If I Believe the Gospel

Francis Chan:

I’m curious, how much you feel this because I have a lack of peace. It’s gotten better and better and better, but I’ve had this lack of peace in my life because I think, “If I believe this, I should be a lot more outspoken.” From the stage or whatever, I’m pretty comfortable. I’ll say anything from up there.

But I’m talking about just everyday life with unbelievers, people who don’t believe like I do. Gosh, if I believe this about that person, I should be trying anything to get to that person. And so there’s been this lack of peace. There’s not that personal, it just is flowing out of me all day long.

And I remember talking to a pastor about it once and going, “Do you ever feel this?” And he was like, “Not really.” He goes, “I feel like that’s the people’s job, and my job is to motivate them to do it,” with which I agree that is. But me personally, just as a Christian, this isn’t as a pastor or a leader in any way. Just I personally feel like this doesn’t make sense.

If I believe this, I should be talking about it more. And that’s what’s leading me to do this. I think other people feel that and just go, this is a complete disconnect. Because of these people, you couldn’t shut them up because it just naturally came out of them. And I want that. I want to be that person. I’m not at peace with that. I’m just curious about your thoughts on that.

David Platt:

Totally on the same page. When it comes to, certainly in my own life, yes, I see these disciples in Matthew 28, Jesus didn’t have to cajole them into going. These guys were ready to go. They were ready. He had to tell them to wait because they were going to mess it up if they went without the Holy Spirit.

And so there was a natural, probably better word supernatural, compulsion in them that I do, I often lack in my own life. When I’m sitting next to somebody at a coffee shop or just talking with somebody, there’s still, even in my own life, a hesitancy, a timidity that can creep in that I know is not of the Lord like this.

What Does It Mean to be a Disciple of Jesus?

And so I want to address that in my own life, and I fight that in my own life. And then, yes, as a pastor, I want to help other people fight that but to do it together. And I think part of it then fundamentally comes back to, what does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

Because making disciples is a supernatural overflow of being a disciple. And I think I’ve got a lot to learn about what it means to be a disciple. And I think we, as a whole, in this context in particular, have a lot to learn about what that means to be a disciple.

What Stops Us From Speaking Freely About Jesus?

Francis Chan:

What do you think is the main thing that keeps you from speaking freely about Jesus to strangers?

David Platt:

I think it’s probably a couple of things. One, probably there’s a fear of man that’s a part of that. I think there’s a fear of man. I sometimes sense in my own life, and it is, it’s so much easier on a stage to … I don’t feel like I’m afraid when I’m in front of a few thousand people or whatever.

Francis Chan:

Same thing.

David Platt:

But man, you sit me on a plane next to somebody, it’s like, oh, this guy, where do I start, this or that? So there’s, I think, a fear of man there. That’s the biggest thing that comes to my mind because I think I believe this guy who’s sitting next to me, if he doesn’t believe in Jesus, he will go to hell. I’m like, oh. So then maybe it’s just a lack of love. What do you think?

Francis Chan:

Well, I agree. I’m the same way. And it’s not even just because people say, “Well, maybe because you’re speaking to a crowd of people who believe like you do.” But I think I could get in front of a crowd of people that are absolutely against Jesus and just preach my heart out.

But one-on-one, there’s a different type of rejection, or I think it’s pride in me that still is thinking about me, and I don’t want them to reject me. It’s just that insecure, almost weird, high school, worried about reputation thing still, or I don’t know. I don’t want to be rejected by this guy, or I don’t want him to think I’m just this weird religious fanatic, and that’s just pure sin.

David Platt:

So then the question becomes, we’re struggling with this. People all across the church are struggling with this, so how do we get out of this?