God has promised to reward our evangelism with eternal treasure. We acknowledge Jesus and all that he has done for our lives when we share his love and his message of salvation with others. Sharing the gospel is a high and honored goal. But Jesus had sobering words for those who hinder the salvation of others.

Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Jesus was telling his disciples that we need to be aligned with his purpose and his priorities or we can do harm in this world.

Many have stopped attending a church because someone failed to show them the acceptance and love of Christ. Many have refused to hear our message because they have seen us fail to practice all we preach. They are wrong to judge the perfection of Jesus because of the imperfection of his saints. Nevertheless, whenever we do not “gather” others to Christ, we run the risk of “scattering” them to the influence of this world.

Many in our culture have labeled our evangelism both socially and politically incorrect. Our words about Christ need to be filled with truth, delivered with wisdom, and filled with a true love and compassion for the person we are speaking to. Our attitude should be one of humble certainty. We need to live with Christ and walk with his purpose if we want to gather others to the family of God.

But, if we don’t “gather,” we will scatter. If we don’t speak up, how will people know? God told Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). The work of evangelism has been hindered by our desire not to offend or to cause someone to think of us as arrogant. We cannot be arrogant, but we ought to be confident. We shouldn’t be boastful, but we should be proud of our Lord and our salvation. We shouldn’t be pushy, but we need to stand firm in the truth.

Wisdom is joyfully sharing Christ with others. Wisdom is knowing that sharing the salvation of Christ with others is sharing the same purpose Jesus had for his own life. We either gather or scatter. Don’t allow the influence of this world to rob you of the influence of Christ. People are still “destroyed for lack of knowledge.” People are still saved by hearing and receiving the gospel message of their eternal life in Christ.