Epic shifts in how people do life are taking place all around us. Even in the foundational truths of Scripture and the local church’s influence on society there seem to be huge cracks in the foundation of Christian beliefs, especially about our Savior’s mandate to publicly proclaim God’s redeeming love.
Although our “talk” related to the gospel has decreased over the years, Christians have become more engaged in offering the world visible acts of kindness. Believers are serving people in great need, but often the heart behind the servant isn’t committed to sharing the good news of Jesus.
Today most Christian outreach is by means of service with hopes of convincing the world that true believers are the good guys in the community. But don’t all religions focus on good deeds?
For Christians, our calling is for both good deeds and good news. Doing good deeds without good news does not align with the cross of Christ. Good news without good deeds is the height of hypocrisy.
Scripture is clear that Christians should be the most giving, loving, and kind people on Earth because God’s love pours from their lives. The city should see our walk, not just our Sunday talk.
But my brothers and sisters, we must also leverage our walk to initiate our talk about Jesus being the only way, truth, and life (John 14:6).
God’s call for each of us is to openly speak about the truth of the gospel while living it out in relationships with others. If we serve and don’t share, there is no distinction between believers and those of good moral character.
We are different because we serve to make our Lord’s name great. The gospel has transformed us, and we know that anyone outside of Christ is eternally separated from the living God. We must constantly remind ourselves that the gospel lived out must go forth from our mouths to the ears of those around us.
People are searching for life’s answers and the ultimate meaning of their existence, and we have the answer—Jesus!
According to Google, over 2 million hits a day are related to “Who is Jesus?” and 5 million are related to God or spirituality. The issue is not that people aren’t interested in spiritual issues or conversation. The issue is getting the Church—including you and me—to break its silence and start verbally sharing the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, we live during changing times. It’s crucial that we regain our passion for the gospel and the courage to identify with it publicly.
God is working in those around you and we must—even in “fear and trembling”—step out by faith with simple questions that allow people the opportunity to respond (1 Corinthians 2:3).
A few years ago, I asked—with fear in my thinking—a man named Joe if he had any interest in spiritual things like God. Joe responded, “If you had asked me that a month ago, I would have said, ‘No.’ But I just had a friend killed, and I have been saying to myself that I need to get my life right with God.”
And here’s the good news about my conversation with Joe: He trusted Christ over lunch five days after that first meeting.
Together, let’s go verbal with our faith as our Savior leads. It’s time to break the huddle and get in the game of sharing the love of Jesus with others. It’s never too late. God wants to meet each of us with His presence and use us to grow His Kingdom daily.
John Maisel
John's travels for ministry behind the Iron Curtain led him to found East-West Ministries International in 1993. John and his wife, Susie, live in Dallas, Texas and have a grown daughter and two grandchildren.