Why Don't We Evangelize?

I have just begun to read "The Gospel and Personal Evangelism" by Mark Dever (pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church) as I plan for ways we can be sharing the gospel in the Fall.  The book is an encouraging read so far. But, it is also a convicting read. In one chapter, Pastor Dever lovingly calls us to examine why we don't evangelize (even as he humbly admits he often fails to evangelize). 

For me, I know that I often fear being an annoyance to the person I might be thinking about sharing with.  So, I often talk myself out of "bothering" them and remain silent.  Dever hits the nail on the head when says,

"Maybe we are too polite to be faithful to God in this area. Maybe we are more concerned about people's response than God's glory" (25).

Another reason I fail to share is that I fear people instead of loving them. Dever again astutely deals with this when he says,

"We share the gospel because we love people. And we don't share the gospel because we don't love people. Instead, we wrongly fear them. We don't want to cause awkwardness. We want their respect, and after all, we figure, if we try to share the gospel with them, we'll look foolish! And so we are quiet" (27).

Finally, I do not reflect often enough on how amazing God's love and goodness is and how the gospel puts that on display. The result is that,

"...instead of gossiping about God's goodness and the gospel, we engage in a conspiracy of silence. We reveal ourselves as being cold to God's glory. If we would be more faithful in evangelism, we should fuel the flame of love toward God within us..." (28-29).

I hope this encourages you to examine the reasons you may fail to share the gospel as often as you should (my assumption is most of us fail in this, but praise God if you are one who does not).  What are some reasons you fail to share the gospel?  What truth from God's Word speaks to those reasons? (Feel free to share in the comments section if you'd like).

Let's be praying for opportunities to share the gospel. Be praying for this upcoming Fall, that God would give us friends we could share the gospel with at work, school, or just around town.  And let's ask him to convert these friends to new life in Christ- for their joy and God's glory.  And let's expect that he has the power to do both.