What’s the problem with fear? It paralyzes us from action.

Last week, I shared about the decline in evangelism within the American Church. And I think fear fuels this.

We fear being awkward. We fear being called a bigot or Bible thumper. We fear breaking relationships. We fear being left out because we are vocal about Who we follow and what we believe.

In the grand scheme of things, these things really aren’t that scary, and when we allow them to silence us, Satan wins.

Now don’t get my words twisted here. I know and fully believe Christians fight from victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). Jesus said, “it is finished” (John 19:30). The grave is conquered and one day people from every nation will worship the Lord (Revelation 7:9).

But right now we are waging war “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Satan is on the prowl to steal, kill, and destroy, and he does so by keeping people in the dark when it comes to the gospel message (John 10:10).

When we are silent with our message, we fuel Satan’s agenda instead of God’s.

In his book, The Insanity of God, Nik Ripken states…

Satan’s greatest desire is for the people of this planet to leave Jesus alone. Satan desires that we turn away from Jesus—or that we never find Him in the first place. If Satan cannot be successful at that, he desires to keep believers quiet, to diminish or silence our witness, and to stop us from bringing others to Christ […] Those who number themselves among the followers of Jesus—but don’t witness for Him—are actually siding with the Taliban, the brutal regime that rules North Korea, the secret police in communist China, and the Somalilands and Saudi Arabias of the world. Believers who do not share their faith aid and abet Satan’s ultimate goal of denying others access to Jesus. Our silence makes us accomplices.

Today, whose side are you aiding?