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.
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