The growth of the church, from its very first day of existence, has depended on the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we, today, stop doing this, if we stop teaching the gospel, not only will the church not grow, it will, eventually, die. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that, as the Lord’s church, we, too, are to “. . . preach the gospel to every creature” (March 16:16).
So why do we not do this? You find two general reasons why more people do not fulfil the command to teach the gospel to others. The first is a simple lack of motivation. We can find all sorts of reasons (or excuses) for not doing what we just don’t want to do. Second, there is the fear of rejection.
How do we overcome the fear of rejection? Number one, remember that what we are doing is meant to please, and obey, God, not win favor from other people. Second, pray for the courage, the boldness, to teach the gospel.
When we are motivated to teach, when we prepare ourselves to teach (with knowledge and our prayers for boldness and for God’s help) then we need to teach.
Remember, if people reject the message, they are rejecting God, not us. If people accept and obey, the message, they do so for God, not us.
The more we do something, the more skillful we become at what we do. The more we do something, the more confident we become in what we do. Fears lessen with experience.
The growth of the church must begin in the hearts, and lives, of every member of that body of Christ. There does come a point where it is necessary to do one thing absolutely vital to teaching the gospel of Christ: we must ask people to study with us. We may be rejected, but we will know, and God will know, we tried.