Articles
Why and How to Spread the Gospel
The basics of good journalism include answering the five W’s and the H: Who, what, when, where, why and how. In my junior and senior high classes, it was emphasized that these questions needed to be answered within the first paragraph of any news story, else the reader will begin looking elsewhere.
In the case of the gospel and its spread, all disciples are included in the who; the gospel is the what; anytime is the when; everywhere is the where. Let’s spend a little more time, for today, on the why and how.
Why Spread the Gospel?
First, Souls Are Lost. We know this, but do we consciously acknowledge this fact to ourselves as we go out into the world where those lost souls live and work and go to school and shop and drive and…whatever else we do? Jesus noted, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37, 38), and the same is true today. I can either pray for laborers, or I can BE a laborer, but the work still needs to be done!
Think about it: If the very reason Jesus left the glories of heaven, lived as a man, endured the persecution and torture of the cross was to save souls (cf. Luke 19:10), I need to take a long, hard, look at myself and ask, “What have I done to save souls?” I see lost souls every day, whether I think about them as lost, or not. If I don’t see those souls as “lost,” then I probably am not going to do anything about trying to change their condition, or even to help them see their condition.
There was a Twilight Zone episode a few years back [and music video many years later] where a young man woke up and, when he went out and around the city, he saw everyone with numbers counting down above their head. At first he was confused, but events transpired that showed the numbers were counting down the amount of time that individual had to live. He also figured out he could change it.
Now ask yourself: “What would I do, if I saw those numbers?” Seriously, what would I do? Would I then understand we all have a limited amount of time on earth, and that our eternal destination is going to be determined by the life I live on earth — and the same is true for everyone? Would I then be trying to convince them of the need to heed God’s word and follow Jesus? We don’t need those numbers to motivate us; all we need is to be reminded most souls we see every day are lost, and we have the means of salvation.
Second, You Are Accountable. As a “servant of the Lord” [a disciple], then you must be able to do this (2 Tim. 2:24-26). But on a simpler level, this is what disciples are supposed to do! A disciple, by definition, is “one who adheres to the teaching of his master, and who assists in the spread of that teaching.” By definition, it is what it means to be a disciple!
Let us not forget that this fact is well known by OUR Master, Jesus Christ, and that we will have to give an account for what we have done. Now, primarily, we should want to teach others because we love souls just as much as He did; but we must also be motivated to teach because of our accountability. He has said, “whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). This is not speaking of a personal confession of belief in Jesus, but the willingness to tell others about Him and that we are also believers. If we are not willing to tell others about Jesus, He will not acknowledge us as His to the Father, in the end.
How to Spread the Gospel
First, Be an Example. As Christians who are trying to lead others to follow Christ, we will make our task all the more difficult if we are not living the life we are trying to get others to live before we even open our mouths to speak to them.
Unbelievers will examine our lives long before we ever say anything to them, and if they do not see what we later tell them should be done, why would they believe us? There is a reason we are admonished to walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6), to abstain from fleshly lusts and live honorable lives (1 Pet. 2:11, 12), and to “walk in wisdom towards those outside” (Col. 4:5). If we are not truly practicing what we preach, we will have little success in converting others to Christ.
Second, Open Your Mouths. A wise brother in Christ told me years ago, “Yes, you can show by example what it means to be a Christian, but at some point, you’re going to have to open your mouths and tell them something.” That ‘something’ must be the gospel plan of salvation! We can live good examples, but never lead anyone to Christ if we don’t eventually open our mouths and tell them what they must do to be saved. Others may look at our lives and think only that we are “good” or maybe even recognize the influence of God and Christ upon us, but never realize they are lost and in need of a Savior.
Here is where we must be willing and able to teach, and if we are not able, then we need to learn how to be able. Again, let us acknowledge this is not optional (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24-26). What other command do we excuse ourselves from being able to do? The simple fact is, the moment you come up out of the waters of baptism, you are able to teach, because all you have to tell them is what YOU did and why!
Now, will we convert everyone we meet and teach? Of course, not; but that is not our place! Our place is to sow the seed of God’s word (Luke 8:5-15); the kind of heart the hearer has will affect how or whether that seed will produce fruit. And, it may be that it will be our place to ‘water’ that seed. But know and remember that it will be God who gives the increase, not us (1 Cor. 3:6). The “power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” is the gospel (Rom. 1:16) — not our persuasive ability. But someone has to teach it to the lost. That ‘someone’ is you and me and every disciple.
Peter admonishes us, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15). This means we must be willing and prepared to tell others why we are Christians — and why they should be, if they are not already!
Pray for wisdom as you go out to teach (Jas. 1:5, 6), but then go out and use it when you teach! — Steven Harper
