Why are so many Christians, including myself, not as energetic in spreading the Gospel as we should be?
Why are we so uncaring?
Why do we not maneuver conversations with co-workers, friends and family to spiritual matters once in a while?
Why, instead, do we conspicuously try to avoid these topics?
Perhaps, as Lewis Chafer suggests, we’re simply not right with God:
. . . this Divine burden for the lost is a very uncommon experience among believers to-day ; and the solution of this problem is found in the last step that marks the movements of the ” power of God unto salvation.” The difficulty lies with the defilement of the priests before God who do not and cannot, because of their own unfitness, experience the love of God for others, or prevail with God in the holy place. [1]
Under the Mosaic Law, the priest could not approach God in an impure state, else he would be struck dead. Peter applied this privilege, and responsibility, to Christians in this dispensation:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
New Testament believers are each individual priests before God, blessed with the privilege of approaching God on our own, without a human intercessor. How seriously are we taking our responsibility to be holy? Is unconfessed and unrepentant sin a trivial, laughing matter in our lives? It shouldn’t be; an Old Testament priest would have been killed for such a permissive attitude towards God’s holiness. Perhaps if we get our own spiritual house in order, we will each experience the zeal for personal evangelism we should have.
[1] Lewis S. Chafer, True Evangelism (New York, NY: Gospel Publishing House, 1911), 130.
The Eccentric Fundamentalist 
Tyler – I have often wondered about this myself. The answer I keep coming up with is unbelief. I fail to recognize the need of souls that I can’t see because my attention is caught up in what I do see. I need stronger faith in this area on a consistent basis. Doesn’t that seem to capture many of our shortcomings? Inconsistency which is really a struggle with unbelief? Thanks for your post.
Bruce,
I agree with and appreciate your post. My apologies for getting back to your comment so late. I have just taken the Pastorate of a small church and am only now digging out from the empty cardboard boxes! God bless you and your walk with the Lord, day by day, while we wait for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ! Take care.