Taking Risks for the Will of God

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Church history is full of examples where men and women of God, knowing the will of God, risked their lives for the cause of God, so why are so few Christians willing to take risks for Christ today?

The Silent Majority

Church history is full of examples where men and women of God, knowing the will of God, risked their lives for the cause of God, so why are so few Christians willing to take risks for God today? In some parts of the world, Christians risk their lives for their faith. Some radical religions are constantly trying to eliminate Christianity, and that means Christians around the world have a bull’s-eye on their back. The world and the satanic enemy wants Christians muzzled and to be silent about their faith…and it’s working. In 1993 only 10% of believers shared the gospel with the lost, but today only 5 in a hundred believers (5%) tell others of Christ, and 1 in 3 Christians think it’s not even important! [1] Really!? Wasn’t it important when someone shared Christ with them?

The Great Omission

In recent times, it’s become more like the “great omission” than the Great Commission. Why? It may be that Christians don’t want to risk losing their relationships with friends, co-workers, and even family members by offending them with the gospel. They figured it’s just not work the risk…but what a blessing they miss, and what blessing their friends miss out on by our sin of silence. Can we really sit by silently while people we know are cascading into judgment with God after death and destined for hell (Heb 9:27)? Statistically speaking, the Christian population is in no longer in danger of becoming the silent majority…they already are.

The Frozen Chosen

The numbers of those sharing Christ on the street has plummeted too and now fewer still go into the public to share Christ, but we know Jesus was not silent, nor Peter or Paul, and neither must we be. The Apostle Paul asked, “how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news” (Rom 12:15), and those who are sent know that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). But the last thing many believers want to do is to offend someone, but the gospel is offensive to those who are perishing….but oh, how sweet that aroma is for those who seek eternal life (2 Cor 2:15), but if we’re afraid to speak up, we must fear man (and their reaction) more than we fear God to obey His commands (Matt 28:18-20). If you knew there was a bridge out just around the corner but drivers wouldn’t see it until it was too late, you’d desperately try to flag them down to warn them, right? I mean we’d try to save their lives and do all we could to stop that carload of people form plummeting to their deaths. But, people we know are going to die apart from Christ and that means their judgment is sealed (Heb 9:27), and we say nothing about it (most do, anyway).

God’s Sovereignty

John MacArthur once said that the sovereignty of God is the most comforting of all doctrines in the Bible. He meant that whatever happens, God’s in it…good or bad (Rom 8:28), but God’s sovereignty is also important when it comes to share the faith and taking risks for Him. God has actually appointed good works for us to do in this life, and incredibly, He preordained them before we even existed (Eph 2:10)! The question is, “Will we walk in them?” God’s sovereignty means that every single day, God has places someone in our lives so that we can share Christ with. Every day is full of divine appointments where we have His sovereign hand working in our relationships and in meeting people (strangers) spontaneously. God is constantly laying down opportunities for us to do good, and the greatest good we can do is to share the gospel of repentance and faith (Mark 1:15).

For Such a Time as This

By God’s sovereignty, Ester was crowned a queen, but when a conspiracy to eliminate the Jews came to light, Mordecai sent her a message, saying, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Ester 4:13-14), and in fact, she was! Ester knew she could die by simply walking into the presence of the King without being invited (it was death to do that), but she overcame that risk and told Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (Ester 4:15-16). By saying, “If I perish, I perish,” she shows her trust in the sovereignty of God and a willingness to risk her life. Even if God didn’t spare her life, she was willing to take that chance. Only later would all the Jews know it was for such a time and place as this that God has placed her upon the queen’s throne. She didn’t let the risk stop her. Does it stop us?

In Love

Jesus Christ died for us some 2,000 years ago, but the main point is, Christ died for us while we were still wicked, ungodly sinners who only deserved His wrath (Rom 5:6-10). Now think about how someone took a risk of offending us by telling us about Christ. If they weren’t silent in sharing Christ, how can we be silent while others are perishing every day without Christ? Can you imagine if you were the only one who held the cure for cancer? How could you keep it to ourselves? How dare we keep quiet about Christ! We have something infinitely more valuable than the cure to cancer…we have the Word that leads to eternal for all who would believe (John 3:36). How can we worry about risking and offending someone when that person is in danger of hell fire? The most loving thing we could do is to take the risk of offending someone with the gospel, in order to save someone with the gospel!

Risks and Rewards

God has opened a door for me to go into the state hospital, prison, and nursing homes, but I don’t even worry about the risks. To me, the rewards far outweigh the risks. For example, I’ve been fully vaccinated, even though some Christians chastised me for it because they believe it puts my health at risk, but I tell them, “I would take a shot in every appendage of my body if it meant being able to preach the gospel to these men and women.” Jeremiah’s risks were far greater than anything we’ll ever see, but he said, “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jer 20:9). Shouldn’t that burning in our bosom compel us to speak out to lost sinners? Isn’t that a risk worth taking?

Conclusion

And what of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who would rather perish in a fiery furnace than worship the King, and that was a risk they were willing to take (Dan 3:13-15). Will you take that risk and overcome your fear of people, especially knowing that most will reject your message, scorn you, make fun of you, and even despise you? I admit, only a few will respond and just a few will actually believe the gospel, but believe me, that person will be forever grateful that you were willing to risk offending them, in order for them to trust in Christ and receive eternal life. It was a risk that they were glad you were willing to take.

1. Barna Research. “Sharing Faith is Increasingly Optional to Christians.” 2018. https://www.barna.com/research/sharing-faith-increasingly-optional-christians/ (Accessed Sept. 22, 2021).
Here is some related reading for you: Being a Disciple for Christ Means Taking Risks for Christ

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Church History, Great Commission, Martyrs, Risks for God, Sharing Gospel, Witnessing