Sharing Our Faith

Previously, we learned from various passages of Scripture of the totality of man’s depravity and his inability to come to Christ without being drawn by God the Father. We looked at what the Bible teaches about predestination and the calling of God, and we learned that the calling of God is always effectual in those who receive it, meaning that all of those whom God calls to faith in Christ do in fact come to Christ, and none refuse or resist this calling.

 

We have also studied several passages that teach us there are individuals whom God has foreknown from before the creation of the world, and these, His elect, He has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. In God’s time, these individuals are born into the world, and then again in His time, He calls them to faith in Christ. It is these and only these to whom He shows mercy, while all of the others are left in their sins. Those who are left in their sins are hardened by God Himself, as Paul taught in Romans 9:18.

 

Further, we saw that the Bible teaches that those individuals whom God calls, He also justifies, and those He justifies, He also glorifies, which makes the salvation of man through faith in Christ God’s choice and God’s own doing from beginning to end. Considering all of this we may ask ourselves why we should even bother to share our faith at all. Since God is going to bring to faith in Christ those whom He has chosen, while hardening the rest, then why do we need to be involved? The answer to this question is very simple. We are to share our faith with others because Jesus Himself has commanded us to do so.

 

In Matthew 28:16-20 we find what is known as the Great Commission, where Jesus commanded His disciples to go into the all the world and make known the Gospel. This Gospel is the Good News of God’s provision for the forgiveness of man’s sins, which comes only though faith

 

in Jesus Christ. His blood shed on Calvary’s cross was the atoning sacrifice that purchased reconciliation to God for everyone who believes in Him.

 

Jesus commanded the eleven apostles (at this point in time the Apostle Paul had not yet been brought to faith) to preach the Gospel, making disciples of all nations, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentile races as well. This command to make disciples applied not only to the eleven apostles whom Jesus addressed at that time; it applies to all believers.

 

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