Road Blocks to Witnessing: "I'm not Good Enough."



We'll never be "good enough" to deserve to share the gospel.

There are many road blocks to obeying Jesus' call to follow him and learn to share the gospel daily with others:  fear of man, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, lack of adequate preparation, lack of knowledge of the key elements of the gospel, lack of prayer, lack of genuine salvation, lack of concern for the lost, lack of love for the Lord, lack of concern for God's plan, and the list goes on.  Another major road block can be the feeling that we are simply not good enough.  We're still too sinful, too flawed, too imperfect to do what only pastors, evangelists, and "good" people do. 

That is a lie the enemy uses to keep us from fulfilling our eternal destiny and an excuse we often use to drift into spiritual apathy and slothfulness.  It is certainly true, as the Prophet Jeremiah admitted, that "The heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9) and that we will constantly wrestle with our sinful tendencies, as the Apostle Paul lamented (Rom. 7).  Yet, we were made to declare God's glory even in the midst of our imperfections by telling the world about what Jesus has done for sinners like me and you.

The closer we grow to the Lord, the more clearly we see how pure, holy, and lovely the Lord is and, in contrast, how vile and wicked we really are.   And as the Lord seeks to purify and sanctify us, He reveals to us areas of our lives that still must be refined through fiery trials and difficult situations. If we're not careful, the recognition of how depraved we really are can be a road block to following Jesus on the road to learning to share the gospel effectively and regularly.

The Lord has recently brought me through yet another one of those humiliating, humbling times.  He has pulled back another layer of the veil over my eyes that has blinded me to areas of my life that are offensive, polluted, and in great need of confession and sanctification.  It hurts.  It's depressing and discouraging.  But, it's a necessary part of being pruned by the Master Vine Dresser who seeks to cause us to be ever more fruitful for Him (John 15). 

I find myself thinking, "you aren't worthy to share the gospel."  "You're still far too sinful and flawed."  "How can you even possibly pretend to help other people learn to share the gospel?"  But, I must reject these false conclusions. 

Peter and Paul zealously shared the gospel as often as they could even though Paul cried out to God over the battle that waged in his flesh over his sin nature and declared himself to be the worst of all sinners in the world (Rom. 7).  Peter even went through a period of difficult correction by Paul, yet Peter didn't allow his own ongoing need for refinement and correction to prevent him from doing what Jesus called him to do:  fearlessly and faithfully proclaim the goodness and saving grace of God (Gal. 2:11-21).

Jesus calls wicked sinners like me and you to repent, turn to Him as our sole source of righteousness and salvation (Matt. 4:19; Mk. 1:15).  He then calls us to follow Him so He can teach us how to fish for souls by sharing the gospel (Matt. 4:19; Mark. 1:17).  We don't share the gospel because we're good or perfect or because we've "arrived" in our spiritual journey and are somehow now worthy to do so.  We share the gospel because He is good and perfect.  We share the gospel precisely because we are wicked, and He alone is the sole giver of righteousness and life eternal. 

The next time you're tempted to think you can't or shouldn't share the gospel because you're not good enough, resist it.  Go right around that road block and keep on boldly declaring the gospel precisely because Jesus is the only one who is good and died for your lack of perfection that you might find it in Him alone and tell the world about Him.