Nicholas Fuller, pastor of Truro Baptist Church, challenges us to keep bearing witness to the crucified Christ
In the light of so few people being converted in the UK these days, I want to encourage us with how we can be faithful with our commission, even when we see few, if any, converts.
In Part 1 we began to consider the Great Commission as it comes to us in Acts 1:8, with the emphasis here not so much on seeing converts and making disciples of them, but on simply testifying about the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke’s first account of the Great Commission (Luke 24:46-49) similarly places the emphasis on the proclamation of the gospel message: ‘The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses (testifiers) of these things.’ The apostles witnessed the Messiah’s suffering and resurrection, and were to testify about it and proclaim repentance for forgiveness.
Praying for faithful proclamation
Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly, when Paul asks for prayer for his evangelistic efforts, it is not all for conversions. Certainly, he wants to see people saved, asking that ‘the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured’ (2 Thess. 3:2), one might presume through people bowing before Jesus as their Lord. But his requests are dominated by the desire that the gospel of Christ go out faithfully. In Ephesians 6:19 he asks: ‘Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel … Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.’ In Colossians 4:3 he asks: ‘Pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.’
So Paul’s concern was that the gospel should go out clearly and fearlessly; that he should be able to explain it in a way that would be understood. His concern was that Christ should be proclaimed. That concern is clear from his delight that Christ was preached in Philippi (Phil. 1:18).
Certainly, Paul wanted to see converts, for their own eternal security’s sake. But it would seem to me that his ultimate driving force echoed the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Let your name be set apart as holy!’ Paul’s concern was that Christ be proclaimed! May he be exalted as Lord, God and King throughout the world! May the gospel of Christ (the message of His death and resurrection; the message of His Lordship; the message of grace and forgiveness through Him) be proclaimed throughout the world clearly and to as many as possible – so that Jesus be exalted and glorified!’
Broader and richer
When our focus is on Christ being glorified as He is proclaimed, rather than solely on seeing conversions, then our evangelism becomes broader and our lives become richer. We will then be concerned to get as much of the gospel out to as many as we can, acknowledging that our friendship evangelism, though vitally important, will fall short, only ever enabling relatively few individuals to hear of Christ.
We shall make efforts to ensure that everyone in our community, and as far afield as possible, hears the full gospel. We shall also discover that, far from being dominated and crushed by feelings of failure and despondency at seeing few if any converts, we find great joy and delight, centred on the Lord Jesus, as we rejoice and praise God for the privileges He has given us to be heralds of the greatest message and the greatest King in the universe! Doors for the gospel were opened! Courage was endued! Clarity of speech was given! Praise the Lord for answering my prayers and giving me the joy and honour of exalting Christ!
In God’s sovereign choice of whom He saves, we may never be aware of leading people all the way to Christ. In an age in the UK when so few are being converted, we may not be able to make many disciples. But what are we seeking – just to enlarge our churches, or do we truly seek for Jesus to be glorified?
Regardless of conversions, we can all be testifiers to the truth that Jesus is risen. In the course of a lifetime we can tell great multitudes! We can ensure that Christ is exalted and glorified as we proclaim Him, whether or not we see any fruit. And in this we can truly rejoice! But who knows, perhaps in heaven we’ll be confronted with many souls who got there as a result of our faithful testifying.
