The Gospel


“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)

At the heart of the Christian faith is the Gospel. Growing up in church, I was introduced to the word early on in life.  I remember one of my pastors encouraging the church to share the Gospel. I knew what he meant in the context of his sermon, but I am not sure if I knew exactly what it all really boiled down to enough to tell someone else. I knew what had happened to me and that my life was truly changed, but I was still learning how to put the mystery into words. Truth is, I wasn’t trying to share it enough to even realize that I didn’t quite know how to put it into words. There is no perfect formula and God can use anyone who steps out in faith for Him, but if the Gospel was important enough that God Himself entrusted it to mankind to share with one another, maybe I ought to put some effort into finding the best way for me to clearly communicate it to someone else.


When I am learning something new, I can hardly keep from sharing it with my husband.  Something he says reminds me of what I just learned and out it pops from my mouth, because it was already there just waiting to be shared.Why wouldn’t sharing the gospel be the same way? Once we know what it is we are sharing and how we want to say it, its there taking up residence in our thoughts just waiting to be activated. If we were assigned a four-minute speech in a college class and we wanted to do a good job with the assignment we were “entrusted” with ahem…we would do our due diligence. We would know our topic well, craft our words carefully and practice timing our speech. I mention timing because God encourages us in His Word “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). It takes some effort and some time, but when we get the grade it’s well worth it. Way more important to me than getting good grades, is what God will say to me one day about what I’ve done with what He’s given me. I very much want to hear the words “well done, good and faithful servant!” but have I ordered the priorities of my life in such a way to actually do the thing He’s asked me to do? It’s a question I need to keep asking myself.


In the past year I have drawn upon two sources that have helped me tremendously in understanding and articulating my faith. The first one was a study called “Share Jesus Without Fear” by William Faye and Ralph Hodge. The second one was a message in which David Platte outlined how to share the gospel using the GOSPEL as an acrostic, which was outlined on a “Gospel in Your Hand” card he passed out from an organization that equips churches to better share the gospel. www.oneconversation.org. These two sources have helped me share the key elements of the Gospel (the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ) with others. Of course, the Holy Spirit plays a huge roll this process, but if we are ready to share we’ll spend less time hashing over what to say when the Holy Spirit opens the doors.

Comments

Barbara said…
Yes. Truth. We are entrusted to share the Gospel. It should be the most natural thing, to open our mouths and share some good news. But it is very difficult, at least for me. Why? I'm not sure, but I have an idea the enemy plays a role in my hesitation. So, I will pray that the enemy will not win on this one, and that I will more willingly and openly share the Gospel. Great piece here!
Kristy said…
I am praying about this too. It is very hard to share and I do think you are so right that the enemy plays a roll in this. I'm hoping that being more prepared helps me take better advantage of opportunities I often miss. Maybe having my words ready will also help me gather my courage more when sharing is not as comfortable as I would like it to be.

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