Like any other time God gives a command, there are excuses that arise to avoid obeying it. The same for the command to participate in missions. While there are justified reasons to not go to the nations yourself, God calls all Christians to take part in some way. We will be looking at three of the common excuses given in response to God’s commission, starting with the excuse of not being enough. When someone uses the excuse of not being enough in response to missions, it is often more specifically the feeling of not knowing enough, not knowing what to say, or not feeling good enough.

Wisdom

But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. 1 Corinthians 1:27

There is a misconception that, to share the gospel, you must know everything about the Bible. While that would be helpful, it is not a requirement. Missions does not happen because people show off their Bible trivia; it happens when humble servants of Christ go out despite having questions themselves. Now, I am not saying you should go out spreading the gospel without any knowledge of it. It is important to know what you believe and why, it can also be helpful if you know who you are going out to reach, what they believe, and why they believe it. You cannot lead someone to where you have not been yourself. If you have been changed by the Word of God, share it so that others may be changed by it as well. There will come a time when you are sharing the gospel and someone stumps you. This is not a failure; it is an opportunity to turn to the Bible. This is where knowing Bible verses can come in handy. Nothing will change an unbeliever’s heart like the powerful Word of God. You do not need much, but be a humble servant, take what you do know and share the heart-changing Word of God.

Words

Do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour. Matthew 10:19b

This was my excuse for the longest time. It is one of the excuses Jesus puts to rest. In Matthew 10 He sends His disciples out to share the gospel. He does not tell them to come up with clever arguments or to rehearse responses when people raise arguments. Rather, Jesus tells them to not worry and that the words will be given to them. I can attest to this. There have been many times when I didn’t know the words to say, but without fail, by the grace of God, the words were given. You may doubt that and it can be hard to believe, but the more you trust God, the more you will see that He truly does give you the words to say. Take that step of faith and trust that God will give you the words. As I said before, nothing can change an unbeliever’s heart like the Word of God, so when you do not know what to say, look to God’s Words.

Worthiness

Such is the confidence and steadfast reliance and absolute trust that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficiently qualified in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency and qualifications come from God. 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

Finally, we’ve come to the excuse of not being good enough. This excuse is difficult to navigate. For one thing, it is partially true. As its said in Romans, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are broken vessels, commanded to carry the most vital news to the world. It sounds irresponsible. This realization should not keep you from sharing the gospel, it should remind you of your need for the gospel in your life. That feeling of being unqualified is a reminder of the guilt and the brokenness. It reminds us of the redemption achieved by Jesus, and it is all that which qualifies us. Let your feeling of not being good enough push you to God and surrender your life to the spread of God’s Word.