According to the Bible every person has an eternal soul. The only question is when we die where will we spend eternity. It is no accident that Jesus spends a great deal of time talking about heaven and hell because what can be more important than our eternal destiny. It is also clear from the Scriptures that we are all born lost sinners in need of a Savior.
Thankfully, the overarching theme of the Bible is God’s great love for us and His redemption plan through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures also tell us that the only way we can receive eternal life is to believe in Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) tells us plainly: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
We as Christians are thus in the unique position of being able to share the only message of real hope for the lost. For without knowing Jesus mankind is eternally lost. The only question that remains is do you have a burden for the lost?
My friends we need to ask God to give us more boldness to share the gospel, to give us more opportunities to share Jesus, and to help us develop a more vibrant prayer life for the lost.
Satan has deceived mankind into believing that they are basically good and this “goodness” is good enough to get them into heaven. It is so important that when the opportunity arises for us to share the gospel we let people know that while God loves them, He also hates their sinfulness. And its our sin that caused Jesus to die on the cross as our sin substitute. But it’s not enough to just share the gospel. I believe we must also be burdened to pray earnestly for those we share Jesus with. Prayer is so important because it activates God to move in the spiritually dead hearts of those we share the gospel with in some mysterious and wonderful way to open their blind eyes and hardened hearts to see that they are indeed sinners in need of a Savior.
This combination of sharing the whole gospel message with persistent earnest prayer for the lost should be what we as Christians ask God to burden us with every day. Do you have a burden for the lost? If not, I pray that you would cast all of your cares and burdens on Jesus thus freeing you up to bear a new burden for the lost. Eternal destinies are what’s at stake so let’s get busy for: “…The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37).