We Are Not Ashamed of the Gospel

By Samuel E. Ward   June 24 and July 8, 2012   Introduction Pastor Steve Wagers has told the story of a  . . . . . . young Christian man who received his military draft notice and was facing induction into the army. The young man's father, who had been a soldier himself, knew his son would face ridicule, harassment, and persecution for being a Christian in the rough world of an army barracks. Dad wanted to prepare his son for army life, so just before the young man left for boot camp, his dad told him about the trials he might have to face as a Christian. The young man went off with great fear and trembling. After he had been is basic training for a few weeks, he got a call from his father asking him how things were going, and what he had experienced as a Christian. He said, "Things are going great, Dad! I haven't had any trouble at all. Fortunately, no one has found out yet that I'm a Christian."[1] (Rom 1:16 NIV)  I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:  first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. One thing we know for sure, timidity is something we should grow out of as we progress in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is something we shed as we experience His love, grace, and forgiveness, as well as His power in our lives. Reasonable people would want others to experience this for themselves.  As the line from an old gospel song written by Stuart Hamblen declares, "It Is No Secret What God Can Do".  And if it is no secret, why should we keep it as one.  Think about Paul's statement to Timothy. (2 Tim 1:7 NIV)  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. Jesus certainly did not intend for the gospel to be a secret. (Mat 28:18-20 NIV)  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. {19} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." God's Word is clear that we should not be ashamed or timid about sharing the gospel.  Jesus Himself commanded that we take it to the rest of the world and make disciples from all nations.  Let's look at our responsibilities relative to the grand message that saves human souls from the ruin of sin and makes them members of the heavenly family with an eternal future where . . . "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." {5} He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. {7} He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Rev 21:4-7 NIV)  Until Christ sets up His kingdom upon the earth, we are all His ambassadors to the fallen race of humanity who are willfull enemies of God. Our responsibility is not to destroy the enemy but to rescue and reconcile them to a King Who truly loves them. (2 Cor 5:18-20 NIV)  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: {19} that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. {20} We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. As ambassadors for Christ we have been called to be . . . I. Communicators of the Gospel II. Carriers of the Gospel III. Preservers of the Gospel IV. Persuaders of the Gospel V. Possessors of the Gospel VI. Custodians for the Ancient Gospel VII. Individually Related to the Gospel Consider the first this ambassador responsibility. I. We Are Communicators of the Gospel A. With Our Mouths (Gk. laleo = "to utter words") 1. To individuals (Acts 16:30-33 NIV)  He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" {31} They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."  {32} Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. {33} At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 2. To groups, large and small (Acts 14:1 NIV)  At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. See also Acts 4:1, 2, 31; 9:29; 18:25; 19:8; 24:24. B. With Passion and Conviction 1. We speak a particular message from God (Gk. katagello = "speak about" a particular message, i.e., "to speak of . . .") (Acts 13:38-39 NIV)  "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  {39} Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 2. We speak good news from God (Gk. euaggello = "to announce good news, evangelize") (Acts 5:41-42 NIV)  The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. {42} Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. 3. We speak Christ, the hope of the world (Gk. kerusso = "to announce publicly (town crier") (Acts 8:5-6 NIV)  Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. {6} When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 4. We speak the whole truth and will of God (Gk. anaggello = "to proclaim in detail") (Acts 20:25-27 NIV)  "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. {26} Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. {27} For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 5. We offer the kingdom of God to all (Gk. diaggello = "broadcast thoroughly") (Luke 9:59-60 NIV)  He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." {60} Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 6.  We speak the complete gospel of Christ (Gk. pleroo euaggelion = "announce the good news fully and exhaustively") (Rom 15:18-19 NIV)  I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done-- {19} by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. See Acts 4:2; 5:42; 8:4-5; 8:12; 8:40; 9:15,20, 27; 10:37, 42; 13:5, 38; 14:7, 21, 25; 15:35-36; 16:6, 10; 17:3, 13, 18, 23; 18:5; 19:13; 20:20, 25, 27; 26:20, 23; 28:31; Acts 9:17; Gal 2:2,7; 4:13; 1 Thes 2:8-9; 1 Pet 1:12. An Important Observation I have come to a certain realization.  It is this.  If our central goal is the mere numeric growth in church attendance, then church numeric growth will become what we are satisfied with.  The central command of the Great Commission mentions nothing about filling worship centers, but rather, making disciples.  That being said, if we replace the words "church growth" with "making disciples" the following observations made by Carl Ellis, director of the Center for Small Membership Churches at Kansas Wesleyan University, remains true. The first secret to [making disciples] is that we, the pastors and members of small, medium, and large churches need to stop rationalizing our failure to grow and our inability to attract members.  For too long we have the misconception that mega churches (such as Church of the Resurrection, Willow Creek, and others) grow because they have a huge budget and they have big dollars to advertise.  The truth is the mega churches grow because their members are encouraged to invite family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances to attend worship.  And on average, 66% of the membership that attend those mega churches are inviting family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to join them in worship.  Church statistics show around 75% of people visit and then join a church because they were invited by someone they know besides the pastor. The real secret is that . . . . . . it takes all of us to [make disciples].  Not just [an] evangelism committee or one person who is outgoing, every member is an important part of reaching people for Christ.[2]   So I must ask, what are we afraid of?  What are we ashamed of?  Whatever it is, we need to identify it then deal with it.  As we do so, remember . . . (Psa 27:1 NIV)  The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? Indeed, even as Jesus indicated to his earthly parents as a young man, we need to be about our Father's business and that means sharing the gospel with people where we find them. Think about this observation by J. K. Johnston. Christ met unbelievers where they were. He realized what many Christians today still don't seem to understand. Cultivators have to get out in the field. According to one count, the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple, four in the synagogues and 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.[3] If we accept Christ as a model for evangelistic outreach, then we must conclude that while getting people to church may certainly give them an opportunity to hear the gospel, what about those who do not accept our invitation to church?  Do we, then, deny them the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. We have family members, neighbors, co-workers, doctors, nurses, cashiers, waiters and waitresses, etc. with whom we have regular contact.  Do they know we are a Christian and why.  All Christians are meant to be communicators of the gospel. The message is far too important not to take our mission seriously. C. We Are to Communicate the Gospel as Teachers with Life-Changing Truth. The most important aspect of teaching is the learning that is intended to take place in the student.  This is the primary objective of the Greek verb didasko and the one most related to the gospel and the content of its teaching. The key content of the gospel preached in the book of Acts was that there will be a resurrection from the dead, the need for repentance and forgiveness, Jesus is the Christ, the word of the Lord, the need of people to repent and turn to the Lord, and truth about the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Perhaps the best summary of the content of the gospel is to be found in Acts 10:36-43. (Acts 10:36-43 NIV)  You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. {37} You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—{38} how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. {39} "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, {40} but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. {41} He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. {42} He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. {43} All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." See Acts 4:2; 5:21, 25, 28, 42; 11:26; 13:1, 12; 15:35; 17:19; 18:11, 25; 20:20; 21:21, 28:31.   D. Some Were Communicators of the Gospel as Eye-witnesses to the Ministry of Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:3-8 NIV)  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  {6} After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. {7} Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, {8} and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1. There were witnesses to Jesus' resurrection and its significance to those who believed, Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:33. 2. There were witnesses to Jesus' earthly ministry, Acts 10:39. 3. There were witnesses to Jesus post-resurrection appearances, Acts 13:29-31.  See Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 8:25; 10:39, 41; 13:31; 22:15; 1 Cor 15:3-8 E. We Are to Communicate the Gospel by Reading and Explaining it to Others, Acts 8:30-34. We are to use the Scriptures to explain Who Jesus is and what He came to do.  This would include the Old Testament and especially Messianic prophecy. Philip is an excellent example of one who was ready to read and explain Scriptures in such a way that a certain Ethiopian eunuch was able to understand the gospel and respond to it. (Acts 8:30-35 NIV)  Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. {31} "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. {32} The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  {33} In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" {35} Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 1. Jesus read and explained the Scriptures in this manner (the disciples on the Emmaus Road), Luke 24:25-27. 2. The Apostles read and explained the Scriptures when they preached, Acts 2:14-40. 3. Stephen, the first martyr, reviewed the whole history of Israel to bring conviction to those who had put God's Righteous One to death, Acts 7:2-53. 4. Paul emphasized the importance of reading and explaining Scripture for the purpose of offering examples and giving hope, Rom 15:4. (Rom 15:4 NIV)  For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5. Paul wrote that the Scriptures are particularly essential to train disciples in the ways of Christ after they come to belief, 2 Tim 3:16-17. (2 Tim 3:16-17 NIV)  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, {17} so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. F. We Are to Communicate the Gospel with Persuasive Arguments for Its Truthfulness, Acts 9:28-29; 18:27-28; 19:8-9. 1. Saul (Paul) talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, Acts 9:28-29. (Acts 9:28-29 NIV)  So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. {29} He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 2. Apollos was vigorous in his debates with the Jews, Acts 18:27-28. (Acts 18:27-28 NIV)  When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. {28} For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. 3. Paul argued persuasively concerning the kingdom of God, Acts 19:8-9. (Acts 19:8-9 NIV)  Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. {9} But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Paul, Apollos, Philip, Peter, and many others in the New Testament had made themselves conduits of the gospel in a variety of scenarios, venues, groups, and situations.  They had decided to be obedient to the Great Commission to take the gospel to the world.  They all recognized that there was a great disconnect between sinners and God.  As witnesses of Christ they became the bridge over the gap of the disconnect by sharing the gospel with others.  Each of us are under no less obligation to Christ to be the conduit between sinners and God through which the power of the gospel can flow through to connect people to God and eternal life.  Warren Wiersbe tells this story. Britain's King George V was to give the opening address at a special disarmament conference, with the speech relayed by radio to the U.S. As the broadcast was about to begin, a cable broke in the New York radio station, and more than a million listeners were left without sound. A junior mechanic in the station, Harold Vivien, solved the problem by picking up both ends of the cable and allowing 250 volts of electricity to pass through him.  He was the living link that allowed the king's message to get through.[4]  Warren Wiersbe, Prokope, July-August, 1988, p. 3. Will you allow the power of the gospel to pass from God through your mouth to the ears and heart of an unbeliever that they might find Christ and eternal life even as you have? [1] Steve N. Wagers, "I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel", http://www.sermonsearch.com/content.aspx?id=46969 [2] http://www.kansaseast.org/blogs/detail/215 [3] J.K. Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 142. [4] Warren Wiersbe, Prokope, July-August, 1988, p. 3.