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PROGRAM D-8367
One of my favorite gospel songs is “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The words go like this: I am not afraid to be counted, for I’m willing to pay the price. It’s a great song, but I wonder, do we sing the truth when we sing these words?
Let’s face it: We live in a culture that has conditioned us to feel stupid or weird if we talk about religion—especially if we are enthusiastic about it. So we grow up with this idea that sharing the gospel is an unnatural, awkward, and aggressive endeavor which irritates people and invades their space. In Romans 1:16 Paul wrote the following:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
When we have the right understanding of the gospel, we realize that the most compassionate, caring, and loving thing we can do for anyone is to tell them the truth of the gospel—truth that will set them free as it has set us free.
The gospel is good news. What’s difficult about sharing good news? Everybody needs the gospel. Nobody can spend eternity with God unless they know and accept the gospel. If we care at all about people, we have to see how important it is to give the gospel to them.
It is not necessary or likely that we give the entire scope of the gospel in order to share it. Often it is shared in small snippets here and there—a seed sown today, another tomorrow, etc. A person does not need to be able to verbalize word for word exactly what the gospel is in order to share it or receive it. But there must be a clear understanding of the basics of the gospel.
Could you explain the gospel to someone who doesn’t know? Shouldn’t every believer be able to do that? You don’t have to be a theologian, a preacher, or a Bible scholar to verbalize clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would urge you to become comfortable with doing this, so that when God opens a door to share the gospel, you can walk through it.