Last Sunday a preacher in our area talked about
his favorite sports hobby.
He was so excited!
Someone saw him and complimented him on it.
Then he and the pastor had a short conversation
about the sport, though not about Christ or salvation.
Anyway, this pastor gladly told the congregation all about it.
Then he dropped all the enthusiasm as he went back into
the main sermon topic.
One brother in Christ said to me, "I wish I could see him
as enthusiastic about spreading the gospel
as he is about that sport."
I'm not telling you which sport, or you'll know who it is.
In fact, the few times I saw him hold up a tract over the years,
it was accompanied by the statement that he didn't give it
to an unsaved person, but rather, to another Christian,
in case he wanted to give it out.
He had such enthusiasm for his favorite sport,
but he couldn't even hand out a single gospel tract,
much less speak the gospel message
to someone outside church.
Is it any wonder why his large congregation
doesn't evangelize, either?
There are 10 verses that say "preach the gospel,"
referring to Christians.
But in pulpits, Bible colleges and seminaries,
the Great Commission has become the Great Omission.
Why did this happen?
And what can you and I do about it?
Hi, I'm David Daniels from Chick Publications.
Jesus gave the Great Commission at the beginning of his 40 days
of post-resurrection appearances to His disciples,
on a mountain in Galilee.
That's Matthew 28:16-20
Jesus also gave the Great Commission
to His disciples toward the end of the 40 days,
before He ascended into heaven.
That's Mark 16:15 and following.
Jesus even commanded the disciples to be witnesses
on the 40th day, in the last moments before
He ascended into heaven, as it says in Acts 1:2-10.
So why do people treat the command to "Share our faith"
as if Jesus commanded us to "Pull our own teeth"?
One reason people don't actively share their Christian faith
is the Bible they use.
It makes a difference when a person reads John 7:8
only to find that his or her Bible says Jesus was a liar to His brothers.
It makes a difference when people's Bibles take away
"without a cause" in Matthew 5:22, making Jesus a sinner
because He was angry when He cleansed the temple --
twice.
It makes a difference when there's a note in the Bible
in the only two Gospel passages that say Jesus ascended to heaven,
Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51, which says they are
not in the Sinaiticus and thus not in
the "oldest and best (so-called) Bible."
Suddenly, they realize that their Bibles
say Jesus may not have ascended into heaven,
just like professors have been teaching in colleges and seminaries
for years.
It makes a difference when they say that salvation
is based on faith, but their Bible
says it is "difficult" in Matthew 7:14 and "hard to enter into
the kingdom of God" in Mark 10:24.
The fact that other verses say the opposite
doesn't help.
Now their supposedly "holy" Bible ... contradicts itself!
And why?
Because it depends upon the Codex Sinaiticus, first,
and Codex Vaticanus, second.
So their Bible changes the text to match those corrupt Bibles.
No wonder they don't share their faith.
They're not even sure what it is!
What is it today?
Will a new papyrus throw out another belief?
But many Christians who read and believe
the King James Bible are active sharers of the gospel.
They have one Bible that they trust.
They believe their own Bible.
Imagine that!
And because they have one consistent message
from Genesis to Revelation, they can say "Thus saith the Lord"
quoting the inspired writings of the apostles and prophets,
and have no fear of being wrong.
That is a person who can know his or her faith.
And that is a person who will want others
to have that faith, too.
Remember: every single religion
in the whole world says you have to do good works,
or enough good works, to balance out your bad works
and let you experience heaven or Nirvana or paradise or whatever.
Only Bible-believing Christianity teaches that the works for salvation
were done by Jesus Christ Himself.
And what he commands us to do is admit our sinfulness,
our need of Him, and believe what He did,
shedding His precious blood to pay for all our sins.
Only Bible-believing Christianity says it's a relationship
that gets us into heaven, not a religion.
So no man can have that kind of fake power over us.
When you place your trust in Christ, and His blood pays for your sins,
you are forgiven, become a new creature
and get adopted by God the Father!
That's it!
You're saved!
In that relationship, we have the opportunity
to grow and gain rewards by obeying our heavenly Father.
Salvation is not a reward.
And only saved people get rewards.
Christ gave one command over and over again,
and repeated it through His apostles: Preach the gospel; be His witnesses.
That's why Chick Publications exists.
That's why I'm here.
I want a way to place a basic gospel message
into a story.
When people are drawn in and read the story,
they also are told that basic gospel message.
I spend so much time talking about what is the real Bible,
because I want people to realize how trustworthy God is,
to read and believe their Bibles, and be
so encouraged by its message that they have to share it!
The day I received a Chick tract as a 9 year old,
I went to my next door neighbor, a girl named Debbie
(no relation to my wife) and led her through the tract.
And I asked her if she wanted to receive Jesus as her Saviour,
as that man had just asked me less than an hour before!
And she said yes!
And we prayed!
And in 1998, only about two days after
I came to trust that God preserved His words
in English in the King James Bible, I faced a Jehovah's Witness
and his son kindly in my front yard.
And my simple going through the scriptures
was so threatening, that the Jehovah's Witnesses
suddenly emptied the street of all women and children
and did a Jericho march around my property!
And not even their "expert" wanted to talk with me.
I cried out, as they marched away, "I just don't want you to go to hell!"
Where did that boldness come from?
I was so convicted of the truth, that I could no longer sit idly by
while people around me went to hell.
If you want others to be brought to the point
where they hear the gospel and can choose Christ,
Chick tracts are for you -- or rather, for you to give to them.
If you want to know why you can trust
your King James Bible, and why you don't need to be afraid
of the inconsistent, doubting Bibles, I have books and videos
on the subject.
Chick Publications is here for you, too.
That's why Chick Publications exists: to help people spread the gospel
in this busy, hectic world that desperately needs Jesus.
But to do that, you have to be
confident in your Bible!
I hope this inspires you.
I just started putting a variety of tracts in my pockets,
because so many people around me have already seen the newest ones.
Praise God!
Truly, if you don't get to see the results
in this life, you will definitely see your rewards
and the souls you reached in heaven.
Maybe next time that pastor will use the opportunity
to hand out a gospel tract.
God bless you, and have a wonderful day.