Motivations

MOTIVATIONS

What are the main reasons why you would talk to others about Jesus?

BIBLICAL MOTIVATIONS

Read the following passages and identify healthy motivations for evangelism.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Ephesians 3:7-11
Matthew 9:36-38

How would each motivation affect the way you share your faith?
Which of the Motivations do you think are strongest for you?
Which would you like to grow in?

BAD MOTIVATIONS

• Guilt trip
• Making ourselves feel better (duty or self-validation)
• Pleasing (or being accepted by) others
• Frustration (at others unbelief, lack of results)

It’s important that we regularly check our motivations for evangelism. Doing evangelism for the wrong reasons can make our experience miserable. It’s much more joyful when our desires are in line with Gods!

The good news is that even if we share the gospel with the wrong motives, God can still use it. Check out Philippians 1:15-18.

BUILDING CONVICTIONS IN EVANGELISM

(Adapted from Tell it often Tell it Well, Mark McCloskey)

1. Do not expect your culture to encourage you to take evangelism seriously. The nature of man's sin problem blinds him to his real needs. Unless the Holy Spirit convicts them, non Christians will at best be indifferent to your attempts to evangelize. You can expect to encounter the built-in opposition to the gospel found in any culture. Recognize this cultural lethargy and unwillingness to pursue spiritual truth, and realize that it is part of the devil's scheme to desensitize the world to its spiritual disease. Do not allow the world to dictate your commitment to proclaiming the gospel.


2. Purpose in your heart to develop biblical convictions in the area of evangelism. Recognize that this may take time. Allow your mind to dwell on biblical truths that point toward evangelism's crucial role in God's plans for the world and His plans for you.