Back to Trusts in Jesus
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
(Romans 10:14 NLT)
Unless we are born into a Christian family that is intentional about helping us know the Lord, we do not consider Christ, what he has done, or said. As a result, we do not see this world or ourselves as held captive to sin and death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12-14; James 1:15). Nor do we sense the world's need for God's redemption (Matthew 1:21; Romans 3:24; I Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7). We have not heard God's promises to send the One called Messiah. We have no concept or interest in the good news that He sent His Son for our salvation (John 3:16). We live in a world without God and without Christ (Ephesians 2:12). Instead of our being grounded in Christ and his message, we focus on ourselves. Unable and unwilling to live for the Lord Jesus Christ, we live as if we are lord of our life, instead of submitting to the will of God (John 6:29). We talk about what is most important to us, that is, our life and interests. We share information about what we are doing, where we are going, what we like and dislike, maybe even our joys and sorrows. Some of us talk about what is going on in the world, some about our favorite teams, work, or school. We have lots of things to share with others, but nothing that is significant or having eternal value. Unless the news of the world touches us personally or moves us emotionally, we do not give it much attention. When we do pay attention, what we hear disturbs us since we are without the promises and hope that is found only in Christ. We do the best we can, coping with life in our own strength. Not knowing Christ or anything about him, we cannot share the good news of great joy that is for all humanity (Luke 2:10). We may view ourselves as well informed, but God says that we are blind.
Though we are without Christ, we have numerous encounters with elements of the gospel message without even realizing it. We do not grasp the gospel or our need for it. For example, we may enjoy Christmas without connecting Christmas with the coming of Christ. We may pass images of the cross, but it has no impact and means nothing to us. We may hear references to Jesus, even songs that speak of him, and still not associate him with good news. Some of us may attend church, even be involved in its activities, but still miss the gospel. There may be many factors that keep us from hearing the gospel, but one key factor is that we never take time to listen to what is said or consider what the words and images that we encounter mean. Perhaps we miss the gospel because we are caught up by the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world (Matthew 13:7; Matthew 13:22). Maybe we think we are basically good and view the Christian message as being for those who need a crutch or are really messed up. We have a sense of pride that prevents us from the humiliation of submitting to God. It could be that we are resistant to the gospel because of hurts we have experienced, especially hurts we associate with people who say they are or whom we view as Christian. Information overload can also keep us distracted or unable to hear. What we do not realize is that faith is a spiritual issue and that spiritual forces are working to keep us from hearing, believing, and following Christ (Matthew 13:4; Matthew 13:19). Whatever the factors and conditions are at this time, we are still disconnected from the gospel, not being able to hear it, and having nothing to share except our interests and opinions.
At some point we may hear a testimony of someone's life being transformed. Or maybe we go through a painful season of life. Perhaps we feel like something is missing. Perhaps we attend church, or talk with a family member, friend, or neighbor and hear the message of Christ. Whatever way the gospel comes to us, we are beginning to hear the gospel. While the gospel is good news, in order to understand and accept it we must see that our nature and choices reveals that we are sinners rebelling against God who will face the judgment of God (Acts 17:30-31). We must admit that He has made known the truth of our condition and the consequences of rejecting Him and His message. On our own, we have no desire for God and no hope of being found not guilty of rejecting Him. Therefore, at this stage, rather than embracing the truth of the gospel, we might resist it. How and why might we resist the gospel once we start encountering it? Some will actively resist the gospel when it begins to reveal those things about ourselves that we do not want to hear or acknowledge. Perhaps we have a particular person we refuse to forgive, and as we hear the gospel of God's forgiveness, we refuse to accept that this particular person could be forgiven by us or by God. Some may resist particular aspects of the gospel. Perhaps we claim to be a good person because we have never commented a major crime, so when we hear the message of salvation, we initially reject the idea that we too are in need of God's offer of salvation. Or maybe we hear the call to repentance, and choose to keep hidden those things about ourselves rather than admitting them to God and acknowledging that we have tried to live life on our own terms rather than by God's design. The exclusivity of Christ's death on the cross as the only means by which we can be saved (Acts 14:12) is a stumbling block for some who tend to think that everyone will go to heaven and that all paths eventually lead to heaven. Encountering the challenges within the gospel that point to our need for a life transformation by the power of God leads so we refuse to surrender control to Him, choosing to keep ourselves in the role of god of our life. In some cases the reluctance to surrender could be because we are afraid of what we think we might lose. Maybe we are petrified by what we think God may ask us to do. Pointing to any number of elements of the gospel, we struggle with yielding to Christ because God does not conform to our limited worldview, rather than embracing His truth that reshapes our understanding. With our words and our actions we claimed that we cannot or will not accept the claims of Christ. More accurately, it is that we are unwilling to accept the truth God has revealed or not admit that we are wrong.
When God's grace towards humanity, and to us in particular, reaches our heart and mind, we are stirred and challenged by the gospel. Perhaps we consider our life in light of Jesus having said that he came that he might give life, life abundantly (John 10:10). Maybe we attempt but fail to make significant life changes and discover that we are powerless to make the deep and lasting changes we desire. Or maybe we face a crisis when something rocks our world leaving us without strength and no sense of a light at the end of the tunnel. We feel like there is no hope for the future and that we have no power to overcome our circumstances. We lack the wisdom needed to even figure out what to do. It is in such moments that the gospel stirs and challenges something deep within us. Perhaps we have nowhere else to turn. Maybe a cry from deep within our heart comes out. Whatever it is that brings us to the point of turning to God, we find the gospel speaking to our condition either consciously or unconsciously. We turn towards Him, embrace the elements of the gospel we have heard, and confess our need for Him to intervene. We admit that we are broken and in bondage. We acknowledge that we go to anything except God when we have a need; that we choose to do things our way rather than God's way; and that this approach without God may have led us into an addiction or to pursue things that can never fulfill us. It is here, in the midst of our brokenness, that God's message of hope comes to us as an opportunity to hear and submit to Him. We respond to the stirring within and experience God's grace. The changes taking place may lead us to speak to people close to us about what we are experiencing, and in doing so maybe we come to understand it ourselves.
Having heard the initial elements of the gospel that drew us to God in the midst of some circumstance, we begin to grow and discover more about the message of Christ. It is the gospel by which God makes known that He sees our brokenness and our sin, and rather than rejecting us, He has sent the means by which we can be made clean and set free. In Christ we encounter God's forgiveness of our sins and find the strength to forgive others when they sin against us (Matthew 6:12-15). Knowing that we were once slaves to sin (Romans 6:6), we now see the gospel as very good news by which we were brought to the foot of the cross of Christ, and accept for the first time what God has revealed about the reality of sin, death, and judgment. Having faith in what God has said about Himself and us, we realize that we do not yet know very much about the gospel, but what we do know we believe and now desire to know more. Some of us may quickly begin to tell the world about how Christ has given us new life. We know that a real change has taken place through our initial step of faith. If we get an opportunity to speak about the work of Christ in us, we do so energetically, though we cannot fully explain what all took place. The best we can do is tell people that we were once blind, but now we see (John 9:25). A real transformation has occurred. We have received the Holy Spirit, who is now at work in us, though we probably do not grasp this truth yet. The news we have to share, though it is about Christ's work, is mainly shared in terms of what Christ has done for us. It is the good news of our life more than it is the gospel of Christ. In time, as we grow in our knowledge and love of Christ, our focus shifts from ourselves to Christ, as we talk more about him and his message and less about ourselves (John 3:30).
To mature in Christ is to intentionally follow him, and as we do we discover that the gospel is much more than forgiveness of sins. Many of us come to know Christ first by hearing that in him we have forgiveness of sins and will enter heaven. For the most part, we understood the good news of Christ as being about some future time and realm. But as we spend time in the Scriptures and prayer, which are the means of God's grace enabling us to draw near to Him, we find the gospel message is much richer than we first realized. We discover it is a message for the here and now, not just some point in the future (Mark 10:30). God saves us so that we may to live in relationship with Him. Though we may have heard this at the beginning of our journey, now it is becoming real to us. Our being in Christ means that we have been brought into the kingdom of God where Christ reigns. We are grasping that he is our Lord and will someday rule over all of his creation as king (Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13). As citizens of this heavenly kingdom, we are called to live for Christ who died and was raised from the dead rather than ourselves (II Corinthians 5:15). We thought the gospel was simply about going to heaven, but now we realize that it is actually about God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; Matthew 12:50). God's will is being lived out by us (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). Not only do we have a hope for the future, but there is power to live a life that honors God here and now. The good news says that we are not bound by the ways of this world any longer. For sure, we are still in the world since Christ has not taken us out of it (John 17:11-15), but step by step we make choices not to live for the world or the things it offers because we no longer hunger for this fallen world (I John 2:15). As our understanding of Christ and his message expands, we find a growing desire for others to hear the gospel. We begin to consider friends and family members that need to hear it. We hunger for them to see what we can now see. Perhaps we invite them to church with a hope that when they hear the pastor's sermon they will surrender to Christ. Maybe we watch and pray for opportunities to share the gospel. While we may feel a growing desire in our heart for others to know Christ, the reality is that many of us feel uncertain about how to share the gospel. We want people to know about Christ, but we do not know where or how to begin. We do not want to turn people off, or be overbearing. Neither do we want to look foolish. We may think we do not know enough to be able to answer questions or respond to all the arguments that we may encounter. We might forget that there is a real spiritual battle going on around us that attempts to discourage us from speaking up, and others from hearing the message of Christ. As a result, some of us remain quiet about him. Even though we may be reluctant for a time to speak of Christ, as we continue to mature in faith, we are continually challenged to step out of our comfort zones and speak to people. At first we may find it difficult. But as we are faithful to follow the Spirit's leading, to pray for opportunities and boldness (Acts 4:29-31), we take risks and learn to share the gospel.
By God's grace we reach the point where we no longer fear the prospect of sharing the gospel or looking foolish. Previously we may have thought it was the job only for pastors, now we understand that it is our privilege and responsibility to share the gospel. We now grasp that it is the Holy Spirit who enables the gospel to touch the heart of the hearer and enables us to speak. Eventually we realize that while we may have a role in people coming to faith in Christ by planting seeds, watering the seeds, or harvesting what others have planted, we are not the ones who make the truth of the gospel grow in a person's heart (I Corinthians 3:6-7; John 4:38). When all these come together, that is when we are able to share the gospel from a mature faith. Furthermore, we demonstrate Christian maturity as we live in the freedom of the gospel for the glory of God. We are much less concerned about ourselves, and more interested in others hearing the gospel. We may still feel nervous, but that is not our primary concern nor does it stop us. We accept without worry that we cannot and need not answer every question or argument. We understand that not everyone we speak with about Christ will believe the message, yet we keep pointing to him. We want to glorify God because He has transformed our heart and life. We now grasp the depth of the gospel and feel compelled to share it. We have news to share. News not about us, but Christ. We want people to know Christ, love him, and serve him. Our desire is for people to live for him. We are aware that God's judgment will come someday. We long for Christ's return, looking forward to the day when God fulfills His promise of a new heaven and a new earth. While we wait, we share the gospel because we know that God's heart is that no one would perish, but that all would come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). Though not everyone responds, we understand our responsibility is to simply share the gospel so that those who hear may believe and call out to God (Romans 10:14). We are led by the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) which enables us even to rejoice even when we are rejected (Matthew 5:11-12; Acts 5:41; I Peter 4:14). Because we have the Lord Jesus Christ whom the gospel proclaims, we seek to tell others about him. We do so for the glory of God (Matthew 5:16; I Corinthians 10:31; II Corinthians 4:15). We know God has promised an eternal reward, but even that is not our main focus. God is good and we know that whatever rewards (Luke 6:23; Luke 6:35; I Corinthians 3:8; I Corinthians 3:14; Colossians 3:23-24; Hebrews 11:6) we receive from Him will be good, so until then we embrace the opportunities He gives for us to share the gospel. The funny thing is, as we share we too continue to be transformed, finding that God amazes and delights us, all without our focusing on ourselves.
Back to Trusts in Jesus
Back to Home Page