Cast Your Net: Reaching Everyone With The Gospel

Fishers of men. This expression is so common in churches and significant to Christians that we even teach it to our children in one of the catchiest Bible songs around. (You’re singing it in your head right now, aren’t you?) Even before the Great Commission was spoken, Jesus was calling on His followers to lead people to Him. Our obedience on this matter is essential. We simply cannot understate how important evangelism is, yet churches all over America have a common shortcoming: Believers aren’t truly casting their nets as they should. We’re going to look at what I mean by that, what the Bible has to say about it, and most importantly, how you can cast your net when you don’t want to.

We’re Not Fishing In Deep Waters

So, when I said that we (and I’m definitely included) don’t cast our nets like we should, I meant that despite our concern for the souls of those around us, we often limit our gospel witness to those who don’t scare or intimidate us. We tend to retreat to our comfort zone because it’s…comfortable.

In Acts, Jesus commands believers to share the gospel everywhere.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Obviously, we can’t all be missionaries to the “uttermost.” We can trust, though, that God has a plan and a place for us, and many of us are going to be local witnesses. There’s no shame in that. In fact, the local church is an essential part of Christian life and of the spiritual health of the community in which it resides. Who do we think keeps the local church thriving and shining the gospel light? Local believers, of course! However, many of us who are tasked to be witnesses in our “Jerusalem” remain selectively silent.

I’d argue that most Christians are willing to tell others about Jesus. There’s a caveat, though. Most of us limit and avoid reaching out to certain kinds of people. Who? Well, I think that’s different for everyone. If you take a moment to consider this, I imagine you can think of at least one person you have felt compelled to share Christ with but didn’t because you lost your nerve or second-guessed yourself. I’m actually hoping this is true, otherwise, it’s just me…

Why Don’t Christians Share The Gospel More?

There are so many reasons that believers don’t evangelize more often, or at all, that I could hardly get into everything there is to talk about on the subject. Further complicating things, it’s unlikely that there is only one stronghold a Christian battles when facing the challenge to share the gospel.

The reasons we have to shy away from sharing the gospel more can be quite understandable and, at times, relatable. On the other hand, some excuses cause me some concern about that person’s spiritual walk.

I love a good list. I think in them. My many, many planners and notebooks are filled with them. So, let’s make a list while keeping in mind that we sometimes use these excuses to avoid witnessing to people we aren’t comfortable approaching.

Busyness

You’d think with all the technology we have to make daily tasks easier and faster that we’d be less busy, you know? Alas, it seems like women are constantly doing something, going somewhere, running late, multi-tasking, and generally, running themselves into the ground.

Perhaps, we have lost sight of what we should prioritize. What would happen if we said “no” to that good thing someone asked us to help with at church? Could we deprioritize our children’s activities? Do we need our cell phones next to us all the time? It’s not that we’re busy with bad things, ladies. It’s that we live as if they take preeminence over God. We save the extra we have at the end of the day for Him, but we so rarely have any extra to give. Moreover, we’ve often missed opportunities all week long because we had to get through our to-do lists. We can’t cast our net if we don’t make time to.

Shyness/Introversion

This one gets me all the time. I feel so awkward talking to people I don’t know well, and sometimes my mind is screaming to run out of the room when I start to feel overwhelmed. Certainly, God couldn’t expect me to pivot a conversation with someone I feel shy with to a potentially awkward topic: salvation.

Frankly, I don’t see any examples of staying comfortable and accommodating social anxiety in the Bible. And believe me, I’ve looked. I do see a call to take up my cross, though.

“…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Matthew 16:24

“…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Mark 8:34

“…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (emphasis mine)

Luke 9:23

Not only does Jesus tell us to take up our cross in three gospel accounts, but we see how serious this call is in Matthew 10.

“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

Matthew 10:38

I don’t know about you, but I so badly want to be worthy of my Lord. I never really will be, but I continue to grow in Christlikeness and look forward to the day I’ll be with Him.

Fear Of Losing A Relationship

I’m the first Christian in my family, and it has caused a lot of friction, especially in the beginning. Personally, I find sharing the gospel with my relatives the hardest of all. I did so not long after getting saved, and I was met with snide remarks, indignation, teasing, accusations, and outright anger. It hurt me deeply, and I quickly learned that the gospel could sever relationships. Is that a reason not to share Christ? No.

We need to have peace with the fact that we might damage or lose relationships because of our faith. No one wants that, but it does happen. Ask yourself this. Would I rather maintain the relationship and keep the gospel to myself or risk the relationship to tell that person how to be saved?

Fear Of Man/The Unknown

Maybe you’ve shared the gospel with someone, given them a tract, or prayed in front of someone only to be met with vitriol. For many of us, being disliked and looked down upon is enough reason to steer clear of uncertain outcomes or seemingly confrontational encounters.

Lack Of Preparedness

Picture it. You walk into a ladies’ conference feeling ready to be encouraged and spend time with some sweet sisters in Christ. Suddenly, one of the women in charge of the conference runs up to you and gives you a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. All right now, you’re up for the first workshop slot. I look forward to hearing ya.”

After she leaves, the smile melts off your face. What? Am I speaking today? I didn’t prepare anything! It’s the stuff of nightmares, right? No one feels comfortable presenting something if they’re unprepared. Sharing the gospel is no different.

To prepare ourselves, we need to:

1. look for and expect opportunities

2. stop seeing church as the only “spiritual” time of the week

3. have some ice breakers on standby

4. know the gospel well and multiple ways to share it

5. pray for God’s guidance

Lack Of Access To People

Some of us don’t see a lot of people throughout the week, or we only see other Christians. We simply need to purpose to meet people.

As a housewife and homeschool mom, my world is smaller than many others’. I have to find ways to meet people and interact. Admittedly, I’m far more isolated than I should be, but I’m improving in this area.

If you only see Christians, ask yourself why? Are you avoiding people who are different from you? Do you feel more comfortable with others who are more like you? I get it. I prefer the company of my brothers and sisters in Christ, but we can potentially add to our Christian family by stretching ourselves and finding unsaved acquaintances.

The simple fact is that most people will never darken our church doors. We need to go to them.

Don’t Believe In the Consequence Of Sin

I have heard two versions of this belief. The first is that God won’t send people to Hell. Full stop. This demonstrates a high view of man and low view of sin. Essentially, the people who take this stance don’t think what we’ve done is bad enough to deserve eternal suffering. Also, they don’t think it’s fair for God to do that, and a “good” God would give people a pass. Whatever you’ve done…it’s fine.

This is a misunderstanding of the seriousness of sin and what a just God must do. What judge could have a good reputation as trustworthy and fair if he didn’t judge according to the law? None, right? But, in this case, people argue the Judge ought to look the other way, so to speak.

The second version of this belief is that there is no eternal existence at all. It might offer temporary peace to fool oneself into believing death leads to nothing, but the day will come when that peace is interrupted by a very real reality.

Don’t take my word for it. Turn to God’s Word for evidence. (All italics are mine.)

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:8

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

Matthew 25:41

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Matthew 25:46

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:23

“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: /Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

That’s just a sample of the scripture references discussing eternity and Hell/Lake of Fire. It’s very real, and our hearts should break for the souls who are lost to sin. Shouldn’t we be unable to stop ourselves from sharing the gospel with others? All others?

Focus On The Outside

If I asked you whether outside appearances or the heart mattered more, you’d say “the heart.” We know that’s true. However, how we treat people doesn’t always line up with our answer to that question. We end up focusing too much on what we see and disregard what we can’t. Isn’t that too bad, though? The most significant work God does on people is inside and out of view.

This mindset reminds me of the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. He thought quite highly of himself because of his outward behaviors, but there was something massively wrong in his heart. Meanwhile, his brother who looked a little rough around the edges and had quite the colorful history returned home a broken and contrite man. Which man, if we saw them both on the street, do you think most Christians would approach with the gospel based solely on appearance? I would venture to say the clean man whose life and circumstances are less messy and intimidating to deal with gets the gospel.

Don’t Believe Everyone Can Be Saved

This reason is the most outright ugly. We say Jesus died for the world (John 3:16), and Christians talk about the power of God to work in anyone’s life. Then, in their personal lives, they treat some people as unredeemable. They’ve sinned too much, you see. That person’s life is just too big a mess.

I was that person who couldn’t be saved. My husband, then boyfriend, got saved and was taken in by his church. Back then, young people didn’t use Facebook. We had Myspace. It was a similar social media platform, and sometimes people would write short blogs on their pages. Well, like any good ex-girlfriend, I looked all over my husband’s Myspace page for clues about his new life, and I ended up finding something heartbreaking.

His friend, the man that led him to the Lord, wrote a blog post on his Myspace page about my husband. He left names out, but I knew it was about my husband. Overall, the post celebrated my husband’s salvation, but this man also wrote about his joy in separating us. He wrote about me like I was unredeemable. No one from that church ever reached out to me with the gospel. They treated me like I wasn’t worth the effort. I was left wondering why God couldn’t love me, too.

Don’t leave anyone thinking God can’t save them.

Is There Ever A Reason To Not Share The Gospel?

Whew! With all those possible reasons to withhold the gospel message from particular people, I guess we get a pass on the whole Great Commission thing.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (emphasis mine)

Matthew 28:19-20

There is that tricky bit about “all nations,” though. It sounds pretty inclusive, and I’m not finding any exceptions. We don’t have permission to ignore the lost we’re uncomfortable around. Ladies, we don’t get to preemptively decide who will and will not respond to the gospel. Admit it. We don’t have a clue! I, for instance, spoke openly about hating most Christians and lived quite antithetically to a Christian lifestyle. Yet, here I am…

I was so not going to love Jesus that my Christian friends and classmates in graduate school never witnessed to me. They were shocked, and one of them told she hadn’t believed God would save me.

I’m not the best example of reaching someone who seems better to avoid because you didn’t know me back then. I’m so delightful now… You probably can’t even imagine an unsaved me… Thankfully, Jesus demonstrated reaching out to those no one wanted to interact with. And really, what better example is there than Jesus Himself?

Jesus Reaching The Undesirable

1. Eating With Publicans And Sinners

We know Jesus kept the company he wanted to keep no matter what others had to say about it. In Matthew 9, He gets hassled by the Pharisees because He’s eating with publicans and sinners. Being seen with these people brings shame and gossip. If there’s anything the Pharisees were, it was gossips. Jesus had the best response.

“But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (emphasis mine)

Matthew 9:12-13

What a reminder! Who needs to hear the gospel from us? Oh sure, someone who looks and acts like us needs the gospel, but so do the people that others scoff at and reject. Everyone needs the gospel.

2. Woman At The Well

In John 4, Jesus is leaving Judaea and heading to Galilee. Normally, Jews took the long way around to avoid Samaria because Samaritans were “half-breeds.” Some Jews had married non-Jews, and now Samaria was populated by people who were only part Jewish, and that was reprehensible to Jews. Jesus, of course, went through Samaria because His salvation is for everyone, even Samaritans.

What followed was the familiar story of the woman at the well. She was not the picture of a chaste, virtuous woman by anyone’s standards, and she knew it. She’d been married five times, and when she spoke with the Lord, she wasn’t even married to the man she was with.

Jesus didn’t leave in disgust or look down at her. He had sought her out by entering the very land every Jew avoided. He provided the hope only He could offer.

3. The Leper

This isn’t the only account of Jesus with lepers, but this event is straightforward and shows us something about how we should interact with the lost.

“When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

Matthew 8:1-3

Jesus touched the man with leprosy. He didn’t just speak to him. Instead, He touched a man with a repulsive and contagious disease that required people to be separated from society due to being unclean. Yet Jesus brought Him near by touching him.

I’m not insinuating that we should physically touch everyone we meet. However, we can let people close to us that others keep at arms-length.

How To Cast Your Net When You Don’t Want To Or Know How

You might be thinking by now that there are people in your sphere that you’ve been uncomfortable witnessing to for some reason. Maybe you need to change your mindset a little bit, or maybe you have to search your heart concerning something much more serious. Either way, I know that you’re on board with me with this one conclusion. We can all be doing better.

Let me end by sharing a few tips for how to share the gospel with everyone.

1. Share Your Testimony

One of the biggest challenges to reaching out to someone with the gospel, whether we are uncomfortable with them or not, is figuring out what to say. People can be rude and argumentative when someone tries to convince them that Jesus saves. On the other hand, most people will listen to a story.

Your story is just that – your story. Most people aren’t going to argue with you about what happened. Try to keep it short and to the point. Another way to get your testimony out there is to make a tract featuring it. I’ve seen many people using that approach, especially if they have a unique story or event to share.

2. Listen To Their Objections

Many of us are afraid to engage with individuals who look like they’ll be argumentative or “educated” about religion. What if they have a lot of objections to Christianity? Just listen. Don’t interrupt and try to shut them down. Let them share their thoughts. However, you aren’t required to answer every question and criticism. Keep it on the gospel, and keep the door open for more conversations down the road.

3. Embrace Your Identity In This World

First Peter 2:9 calls us a “chosen generation,” “holy nation,” and “peculiar people.” Verse 11 refers to us as “strangers” and “pilgrims.” Y’all, we’re not going to fit in here. The sooner we accept that, the better.

What is there to fear when we already know the message we bring is unlike anything else the world offers? Why should we let anyone make us feel uncomfortable or intimidated? Are we afraid they won’t like us? We’re weird, you guys. A lot of people don’t like us. But we don’t live for them.

4. Let Your Life Be Your Witness

Not everyone is going to give you a chance to speak to them. They will shut down the gospel as soon as they get an inkling that it’s coming. Don’t let that discourage you. Your life says so much.

My husband shared the gospel with me, but I was much more moved by the life he led after salvation. I saw a respectable man who was honest and living for Jesus. Is that what people see when they look at you?

It really is amazing how many doors open to spiritual conversations when you legitimately live out your faith. A man from our church recently shared an expression in Sunday School that really sums up the importance of our walking testimony.

Your talk talks, and your walk talks. But your walk talks louder than your talk.

5. Recognize The “Right Time”

This is a lesson I’ve had to learn in multiple areas of my life. For example, when my husband worked as a teacher, I wanted to tell him all my thoughts and stories from the day as soon as he opened the door. He, however, wanted to get in the house and not be immediately assaulted by my many, many words. It was all about timing.

The same is true with witnessing to someone. I’m constantly reminding my children to read the room. We can discern all kinds of things about people and what is appropriate when we assess what signals others are giving us. So, read the room, and remember it’s O.K. to wait for a better time.

6. Pray For Opportunities And Wisdom

If you ask for a way to share the gospel, God will provide. You just have to be ready and willing. Moreover, if you ask God to help you witness, He will. The Holy Spirit will give you the words when the time is right. Don’t be shy about going to the Lord in prayer about this. Even Paul prayed for wisdom in this area.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (emphasis mine)

Ephesians 8:18-20

7. Be Prepared

Have you ever been put on the spot with a question, and your mind blanks. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” Uuuh. Chocolatey fruity cream? The same thing can happen when someone asks us spiritual questions.

Why do you believe the Bible?

How come bad things happen to good people?

Why doesn’t God show Himself so we can know He’s real?

Be comfortable answering questions like these and be willing to say you’re not sure. But offer to look for an answer and get back to them. Always, always, always know how to tell someone how to get saved. Peter says as much in First Peter.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

1 Peter 3:15

8. Have A Thriving Christian Life

If you aren’t praying, studying the Bible, and ministering to others in service of Jesus, then sharing the gospel is much less likely to happen. The more connected we are to Him in our daily personal life, the easier it will be to tell others about Him. It’ll be spilling out of us.

Final Thought

I know there are countless reasons to avoid difficult, intimidating, and unpleasant people, but God doesn’t offer that option.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Mark 16:15

We are commanded to share the gospel with everyone, and when we feel inclined to ignore that, remember you were an “everyone.”

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (emphasis mine)

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Shame on us if we ever forget that we were once sinners in need of salvation. Our time on Earth is short, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. Let’s cast our nets as wide as possible in the hopes of leading as many lost souls as we can to the Lord. After all, someone reached out to you.

Ladies, feel confident in the power of the gospel and God’s ability to lead you through a gospel conversation. More importantly, be confident in His ability to save anyone who repents and believes on the name of Jesus.

How do you share the gospel when you’re feeling uncomfortable approaching a particular person?

Image courtesy of Ricardo Resende via Unsplash.