A Personal Stalemate?

A stalemate is defined as “a situation in which further action or progress by opposing or competing parties seems impossible.”

According to various Christian statistical studies, about 20-24% of Americans are self-proclaimed born again Christians. If this is true, or close to the reality, then that means the majority of Americans are not converted and headed to a Godless eternity in hell according to the teachings of the Bible. That’s a big statement.

If you’re like me, you might ask, “why do so many Americans not believe the gospel?” I have spent a good amount of time thinking about and reading on this issue. A good answer that should be given is this: more people would be converted to the Christian faith if Christians (like myself) shared the gospel more. Let me illustrate. Let’s say that 20% of non-believers would be saved if they heard the gospel from a Christian. Therefore, if 100 Christians shared the gospel, then by the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, 20 non-believers would get saved. If 10 Christians shared the gospel, then, according to our illustration, 2 non-believers would get saved. Same percentage; but 20 is a lot more then 2.

So, we might rightly reword our question from “why are there so few Christians in America?” to “why don’t Christians share the gospel more?” Of course, there are many reasons we could list to answer this question. Let me propose one I’ve been thinking about lately.

On one side of a Christians shoulder stands the voice of the world we live in daily. This world tells us to “be nice, be fair, let people have their own beliefs” and such language as this. No doubt, this is a powerful voice. On the other shoulder stands the gospel that we believe in and it tells us “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Him” (Jn. 14:6). No doubt, this is a powerful voice too. I think if we are honest, this creates a battle in the Christians mind and heart. Might this be causing many Christians to suffer from something like a personal “stalemate” situation? I wonder if many Christians feel stuck between these two powerful, competing voices and don’t know what they can do.

I am not going to propose any quick fix here in this blog. There is no such thing. Maybe the only thing I would advise is this: if this resonates with you, search your heart. If you struggle with sharing your faith, ask yourself, why do I struggle with sharing my faith with people? Note your answers. Then, dare to ask God to help you overcome those barriers – even if it’s one small step at a time.