A Disease Called Silence

There exists a world where disease is spreading rampantly. Daily, it claims its victims and ravages them from the inside out. Neighbors and friends fall prey to the devastating effects of this war while the vast majority does nothing to stop it. It’s slowly taking over loved ones and won’t stop until it overtakes the children. There is a form of resistance but, when compared to the general population, they are in the minority. Will the battle ever end or will the denizens of this world ultimately be destroyed? Sadly, this world being described isn’t hypothetical or imaginary. Nor is it a distant land yet to be discovered. No, it’s the very world we live in and, as it stands, we are slowly destroying ourselves. Thankfully, there’s  hope in the form of a cure. All we have to do is stand up.

You may be scratching your heads right about now, wondering what I’m talking about. Please read on and allow me to clarify. The world I’m referring to is called the church. It’s filled with people who call themselves Christians. The purpose of this post isn’t to differentiate between false converts and genuine Christians. Instead, I’d like us to focus on what I feel to be an even more pressing issue. After all, it’s to be expected that local church attendance will spike around Christmas and Easter. It’s even expected that some of the people in the pews may not really know the Lord regardless how long they’ve been going to church. What isn’t expected is that those who truly know Christ would sit down and forget to stand up. We’re called to teach all nations of Christ (Matthew 28:19). In a world that hates us (John 15:18) and is at war with God (Romans 8:7), we’re called to be the resistance (1 Corinthians 1:23). As for the final outcome, we know that not all will believe and that there will be an ultimate eternal darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth for all who don’t know Christ.

Ask yourself when the last time was you were presented with an opportunity to preach Christ crucified. Did you take advantage of the opportunity or did you remain quiet? Did you stand up for Christ or did you sit down? What about the time before that? In fact, when was the last time you stood up at all? There are a number of reasons why we may remain quiet when opportunity presents itself. Some may get nervous. Others may have a fear of public speaking. While both of these are valid concerns, where do they stack up in the grand scheme of things?

Life isn’t lived inside a bubble in complete isolation from the outside world. For every action taken, not only does one need to accept the consequence on his life, but he also needs to accept responsibility for the impact it has on the lives of those around him. What will it take for you to see the importance of this subject matter? How many people will miss hearing the gospel unnecessarily? How many will die of the disease called silence? How widespread will the pandemic have to be before you become aware? If you are already aware, who will have to die before you care?

Sadly, evangelism has steadily been reduced to the other guy's job. It's taken a back seat to the

struggles of daily life and the already tight time constraints. As the bride of Christ, my fear is that we've simply lost our evangelistic fervor. How can this be when Scripture tells us the very souls of men are at stake? I love the way Charles Spurgeon had a zeal for evangelism. He understood God's sovereignty yet he also understood God's natural method for bringing new saints to Himself. Spurgeon said, "We believe in predestination; we believe in election and non-election: but, notwithstanding that, we believe that we must preach to men, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ye shall be saved,' but believe not on him and ye be damned."

There will come a day when the unsaved will hear of their inability to save themselves. Would you rather they hear it from you first or from God Himself on the day of judgment? Evangelism is a joyful privilege that encompasses our entire lives. It's an opportunity to preach Christ crucified and extend the offer of eternal life to all who will believe. Is there no sweeter encouragement?

~ Travis W. Rogers