If we outfitted an army with armour that could stop any bullet, deflect any point, and withstand any blast, but they were too scared to go out and fight because they might get hurt…what would you think of them? After all, their armour is able to protect them from everything. What would others think of them? Is that what they were trained for? Did you know that, as Christians, this reaction is often our own?

“How many people, every single day, do we think about talking to, and then we walk away? What will they think? Will they make fun? Where will they go when their time on earth is done? We gotta be the salt, we gotta be the light, we gotta get left or we gotta get right. Tryin’ to be sensitive has got us in a mess. Put on your armour and take one in the chest!” 

– “Gotta Move” by Go Fish

How many people do we meet everyday? Maybe this whole COVID situation has kept us from seeing a lot of people, but you’re bound to interact with people at the grocery store and even online through blogs. Quite often, we keep the Good News of Jesus within us and don’t tell them anything. What if they think I’m weird? What will they say if I tell them about God? What if it hurts their feelings, since they’ll find out they have a sin nature? These questions often run through our head…so we end up just walking away. We scarcely seem to ask ourselves the most important question – where will they go when their time on earth is done?

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” 

– Matthew 5:13-16

There’s no point in us being afraid of someone’s reaction if we tell them about Christ. Not only have we been given the armour of God (which is far superior to any armour made on earth), we are called to be the salt and the light of this world. Salt stings if you get it in a wound, but the strange thing is that salt helps the wound heal. Light obviously points out flaws, such as dirt, grime, or dust – making it much harder for someone to hide their sins from the light given to us by God.

One of the reasons why we’re in the mess we’re in today is that the church is overly sensitive. Go Fish got it right – trying to be sensitive has got us in a mess. Many churches stopped preaching from the Bible, instead turning to topics such as “How to be a winner in a losing world”, “How to overcome your low self-esteem”, “How to be popular and still please God”, and many others. Pastors don’t want to preach on Hell, because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or, worse, lose money. If pastors don’t preach the Bible, then how are the church-goers supposed to know what’s right and wrong? They don’t have a leg to stand on. God’s word is supposed to cut (Hebrews 4:12). Trying to be sensitive has really got us in a mess. We honestly need to stop caring about people’s feelings and start caring about where they will spend eternity.

We also “gotta get left or we gotta get right”. Don’t be a Sunday Christian – saying one thing in church (e.g. homosexuality is a sin), and then going and supporting it the rest of the week. That sends a mixed message to the lost world, and all they see is that Christians talk a good game, but don’t have any conviction on any topic. God said in Revelation 3:15-16, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” You have to go left or go right. You can’t just straddle the line or sit on the fence. Pick a side – don’t be lukewarm. 

So how do we fix this? There are a few ways: 

1. Put on the armour of God and just take a shot in the chest. 

So what if the person you gave the Gospel to made fun of you? Your feelings are not nearly as important as someone’s eternity. Think about it for a moment. Are you willing for someone to die and go to Hell because you were too afraid that they’d hurt your feelings? That’s a pretty lousy reason not to tell someone the Gospel.

2. Stop acting one way in church and another in the world.

You should be the exact same way Monday through Saturday, as you are when you’re in church. “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Matthew 5:37). Basically, let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no. Stop supporting businesses that are anti-God (especially those who say they are family friendly and those who claim they are Christian…but their fruit shows something different). Don’t support a wolf in sheep’s clothing (like Chick-fil-a, which is going to star in a post coming soon). Likewise, support those companies who do have Christian values and who are not bending to the mob. Stop getting drunk on Saturday night and then showing up to church on Sunday with a hangover. You have to pick one side or the other. Walking in the middle is sometimes worse, because you could be a stumbling block to those around you (1 Corinthians 8:9). 

3. Give someone the Gospel.

I challenge you to give someone the Gospel before my post next Friday – that gives you one week (click here if you need ideas on how to share the Gospel if you don’t want to walk up and talk to someone). It is nearing Christmas, and governors are doing everything they possibly can to prevent happiness, joy, and getting together with loved ones. No longer can you go caroling, visit those in hospitals and in nursing homes, go door-to-door and hand out tracts, or even set up a “pick up your own tract” booth on the corner. As a result, people are depressed, and they are looking for any sign of hope. The thing is, we have this hope and good news…don’t keep it to yourself.

Feel free to listen to the entire song “Gotta Move” by Go Fish below:

If you are not 100% sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, now is the time to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you have any questions or doubts about your salvation, click here to learn how you can be saved!