothing else matters. This transformative power of faith is a beacon of hope in our lives.

I love to write, and if I could write about Jesus all day, every day, as my vocation, I would be the happiest man in the world. I love the Lord that much. I tell people that, and they look at me like I am crazy. It breaks my heart to know that millions of people may never know Christ. Even more disturbing is that many may attend a church their entire lives and still not know the Lord.

Pastors tell their flock weekly, “If you have questions about your salvation, come and talk with me.” Yet many believe they are saved and are not; we know this as Christ told us in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

What is the answer to this tragedy? Perhaps it should be open to discussion within the church. Bible studies and discipleship programs are great ways to help people understand the gospel and acquire salvation through grace and faith in Jesus Christ.

Outside the church, boldness of faith spreads the gospel and educates others about their sin and separation from God. Education with love and truth opens the door for God to change hearts.

Where are you with the Lord? Have you done a spiritual assessment? Take a moment to reflect on your spiritual journey and assess where you stand. This introspection is a crucial part of our faith journey.

Grace and Peace!