Coming Events
Friday November 3, 10, 17 3-6 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. (Call us for outreach location.)
Saturday November 4, 11, 18 11 AM—3:30 PM Fisherman’s Wharf Outreach Powell & Jefferson St. SF.
(call us at 510-282-5629 if there is a chance of rain.)
WITHOUT EXCUSE
Dear Christian friends,
In order for an unsaved person to come to Christ, he or she must be absolutely convinced that he is a lost sinner, and that there is no way he can save himself by his own works or by any other means. As long as he thinks he has found a loophole–that somehow God will accept him without the need for faith in Christ, he will invariably take advantage of that loophole. The unbeliever will comfort himself with the thought that most of the people he knows don’t believe in Christ and that all these people couldn’t be wrong. As we know, this is a dangerous deception.
In a similar manner, in order for a Christian to commit himself to evangelism, he or she must come to the realization that God has commanded him to do so. If he can convince himself that God has made an exception for him, that he is excused from obeying the Great Commission, he will invariably take advantage of this loophole. Unfortunately, the vast majority of evangelical Christianity has allowed itself to be deceived into thinking that a Christian who never witnesses for our Lord can be right with God. Such a Christian comforts himself with the thought that most other Christians don’t witness, so it must be OK.
Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). Before He ascended into heaven, He gave us the commandment to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The apostle Paul understood the necessity to preach the gospel. “When I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me” (1 Corin. 9:16-17). He told the Ephesian elders, “I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26). In making this statement, he referred to God’s words to Ezekiel and considered them applicable to us in New Testament times: “When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself” (Ezekiel 3:18-19).
I’d encourage you to read the whole third chapter of Ezekiel. Some will argue that this passage only applied to Ezekiel, but Acts 20:26 is a clear reference to it, and shows that Paul thought the passage referred to him. The passage in 1 Corin. 9 confirms that Paul considered that some adverse consequence would fall on him if he refused to preach the gospel.
It may come as a surprise to us that the great apostle Paul was motivated by the fear of having the blood of unsaved people on his hands in preaching the gospel. Surely he would have been motivated rather by his great love for God, by the great joy he had in his salvation that he couldn’t keep to himself, and by his love for the lost. I’m sure he was motivated by all these things, but sometimes he needed this extra motivation – Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. Witnessing for Jesus isn’t always pleasant or convenient. Even Paul at times would have avoided witnessing if he thought he could have gotten away with it and still be right with God. After all, it wasn’t fun having people throw stones at you and being thrown into jail.
Some will argue that these scriptures only applied to the apostles or to those specifically called as evangelists or missionaries. Certainly there are different callings in people’s lives. But do you think that God placed this great responsibility on Paul, where the blood of others would be on his hands if he disobeyed, yet He has given you no responsibility whatsoever to the lost?
Why do you think God did not take you to heaven as soon as you were saved? Why must we endure all those trials and tribulations? Yes, God is purifying us so we will be more like Jesus, but His primary purpose in bringing about these changes is to make us better witnesses for our Lord. When I am in heaven I will be totally like Jesus and will have perfect fellowship with Him, but it will be too late to help anyone else. Again Paul wrote, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Phil. 1:23). The main reason we stay on this earth is for the sake of others – to help other believers mature in Christ and bring salvation to the lost.
I realize that these are strong words. Some are still looking for loopholes. “My ministry is to the church, not to the lost.” No – God has called you to minister to both. “You’re trying to put me into legalistic bondage in which I’ll feel guilty whenever someone passes me by and I don’t witness to him.” Obviously, we can’t witness to every single person we come into contact with. But we sin when we fail to give evangelism the priority in our lives God wants it to have. When we confess our sins of omission in regard to evangelism, God will forgive us – but we need to change our ways. Thinking about the blood of others being on our hands may seem crude but Paul needed it to motivate him and we need it to motivate us as well.
Once we stop looking for loopholes and making excuses for our failure to witness, we will find a way to witness for Christ as a central part of our lives. If we need training, we will get it. If we are fearful, we will overcome the fear. If we are busy, we will find time to witness just like we find time to go to church, read our Bible, and pray. Getting past the excuses is the hard part; the rest is easy.
On the Streets
On the final two days of our 44th annual SOS-San Francisco Outreach, July 7 and 8, we witnessed two locations on Fisherman’s Wharf. Andy spoke with two women who were trying to take each other’s picture. Andy offered to take a picture of them together. They said they were from Turkey. One said, “We’re Muslim, but we’re very, very open.” Andy gave her a New Testament and she said she would read it. The next day, as Mike was preaching, four Jewish teenage boys stopped to listen. Mike spoke about how God chose the Jewish people to bring forth the Messiah. He shared about several Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus. After he preached, he got to speak with them briefly before their friends arrived and pressured them to leave. Mike also shared his testimony and the gospel with Karina. He encouraged her to read the New Testament. Down the street, a group from the black Hebrew Israelite cult were preaching their message of racial hatred. They do not think whites or Asians can be saved. Norman got into a dialog with them and Alex joined him, confronting them regarding their false teachings.
On Friday July 14 we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. We were joined by a team of 12 Christians, most in their 20’s, from Everyheart Movement (everyheartmovement.com). This summer they are sending out 100 Christians around the US serving churches and preaching the gospel for 8 weeks. They had a large worship band. When they first started playing, about 20 Christians whom they had invited joined them in worship. They worshipped and preached for 2 hours. Over that time, about 100 people stopped to listen to them. At the end, about 20 people responded to an altar call. They told me that “we saw 8 people give their lives to Jesus tonight.” It was one of the best responses to the gospel we have seen at Fisherman’s Wharf. I was greatly encouraged to see these young people desiring to evangelize and to see how people responded to their ministry.
That night, Alex witnessed to Robert, a security guard. He believes in a Creator but doesn’t have a specific religion. Afterwards, he spoke to a man who said he was a Freemason. Alex told him about errors in Freemason beliefs and how it contradicts the Bible. Alex then explained the gospel to him and he thanked Alex.
The next day, we again witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Andy and Mike witnessed to two homosexual men in their 20’s. Kat was dressed like a female cat, and wore several pentagrams. Mitch had a dog collar around his neck. Andy told them that the pentagram was a Satanic symbol. Kat said he was glad this was displeasing to God and gave a Satanic salute. Mitch said that nobody can know whether the Bible is God’s Word. Andrew went into evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Andy asked them if they would read a New Testament if he gave them one. They refused and said they have decided to follow Lucifer, as they think he’s more interesting. Andy said he would continue to pray for them daily.
A Final Word
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.
This past September, I celebrated my 53rd spiritual birthday. When I was first saved, I thought I would be miserable as a Christian. After all, it seemed that everything I found pleasure in was condemned as sin in the Bible. I was certain that all my friends would desert me. They did. However, I knew that the Bible is true and any temporary suffering I endured on this earth would not compare to the eternal joy I would have in Heaven.
As it turned out, after I was saved God changed my desires so that my Christian life has been filled with joy rather than misery. It is the best decision I ever made and one that I have never regretted.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
