When Jesus instructed His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded as stated in Matthew 28: 18 -20 (NIV), He was not only referring to actively going out on the street to preach the gospel or doing it from a pulpit.

Our mission as born again Christians is to each form a relationship with God and to keep to His commands. In doing so, we will begin to experience changes in our lives which will become visible to those around us and serve as a good example for non-believers to follow.

Mathew 7: 16 -17(NIV) says:

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”

According to Galatians 5: 22 -23 (NIV) a person who is of God will produce the attributes that the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. These attributes are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These attributes are produced gradually as a follower of Christ grows in his or her relationship with God. They are not produced immediately.

When non-believers notice these new attributes in our lives as we accept Jesus Christ as our saviour and guide, it gives us an opportunity to share the word of God with them. By the grace of God, hearing the word of God will create a hunger in the non-believers which will cause them to begin to seek a relationship with Him on their own as Romans 10: 17 (NIV) states:

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

As Christians, it is our job to evangelise by living exemplary lives for non-believers to learn from. Before a non-believer picks up a bible, he or she should be able to see evidence of the word of God in the life of anyone who claims to be a Christian. If there is no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in someone who claims to be a Christian and a non-believer believes such a person to be an example of who a Christian is, the non-believer can quickly be misled into sin. Unfortunately, this is a very common occurrence in our world today and it is part of the reason why many people do not believe in Christianity.

It is often said that one of the greatest tricks of the devil is to make people believe that God is not real.

Bringing a person to the knowledge of God is the greatest act of love.

Remember the statement about the greatest commandment of the law in Mathew 22: 36 – 40 (NIV) which reads as follows: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

What better way is there to show another human being that you love them than to work hard to ensure that they have a chance to make it to Heaven?