Why I Still Share the Bible With People Who Don’t Believe It

We used to go regularly to one of the local colleges to share the gospel with students. At this particular place, it was super common to hear, “I don’t believe the Bible. It’s just a book written by men.” Honestly, we heard it so often that I was suspicious that all of the students had been coached to say it. And if you’ve shared the gospel any amount of time, you almost certainly have come across this same objection. The temptation is to say, “Well if they don’t believe the Bible, then I need to find another way to share the gospel.” I want to emphatically say, NO! I want to give three reasons why I still share the Bible with people who don’t believe it.

God’s Word is Powerful

If someone says that they do not believe God’s word, at what point does their opinion alter the effectiveness of God’s word? Hear this: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12). God’s word is living. It is active. It is sharp. God has never asked permission for His word to be powerful. It is powerful, irrespective of what someone believes. Someone’s lack of belief in its sharpness does not dull the blade one bit. So if someone says that they don’t believe the Word is sharp, I just purpose to start slicing and say, “Let’s find out.”

God’s Word is Certain

Along this same line, God’s word always accomplishes its purpose. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa 55:10-11). This does not mean that every time we share the gospel using God’s word someone gets saved, but it does mean that whatever God intends for His word is always accomplished. Everything around us is fickle and fading, but not God’s word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isa 40:8). I want to give someone the certain word of God, even when they fail to see it correctly.

My Words are Neither

Finally, I’m going to give someone the Bible because there is a real danger in trusting in my own cleverness and my own wisdom. Imagine this: Paul tells the Romans that the gospel is, “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). And this same Paul tells the Corinthians, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor 1:17). Woah. There is something so dangerous about leaning on, and trusting in, “words of eloquent wisdom” that can actually take that powerful gospel and empty it of its power. Paul goes on to say that when he preached the gospel, it was not with “lofty speech or wisdom” because he didn’t want the Corinthians’ faith to, “rest in the wisdom of men,” but rather, “in the power of God” (1 Cor 2:1-5).

Why do I continue to share the word with people who disbelieve it? Because I really believe that God’s word is powerful and certain, and my words are woefully insufficient. I don’t have the knowledge or wisdom to reason someone into the kingdom of God. We need God’s help, using God’s means, to see God’s work accomplished. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4). We don’t let the opinions of the lost world dictate what weapon the Spirit of God is allowed to use. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, so let’s continue to believe what God says, not only in His word, but what He says about His word. Let’s use that living and active word, and let it judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. May God save many souls through the preaching of the gospel.

Jacob Crouch 2023