We Have a Message to Share (Spotlight on Faith Series 3)

God has given us a message to share. It’s good news, the best news ever in fact! So why is it so difficult to tell others about the freedom we can have from sin? If we truly believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that through Him people will be set free from bondage to their sin, why would we hesitate to tell them? 

Perhaps it’s because, at least in the West, we’ve been conditioned to mind our own business. Perhaps it’s because not everyone wants to hear it. Some don’t want to hear that there’s something wrong with them, that they aren’t good enough or strong enough on their own. They don’t want to admit they need a Savior. 

Yet, whether others want to hear the Gospel should not be of concern to us. To keep the news to ourselves would be disobedient, not to mention unloving. 

Called to Proclaim the Truth

The Lord calls and equips His followers to be salt and light in a fallen world, to proclaim the truth about salvation and do so boldly. But He never promised it’ll be comfortable or easy.

The Lord calls and equips His followers to be salt and light in a fallen world, to proclaim the truth about salvation and do so boldly. But He never promised it'll be comfortable or easy. Click To Tweet

We may be ridiculed or even persecuted. We may lose friends over it or have family reject us. Still, we have the truth a fallen world needs to hear. It’d be unloving and selfish to keep it to ourselves. 

I once heard a former Muslim speak about his interactions with Christians before his conversion. He said a big reason he didn’t believe Christianity could be true was because no one ever shared it with him; therefore, he felt Christians either didn’t believe it was true themselves or they didn’t love him enough to share the truth with him. That’s a sobering thought. 

The Good News of Jesus Christ, the whole of it, is ours to share and share widely and continuously, through our words and our actions. Like the prophet Enoch, we’re asked to stand boldly on the truth of Scripture, to proclaim it to peoples of every race and culture, to all, even those who don’t want to hear it. 

The Good News of Jesus Christ, the whole of it, is ours to share and share widely and continuously, through our words and our actions. Click To Tweet

Enoch (Jude 14; Hebrews 11:5)

^“Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him” (Genesis 5:24). A lone voice in the middle of an increasingly evil culture, Enoch shared the news the Lord told him to. He preached righteousness. It didn’t sound like good news to those involved in pagan worship, and they likely wanted him to simply go away. Still he declared: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him” (Jude 14-15).

Enoch didn’t wait to proclaim God’s message until the people were more receptive or the message became more acceptable. He obeyed God’s call to share His truth when it wasn’t popular to do so, prophesying a message no one wanted to hear. Enoch walked righteously, trusting the Lord with his life. Because of his faithfulness, Enoch never had to experience death. He was only one of two that we know of whom the Lord took straight to heaven. 

A Message to Share

We too have an important message to share: the difficult truth about our fallen natures and the glorious truth about salvation through Jesus Christ. This is the news we are to proclaim, the whole truth, no matter how uncomfortable it makes others or ourselves feel.

As Christians, we have an important message to share, and we're called to proclaim it no matter how uncomfortable it makes others or ourselves feel. #spotlightonfaithseries Click To Tweet

When we trust God and obey His calling to proclaim His message, no matter how difficult it is, then we too will be considered faithful like Enoch, a man who was “approved as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, CSB)

Prayer

Lord, You have given us a glorious message to share, one of salvation and freedom. Yet we sometimes hesitate because it can be uncomfortable to tell others. Help us be obedient like Enoch, preaching righteousness in this fallen world. Give us a boldness to tell others about salvation in Jesus Christ, whether they want to hear it or not. Help us overcome the fear and unease that prevents us from proclaiming the best news ever. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Reflections: Is it easier for you to share the Gospel with strangers or those close to you? What holds you back from freely sharing the Good News with all? 

By His grace ≈

Julie