As an evangelist, I am often asked a very simple question, one with eternal value. That question is never what gospel I share. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am convinced there is only one gospel and it can be expressed in 10 words—Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. Instead, the question is, “What motivates you to share it?” The only answer to “why” is “why not?” Four things come to mind.

1. If I sincerely care for people, what better thing could I tell them?

If I prioritize any other message, it shows how little I care for people. After all, the gospel is the only message that could change their eternal destiny. Anything else I might tell them explains how to live on earth. This, though, is the one message that tells them how to live in the presence of God—forever. I constantly bear in mind Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:15, “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

If I am going to be the friend of sinners that He was, what better message could I share with them than the gospel?

2. What better way is there to make what was foremost with Him also be foremost with me?

I am not speaking for myself. I am speaking on behalf of the One who died for me. So, whatever is the first thing that would come from His mouth ought to be the first thing that comes from mine.

Once more, a Scripture that cannot be misunderstood comes to mind. In 2 Corinthians 5:20-21, we read, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Since He is not walking on earth today, it is my highest privilege to speak on His behalf and tell them the first thing He would want them to know.

3. What better way is there to live for the hereafter instead of simply living for the here and now?

I have never forgotten the statement, “The only thing you can take with you to heaven is a friend.” That is biblically correct. Any rewards we have earned will be there when we arrive. But the only thing we can take with us from here to there is a friend. So, why live my life for the present instead of the future? Everyone you meet is going to live forever. The only question is, where? What are you doing to make the difference?

4. If they do not hear it from me, is there a possibility that they will not hear it correctly and clearly?

I do not have everything correct, nor do I claim to. But the one thing I know is the gospel, because that has already been defined for me. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 we are told, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve.”

But many people muddy or confuse that gospel. So much so that Paul the apostle was forced to say in Galatians 1:9, “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you, than what you have received, let him be accursed.” My mentor Haddon Robinson once said, “Satan’s goal is to get you to be as much like God without being related to God as possible. That way he can deceive you right into hell.”

I always remind myself that if they do not hear it from me, they may not hear it right. The next person may be a cultist or someone who, though sincere, does not know the Lord.

All four of these points make sharing the gospel a “want to” out of desire, not a “have to” out of demand. That is why when someone asks, “Why do you share the gospel?” my bigger question is, “How can I not share the gospel?”